Paradise in Print: The History of Aloha Wear

1939 Frank Macintosh Luggage Decal

 

Recently, I found this Tahitian his and hers honeymoon set which piqued my interest to learn more about aloha clothing.  I'm not alone in loving the colorful hibiscus, plumeria and bird-of-paradise prints; America has had a love affair with aloha wear since it was introduced in the 1930s.

Native Polynesian clothing was made from tapa cloth (kapa in Hawaiian), a thin cloth produced by pounding the bark of the mulberry tree that was both durable and versatile with several uses from clothing to home furnishings.  Vegetable dyes were used to decorate the cloth with vibrant patterns that would later greatly influence the aloha wear we know today.  Originally, the most common clothing in this tropical climate was a loincloth or malo for men and a pa'u, a skirt-like garment for women.

The arrival of plantations and Protestant missionaries during the early 19th century brought radical dress reform to the natives.  The pa'u gave way to the unfitted, full-length "Mother Hubbard" dress (originally the holoku) which had long sleeves and a high neck.  Well into the 1930s, for men the most common garments became the blue and white checkered denim palaka shirts and sailor-mokus, denim pants worn by the plantation workers.

During the 1920s, Asian tailors started making souvenir shirts for the growing tourist trade.  The Depression brought more immigrant Japanese textile merchants and an industry was born.  There are varying opinions regarding the actual originator of the aloha shirt.  Ellery Chun, while working for his family business King-Smith, received the first trademark for Aloha sportswear July 15, 1936.  However, Koichira Miyamoto, known as Musa-Shiya the Shirtmaker, advertised his aloha shirt in the Honolulu Advertiser June 28, 1935. 

1937

Another pioneer was artist Elsie Das who was commissioned by Watumull's East India Store to create 15 floral designs depicting native plants like hibiscus, breadfruit and cereus as well as a hula girl pattern which were sent to Japan to be printed on silk.  She inadvertently sparked a trend when a Japanese manufacturer mistakenly printed her designs on satin.  It was through Hollywood that aloha wear found it's way into mainstream American fashion when enamored actresses bought the fabric and soon the prints were seen on everything from sportswear to tableware.   

1942

And so began a period that is today referred to as the Golden Age of aloha shirts with a quality never duplicated once mainland mass production and polyester was introduced.  These highly sought after first shirts were hand tailored from silk and cotton; rayon appeared in the late 1940s and 1950s.  Among the most collected are border and engineered shirts which required extra fabric so as not to break the pattern.  Engineered shirts in particular are an optical marvel with a seamless image from side to side and invisibly placed buttons.  

For women, the fitted holoku is perhaps the favorite with it's distinguishing train but as the dress became more formal it's shortened version, the mu'umu'u (meaning "cut-off" for it's lack of a yoke) grew popular for casual wear.  As these dresses fused with Asian and mainland designs, other styles emerged like the fitted pake mu'u with winged sleeves, the holomu; a fitted off-shoulder dress with ruffled collar and the fitted sleeveless tea-timer with a mandarin collar.

Sales soared into the 1940s with the influx of servicemen wanting to take home a reminder of paradise which they continued to wear at home.  This sparked US mainland production by companies like Arrow and Van Heusen.  

Tourism continued to surge with a growing cruise industry and faster planes.  Airlines like United and Pan-American began offering more flights and despite the 23 1/4 hours flight from New York, travelers were lured with colorful ad campaigns during the 1950s like these. 

  

Anton Bruehl

Matson Cruise in particular deserves special mention for it's contribution.  The company was formed in 1882 and it's first Lurline ship was acquired in 1887.  It's primary function was to carry freight from the Pacific Coast to Hawaii but when tourism grew so did the Matson fleet with a second Lurline in 1908.  More passenger ships were bought and luxury liners were added in the late 1920s to early 30s along with it's famous Royal Hawaiian hotel in 1927. 



Matson promoted it's cruises with a strong advertising campaign using well-known photographers such as Edward Steichen and Anton Bruehl.  Matson then hired artists Frank Macintosh, Eugene Savage, John Kelly and Louis Macouillard to design menu covers for the ships and hotel.  The following two examples by Macintosh of the six he designed perfectly illustrate why the menus are today highly sought after for their display of vibrant graphics.

"Luau"

"Fruit Harvest"

Fashion and Hollywood have always gone hand in hand and aloha wear was no exception through the 1950s and beyond.  The Oscar winning film From Here To Eternity in 1954 featuring Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift and Frank Sinatra pushed aloha wear to it's greatest heights.  Hawaii became the 50th state in 1959 and Elvis Presley donned a Shaheen aloha shirt on the album cover for 1961's Blue Hawaii soundtrack.  

Sinatra & Clift

 

One of the most high regarded designers of the 1950s, Alfred Shaheen worked in the family business manufacturing Hawaiian clothing.  In 1948 he began producing men's shirts and fashionable women's resort wear including full-skirted halter dresses, sarongs and swimsuits.  Using the hand printed fabrics he had made in Hawaii rather than imported, his high quality ready-to-wear garments distinguished him from other makers.

Presidents, actors and actresses, entertainers, socialites and sports celebrities were all seen in aloha wear during this time and any hopes of it cooling off were thwarted with groups like the Beach Boys, television shows such as Gilligan's Island and later Hawaii Five-O in the 70s and Fantasy Island in the 80s; the decade that also gave us Tom Selleck as Magnum PI and his iconic shirts.  And who can forget Kramer's shirts in the 90s on Seinfeld?

Magnum PI

Ginger - Gilligan's Island

So what is it about this clothing that has attracted malihinis (tourists) the world over?   Perhaps it's because it's because it's identifiable with the carefree and liberating spirit of the Islands or maybe it's the vibrant images that draw us.  What is certain is America's ongoing love affair with aloha wear will continue throughout the 21st century and forever will we dream of going to Hawaii and Tahiti for a taste of paradise.

Falls Avenue Vintage Fashion

Click here to experience life on a Matson cruise ship in the 1950s.

Main Sources: 

Designs from the Golden Age of Hawaiian Shirts - Gary L. Moss:

http://www.journalofantiques.com/May03/featuremay03.htm

http://www.alohafunwear.com/hawaiian-shirts-history.html

http://www.hawaiihistory.org/

Creating Hawaii Tourism By Robert C. Allen

http://vintagefashionguild.org/label-resource/shaheen-alfred/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muumuu
http://www.matson.com/corporate/about_us/history.html
Ads from http://www.advertisingarchives.co.uk/en/page/show_home_page.html


A few of the aloha shirts currently available at Falls Avenue:

1970s

60s/70s Hukilau

60s/70s Keoni