safari suit

Many of the people who attend the annual safari suit pub crawls know one or both of the boys in this photo wearing the very smart safari suits.

If you do know who either or both of them are please leave a comment.

3 Comments »

Last week safari suit readers were alerted to the comeback of the safari suit as reported in The Age. That story, and our coverage of it I’m sure, has gained momentum.

On Thursday the safari suit comeback was written about in the Executive Style section of smh.com.au. At least this time they didn’t use a photo of John Howard.

But even better than this was our very own Gus (as pictured here) being interviewed on local Adelaide radio. We were initially contacted last week but got the email too late and apparently they interviewed someone from Sydney who has an enviable collection of safari suits. They didn’t let it go, however, and resurrected the subject yet again. Gus was our spokesperson and you may have heard him just before 5pm on Tuesday 10 July along with the safari suit calendar boy - Jim Whalley - from Nova Defence, Kym Bonython and Nigel Stark. By the way does anyone know how to get hold of this luscious safari suit calendar?

Fortunately we have audio of this momentous occasion (MP3 file, 4Mb, 9 minutes). It’s a bit of a biggy but well worth listening to. If you haven’t got a fast internet connection, here’s a summary. (Note the audio file is missing the first few seconds.)

Jim Whalley - Safari suit calendar

About safari suits, he said, ‘They’re a picture of sartorial elegance’.

He said that anyone in their organisation going to a conference must pack a safari suit and take a photo. There’s one on the front of this year’s calendar of a colleague in front of the Coliseum. Did I mention that we want a copy?

He hopes the new version of safari suit is 100% polyester.

Grant Cameron - ‘Nothing that says man other than lime-green polyester’.

Jim Whalley - ‘And a bit of static electricity’.

Gus Clutterbuck - safari suit pub crawl

Grant Cameron started out by asking if everyone wore safari suits to the pub crawl. Gus explained that, yes a lot of people do but other outfits worn by women are featured also, eg the muumuu and the caftan.

Grant Cameron asked Gus if it brings out the animal in you?

Gus - ‘Don’t know about the animal, but it certainly brings out the style in everyone and I think the great thing about safari suits, apart from the lime-green polyester, is the fact that it breaks the ice and gives everyone something to talk about and something to look at and examine closely.

There’s no end to the ingenuity that people will come up with on the night. People will go to all sorts of extremes including shaving a bald patch on the top of their head.’

Kym Bonython - long time safari suit wearer

Talks about a camel story at the beginning of his interview until Grant ties it in nicely with the safari suit.

Kym Bonython used to ride a motorbike. He rode up the South Eastern Freeway one day while wearing his safari suit and he skidded on a painted white line and skidded off his bike. He got gravel rash and said that the safari suit wasn’t the best garment to wear in this instance. He’s still got it, however, and one of his grandsons will be wearing it to a fancy dress party shortly.

Nigel Stark - writer and triple safari suit owner

He has had three safari suits made in the last 10 years and they’re good for wearing in Malaysia. So they’re not the original 70s safari suit but he is wearing them in the present day, albeit in another country.

Grant Cameron signing off - ‘Looks like we’ve unleashed the beast - the safari suit is with us to stay.’

If you want to be notified by email when this site is updated, please enter your email address where indicated in the sidebar on the right.

2 Comments »

According to Janice Breen Burns from The Age newspaper, safari suits are coming back in. We could have told Janice that long ago. In fact, we’d argue that safari suits were never really out of fashion.

She says:

“COULD the safari rise again? In Milan this week men’s wear brands including Belstaff, John Richmond and floated the possibility with lightweight, military-style jackets and slacks similar to those in every stylish Aussie bloke’s wardrobe in the 1970s and out of fashion by 1980.”

“Its reign was a cultural spike that saw boardrooms and Parliament populated by men in beige and sky blue polyester.”

I don’t buy safari suits for myself as a rule, but I remember purchasing one with a friend about eight years ago now. It cost $4 and the woman selling it to us thought it was the bees knees and of course she was right. It’s definitely harder and harder to find one in op shops these days and I doubt they sell for the $4 price anymore.

Hold on to your safari suits people, and wear them with pride.

And don’t forget to send in pictures of you wearing your safari suit.

2 Comments »