As a former lawmaker on the Kauai County Council and state Senate, Gary Hooser has been an advocate for LGBT rights, shoreline access, renewable energy, affordable housing and other causes.

If you ask him about the “mana” moment of his career, he can tell you exactly what shirt he was wearing at the time.

“It’s a warrior-print shirt by designer Sig Zane. I wore it when I spoke in Switzerland at what I believe to be my best moment professionally,” he said. “I was addressing a thousand shareholders on the board of Syngenta, one of the world’s largest chemical companies that has ongoing business on Kauai. It was intimidating and I was opposing them, but I gave the best speech of my life. And I was wearing my warrior shirt from a Hawaii designer.

“That shirt is embedded with mana.”

The 1970s and 1980s, Hooser recalled, were the days of shorts, “slippahs” and “silkie” aloha shirts. Once politics became his mainstay, he adopted what he now calls his “uniform”: navy-blue slacks, aloha shirts by Reyn Spooner or Sig Zane and loafers.

FAVORITE LOCAL DESIGNERS

“Reyn Spooner has long been the staple for the professional when it comes to menswear. Then Sig Zane came along and added a different angle. Zane’s shirts are also high quality and offer a different set of prints. I buy a lot of my Sig Zane shirts online or I will call the store. They often have pieces in the store that aren’t listed online. Sometimes they will call me when they have new long-sleeved shirts in because they know I like them. I’ve taken to the long sleeves these days. They are more formal.”

DOWNTIME DRESSING

“I walk every morning with my wife. My son gave me a pair of (New Balance) sneakers with florescent orange hues. I wear them every day when we go for our walk with our dog, Max. The other day on our walk, we found a pair of sunglasses and we can’t find the owner. So those are now my new shades. They are Prada.”

RETAIL STRATEGY

“When I buy my aloha shirts, I splurge. But when it comes to slacks and jeans, I can find great items at stores like Ross.”

MUST-HAVE ACCESSORY

“My plain gold wedding band.“

FAVORITE “MESSAGE” SHIRT

“I work with an organization called HAPA, which stands for Hawaii Alliance for Progressive Action. It’s a statewide organization involved with policy and advocacy. I have a HAPA T-shirt that I love.”

CASUAL ATTIRE

“I still pretty much wear the ‘uniform.’ The only change is that I will switch from slacks to jeans.”

“Island Lookbook” is a weekly feature of the Star-Advertiser Sunday Magazine that spotlights local trendsetters. Email features@staradvertiser.com.