Fashion
Statement
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"Inspired
by the Pacific Isles, vintage shirts and reproduction
designs attract a broad, if kitsch-loving, fan base. And
we wouldn't recognize writer Ben Brown dressed in anything
else."
Since
my college days, I've been "the dude in the Hawaiian
shirt". Growing up in Florida around wannabe surfers
was probably enough to get me started. But the tacky rebellion
of the 1970s cinched the deal. That's when the gaudy numbers
with hibiscus blooms and hula girls arrived on the scene.
How could I resist?
Now
the look is so much a part of my identity I get away with
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wearing Hawaiian shirts just about anywhere. Which is exactly
what industry pioneers hoped when they invented the aloha shirt
style in the 1930s - with the help of Japanese and Chinese clothiers,
design inspirations from South Pacific islands, and a growing
customer base of tourists.
When
I started my collection, I was thinking colors, comfort, and
annoying the right people. But a few bucks invested in silk
or rayon classics from the golden age of aloha shirts - the
1930s to the 1950s - might have helped me build a collection
worth thousands of dollars today.
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Note:
In the middle of the page, there is a section under a
picture of the author titled "Vintage Value".
It reads:
How
do you tell a valuable aloha shirt from merely used resort
wear? "Get a decent book," says John Bottomley.
Start with he beautifully illustrated The Aloha Shirt:
Spirit of the Islands by Dale Hope with Gregory Tozian
(Beyond Words Publishing, 20000).
Look
for made-in-Hawaii labels from shirt makers such as King-Smith,
Musa-Shiya, Surfriders, Kahala, and Kamehameha. Later
arrivals include Iolani and Reyn Spooner. A few companies
outside Hawaii have acquired old designs to reproduce
for discount stores. "Be careful," says John.
"Determine whether its an old shirt or just an old
design."
Shop
the Web for older Hawaiian shirts at prices that run the
gamut: ebay.com, hawaiian-shirt.net, and crustyzipper.com
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Gary
Moss, a vintage-shirt aficionado from Massachusetts, began acquiring
Hawaiian versions in the mid-1970s. His assemblage reached a
new level with the discovery a decade ago of a treasure trove
of shirts from the 1940s owned by a guy in Maine. "All
of a sudden," says Gary, "I had a world-class collection."
Ho
much for a vintage design? Gary says he's seen them range from
$30 to $4000, depending upon style, condition and size. Because
there were fewer larges and extra-larges in the early days,
those sizes are more rare.
John
Bottomley, who offers some 300 vintage Hawaiian shirts on his
Web site, Hawaiian-Shirt.Net, says the market is now at such
a level that there are two types of collectors: "people
who buy to wear and people who buy to own."
Gary
is a crossover who doesn't think twice about wearing his $1,000
shirts out in public. I'm the same way. You can catch me in
a $25 classic anytime.
