Flag daze

How to be patriotic and pimpin'

by Camille Dodero

ROCK ON AMERICAN DUDE: clockwise from left, patriotic tank top ($22) and shorts ($16), from Urban Outfitters; American flag ($6.50) and Marine Coprs bandanna ($2), from Army Barracks; and Fuct hand T-shirt ($22), from Allston Beat.

As a fashion statement, red, white, and blue isn't the new black. Even on the Fourth of July our national colors aren't especially chic -- too much like wearing your heart on your sleeve, or dressing up like Captain America. Unless it's swashed on Pats jerseys or baseball caps, this color combination is often considered too cheesy to be cool.

Precisely for the kitsch -- red, white, and blue's unabashed rah-rah -- it's been reclaimed. This year is a big one for patriotism: within the next five months we'll see the first Independence Day of the 2000s, the summer Olympics, and a presidential election. Not surprisingly, clothing stores are trying to capitalize. Old Navy has released a "special collectors' edition" of gray, navy, and white flag T-shirts, each available for $5. Surfing store Quiksilver has integrated red, white, and blue into the floral pattern of its polyester boardshorts ($44). Even Jasmine is selling a nylon dress with blue and white horizontal stripes and a red interior ($114).

You didn't hear it from us, but another possible factor in the Star-Spangled Banner's resurgence might be Kid Rock -- the Detroit rap/rocker who has appointed himself both "American Bad Ass" and "Pimp of the Nation." Eight times platinum, Kid Rock employs the grand old flag as the cornerstone of his shtick. Which may explain why a clothing line called Fuct has put out a navy-blue T-shirt bearing an American flag in the shape of a fist with its pinkie and forefinger extended -- a gesture Bill and Ted long ago defined as "the sign of the Devil, dude" ($22, available at Allston Beat). Or why American nationalism has infiltrated a hip clothing store like Urban Outfitters, which carries a white tank top with sparkly red and blue vertical stripes ($22), matching ruffled shorts ($16), and a red leather belt with stenciled stars ($14).

As the two-by-three-foot American flags ($6.50) and the Marine Corps bandannas ($2) on sale at the Army Barracks might suggest, maybe this patriotic surge speaks to a renewed sense of manifest destiny. But we think it's Kid Rock.

Retail sources mentioned in this article:

* Quiksilver, 326 Newbury Street, Boston, (617) 859-0874.
* Allston Beat, 348 Newbury Street, Boston, (617) 421-9555.
* Jasmine Sola, 329 Newbury Street, Boston, (617) 437-8465.
* Urban Outfitters, 11 JFK Street, Cambridge, (617) 864-0070.
* Army Barracks, 328 Newbury Street, Boston, (617) 437-1657.
* Old Navy, South Bay Center, 8 Allstate Road, Boston, (617) 989-9950.