The controversial novelty Hawaiian shirt worn by British scientist Dr. Matt Taylor which ‘broke the internet’ after a furious ‘shirtstorm’ whipped up by enraged feminists has proven surprisingly popular, selling out on American shirt supplier Alohaland.com.
Although Dr. Taylor’s favourite shirt was a hand-made custom given to him by a close friend as a birthday present, a virtually identical shirt made to a similar cut and with the same fabric has long been available online. The shirt, originally referred to by the fabric pattern name ‘New Gunner Girls’ but now refereed to on the website as the ‘Matt Taylor Astronaut’, has been the subject of a rush of orders that has overwhelmed the American manufacturer.
The company has posted an apology for customers not receiving their orders, remarking the entire stock of fabric had been depleted and was now being reprinted, a process that would take a minimum of eight weeks. Over 400 orders had been placed for the shirts at the time of the statement, which is available in styles for women, men, and children.
Thanking customers for their patience, the owner regretted not being able to respond to all the emails and questions she had received, remarking there were “hundreds” to get through.
The gunner girls shirt came to international prominence as the European Space Agency celebrated the successful deployment of the Philae lander on comet 67/P, the first time a spacecraft has touched down on in this way. The image of Dr. Matt Taylor celebrating the culmination of a ten-year space flight while dressed in his informal beachwear was beamed around the world, much to the anger of some.
After persistent abuse from the Twittersphere, Dr. Taylor cracked and was filmed breaking down in tears during a subsequent press conference, perhaps a sad end for what could have been a glorious chapter in the technological progress of man.
Although gunner girls is out of stock in America, there are options remaining for casual-dressing contrarians. Still available for purchase are the excitingly patterned, Barbarella-inspired ‘Galactic Gals’ shirt, and ‘Risky Business’, decorated with scantily dressed young ladies on motorcycles. Alternatively, Essex-based Elly Prizeman, the lady designer who made Dr. Taylor’s custom shirt is now considering putting the shirt into production herself – perfect for budding astronauts.
Hi Beautiful people! Am looking into how I make more shirts. Thanks for all your emails & support. I will reply to all emails tomorrow. x
— Elly PriZeMaN (@ellypriZeMaN) November 18, 2014