An ‘Office’ mystery: One man’s search for Dwight Schrute’s shirt

Filmmaker Luke Menard, a Harrison and Purdue grad, turns his search for the origin story of wardrobe from the set of ‘The Office’ into a potboiler and a plea. Texting 911 to ‘The Office Ladies’

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AN ‘OFFICE’ MYSTERY: ONE MAN’S SEARCH FOR DWIGHT SCHRUTE’S SHIRT

This all starts with what we’re led to believe was a show-worn shirt and tie of Dwight Schrute’s from an episode of “The Office.”

But is it, really?

Luke Menard, a Lafayette native and now a filmmaker in Indianapolis, needs to know.

Filmmaker Luke Menard. (Photo: Luke Menard)

Menard, a Harrison High School and Purdue grad, this week released a 15-minute short, “The Dwight Mystery,” detailing in mockumentary form his search for the origin story of a brown shirt and striped tie he picked up in an online auction after the NBC show ended nearly a decade ago.

With scenes shot in the parking lot of the Staples at Lafayette Market Place and his boyhood home near Battle Ground, the piece documents, more or less, his search through 201 episodes – plus outtakes – for clues.

Littered with references and recreated scenes from the series – including an appearance by Andy Buckley, who sets the mood by recreating a scene his character, David Wallace, played in Season 5 (Episode 8: “Frame Toby”) – Menard and friends try to unravel the nagging secret: What episode did actor Rainn Wilson wear the shirt Menard won at auction?

It’s no “Threat Level Midnight.” Then again, what is?

Instead, it plays as an open plea to “The Office Ladies,” a podcast hosted by actresses Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, to help fill in the backstory.

(Photo: Luke Menard)

Here’s where things stand.