Dallas teacher Dale Irby and his disco-style wardrobe are rocking the Internet.

For 40 years, the recently retired Texas school teacher has worn the same outfit in every school picture: a groovy polyester shirt and toffee-coloured V-neck wool sweater vest.

“Hilarious,” was a word often repeated on Twitter as his story went viral. “Can’t stop smiling,” said another. One person referred to him as “awesome.”

“I didn’t think it would go wild that quickly,” Irby told the Star from his home in suburban Garland. “That was stylish back then.”

Irby retired this year as a gym teacher at Prestonwood Elementary School, along with his wife, Cathy, whom he met when they were first-year teachers in Dallas back in 1973.

The 63-year-old Irby has dressed the same way for every school photo since that year, and the images of him in those treasured garments have shot around the world on the Internet and on YouTube.

Just like some people eat only Cheerios for breakfast every day, others won’t try any other ice cream except vanilla.

Irby also liked his routines. His alarm clock roused him at exactly 4:50 a.m. each morning, and he would make sure some of the special-needs kids at his school caught their bus. He would then drive to work.

He was also never comfortable without his watch: as a teacher, schedules are important. In retirement, however, he doesn’t wear his watch.

“For me, routine is important,” he said.

Colleagues always knew it was October (that’s when the school pictures are taken) when he slipped on the same shirt and vest.

“I only took them out and wore them for about two minutes a year,” he said.

Looking back at the photos, which were bound loosely inside his dresser drawer, Irby noticed more than the clothes.

“You can see how my glasses have changed and my hair has gotten grayer,” he said. “I’m older.”

The tradition began as a big mistake that his wife, Cathy, turned into a running gag.

Irby didn’t have much of a wardrobe in the ’70s. As a gym teacher, he got to wear coaching shorts most of the day.

In 1975, Irby was embarrassed to discover he had unwittingly worn the same shirt and wool vest he had worn the year before. His wife made him a dare: do it a third year in a row.

Then Irby thought five would be funny. Then five turned into 40.

What happens to the famous shirt and sweater vest now? The shirt’s colour has faded and the sweater has some holes.

Irby says they, too, will be retired — to the back of his closet.

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