APEC Silly Shirts Through the Years (Photos)

This year world leaders at the APEC Summit in Honolulu gathered for the group photo without funny shirts for the first time since 1993. When asked why the politicians were not wearing the expected Hawaiian shirts, President Obama said, “We are ending that tradition.” See photos of APEC representatives wearing local outfits through the years.

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President Clinton and other world leaders dressed in traditional Indonesian batik while meeting in Bogor, Indonesia, Nov. 15, 1994.

Koji Sasahara / AP Photo

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Clinton and Pacific Rim leaders wore barong tagalong—white tieless shirts—as they waved outside the APEC meeting headquarters in Subic Bay, Philippines, Nov. 25, 1996.

David Longstreath / AP Photo

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Leaders pose outside the Great Hall of the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver, Nov. 25, 1997.

Timothy Clary, AFP / Getty Images

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Vice President Al Gore and Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai wear batik shirts at the APEC leaders retreat at Cyberjaya, Malaysia, Nov. 18, 1998.

Itsuo Inouye / AP Photo

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Leaders wear black shirts for the group photo in Auckland, New Zealand, Sept. 13, 1999.

Luke Frazza / AP Photo

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Russia’s Vladimir Putin (left), Singapore’s Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong (center), and Taiwan’s representative Perng Fai-nan, in Begawan, Brunei, Nov. 16, 2000.

Vincent Thian / AP Photo

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President George W. Bush and Chinese President Jiang Zemin in Shanghai, Oct. 21, 2001.

Joe Marquette / AP Photo

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Representatives of APEC’s 21 nations in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Oct. 27, 2002.

Spencer Platt / Getty Images

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President Bush poses with other leaders during the APEC meeting at Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall in Bangkok, Oct. 21, 2003.

Kimimasa Mamaya / AP Photo

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President Bush, Thailand’s Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and Russian President Vladimir Putin wear Chilean ponchos at La Moneda Palace in Santiago, Nov. 21, 2004.

Itsuo Inouye / AP Photo

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APEC representatives wear durumaki—traditional Korean overcoats—at the Nurimaru APEC House in Busan, Republic of Korea, Nov. 19, 2005.

AFP / Getty Images

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World leaders wear Vietnamese ao dai silk tunics in Hanoi, Vietnam, Nov. 19, 2006.

Hoang Dinh Nam, AFP / Getty Images

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Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, and President George W. Bush chat at the Sydney Opera House, Sept. 8, 2007.

Jewel Samad, AFP / Getty Images

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APEC leaders in Lima, Peru, Nov. 23, 2008.

Alexander Nemenov, AFP / Getty Images