Gork,
Remember in the early 90's when gigantic baggy silk shirts were all the rage? I sure do because I went hog wild filling my closet with every print pattern and color-contrast version possible. I'd say I collected just shy of 200 silkies and I never got rid of them in hopes of a comeback. My wife says I have to ditch the silk to make room for more relevant fashion statements. Before I give in and burn my precious collection, I have to know, is big silk on the cusp of a big comeback? What are you hearing?
-Murphy Wolfarth, Ricecake, IN
Murf,
I've had a major influx of fashion questions lately. Where did everyone get the idea that I'm a fashion clairvoyant? Well, I take that back, most people probably got it from my 2005 book, Fashion Fancies: A Scientific View of Fashion Flops and Follies. It's not my best work, but I do like a couple of the ideas that spawned from it. Coincidentally, the third chapter is titled "Men's Silk--Never Again." Since you clearly didn't read it, the executive summary is that silk shirts were a bad idea when they were in their prime, and there's virtually no chance that they're coming back. In fact, almost all fashion trends that "come back" as you say, usually resurface as some altered, watered down version of the original. Bell Bottoms, for example, came roaring back in the early 2000's but they were 75% less bell bottomy than the 1970's era originals. What I mean is, even if silk material comes back, your shirts will still look ridiculous. I highly recommend you cut them up and stitch them together as bedsheets or underwear. Don't burn them; silk smoke is famously toxic. Good luck.
-gvd