Comments & Curiosities:

When is a shirt not just a shirt? When it’s the Chairman of the Board’s shirt, that’s when.

Next question: How did a tuxedo shirt that belonged to Frank Sinatra end up in the hands of Newport Beach resident Rick Gorski, without his even knowing what it was? Because life, and garage sales, are complicated, that’s how.

Last fall, Gorski is at a neighbor’s garage sale, doing garage sale-type things — browsing, poking, inspecting, more browsing. He sees a very distinctive tuxedo shirt still inside a dry cleaning bag. Five bucks, out the door, too cheap to pass up, sold.

Shortly thereafter, Gorski notices a tag on the shirt: “Nat Wise of London…Frank Sinatra Feb. 1987.” You could have knocked him over with a feather.

Gorski’s brother, who collects antiques, suggests that he do a little homework on his newly acquired, diagonally pleated and possibly Sinatra-worn shirt. It doesn’t take long to find out that Wise was in fact a fancy-schmancy tailor in Beverly Hills who covered the torsos of a lot of celebrities in poplin. How did Frank Sinatra’s shirt make it from a Beverly Hills tailor to a Newport Beach garage sale? No one knows.

Only afterward did Gorski remember that a handwritten note near the shirt said something about Frank Sinatra but he didn’t pay it much attention. His neighbors, who retired to Oregon to do retirement-type things right after their garage sale, were long gone and he had no way of finding them.

Speaking of retirement, it turns out that Wise retired in 1987, which is when Anto — who went by only one name, which I never get — took over the shop and renamed it “Anto Beverly Hills,” which is now run by Anto’s sons, Ken and Jack Sepetjian, who go by two names, which is better.

To this day, you can see the favorite patterns and collar styles of celebs on display, like Sinatra and fellow Rat Packers Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. and a boatload of others.

The shirt’s provenance also gets a boost when Gorski, assisted by reference librarians at the Newport Beach Public Library, digs up a 1988 photo of Sinatra in concert, wearing a tuxedo shirt with the same distinctive, diagonal pleat pattern as the garage sale find.

Gorski is now hoping there is a Sinatra fan out there somewhere, anywhere, that would do anything, including write a really big check, for one of Ol’ Blue Eyes’ shirts.

What do Frank Sinatra tuxedo shirts go for these days? I have no idea. But you can find some interesting celebrity items on eBay and elsewhere. As you’d expect, you can find an avalanche of Sinatra stuff on eBay — signed, unsigned, cheap, pricey, you name it.

If you want to trade up, there are sites like Conway’s Vintage Treasures, where one of Frank’s lighters is yours for a cool $3,250. Or for an even cooler $4,500, you can be the first one on your block with a program from JFK’s inaugural gala autographed by Sinatra.

But there is a lot more than autographs and lighters to be found in the celebrity collectibles universe, especially if you venture out onto the Strange Spectrum.

There is a site called “Celebrity Archive” where you can buy copies of divorce papers and the last wills and testaments of the rich and famous, although the rich part was often over by the time they became the formerly famous. Copies of divorce documents for Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt go for $20; Jane Fonda and Ted Turner, $10, which is a little cold I think.

Documents for Liz Taylor’s divorce from Larry Fortensky go for $15, but you can read every little legal detail of her divorce from Conrad Hilton for $10. How does that work? Liz’s divorce from a construction worker from Garden Grove is more interesting than her divorce from Conrad Hilton?

Who made up that rule? Probably the same person who decided that a copy of Sonny Bono’s will is worth $20 but you can get Hoagy Carmichael’s for $15. Why bother with the guy who wrote “Stardust,” “Georgia on My Mind” and “The Nearness of You” when you can read about the guy who wrote “I Got You, Babe”? Doesn’t make any sense.

Of course, all of that stuff is child’s play compared with iconic celebrity memorabilia like Dorothy’s ruby slippers in “The Wizard of Oz.” Judy Garland wore at least five pairs in the film, one of which is in the Smithsonian and one of which was stolen and never recovered.

At a Christie’s New York auction on May 24, 2000, a third pair was sold to a private collector for $666,000, which sounds like lot but remember, you get a right and a left shoe for that. By the way, if you want a shot at Frank’s shirt, you can contact Rick Gorski at [email protected].

I think that’s it — a sale, a shirt and Sinatra. Will Rick Gorski sell his shirt? Will he get the price he wants? Will his neighbors ever come back? Only time will tell. Until then, slip in a Sinatra CD, open a nice Cabernet, it’s all good. Doobie doobie do. I gotta go.

PETER BUFFA is a former Costa Mesa mayor. His column runs Sundays. He may be reached at [email protected] .