My passion for Hawaiian shirts began in 1969 during this "yankee's " first trip to Key West. They were EVERYWHERE~ glorious floral print shirts on MEN! I fell in love with the islands and the wardrobe ~ you sure didn't see this in Michigan.
And men wearing them had a completely different "attitude" ~ they were relaxed, smiling and seemed to be having fun. There is something for everyone ~ subtle, demure, wild, flashy. And prints from surfboards, motorcycles, pin up girls, cars, birds, and of course the traditional floral.
As an avid Jimmy Buffet fan, I get to enjoy eye candy at every Buffet concert ~ parrotheads wearing Hawaiian shirts. A requirement for VLV, and any rockabilly fest ~ We KNOW the guys are definitely having fun then!
Recently, i discovered two local group homes were going to a luau. They were SO excited. When questioned, i learned they did not have Hawaiian shirts to wear to the party. So, I grabbed my huge rubbermaid tote of them and headed to the homes.
You would have thought it was Christmas! The young adults were even more excited now! Each grabbing, trying on and choosing favorites. Employees were offered shirts, hawaiian skirts and dresses as well, until everyone had the one they loved and were all ready for the party ~ which was a huge hit, and they looked so cute.
So.. my personal inventory of Hawaiian clothing, especially mens Aloha shirts is pretty wiped out, their happy faces were worth every single donation, and I know karma will replenish the stock. With so many estate sales coming up, surely there will be one from a well traveled gentleman who collected Hawaiian shirts.
In the meantime, here are a few I have left, and a ton of amazing ones from Raia, who even has one from the 1940s, shown above!!
to see my little selection:
http://vintageoutlet.ecrater.com/c/343502/hawaiian-rab-vlv-fun-shirts
and Raia's amazing offerings:
http://threads.ecrater.com/c/239695/hawaiian-shirts-more
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