The Aloha shirt, more commonly known as the Hawaiian shirt, is a short-sleeved, collared, all-over print shirt that originated in Hawaii (duh) in the 1930s. The style caught on quickly with locals, surfers and tourists all buying up the shirts as fast as they could be produced.
Following World War II, servicemen returned home from Hawaii and the Pacific with the shirts and they’re popularity grew across the United States. The 1950s saw advancements in commercial air travel that led to increased tourism to Hawaii and the Hawaiian shirt industry exploded.
More than 80 years since they first appeared, aloha shirts are just as popular as ever. Brands throughout the country continue to put their unique touch on the style including here at the RSVLTS where we pay homage to the Hawaiian shirt with items such as the Toucan Short Sleeve Shirt, Beverly Chills Short Sleeve Shirt and Coconut Grove Stretch Short Sleeve Shirt.
But how did Hawaiian shirts stay so popular over the years? Pop culture of course! From Elvis to Tom Selleck to Weird Al, Hawaiian shirts have been the style choice of some of the most influential pop culture icons decade after decade. Check out some of the most recognizable Hawaiian shirt moments below.
1961 – Blue Hawaii
In 1961, Elvis Presley made his first of three movies in Hawaii, Blue Hawaii. Elvis played a man who had recently gotten out of the Army and just wanted to surf and serenade beach bunnies — while wearing Hawaiian shirts, of course.
1968 – Hawaii Five-O
From 1968 to 1980, Jack Lord portrayed Detective Captain Steve McGarrett, the head of a special state police task force in Hawaii. While McGarrett usually delivered his legendary “Book ’em, Danno!” line while wearing a suit and tie, occasionally he would celebrate “Aloha Friday” and dress a little more casual, like in the clip below:
1980 – Magnum PI
For eight seasons, Tom Selleck starred as Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV, better known as Magnum, PI. A wisecracking ladykiller and all-around adrenaline junkie, Magnum was also shown driving around Hawaii in a Ferrari 308 GTS Quattrovalvole while wearing a Hawaiian shirt.
A reboot is on the way later this year and although the faces will be knew, the timeless style will be sure to return.
1985 – The Goonies
For half a century, Hawaiian shirts seemed to be worn exclusively by adult men, but that all changed in 1985 with The Goonies. Chunk, the candy bar-loving tall-tale teller proved that kids could rock the style, too, as evidenced by his oft-imitated “truffle shuffle” dance.
1987 – Raising Arizona
Nicolas Cage introduced one of the funniest characters in Hollywood history in 1987’s Raising Arizona. Would doofy ex-con H.I. “Hi” McDunnough be as funny if he were beaten senseless by a bounty hunter while wearing a linen guayabera? No, sir, no way.
1989 – Weekend At Bernie’s
Desecration of a corpse was a crime limited to frumpy ghouls working the third shift at the morgue until Andrew McCarthy came along and showed us just how fun it could be in 1989’s Weekend at Bernie’s. His character’s colorful shirts and the catchy Jermaine Stewart soundtrack also undoubtedly helped lighten the macabre plot involving rigging a dead man like a muppet.
1991 – Cape Fear
Robert De Niro played wacky psychopath Max Cady in Cape Fear, the source of nightmares for plenty of us ’90s kids. How could a man with such whimsical tastes in shirts also be a murderous rapist with a bizarre love of Problem Child?
1993 – Jurassic Park
Sure, Dennis Nedry is the reason that all the dinosaurs at Jurassic Park broke free and wreaked havoc, but we just can’t hate the fellow Hawaiian shirt aficionado. We bet that even the dilophosaurus that ultimately took Nedry’s life would have let him live if he had worn a more playful shirt underneath his raincoat.
1994 – Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Jim Carrey became a bonafide Hollywood movie star with 1994’s insanely successful Ace Ventura Pet Detective. Would Ace have been as big a cultural phenomenon if he wore a polo while talking through his butt? We can ass-ure you not.
1996 – Romeo + Juliet
While you either love or hate the mix of Shakespearean language in a contemporary setting in Baz Luhrmann’s ridiculously ’90s Romeo + Juliet, there’s no denying that the Montague crew knew how to rock Hawaiian shirts. Wait a second…is that Jamie Kennedy??
1997 – The Simpsons
In one of the funniest and culturally significant episodes of The Simpsons ever, Homer meets a gay man named John voiced by director John Waters. While initially wary of John’s sexuality — and that of non-fat men who wear Hawaiian shirts — Homer eventually comes around and accepts John for who he is and Bart for whatever kind of shirt he wants to wear.
1998 – Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Johnny Depp brought gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson to the big screen in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, complete with two bags of grass, 75 pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a saltshaker half-full of cocaine, a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers, and an endless supply of Hawaiian shirts.
2002 – Nick Nolte
In 2002, legendary actor Nick Nolte was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving in Malibu. One of the arresting officers snapped a photo of Nolte that immediately went viral thanks to the juxtaposition of his maniacal grimace and fanciful Hawaiian shirt.
via
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office photographic records/Wikimedia Commons
2008 – Forgetting Sarah Marshall
TV star Jason Segal made the leap to the big screen with 2008’s Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which he also wrote. Although Segel, Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and Russell Brand received top billing, we know the real stars were the aloha state and the aloha shirts worn throughout. Oh yeah, and Jack McBrayer who was insanely hilarious.
2009 – Gabriel Iglesias
While Homer Simpson was wrong about a lot of things, he was right that big fat fluffy party animals know how to rock Hawaiian shirts. For proof, look no further than comedian Gabriel Iglesias:
2016 – Weird Al
We all knew that Weird Al Yankovic was a Hawaiian shirt fan since he first burst onto the music parody scene in the early 1980s but it wasn’t until we saw his closet in a 2016 CBS interview that we realized just how insanely devoted he is to his aloha addiction.
The post Iconic Moments In Hawaiian Shirt History appeared first on The Roosevelts.
