Comedian Paul Ego is auctioning off 20 of his famously bright floral shirts as seen on 7 Days for a good cause.
With a new season of the comedy game show set to begin shortly and several hundred episodes already filmed, Ego declared his wardrobe is at bursting point, and has put last year's trademark floral 'blouses' up for sale on TradeMe.
Ego told Newshub his wife Janine came up with the idea, with the proceeds from the auction going to children's charity Variety to help kids in need.
"Over 300 7 Days episodes equates to a tonne of shirts! And since I am now roughly a tonne heavier than I was when we started 7 Days, it was time to say goodbye to some of the shirts that are a bit tight," Ego explained.
"I’m very aware of just how lucky my own kids are, so a few years ago I got involved with Variety’s Kiwi Kid Sponsorship Programme," he added.
"Every month I send a donation off to help out the family of a child who can’t always have the basics we take for granted. Currently, I’m helping out a cool dude called Ocean, who tells me he wants to be an artist when he grows up.
"Who knows, maybe one day he’ll design my 7 Days shirts!"
The winner of the auction will also score four front row tickets to be in the live studio audience for the first 7 Days show of 2021.
Meanwhile, Ego's co-hosts Jeremy Corbett and Dai Henwood are throwing their support behind his wardrobe clearout.
"Paul draws all his power from colourful shirts. He's nothing without them," Corbett told Newshub.
"Securing one is like getting a lock of Samson's hair."
Henwood warned bidder that Ego is a very tall man, but if the shirts don't fit, they'd still make a useful sail for any future America's Cup challengers.
"One of Paul’s shirts once fell off a rack and onto me. It took six and a half days to get out. It was the best week of my life," he said.
The TradeMe listing description reassures bidders that each of the shirts has been washed and dry cleaned, "so you will only look like Paul Ego rather than smell like Paul Ego".
The auction has a $1 reserve, and will run until Tuesday April 9 at 10am.
The new season of 7 Days will premiere on Three at 8.30pm on April 8.
