Uncle Sam has nothing on him.
A 74-year-old retiree named Owen Loof has garnered local fame for being the “Best Dressed Man in Rockaway” with his array of festive garb.
For July 4, he’s going all out with a suit that features red and white stripes on one side and white stars against a blue background on the other.
“I have a different suit for every holiday,” Loof, who grew up in Rockaway Park, told The Post. He plans to spend the Fourth parading about the boardwalk in the patriotic $70 Suitmeister ensemble, posing for pictures with tourists and hitting his favorite Irish beach bar, Connelly’s.
Loof, a Vietnam War veteran who worked for the New York City Transit Authority for 27 years, began sporting the snazzy looks in 2018, two years after his wife, Peggy, died of breast cancer.
He had started performing standup comedy, and a friend flagged a turquoise suit with a pink flamingo and palm tree print at a Long Island Kohl’s for him to wear onstage. At the time, he was doing a Myron Cohen-esque bit with jokes about aging.
“It was the only one on the rack and it fit me perfectly,” Loof said of the suit.
After the pandemic, he went all in on expanding his wardrobe.
He invested $3,000 in 25 suits and dozens of bedazzled blazers to wear for special occasions and comedy performances.
“I don’t wear them to Stop & Shop or anything,” said Loof, who typically sources his duds at Imperial Exclusive Italian Clothing on Flatbush Avenue or Spirit Halloween pop-up shops.
Those looking to catch his looks have the best chance of seeing Loof on the boardwalk around 97th Street or at 96th Street’s Amphitheater – where he recently played Theseus in a “Midsummer Night’s Dream” production of “Shakespeare on The Beach.”
He’s always happy to stop for a photo.
“I’ll be walking around and people will say, ‘Oh we have to take a picture with you!’ I never get tired of it. I love getting my picture taken. It’s all about giving people a smile and making people happy,” Loof said.
Last month, he wore a hot pink, rhinestone-studded blazer paired with a black-and-gold sequined hat at the “A Roast of Rockaway” comedy show at Connolly’s Bar.
The bar holds a special place in his heart: He meet Peggy there in 1970. He was a combat medic back from Vietnam, she was dating a guy in the Navy.
“I did steal Peggy from another guy,” Loof quipped. “We talked that night and I walked her home. She denies this, but she did give me a kiss.”
They married 10 months later on July 3, 1971, at the St. Camillus-St. Virgilius Church in Rockaway.
Though he’s a man of many looks, the flamingo suit remains his favorite,.
“It was the first one I bought, and the one that started the whole process,” said Loof. “Without [it], I wouldn’t have created the best dressed man act.”
Two years ago, he published a book — “The Best Dressed Man in Rockaway: The Brooklyn Prep Years” — that chronicled his coming-of-age as a shy introvert who eventually became a class clown … and, ultimately, a reliably bright spot on the boardwalk.
He said, “It’s all about spreading joy – and making people smile.”
