NAKHON RATCHASIMA — Yellow floral shirts are flying off of the racks in many provinces.
Supposedly apt for both Songkran this weekend and the coronation in May, yellow Hawaiian shirts with yellow star flower patterns are this year’s most popular trend. In Korat city in Nakhon Ratchasima, Supak Sawasdee’s shop on Soi Trok Jan is almost entirely selling yellow shirts.
“This year’s Songkran is near coronation time. That’s why my coworkers and I need to find yellow floral shirts for Songkran, to demonstrate our loyalty to the monarchy,” said Dumri Chalee, 61, who was buying multiple yellow shirts at Supak’s shop.
Thais Gear Up With Yellow Hawaiian Shirts for Both Songkran and the Coronation
These yellow Hawaiian shirts are apt for both Songkran this weekend and the coronation in May. Yellow is King Rama X’s color, while many shirt patterns are of the yellow star tree (ton ruang pheung), which is both his official tree and part of his emblem.Story: https://www.khaosodenglish.com/videos/2019/04/11/coronation-themed-songkran-shirts-at-the-ready/
โพสต์โดย Khaosod English เมื่อ วันพุธที่ 10 เมษายน 2019
Yellow is King Rama X’s color, while the yellow star tree (ton ruang pheung) is both his official tree and part of his emblem.
“Usually we order a lot of colors, but people want yellow because of the coronation. So we had to decrease the stock of the other colors to 15 to 20 percent and make about 80 percent of our stock yellow,” Supak said.
Jintana Ngoksri, 27, a vendor in Surin, said she was having trouble selling her non-yellow shirts.
“They all just want yellow, yellow, yellow,” Jintana said. “People are hesitating more than last year, even with 100 baht shirts. The economy is so bad.”
Shirts cost between 59 baht and 350 baht apiece. Shirts with pineapple patterns and casual versions of traditional Thai costumes – which were an intense fad last year due to a historical rom-com – were selling well this year too, according to vendors.
“Pineapples and Thai patterns are really popular right now,” said Sawaeng Suwadit, president of the Talad Chalong community’s housewife craft group.
Since the beginning of April, the ladies of the Talad Chalong community in Sriracha district, Chonburi have been glued to their sewing machines, churning out sunny lemon shirts for their OTOP brand, OTOP Chalong Niyom.
Although colorful shirts aren’t the most fashionable OTOP, a large percentage of customers are from organizations, such as government sectors, that buy them in bulk for employees.
Sawaeng says pineapple shirts are popular since they are in grown Sriracha district – although they’ve been a ubiquitous fad with a winding origin story since last Songkran.
In Roi Et, husband and wife Songpong Hoinoansoong, 46, and Patcharee Hoinoansoong, 51, say their sales for traditional costumes are on the uptick this year. They have been Songkrang apparel distributors in Isaan for over a decade,
“In Roi Et, people splash water all day and all night. That’s why the adult sizes are all selling out. People like to buy them as souvenirs for their friends and elders at home as well,” Patcharee said.
Related stories:
Peak Pineapple: Fruity Hawaiian Shirts Conquer Thailand
Vendors Cash In Before Traditional Garb Fad Fades
