The History of the Aloha Shirt
The Aloha shirt was born in Honolulu in the 1920s and '30s, when local tailors began sewing shirts from colorful Japanese kimono fabric. A 1935 newspaper ad gave it its name, Waikiki's postwar boom made it famous, and today it's everyday and business wear across the Hawaiian Islands.
Beginnings: kimono cloth and Honolulu tailors
No single person invented the Aloha shirt. It grew out of the mix of cultures that came together in Honolulu. Tailors there, many of them Japanese, began making loose, short-sleeved shirts from the bright printed cotton and silk imported for kimonos, and locals and visitors alike loved them. One story credits Gordon Young, a university student in the early 1920s, who had his mother's dressmaker sew him shirts from yukata cloth.
The name came in 1935. On June 28 of that year, the shop Musa-Shiya ran an ad in The Honolulu Advertiser for "Aloha shirts," the first documented use of the term. Ellery Chun, a Yale graduate who had come home to run his family's King-Smith Clothiers, sold ready-made printed shirts and trademarked the name "Aloha Shirt" soon after. (Why do locals still say Aloha shirt and not Hawaiian shirt? We explain in Aloha Shirt vs. Hawaiian Shirt.)
From Mount Fuji to Diamond Head
The first Aloha shirts carried Japanese motifs: Mount Fuji, bamboo, cranes and pine trees. As the shirt caught on, island artists and designers began drawing their own surroundings instead. Diamond Head replaced Mount Fuji, coconut palms replaced pines, and canoes, surfers, hula dancers, fish and tropical flowers filled the prints, as Dale Hope traces in his book The Aloha Shirt. Tahitian pareu cloth brought bold floral designs of its own (see The Story of the Pareu). By the 1950s, Aloha shirt design had become a distinctly Hawaiian art form.
Waikiki and the golden age
After World War II, Honolulu boomed. Steamships like the Lurline brought visitors to Waikiki, where Duke Kahanamoku and the Waikiki beachboys taught the world to surf and showed it how to wear an Aloha shirt. Servicemen and tourists carried the shirts home to the mainland, and Hollywood did the rest. President Truman was photographed in one on vacation in 1946, and Elvis Presley wore a red Aloha shirt on the cover of the Blue Hawaii soundtrack in 1961.
"Having become a cherished keepsake for island visitors and remaining warmly accepted at home by the locals, the aloha shirt from this point forward would enjoy the unique position as an ambassador of 'aloha.'"
Dale Hope, The Aloha Shirt
From souvenir to business wear
At home, the Aloha shirt moved from the beach to the office. Aloha Week, first held in 1947, made it acceptable dress for city workers. In the early 1960s Hawaii's garment makers campaigned for Aloha wear at work, and in 1966 the state recognized what became Aloha Friday. Today an Aloha shirt is standard business dress in Hawaii, and "Aloha attire" is a dress code you'll see on wedding and party invitations.
The Aloha shirt through the years
- 1920s: Honolulu tailors sew shirts from kimono and yukata fabric.
- 1935: Musa-Shiya advertises "Aloha shirts," the first known use of the name.
- Late 1930s: Ellery Chun trademarks "Aloha Shirt."
- 1940s–50s: Island motifs replace Japanese ones, and Waikiki's postwar boom makes the shirt famous.
- 1947: The first Aloha Week brings Aloha shirts into the workplace.
- 1961: Elvis wears a red Aloha shirt for Blue Hawaii.
- 1966: Aloha Friday becomes a Hawaii tradition.
- Today: Business wear in Hawaii and a classic around the world.
How we carry the tradition forward
Western Aloha is based in Waimea on Hawaii Island, and our prints often feature motifs inspired by home. We don't buy seasonal, off-the-shelf prints inspired by current trends. Instead, we work with talented graphic and textile artists to create original prints that are uniquely Western Aloha, marrying the cultures and styles that shaped Hawaii with the spirit of Aloha.
Our Aloha shirts keep the classic details, a camp collar and coconut buttons, in functional fabrics you can wear from the beach to dinner. And if you like a little Paniolo in your Aloha, see our western snap shirts.
The Aloha shirt today
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Aloha shirt FAQ
When was the Aloha shirt invented?
Honolulu tailors were making shirts from kimono fabric in the 1920s. The name "Aloha shirt" first appeared in a Honolulu newspaper ad in 1935.
Who invented the Aloha shirt?
No one person. Honolulu's tailors, many of Japanese heritage, created the style, Musa-Shiya named it in a 1935 ad, and Ellery Chun of King-Smith Clothiers trademarked "Aloha Shirt."
Why do Aloha shirts have island prints?
The first shirts used Japanese kimono designs. By the 1940s and '50s, island artists replaced them with Hawaii's own scenery, plants and culture, and that became the signature of the Aloha shirt.
Is an Aloha shirt the same as a Hawaiian shirt?
Yes, it's the same style. In Hawaii it's called an Aloha shirt. Read why.
Sources: The Aloha Shirt by Dale Hope; The Honolulu Advertiser, June 28, 1935; Aloha shirt (Wikipedia); National Archives, Harry S. Truman Library. Updated October 2026.
More from Talk Story: Palaka, Hawaii's Original Work Shirt · The Story of the Pareu · The Western Snap Shirt