‘Seinfeld’: 25 Years Later and Puffy Shirts Are Still Not in Style

Seinfeld’s responsible for inextricably tying a whole lotta artifacts to classic TV episodes. A Pez dispenser, a beltless trench coat, a black and white cookie–on my first visit to New York City, I spent the week taking photos of all the Seinfeld tchotchkes I came across. There’s one item, however, I never saw and have still never seen in a store: a puffy shirt.

When “The Puffy Shirt” episode of Seinfeld aired 25 years ago today on September 23, 1993, it was hilariously touted as the look of the ’90s. Kramer’s low-talking fashion designer girlfriend Leslie was convinced that her design, a very literal interpretation of puffed-up pirate garb, would have every man wanting to look like a 20th century Blackbeard. Throw on some black jeans and a puffy shirt and you’re good to go.

In the episode, written by Larry David and directed by Tom Cherones, Jerry unknowingly agrees to wear this fashion-forward-adjacent shirt during a Today Show appearance, which he’s doing to promote a fundraiser for Goodwill. Jerry’s oblivious because Kramer’s girlfriend talks at a pitch only dogs can hear (which I guess would make her a high talker, but that’s a whole other thing in the Seinfeld-verse). Jerry doesn’t realize his pirate fate until Kramer shows up with a puffy garment bag.

This, of course, leads to quite possibly Jerry’s funniest line delivery in all of Seinfeld. After finding out what he agreed to and trying to wriggle his way out of it, he finally delivers a panicked whine/plea to Kramer that, even if you only saw this episode once 25 years ago, has definitely stuck with you:

Jerry has to go through with it, though, because orders are rolling in for the puffy shirt now that Leslie’s told people her historical look is gonna be on TV. There’s even a factory in Jersey churning out puffy shirts! Jerry has to go through with it, and he wears the shirt on national television.

Host Bryant Gumbel can’t let it go, though, gently ribbing Jerry about his “puffed-up” look until Jerry breaks and rants about how embarrassed he is. Leslie screams “You bastard!” from off-camera (“That I heard.”)

The episode was watched by 29.5 million viewers, which was about average for Seinfeld Season 5. “The Puffy Shirt” also scored David an Emmy nomination for writing; he lost to the Frasier pilot, which also just turned 25. But you know what? Nothing from the Frasier pilot was ever on display at the National Museum of American History like the puffy shirt was!

There’s one major reason why the puffy shirt is still just as funny today as it was 25 years ago: Leslie was absolutely horrible at predicting fashion trends. The puffy shirt did not come into fashion, it was never the style, and it still isn’t the style. If “The Puffy Shirt” had instead been about, I dunno, harem pants or bell bottoms or shoulder pads, the episode would be totally dated as all of those drift in and out of fashion. But a puffy shirt? No one in 25 years has even attempted to make a puffy shirt work! Maybe you see a man in a peasant shirt every now and then, paired with a man bun and yoga mat, but a peasant shirt is nowhere near as ostentatious and preposterous as a puffy shirt.

But Leslie wasn’t totally wrong, because pirates would totally make a come back a decade later. Remember the pirate craze that surrounded the release of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl back in 2003? No one took fashion tips from Jack Sparrow, but they turned out in droves to see that movie and most of its sequels. But also, you can’t count wearing a puffy shirt among many of Johnny Depp’s crimes, because Jack Sparrow wasn’t even brave enough to rock the ruffles.

Who knows? Maybe the 25th anniversary of “The Puffy Shirt” will finally inspire some menswear designer to really go overboard and give men a frillier frock. Me? I still think that Bob Newhart is way more of a style icon than Jerry and that puffy shirt.

Stream Seinfeld Season 5 Episode 2 "The Puffy Shirt" on Hulu