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.