If you, like me love Henley shirts, in all colours and variations, but (again, like me), they wouldn't be caught dead selling a Henley shirt in any store near you... Well, in my case, Sweden don't have Henley shirts, there's not even a Swedish word for it. There IS something similar, but they usually have long sleeves and, meh, it usually ain't my thing - too damn hot. So, this situation constitutes a bit of a problem for the Henley lover.
Not to worry, though! Style! has the solution to your plight!
Because today, I shall teach you how to make a Henley out of a polo shirt/piké shirt/jersey, or whatever they want to call these ugly-ass shirts before I turn them into godlike pretty clothes. (Yes, I do hate polo shirts, and yes, I do love Henley shirts.)
It's all very simple, really. You buy a polo shirt, pull up the neck so it's straight, then you cut it off where it's sown together with the shirt fabric, and lá, you have a Henley neck instead of an ugly-ass polo neck. But, knowing I'm terrible at describing, I've taken a few pictures with me new camera so that you can see for yourself how I made a Henley today, when I was out shopping. (Yes, by the way, my work is FINALLY over, so I can FINALLY get back to being a reporter for Style! Wohoo.)
This, my friends, is a polo shirt. It looks like shit, and yes, it stinks really really bad, because it's so ugly with that ugly, ugly neck. But it's got a nice and sleazy material, in a nice 'nuff colour. So, when I saw this in the store, I thought, what the heck, let's turn this from-birth-cursed little piece of clothing into something wearable, like, oh, I dunnow, a HENLEY perhaps! That's right, that's just what I thought when I saw it in the store. And so I bought it. Yippi-ky-yay.
Now, this is what the shirt is supposed to look like under the neck if you fold it up, for it to be able to be turned into a Henley. I've seen numerous ugly-ass polo shirts that have a broader neck, and thus... Well, they can be turned into Henleys, but they will have a small neck if you use them, while if you use this kind of polo, you won't have any neck at all, which is what we're aiming for here.Now, let's bring out the scissors and cause some serious destruction!!
Easy enough, just cut along the edge with a scissor (really sharp scissor), all the way around until the ugly-ass neck is off and you can throw it in the trash compactor, bye bye Mr. Ugly Neck, I'll see you, well, never again! Mwahahahaha.Err...anyways, if you did everything right, then this is what your polo will now look like - a bonified Henley shirt:
Alas, it was not the only thing I bought today. I also bought meself a pair of cargo pants. Now, usually, I'm no fan of this whole skater-style with baggy pants that are tightened around your ankles rather than your waist, but, hey, one must adapt to the trials of one's life. What I mean by that is, I'm going to become an adventurer/archeologist/pervert (Oops, said that out loud, didn't I? Just ignore the last part, eh?), and I need to look the part as well. Thus, cargo pants, khaki coloured, along with a pair of khaki shirts, and you're good to go! Let me show you.
This pic shows one of the Tees I bought, together with the khaki cargo pants, and one of the two khaki shirts. This one was in cotton, and is short sleeved and reasonably cool (as in cold, not as in cool..although it's cool too.) I like this outfit, it rests nicely for the eyes, and you look badass in it. In fact, this'll be my standard archeology outfit once I start studying as an archeologist. Now, to the second one! Same outfit, same Tee and cargo pants, but with a linen shirt instead.
As you can see, this one would make it's wearer look like some colonialist from the 19th Century, trying to colonize Africa for the glory of the British Empire. Only thing missing is my jungle helmet and .455 Webley. Now where'd I put my effects? Hm, anyways, I like this one too, though it has a more vintage or "old" look to it, since the shirt has a different cut than the other one.Last thing for today, from my crazy shopping spree, is the shoes I bought. I bought meself a pair of Hush Puppies (as said, the shoes, not the Vietnam war era handgun), the kind that Sonny Crockett wore in one of the seasons of Miami Vice. *Dodges readers' attacks*. Yes, yes, I know, y'all are sick and tired of MV, but, hey, I ain't. :D
Anyways, here's a pic. Enjoy.
Thing is, they don't fit with the whole jungle outfit, so I still need a pair of good boots for that. Either way, they work for my pastel suits, and the best thing? I got them for half price. They usually cost around 130 dollars or so, and I got 'em for about 65-70 dollars, so although I came off severely wounded economically today, I got away with less fractures to my account than I would have had if it hadn't been sales all over town.
Well, that's all for today, folks. Thanks for reading, and as always, leave your comments if you like what you read. Now, I'm off to cut my way through some jungles.
Toodles//
Henrik
Edit: Forgot to mention. I've recently started a new blog. It's called "Loxley's drunk rants", and will be a blog where I rant whenever I've drunk too much. If you want to read it, you'll have to become my friend and ask nicely. ;-) It might (but most likely not) be worth the effort.
