The Hawaiian Set That Made Our Family Photo Easy

The family photo was my idea, so I can't pretend the panic was anyone's fault. I had it all planned: everyone in a Hawaiian print, standing on the lawn by the plumeria, the grandkids actually looking at the camera for once. Then I opened Kimo's side of the closet and found that the old shirt he planned to wear had a stain on the front from the last time he tried to grill in it.

You know how that goes. He says any shirt is fine. I say the photo is going to hang on the wall for years. He says nobody looks at the shorts anyway. I say that is exactly the kind of thinking that got us a wedding album full of him in the same gray shirt. We went back and forth for a good ten minutes. Then I did what I should have done from the start. I went online and let the search do the arguing for me.

That is how I found the COOFANDY matching set. A two-piece outfit, flower print shirt and matching shorts, sold together. I do not have to tell you what a relief that is for someone who has spent years trying to make separates look like they belong together. The shirt is short sleeve with a button-down front and the kind of relaxed camp collar that looks right in Hilo without looking like a costume. The shorts have an elastic waist and drawstring, with real pockets, which Kimo checked first thing, because a man will forgive a lot for a pocket.

Kimo is not an easy fit. He is 63, broad across the shoulders, and he has strong opinions about waistbands. I ordered his usual size and it worked the way his usual size rarely does. The shirt has room across the back without swimming on him, and the shorts sit where shorts should sit, not halfway down his hips like some of the younger styles. He put it on, looked in the mirror, and said, 'Okay, this is comfortable,' which from Kimo is a five-star review. He wore it around the house for the rest of the afternoon, which is the highest compliment he knows how to give.

The photo itself went better than any photo we have taken in years. The print photographs beautifully, which is the thing nobody tells you about Hawaiian shirts. Some prints go flat and muddy in a camera. This one stayed crisp, and because the shirt and shorts match, his side of the photo looked put together without anyone having to fuss over him. The grandkids did their usual squirming, and our dog Poi wandered into three shots, but Kimo stood there looking like he had planned his outfit, and that alone was worth the order.

He put it on, looked in the mirror, and said, 'Okay, this is comfortable,' which from Kimo is a five-star review.

Six months later, the COOFANDY set has earned its place in the rotation. We have worn it for a birthday luau in the backyard, for a Sunday at church, and for a little trip where I packed it rolled in the carry-on. It came out of the suitcase with wrinkles, but I hung it in the bathroom while we showered and it settled down in about an hour. For a fabric that packs that flat, that is about all you can ask. It has become the outfit he reaches for when he wants to look like he tried, without actually having to try.

Washing has been easy, which matters in this house. I wash everything on cold, gentle cycle, and line dry it on the lanai like I do most of our clothes. The COOFANDY set has been through that routine a good number of times now and the print has not faded or gone dull. The seams have held. The drawstring has stayed put. Nothing has shrunk in a way that matters, which is not something I can say for every matching outfit we have tried over the years. It hangs in the bedroom closet on a plain hanger, ready for the next occasion.

The other thing I like is that it does not demand anything of him. He is not a man who enjoys being dressed. He enjoys being comfortable, and this set lets him be comfortable and still look like he made an effort. That is a hard combination to find in men's vacation clothes. Either the shirt is stiff or the shorts are too short or the colors are loud in a way that does not photograph well. This one just works, and it works without me standing behind him saying, 'Turn around, let me see the back.'

I will be honest about one thing: a matching set is not for every man. If your husband likes to mix his own prints and would rather pick his own shirt, this is not going to change his mind. But for a family photo, a trip, a luau, anywhere you want him to look coordinated without standing over him, it takes the guesswork out. That is the whole job, and it does the job. The fact that it also saved our photo day is just a bonus, though it is the bonus I think about every time I walk past that picture in the hallway.

What I'd Tell You If We Were Sitting at My Kitchen Table

If you are staring at your own closet the way I was staring at Kimo's, wondering how you are going to get everyone coordinated for the next family thing, let me save you the trouble. Buy the set. Buy it in his usual size, wash it on cold, hang it to dry, and do not overthink it. The COOFANDY set is not fancy and it is not trying to be. It is a comfortable, good-looking outfit that makes the person wearing it look like he got dressed on purpose. You get a whole outfit that works together, and you get your photo day back. That is the deal, and that is why ours is still hanging in the closet, ready for the next one.