The first Hawaiian shirt was actually called an "Aloha shirt" and most people in Hawaii still refer to them as Aloha shirts. Hawaiian shirts began to appear in the 1930s and Ellery Chun is credited with coming up with the term "Aloha shirt" in 1936. But to understand where the Hawaiian shirt came from, it is important to look further back in Hawaii's history.

Native Hawaiians used to create their own fabric called tapa, which was made from the inner bark of wauke trees. They used special dyes to create designs on the tapa and made loin cloths called a malo for men and pa'u skirt for women. Some of the finest works of art were printed on tapa by hand. The colorful prints on today's Hawaiian shirts find their roots in these beautiful tapa prints.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Hawaii developed its economy around sugar, pineapple, and coffee. Plantation workers began arriving from China in the 1850s and Japan in the 1860s for rugged work in the fields. The blue and white-checkered shirt called the palaka shirt became the standard work shirt in Hawaii. Soon after, fabrics including silk, rayon, and cotton arrived from Japan, China and the US mainland. Tailors throughout Honolulu turned these oriental fabrics into colorful shirts and dresses which were the direct ancestors to the modern Hawaiian shirt.

Beginning in the 1930s, Hawaiian clothing manufacturers decided to produce their own unique Hawaiian designs. These became the first Aloha shirts and could be bought at several tailors in Hawaii for 95 cents. Thus the modern Hawaiian shirt was born.

Hawaiian shirts have grown in popularity over the decades, evolving along with fashion trends. Hollywood movie stars like Burt Lancaster and Frank Sinatra sported their Hawaiian shirts in their movies. Characters in the TV shows Hawaii 5-0 and Magnum PI wore Hawaiian shirts all the time. In fact, Tom Selleck's signature Magnum PI Hawaiian shirt is now in the Smithsonian Institute.

As Hawaiian shirts became ever more popular in Hawaii and the US mainland, manufactures outside Hawaii took notice and starting making imitation Hawaiian shirts. In the 1950s, Hawaii manufacturers began adding the phrase "Made in Hawaii" to their garment labels to increase the desirability of their authentic Hawaii shirts. By law, a shirt cannot say "Made in Hawaii" unless it as manufactured in Hawaii. Today, Hawaii manufacturers, much like other companies throughout the United States, are facing increasing price pressure from low-cost manufacturers in Indonesia and China. While many consumers do not care where the product comes from, some do. And for those who want an authentic Hawaiian shirt, just look for the "Made in Hawaii" tag.

Hawaiian shirts have come a long way since the first tapa cloth was made in ancient Hawaii. Since the first palaka shirts, Hawaiian shirts have undergone many changes in the way the looked and what they were made of. Who can forget the polyester 1970s? Today, Hawaiian shirts have become an unofficial symbol of Hawaii, tropical vacations, and in a broader sense, a casual care-free lifestyle. The Hawaiian shirt, perhaps more than any other type of shirt, is really about a state of mind. When you put one on, you are really putting on a whole new attitude. All of our shirts at Hawaiian Outpost are made in Hawaii, so if you decide to get one for yourself, rest assured that you are getting the real thing!