The Hawaiian shirt (more commonly referred to as an "Aloha shirt" in Hawaii) is an international symbol of Hawaii that has come to be recognized around the world. What began as a simple floral print shirt has taken on a life of its own, evolving over the decades to what we recognize today as the Hawaiian shirt. From its humble beginnings in the 1930s, Hawaiian shirt trends have evolved just like other fashion trends. There are several types of Hawaiian shirts as well as other Hawaiian clothing. Here are some interesting facts you might not know about the history of Aloha shirts from Aloha FunWear.
Before the arrival of woven fabrics from China, Japan and the West, native Hawaiians created their clothing from native plants and trees. Men wore a malo, or loin cloth, made of tapa cloth, which was fabricated from the inner bark of wauke trees. As you can imagine, that type of material had a much different look and feel than the rayon or cotton that modern Hawaiian shirts are usually made of. Traditional Hawaiian women wore a skirt called a pa`u, which looked like a hula skirt. We still see representations of this type of skirt today in novelty stores or at Hawaiian luaus.
THE "FIRST" ALOHA SHIRT
The term "Aloha shirt" may have started as street slang in the early 1930s to describe the growing number of shirts featuring Oriental and Hawaiian designs that were being produced by Honolulu tailors. Musa-Shiya, the Shirtmaker first advertised the "Aloha shirt" in the Honolulu Advertiser on June 28, 1935: "Honolulu's Noted Shirt Maker and Kimono Shop. 'Aloha' shirts - well tailored, beautiful designs and radiant colors. Ready-made or made to order 95 cents up." By another account, an advertising salesperson from the Honolulu Advertiser and Ellery Chun, the owner of the King-Smith dry goods store, first coined the term "Aloha shirt." In fact, Mr. Chun officially registered a trademark for his Aloha sportswear on July 15, 1936.
Another traditional garment of females in Hawaii is a hula costume. Historically it consisted of a lei, a grass skirt, and ankle bracelets. This dress was used during the hula dance, the traditional Hawaiian dance. This dance was a way of glorifying gods and transferring the traditional stories, legends, and true facts to the next generation. During the missionary period, hula dance was banned, but people secretly kept this tradition and revive it in modern times. Though, today the costume used by hula dancers is a little different. Women use long fabric skirts or muumuu dresses while men wear trousers and a malo on top. Sometimes grass skirts are still worn but on top of a fabric garment. By the way, Hawaiian women didn’t use coconuts as a bra – it is a modern myth.
MUUMUUS AND TEA-TIMERS
The Hawaiian muumuu started out as a loose-fitting dress designed for women of all sizes. It was the result of missionaries who sought to cover the bodies of Hawaiian women, who traditionally wore nothing more than a skirt. Muumuus were easy to make and fit a wide range of wearers, making them ideal for giving away to the islands’natives. They soon became a part of Hawaiian history and labeled a traditional garment. As the muumuu morphed and mixed with traditional Asian designs, a unique series of women's garments emerged.
For informal entertaining, the pake muu featured long, wing-like sleeves based on a Chinese design. The popular tea-timer was a tight-fitting, tailored sleeveless top with a short mandarin collar. The holomu was a fitted garment for more formal evening wear while the holoku was a full-length dress for formal affairs. Over the years, women's Hawaiian clothing has tended to feature floral designs: ginger blossoms, plumeria, hibiscus, orchids and birds-of-paradise.The designs used on women’s clothing often matches the prints used in Aloha shirts.
