Seinfeld's Puffy Shirt Episode Was A Nightmare For One Crew Member

On the "Seinfeld" episode "The Puffy Shirt" (September 23, 1993), Kramer (Michael Richards) begins dating an ambitious fashion designer named Leslie (Wendel Meldrum) who, by his own description, is a "low-talker." That is, she typically speaks at a very low volume. Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) has a conversation with Kramer Leslie over lunch, where he tells them about an upcoming high-profile TV appearance he is to make. It's "The Today Show." Leslie responds, but Jerry can't make out what she's saying in the crowded restaurant, so he merely nods politely. The next day, Kramer reveals that, in nodding, Jerry has agreed to wear a shirt that Leslie designed, specifically for his "Today Show" appearance.

The shirt is described as "puffy," as it has billowy sleeves and cravat-like appendages down its chest. It looks like something Lord Byron might wear. It's aristocratic, old-fashioned, and out-of-place. Jerry tries it on and is instantly embarrassed. He did unwittingly promise Leslie that he would wear it, however, so he is committed. Naturally, when Jerry meets Bryant Gumbel on the air, the host immediately mocks the shirt. Jerry, trying to get into the spirit of things, and clearly hating the shirt, also begins mocking it. The on-air mockery enrages Leslie, and she finally raises her voice to Jerry, cracking out a choice insult in his honor. Everyone is shamed, no one learns anything, and they all lose. So goes the world of "Seinfeld."

"The Puffy Shirt" is one of the most famous episodes of "Seinfeld," and the shirt itself, designed by Charmaine Simmons, is now on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. As was revealed on the special features on the "Seinfeld" DVDs, designing the shirt was a bear of a task, as no shirt was as "puffy" as show creator Larry David demanded. Simmons ended up having to "enhance" the shirt with wires to make it "puffier."

Simmons was interviewed about the shirt, and she remembered the process: 

"Larry said we kind of wanted it to look like a pirate shirt. I thought [skeptical] 'Okay.' So I went out and went around to all these reel houses and got some of these ... like Errol Flynn shirts, I call them. From Warner Bros. And I brought all these shirts in, and they said 'We like this collar, and we like this ruffle.' [...] I kind of thought we would be changing the sleeve, because it was really kind of goofy. But nuh-uh. It flew."

On the same DVD special features, Seinfeld himself noted that the shirt wasn't puffy enough, and cited Simmons' use of wires to make it stick out from his body further. One can imagine the short was terribly uncomfortable. If a viewer looks closely, they can see the wired rings around Seinfeld's arms under his shirt. It's comedic, and yet weirdly stylish. It simply looks out of place on Jerry's body because the character is a neurotic urban character, unused to ostentatious clothing or Byronic opulence. 

"The Puffy Shirt" ends with a defense of the titular garment, however. The mockery of the shirt ruins Leslie's design career, and all the puffy shirts she manufactured were donated to the Goodwill. The final scene of the episode shows that many impoverished locals and homeless people have purchased the shirts and are wearing them openly. The poor now look aristocratic, reclaiming the fashion choices of the late 18th-century bourgeoisie. Jerry, in seeing the shirt out in public, finds that it is not objectionable after all. The episode may resonate because there is a distant commentary on class underneath everything. And it all comes through because of the design of the shirt.