Known to be natty, he'll help design his own shirt

Steve Carl, best known as owner of the popular event space Carlyle on the Green at Bethpage State Park, now has another distinction: He is the Imelda Marcos of shirts.

Marcos, widow of 10th Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, once owned some 3,000 pairs of shoes. Carl says he has 1,700 shirts. Of the total, 127 were made by designer Robert Graham, whose dress shirts sell for $250 to $500 apiece.

So now Carl gets a reward.

Anyone who has purchased 100 or more Graham shirts can get his name embroidered on a Graham-designed shirt. The lucky shirt owner gets to help design the shirt, which will be sold in a limited edition at Neiman Marcus, Saks and other high-end retail stores.

Carl was informed recently he qualifies for membership in the Robert Graham Collector's Club. He will be the club's 55th member worldwide. He will get his Steve Carl shirt next year and estimates 1,500 to 2,000 of them will be on retailers' shelves, selling for $300 to $500 each.

"I pride myself on having a different look each time I go out in public," said Carl. "I'm known for my shirts." He is usually attired in a colorful shirt, sometimes tropical, sometimes not. In his business -- events, food and entertainment -- looking natty is necessary.

The shirts, which will be sold at stores around the world, may hop off shelves on Long Island, where Carl is known, but how about elsewhere in the country, or overseas?

His reply: "Let's hope there's a lot of them" in local stores.