Originally, Hawaiian clothes were all made of bark cloth, but Western dress was intriguing to the native people and they incorporated many aspects of it into their culture, especially after the first permanent missionaries arrived in Hawaii in 1820. The missionaries gave them clothes to wear but the Hawaiians used them not as a way to cover up, but as a way to show status. The Holoku was the first garment worn by women in Hawaii. Through assimilation, Hawaiians were increasingly influenced by the Western ideals and the Holoku became leaner, native peoples were becoming thinner, and the King and Queen of Hawaii were supporting the importation of such dress. In 1850, Chinese men first started importing labor into Hawaii, and soon the Japanese, Phillipino, and other countries were doing the same. This diverse population of laborers created a melting pot of cultures, lifestyles, and dress.
All of these diverse cultures living and working within Hawaii and among the native peoples all collaborated on the garment known as the Aloha shirt. Although the Aloha shirt has gone through stages of tackiness to kitsch, a cycle known as the Rubbish Theory, it is a great example of the interaction of ethnic groups and their influence in Hawaiian dress. The earliest Aloha shirts were started for private school events in the 1930’s and marketed for tourists. The design includes aspects from many different Hawaiian cultures, including American, Japanese, Chinese, Hawaiian, and Filipino countries. The shape of the shirt is a basic American or European shirt style, with the short sleeves, front buttons, collar, and boxy shape. The original fabrics used in the Aloha shirts were Japanese silks, which were soft and breathable in the hot Hawaiian climate. The Chinese tailors are responsible for producing the shirts on a larger scale for sale to the tourists. The shirts also had many original Hawaiian scenes that were screenprinted onto the fabric. The way the shirt was worn, untucked and worn outside of the pants like the Barong Tagalog, was a Phillipino custom of dress. The combination of all the cultural skills and assets within Hawaii collaborated to make the Aloha shirt, which is indicative of the cultural diversity present within the state.
Check out Dr. Linda Arthur’s paper on the History of the Holoku.
All Mod Cons 