Aloha Shirt Connoisseurs

[Dougf]

I'm no expert on what makes a good Aloha shirt, but when I look for them in thrift shops, I try to find those with the print pattern continuous on the pocket and across each side. I also prefer the bright, printed side on the interior, so the exterior is more muted.

Any other tips or details I should pay attention to?

 

[sukie]

Coconut shell buttons.

 

[Brad Bordessa]

A simple/understated pattern is really important to me. Not many things are harder on the eyes than a red, blue, yellow, and green aloha shirt with parrots and palm trees. Just a couple mellow colors are enough. Check out what the Makaha Sons and the Brothers Cazimero wear. They have killer aloha shirt style and usually match.

 

[gyosh]

Hey Doug,

I think you're due for a "research" trip to The Islands

-Gary

 

[Kanaka916]

There's Aloha Shirts and there's Aloha Shirts . . . Reyn Spooner, Tori Richards, Iolani Hawaii, Paradise Found to name a few manufacturers. I don't like the bright multi-colorful and gaudy style shirts.

 

[RyRod]

Rayon fabric is OG.... I can't stand the cotton ones. They're so heavy and shrink too easily. silk is also good.

I heard rayon is flamable though...

 

[Pueo]

Reyn Spooner is probably my favorite, I like Kahala too, but I also just like what I like. I got some great shirts at Sears in Hawaii...
In my opinion the inside-out fabric is the hallmark of a "real" Aloha shirt, and I prefer 100% lightweight cotton. I do have a couple of silk ones but do not wear those that often.
+1 for the coconut buttons.

 

[bbycrts]

I on the other hand can't stand anything BUT cotton!

Definitely coconut buttons, definitely a pattern-matched pocket. I have several that I got from a place that puts them together in Honolulu but doesn't cost like Reyn Spooners do. They are very comfortable and look great!

 

[Nixon]

I choose the ones most painful to look at.

 

[ksiegel]

Rayon fabric is OG.... I can't stand the cotton ones. They're so heavy and shrink too easily. silk is also good.

I heard rayon is flamable though...

On the other hand, I can't wear the Rayon - I sweat too much, and it makes me feel like I'm going to explode.

I've got lots of Aloha Shirts - one of my favorites is a Linen/Rayon Blend - i think it is a Kahala.

Many of the shirts are the reversed fabric - that is, the bright side is in, and the back side is out.

Most of my Reyn Spooner all-cotton shirts have button down collars. The tori richard shirts are cotton lawn, and soft as all get out.

The only cotton-poly shirt I own is a Reyn Spooner Honolulu fire Department Aloha Shirt.

As I've told people, I spent 25 years wearing a uniform; when I'm out of uniform I want to be out of uniform.

Over the years, most of my shirts were purchased using the simple rule of thumb that the shirt had to say "Hello, my brain exploded". (And most were purchased on Maui, Ohau, or Hawai'i.) Now, they merely have to say "This is where I'd rather be".

One of my shirt examples is in this video that Fitncrafty posted a while back:

I used to jokingly call it one of my "sedate" shirts.

-Kurt​

 

[olgoat52]

Rayon fabric is OG.... I can't stand the cotton ones. They're so heavy and shrink too easily. silk is also good.

I heard rayon is flamable though...

Did you say Ryan is flammable? You're a hot player but not that hot kid...

 

[mm stan]

LIke anything else, it is personal preference.Many of the current ones are now made in the orient.and elsewhere. Get hawaiian ones. Me I prefer the 50's and 60's type.another factor is the material, some like cotten and the wrinkle..and others like rayon because they hold up better and best dry cleaned...etc...You can spot and expensive shirt when the designs match at the seams and or they are centered and or the design are symetric on both sides of the buttons and sleeves, they cost more because you use alot more material matching up the designs...also gotta have the coconut buttons....My mother used to make my rayon Aloha shirts for meduring my school years...hope it helps....good luck.... as like anything else, brand names are just brand names to me....sorry...

 

[Fueco]

I hope I'm not breaking some sort of taboo by reopening a long-dormant thread! I've been called out for doing so in less friendly forums...

I love aloha shirts, especially cotton ones. And more specifically, the cotton lawn ones from Tori Richard (though I also like the ones I have from Reyn Spooner, Kahala and Paradise Found).

I like that a fit 30-something man can rock a floral print. They remind me of my two trips to the big island (my first aloha shirt was an RJC that I picked up at an ABC Store in Kailua-Kona on my honeymoon in March 2010; and why I try to live aloha in my everyday life.

Here's the Paradise Found (channeling my inner Magnum PI!) one I wore yesterday (Friday) to work and other places... I was actually wearing it when I found another Paradise Found shirt at a local thrift shop!

 

[The Big Kahuna]

I choose the ones most painful to look at.

Here are a couple of mine:

 

[mds725]

On the other hand, I can't wear the Rayon - I sweat too much, and it makes me feel like I'm going to explode.

I've got lots of Aloha Shirts - one of my favorites is a Linen/Rayon Blend - i think it is a Kahala.

Many of the shirts are the reversed fabric - that is, the bright side is in, and the back side is out.

Most of my Reyn Spooner all-cotton shirts have button down collars. The tori richard shirts are cotton lawn, and soft as all get out.

The only cotton-poly shirt I own is a Reyn Spooner Honolulu fire Department Aloha Shirt.

As I've told people, I spent 25 years wearing a uniform; when I'm out of uniform I want to be out of uniform.

Over the years, most of my shirts were purchased using the simple rule of thumb that the shirt had to say "Hello, my brain exploded". (And most were purchased on Maui, Ohau, or Hawai'i.) Now, they merely have to say "This is where I'd rather be".

Kurt

Kurt,
You rocked in the Aloha shirt you wore to the San Francisco Ukulele Rebellion.

These are the two aloha shirts I bought when I was in Hawaii in October. Both are Tori Richard.

 

[Fueco]

Here are a couple of mine:

That Hilo Hatties shirt is quite rambunctious... I guess I need to work my way up to that level.

 

[The Big Kahuna]

I think I bought that one 18 years ago.

 

[Fueco]

Here's a pic of me wearing my favorite Tori Richard shirt at my graduation ceremony in September. Finally got that pesky Bachelor's Degree!

 

[mm stan]

Next Time you are in town...go to Baileys...it is a block from my home...they have used Vintage Aloha Shirts that sells for in the thousands...yup that's right, thousands ha ha
http://alohashirts.com/

 

[ksiegel]

Thanks, Mark.

I don't remember which one I was wearing - I think I brought 3 or 4 with me to California, one of which was made by Pendleton, and the others were from Paradise on a Hanger (Sadly out of business now), Kahala, and Reyn Spooner.

The one in my Avatar is a Hilo Hattie shirt, print called "Bird of Paradise".

Oddly enough, the last time we were there, I had to buy one of this print - it was the Wedding Party Shirt, and I'd forgotten to bring mine. I decided to buy two - then noticed one was labeled "Made in USA", and the other labeled "Made in Mexico".

Not long after NAFTA passed.

-Kurt​

Kurt,
You rocked in the Aloha shirt you wore to the San Francisco Ukulele Rebellion.

These are the two aloha shirts I bought when I was in Hawaii in October. Both are Tori Richards.