Aloha!
I’m at Hawaii for the moment. After all of the festivities in Mexico I really had some relaxing to do! Hawaii is perfect to spend some time on the beach and learning how to surf. I can’t wait to catch some waves soon.
I discovered the origin of the Aloha shirt here, which is really funny actually. The shirt used to be a shirt for work in one color, called the palaka, for men. Over time, they added prints to the fabric. In the 1920’s the American tourists started going to Hawaii on a holiday and the first shirts inspired by the palaka were sold to them.
It was Ellery J. Chun who started producing the shirts to sell them to the big crowds. Surfers started wearing them and the shirts became very popular amongst the soldiers. When they left for the Pacific and Asia after World War II, they took the shirts with them.
After the war, businessmen in Honolulu were allowed to wear the Aloha shirt from June till October, instead of their suits with tie. In the early sixties, designers came up with some more quiet prints and Aloha Friday was introduced: on Fridays, employees could wear an Aloha shirt. This was even the inspiration for Casual Friday as we know it!
Nowadays, employees can wear Aloha shirts all the time. I guess it makes the offices look a lot more fun than with boring suits!
Another interesting fact is that some of the shirts are printed on the inside, to make the colors look less bright on the outside. It’s called ‘Reverse print’. This is a smart technique I might use sometime!
Even on relaxing days I get inspired!
See you soon, guys!
Dollie
