History of the Hawaiian Shirt

During 1916, Hawaiian records outsold all other genres. During the Great Depression, Americans added another piece of Hawaiian culture: the aloha shirt. The aloha shirt first appeared in Hawaii in the 1920s or ’30s, probably when local Japanese women adapted kimono fabric for use in men’s shirting. The shirts achieved some popularity among tourists to Hawaii and found greater commercial success when they hit the mainland.

After Pearl Harbor service members returning to the mainland from the Pacific made the signature apparel more popular than ever. In the past five years, fashion magazines have been heralding a comeback, and high-end labels like Gucci are taking the aloha shirt to new heights, with prints that draw on Japanese designs favored in the garment’s early days. Meanwhile, some shirt makers from Hawaii’s old guard are still going strong.