With its vibrant motifs and rich cultural history, aloha wear is more than just clothing—it’s a storytelling medium, one that weaves together the diverse influences of Hawai‘i’s multicultural society. Native Hawaiian, Tahitian, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, and other cultures all played a role in shaping the styles and designs of aloha wear recognized today.
This unique regional style can be said, however, to have begun with kapa, the barkcloth that Hawaiians utilized as their primary covering fabric. In pre-contact society, Hawaiians created kapa by soaking and pounding wauke (paper mulberry) with an i‘e kuku (wooden kapa beater), which they then dyed and scented with berries, flowers, or leaves before applying intricate patterns to the flattened fibers. But as Hawai‘i became a popular stop for seafarers and traders, the population was introduced to international clothing styles. Fashions from both the East and the West—Indian cotton under-slips, Chinese silk shawls, Western pantaloons and waistcoats—were soon incorporated into the wardrobes of the ali‘i.
When the first American missionary wives made landfall in the early 1820s, the female ali‘i (chiefs) noticed their beguiling fashions. Intrigued, Queen Kalākua Kaheiheimālie requested a dress of her own inspired by the variety of cuts and cloth she observed on the newcomers. Given the queen’s large stature, Kaheiheimālie’s dress makers soon realized the need to create a custom garment that was fashionable yet befitting for her form and frame. Within two days, they presented her with the very first holokū, or Hawaiian dress—a modified, European-style empire gown in white cambric.
What the ali‘i did, their people soon followed. By 1860, kapa production had dwindled, and Hawaiian men and women of all social classes wore Western garments in public. The elite classes imported their clothing from Europe, and as women’s styles in France, England, and Italy changed, so did the ones in the islands, influencing the neckline, accents, train, and cut of the original Hawaiian holokū dress. Over time, the fitted-front holomu‘u, an elegant day dress with no train, and the shorter, more relaxed and popular mu‘umu‘u emerged.
By the turn of the 20th century, the islands’ growing reputation as a safe yet exotic destination beckoned well-to-do travelers. Enchanted by Waikīkī’s golden shores and turquoise waters, tourist numbers steadily rose, and visitors remained for extended stays. “The idea of holiday and leisure becomes Hawai‘i’s marketing device,” says Tory Laitila, curator of textiles and historic arts of Hawai‘i at the Honolulu Museum of Art. “So, people start coming here to live and want to dress as if they were on vacation.”
Such vacation attire often included floral motifs, a popular design that soon became synonymous with hospitality in the islands’ growing tourism market. Although the first person to coin the term “aloha shirt” is still up for debate, a Japanese-owned shop in Honolulu called Musa-Shiya Shoten was the first recorded clothier to use the term in print: In 1935, it placed a newspaper advertisement selling finely crafted “aloha shirts” for just 95 cents, heralding the onset of a genre that would soon gain a beloved following across the globe.
Hand-blocked prints on silk with island designs like ‘ulu (breadfruit) and hula girls were popular in stores in the 1930s. By the late 1940s, the production of aloha shirts transitioned from custom, hand-tailored items to mass-produced garments. Hawai‘i textile designer Alfred Shaheen emerged as a key player in the local clothing industry. Shaheen hired a team of local artists to design tropical shirts and dresses inspired by Hawaiian, Japanese, and Chinese culture, many of which can still be found on the collector’s market.
By 1860, use of kapa (Hawaiian barkcloth) garments had dwindled as more Hawaiians wore Western-style clothing.
Since its initial popularity through the midcentury, aloha wear has been about making a statement, particularly in upending the formality of the workplace and defying traditional notions of sophisticated clothing. In 1962, the Hawaiian Fashion Guild launched “Operation Liberation,” a campaign that sent two aloha shirts to each member of the Hawai‘i House of Representatives and the State Senate for the “sake of comfort and in support of the 50th state’s garment industry.” The creative campaign encouraged government workers to wear aloha shirts on Friday in an effort to boost local manufacturing. It was widely embraced, leading the state to formally recognize the beloved weekly tradition as Aloha Friday in 1966. This, in turn, sparked a similar trend popularly known as Casual Friday, embraced by workplaces across the nation.
Today, contemporary designers continue to honor the genre. “Aloha wear is one of those things that can be considered ‘fossilized fashion,’” Laitila says, explaining that, while fabrics and detailing have evolved over time, the modern holokū, for example, still adheres to the standard, iconized garment of the 19th century. “Some designers are still making the traditional holokū dress, but for others, it’s a lot of separates: three-quarter sleeve, asymmetrical necklines, off-the-shoulder, tank tops to pair with pants,” Laitila says. “It’s aloha wear, so it really is how you wear it.”