Apr 25, 20213 min read

Aloha Shirts and Their Asian Roots

With 90's and 00's fashion making a big comeback, there are a few trends that I'm not sure I can get on board with. One of these trend being Hawaiian shirts. When someone mentions Hawaiian print I immediately think of the typical kitschy touristy button up bowling shirts. Maybe there's some deep navy's and sharp blues creating the silhouette of palm trees against a sunset, or bold orange hibiscus flowers on a pink tank top. The prints give me an immediate feeling of nostalgia, and this made me wonder, just how far back do these prints go?

Originally called the Aloha shirt, Hawaiian shirts actually have Asian roots! While the origins and credit of the Aloha shirt is disputed, one of the first Aloha shirts can be traced to the 1920's. A University of Hawaii student named Gordon Young, asked his mother to tailor a shirt for him out of colourful cotton Yukata cloth traditionally used by Japanese women for unlined working kimonos. When he went to University his peers loved the patterned, casual shirt! Though Gordon Young and his mother were the first to create a shirt such as this, they did look to profit off of their new creation.

It's believed a Honolulu-based dry goods store "Musa-Shiya the Shirtmaker' was the first to produce Aloha shirts for purchase. Koichiro Miyamoto, also known as Musa-Shiya The Shirtmaker, first offered these shirts as a made-to-order item using printed Yukata fabrics. He then went on to carry these shirts in his store at all times, advertising them as Aloha shirts. He even went on to make custom shirts for Shirley Temple!

Koichiro Miyamoto I Musa-Shiya The Shirtmaker Tag I Shirley Temple in her Musa-Shiya Shirt

Some stories contradict Musa-Shiya's credit, by claiming the Aloha shirt was first produced in the 1930's by a Chinese merchant Ellery Chun of "King-Smith Clothiers and Dry Goods" in Waikiki. Ellery Chun went on to register the trademarks 'Aloha Sportswear' and "Aloha shirt" in 1936 and 1937. Regardless of who initially created the Aloha / Hawaiian shirt, within years they were being mass produced in an industry worth approximately $600,000 annually!

Due to the original Aloha shirts being made from printed Yukata material, you may be wondering why we do not see as many Japanese patterned shirts as we do Hawaiian print. Well, this is due in part to World War II and the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbour. After Japanese forces bombed Hawaii, the Hawaiian garment industry turned their focus on supporting the war efforts. Once production resumed after the war, Japanese textiles temporarily fell out of style. The garment industry pivoted and began to create new prints, highlighting Hawaiis local culture! These prints included the hibiscus flowers and serene beach scenes that are so familiar to us today.

Although some of these shirts - boasting floral patterns and vibrant colors - could be seen as more feminine, many soldiers returning home from service in Hawaii brought Aloha shirts along with them where their popularity continued to grow! Hawaii was still considered an expensive vacation destination after the war, only accessible to the rich and famous. Aloha shirts gained popularity with help from wealthy celebrities such as Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley and even President Nixon! These shirts became a sought after wardrobe item, now more easily accessible than ever. You didn't need to go to Hawaii anymore as manufacturers began to produce their own Aloha shirts on the mainland!

Elvis Presley I Bing Crosby I President Nixon

The Aloha shirts even spread the laidback energy of Hawaii throughout the world with Aloha Friday, now known as Casual Fridays! In 1966 Aloha Fridays were announced in Hawaii, allowing workers to wear Aloha shirts as casual wear on the last day of the week. The trend of casual dressing on Fridays spread to California and across the world where the practice was adopted as Casual Friday! Now in Hawaii, Aloha shirts are seen as casual and business attire, with aloha shirts being worn everyday of the week. Aloha Friday is now seen as an opportunity to get excited for the weekend, so next time you feel like celebrating TGIF, celebrate Aloha Friday!

Aloha shirts and Hawaiian print is a trend that has never gone out of style in Hawaii and some coasts, but we're definitely seeing a resurgence of the 'tacky' and nostalgic prints in modern fashion. Brands such as Gucci and Alexander Wang have began producing their own Aloha shirts and hibiscus flowers have been popping up on all sorts of garments. While we enjoy these new twists on the Aloha shirt and Hawaiian print, let's appreciate the history of these Japanese, Chinese, and Hawaiian prints and garments have survived almost one hundred years of popularity!