The last time Ann Ruby wore the shirt, people told her to take it off and put it somewhere safe, and while she was at it, to wrap it in plastic for good measure.

Otherwise, she would definitely wear it to the "Hawaii Five-0" Sunset on the Beach premiere tomorrow night.

Several years ago, Ruby, who is retired from the Pearl Harbor Naval Supply Center and is on the Downtown Neighborhood Board, found a crew shirt from the original "Hawaii Five-0" in a secondhand store in Haleiwa. "Since one of my hobbies is collecting crew T-shirts from Hawaii film/TV productions, this shirt really caught my eye."

She almost didn’t buy it because it was a button-down rather than a T-shirt, so didn’t quite fit her collection. She also thought it might be a knockoff. But the price was right — $4.99 plus tax — so she bought it.

In 1999, there was a 30-year reunion party for the show. The event was held at the former "Hawaii Five-0" film studio at Diamond Head. Guest stars and crew members from the iconic Hawaii cop drama were in attendance. Ruby bought a ticket and went to the party wearing the shirt. Several of the crew members from the original show told her the shirt was indeed authentic and that it was given out for the pilot of "Hawaii Five-O in 1968" … and that she probably shouldn’t be wearing it since it was a true collectors’ item.

Not to worry. The shirt survived the party and is well-preserved.

"No holes or rips," Ruby said. "A bit yellowed with age, and one button is broken. But otherwise in good shape." The front is plain with two pockets. On the back, in blue letters, it says, "Hawaii Five-0 A CBS-Leonard Freeman Production."

Ruby’s collection of crew shirts includes "Jake and the Fatman," "Waterworld," "Raven," "Byrds of Paradise," "Lost," even the recent production of "The Descendants," most of which she got directly from crew members.

"When you learn how to approach a film crew, and show them you do not have a camera and you are not snooping on their filming site, they are usually willing to sell you a shirt," Ruby said. "I wear them, do a bit of advertising for their production, and sometimes get them for presents for mainland folks."

She also has a buddy who is a Screen Actors Guild extra who contributes to the collection.

She doesn’t have one from the new "Five-0," though. At least not yet. "I find that to get them, I have to be in the right place at the right time and speak to the right person and hope he is in the right frame of mind to sell me one."