Help me recreate the past for christmas.

December 6, 2006 8:10 PM

I am trying to recreate a photo taken of my father when he was my age about 30 years ago. I can't seem to find the shirt..

This photo was taken nearly 30 years ago and for Christmas I would like to recreate it.

It's finding the shirt that is giving me trouble. From this zoomed in picture you can see that it is a three button Henley style shirt in a wine color ( textured though that's not important ) with white sticking in a few places.

Anyone know where I can find a shirt thats as similar as possible? I found a few henleys , but it's the stiching that I'm stuck on.

posted by petethered to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (22 answers total)

i don't know about the shirt, but it's a nice pix & a great idea
posted by growabrain at 8:16 PM on December 6, 2006

That picture is groovy, man.

I don't have any shirt advice but if you can find a similar cut shirt with the wrong color, photoshop can fix the colors. I'm not sure if that's cheating too much for you or not.
posted by chairface at 8:29 PM on December 6, 2006

On second thought, you could grab one of these in white and use a purple RIT dye which usually comes out very weak.
posted by chairface at 8:32 PM on December 6, 2006

My suggestion is similar but less high-tech — why not dye a white henley to get the color you want? Even if the stitching isn't exactly right I'm sure the thought still counts.

Another idea — Old Navy sells henleys in a variety of colors. (But you'd have to check the women's section.)

Super cool idea, though. I'd love to see the modern pic when it's done.
posted by Brittanie at 8:33 PM on December 6, 2006

Am I allowed to say that your Dad is hot, or will Jessamyn consider that not answering the question?

Stitching would be easy - just get the henley, and take it to a seamstress - they can do some contrast stitching for you.
posted by Liosliath at 8:35 PM on December 6, 2006

Do you know anyone who sews? If you find a henley in the right cut and colour, adding the white stitching on the seams would be pretty easy to do.

Just off the top of my head, Urban Outfitters has a few henleys that are kind of like that (although I don't see any with contrast stitching). Old Navy and J Crew too.

Depending on the quality of thrift stores in your area, that might be a place to check too.

Good luck, it's a neat idea!
posted by AV at 8:38 PM on December 6, 2006

(girls henleys usually have more than 3 buttons, fyi)

There's something odd about that picture - it looks lto my untrained eye like the color has been altered...
posted by muddgirl at 8:38 PM on December 6, 2006

that is so beautiful. I realize you're going somewhere with this same clothing thing, but maybe you can you just dress like yourself? If those were pa's beach clothes, wear your beach clothes.
posted by :-) at 8:38 PM on December 6, 2006

Perhaps in his closet?

It looks faded, and made me wonder if the sticking was the result of fading through repeated washings - henleys are a common shirt so thrift stores would be another place to look.

Contrast stitching is a useful term in searching for henleys or anything that has a different color. On preview, I see that Lioslath has hit this one already, and that poster's answer sounds like the surefire one, especially if you take the photo with you to the seamstress.

A less graceful solution might be to rub chalk along the seaming/stitching and then wipe off as needed until you get the shade that looks right.
posted by PY at 8:39 PM on December 6, 2006

Here's one from L.L.Beans that looks to have similar stitching (click "View Larger") although the color choices aren't quite right.

Maybe focus on finding the right stitching, then color correct in Photoshop and use an eyedropper from the original photo? Then you'd be sure it was the exact same wine shade!

I also think this is a completely charming and sweet idea!
posted by nelleish at 8:42 PM on December 6, 2006

This one has too many buttons but it's almost the right colour. Simple contrast stitching would be easily applied.
posted by fionab at 8:50 PM on December 6, 2006

How big is the photo going to be? (More specifically, how big will the stitching be in the photo?) Maybe you could fake it well enough with some kind of tape, or a marker or paint or something.
posted by winston at 8:51 PM on December 6, 2006

2nding Urban Outfitters.
posted by dobbs at 8:53 PM on December 6, 2006

Thanks for all the ideas folks! I had thought of Photoshopping or doing the stiching by hand, but wanted to see if there was an easy solution out there.

As to the idea itself, I thought it would be nifty since at almost exactly the same age , I am in college in a beach town ( Honolulu VS the Tampa of my father ) though I don't have the excuse of being drafted for going to school 10 years late :)
posted by petethered at 9:08 PM on December 6, 2006

Oh, and recreating the photo "exactly" only really is possible because the shoes are still made. Clark Wallabee's ... gives me an excuse to buy a comfy pair of shoes.
posted by petethered at 9:10 PM on December 6, 2006

American Apparel has the 70s fit; this link is to their henley. Best color there is probably the gray and then you can dye it.
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:32 PM on December 6, 2006

Also, 2Xist at A Fresh Pair (underwear site) has a white one with what looks like the tighter 70s-ish fit.
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:45 PM on December 6, 2006

Actually, a hint for dyeing: get a cheap henley. RIT dyes only work on cotton, not polyester. Cheap clothes are frequently made with cotton fabric and polyester thread. Dye a cheap white henley purple= purple cotton, white stitching.
posted by holyrood at 10:00 PM on December 6, 2006

Check out Savers on Dillingham or the Goodwill in Kaimuki, I'll bet you can find something close (and cheap!) to dye.
posted by lil' ears at 11:15 PM on December 6, 2006

Get this wine-colored Henley because it has the contrast stitching even on the wrists like your dad's shirt, and bleach it. Fill the washer with water, add a cup or two of bleach, stir well, then add the shirt. Repeat as necessary. (What a neat picture; what a neat idea!)
posted by headspace at 6:21 AM on December 7, 2006

One additional thing you should consider is that the photo itself has faded and the color has changed, so all of the colors in your new version are going to be "off" - the clothes, the sand, and especially the skin tones (which, if you look closely, are quite orange).

I grabbed ran your photo through Photoshop's "Auto Levels" filters just to give you an idea of what a modern version might look like. Here it is. You'll notice that the sand is less pink, the pants and shirt are darker, and the skin is, well, more skin-like.

There are two ways you can go with this, depending on your photographic expertise, photoshop know-how, and obsession with complete accuracy:

1) Leave the new photo as-is. This will mean that all the colors will be "off," so you won't have to replicate the color of the shirt exactly.

2) Run the new photo through a photoshop (or picasa or whatever you use) filter of some sort - you might want to try a sepia filter, or maybe just adjust the hue until you get the sand color right. This will mean that you will need the shirt to be a bit darker/more orangey than otherwise.

Great idea. Post the result when you're done!!!
posted by googly at 7:27 AM on December 7, 2006

This shirt in cranberry seems like a close match, no contrasting stiching though.
posted by lannanh at 7:46 AM on December 7, 2006