Aloha shirts made by the Japanese? Introducing resort-style men’s coordination & recommended items using Hawaiian traditional clothing.

The “aloha shirt” is said to have originated when Japanese immigrants to Hawaii tailored the “palaca,” a Portuguese work shirt, into a kimono. Therefore, many of the patterns have a somewhat Japanese taste, and the appeal is that they are easy to blend in. Thanks to the recent trend of mixed coordination, aloha shirts have been incorporated into a variety of styles, and are used in a surprisingly large number of situations. In this issue, we focus on the origins of the “aloha shirt,” how to wear it in summer coordination, and recommended items!

The “aloha shirt,” a representative of resort wear, has its roots in the Japanese!

Aloha shirts are open-collared shirts with printed designs such as resort-style tropical patterns. Silk, rayon, polyester, and cotton fabrics are often used. Nowadays, button-down short-sleeved shirts other than open-collar shirts with tropical patterns are also available from various brands as aloha shirts. As we all know, aloha shirts originated in Hawaii, where immigrants from Japan made open-collared shirts called “palaka” out of hand-me-down kimono from the late 19th to early 20th century, which they wore while working hard on sugar cane plantations. The origin of the “palaka” shirt is said to be that the immigrants made them from their own kimonos.

Finding an Aloha Shirt

Next, we will introduce some of the most popular outfits using aloha shirts!