Did You Know? Fun Hawai Shirt Facts
- In 1999, Hilo Hattie, as certified by the Guinness Book of World Records, created the “World’s Largest Aloha Shirt” at a whopping size 400XL. Up until recently, it was on display at the mall-level Hilo Hattie shop at Ala Moana.
- The largest collection of vintage Aloha Shirts is owned by New Yorker, Nathan Garrett. Owning over 350 shirts, Garrett wears a different shirt each day. His collection features shirts from popular manufacturers from all ages, including Kamehameha Garment Company and Kahala Aloha Shirts. He finds his shirts on Ebay, vintage clothing shows, and the occasional thrift shop.
- President Harry Truman was printed on the cover of the December 10, 1951 issue of Life Magazine, wearing an Aloha Shirt. The former president was known to wear the shirts while in office and in retirement.
- The shirts worn by the cast of “From Here to Eternity” were not made in 1939. In fact, the shirts were bought off the rack from shops in Waikiki!
- Linda Arthur, author of “Aloha Attire: Hawaiian Dress in the Twentieth Century” says the modern Aloha Shirt is influence by five different ethnic groups: Chinese, White/Haole, Filipino, Japanese and Hawaiian. The style of the basic shirt pattern is White. It’s worn untucked like the Filipino barong tagalog. The motifs were based off of Hawaiian culture, while the actual design was created by the Chinese and Japanese. In short, it’s a very multi-cultural shirt, just like Hawaii!
