| Hawaiian shirts are anything but new. They first got | | | | of dollars each, they continue to have a strong niche in |
| their start in the 1930s when clothing manufacturers | | | | the fashion world. Authors and clothing designers have |
| decided to produce a cloth and design unique to | | | | studied the history and style of the shirts over the |
| Hawaii. The original popular shirts were printed on | | | | years. Today, information on vintage Hawaiian shirts |
| heavy silk and became popular as Hollywood stars | | | | can be found in books such as Thomas Steele's ""The |
| wore them in both films and to events, such as movie | | | | Hawaiian Shirt: Its Art and History,"" or Nancy Schiffer's |
| premiers. Not everyone could afford heavy silk, | | | | ""Hawaiian Shirt Designs."" More recently, Dale Hope's |
| however, and many high-quality shirts were printed in | | | | ""The Aloha Shirt: Spirit of the Islands"" is an extremely |
| rayon and cotton as well. Because these shirts have | | | | accurate detailing of the history of the Hawaiian shirt. |
| been printed for over 70 years, there remains a large | | | | For anyone interested in purchasing vintage Hawaiian |
| quantity of vintage Hawaiian shirts on the market. | | | | shirts, there are several avenues. Hawaiian dealers are |
| Vintage Hawaiian shirts can be more expensive than | | | | the best sources, as they have the easiest access to |
| modern-day styles, but they also can have a flair and | | | | locally made shirts. However, several online websites |
| quality not found today. Despite the fact that the | | | | also sell vintage Hawaiian shirts. |
| vintage shirts can run the high end of several hundreds | | | | |