From May til college football season, there’s nothing more fun than throwing on a casual floral-print shirt on Saturday to day drink in. 2016 is the year the casual Hawaiian shirt is positioned to make an explosive: Chubbies and Rowdy Gentleman all have their own party shirt offerings, but the most exciting up-and-comer on the market is a California-based men’s casual start-up called California Cowboy.
California Cowboy is founded by Drew Clark, a fashion industry vet who worked the ranks at Levi Strauss & Co. before leaving to embark on his own venture. Earlier in April the company launched an IndieGoGo to produce the brand’s flagship item, The High Water Shirt, which they are calling “the ultimate pool party shirt.”
“We’re a decidedly California brand — I grew up in LA – and really plan to focus on the social elements of style. Specifically that guys can use what they wear as a Trojan Horse into meeting people in analog,” Clark tells BroBible via e-mail. “The High Water is inspired by the retro cabana suits and reflective of authentic California culture. The style we did is real throwback – vintage inspired. Two of our three prints are hand painted.”
Think the type of shirt Hunter S. Thompson would sweat in while driving somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs begin to take hold.
“We were inspired by Bond crushing it poolside in a terry cloth suit in Goldfinger, as well as the now extinct cabana suits from the fifties,” Clark says in a statement. “We channeled Hunter S. Thompson as we painstakingly considered what he might have worn ‘sunbathing at the Trop’. We love the past and we live in the now, so we modernized our inspiration to create our new take on a forgotten poolside icon.”
The High Water shirt comes with a pocket for a beer, plus a dry pocket of waterproof fabric and hydrophobic zipper to keep your phone dry in the event you end up in the water. There are also a number of goodies included in a California Cowboy High Water shirt purchase: There’s a bottle opener, plus a pack of “Conversation Stopper’ cards “intended to help the wearer break the ice with others.”
“We’re targeting young professionals who want authentic style and functionality. We’re targeting young professionals who want authentic style and functionality, says Clark. “We will focus on ‘apres surf’ in the summer. We aim to be the most fun shirt you can own.”
For more information on California Cowboy and The High Water shirt, head over to their Indiegogo page.
A few more selections. Remember, if you want one for Summer 2016, you have to support the California Cowboy Indiegogo campaign: