The History of Hawaiian Shirts
In the late 1800's plantation workers in
Hawaii wore a shirt called the palaka shirt.
This shirt was short sleeved with bright
geometric patterns. The palaka shirt was a
straight bottom shirt that was not intended to
be tucked inside the pants, thereby making for a
more comfortable fit.
The style of this shirt was transformed into
what is known today as the Hawaiian shirt.
In 1931 a Yale graduate by the name of Ellery J.
Chun designed the first colorful shirt with a
Hawaiian floral print. He named this shirt the
Aloha shirt (which is more commonly known today
as the Hawaiian shirt). He later registered his
trademark Aloha shirt in 1936 and mass produced
it from his family's dry goods business in
Honolulu. It is believed that Mr. Chun got the
idea for his colorful Hawaiian shirt from tops
worn by Japanese girls. Prior to the design of
Mr. Chun's Aloha shirt, the clothing in Hawaii
was quite drab. Since the advent of Mr. Chun's
design, clothing styles in Hawaii have never
been the same.
During the 1930's a business that produced
shirts from Japanese Kimono fabrics eventually
evolved into a fabric store that carried fabrics
with colorful prints. These colorful prints
became Hawaiian in nature, as Chun purchased
some of the fabrics for his Aloha shirts. The
original shirts had designs of palm trees, hula
girls and pineapples. They later developed into
bright colorful floral patterns as well. These
short-sleeved, casual shirts made for very
casual, comfortable apparel.
In the 1930's when the Hawaiian shirts began to
become synonymous with Hawaii, wealthy tourists
and Hollywood celebrities began buying them
while they were vacationing in Hawaii and
started wearing them back home in the United
State. (Hawaii did not become a part of the
United States until 1959 when it officially
became its 50th state.)
Mr. Chun began increasing his line of Hawaiian
shirts in the 1930's and capitalized on the
tourist trade of the islands. By the 1950's when
Hawaii was about to become a state, the Hawaiian
shirt become even more popular. When Hawaii
became a state in 1959, it received much
attention, and of course, even more tourists. At
that time, the Hawaiian shirt received more
exposure, even among the movie and TV industry.
Today Hawaiian shirts are the number one export
to the mainland United States.
Links:
Home,
Articles,
Product guide,
Resources,
Site Map,
Clothing,
Vintage Clothes,
Work clothes,
Clothes & jewelry,
Recreation |
.