Replica pre-war Hawaiian shirts?

p51 · Jun 30, 2017

I'm not sure if I haven't asked this here already, but I've done a lot of searching online and came up with nothing.
I'm looking for reproduction pre-war hawaiian shirts. Any pattern is fine. Most reproduction vintage patterns I see are form the post-VJ day 1940s or later. I have yet to find any vendor selling new-made pre-war designs. Originals are quite expensive (and usually tiny sizes anyway).
Can anyone suggest a good company for this? Someone's gotta be making them somewhere!

Americanaaa Mark · Jun 30, 2017

can you post some examples?

Talbot · Jun 30, 2017

There is a company in Japan making SunSurf reproductions. From the ones I have seen, the quality is very good.

Unfortunately Not cheap, and not sized to the plus sized gent.

Avanti shirts do some interesting patterns as well.

westpier · Jun 30, 2017

How about these? Quite pricey though: https://www.americanclassicslondon.com/collections/sun-surf

No surprise that the Japanese are making good quality versions (but too small), I had a similar problem with vintage Vivienne Westwood designs.

Cocker · Jun 30, 2017

@p51 HPA is offering a couple of the Sun Surf shirts for the moment, but as the other said, they are not cheap:

https://www.historypreservation.com/products-page/vintage-hawaiian/

May I ask what's the difference between a pre war and a post war Aloha shirt?

Absinthe_1900 · Jun 30, 2017

Kona Bay makes some nice looking repros of the "From Here to Eternity" shirts, and other postwar aloha shirts.
https://us.konabayhawaii.com/?woo-products-count=view-all

p51 · Jun 30, 2017

Leaping Lizards, those are insanely priced!

Absinthe_1900 said:
Kona Bay makes some nice looking repros of the "From Here to Eternity" shirts, and other postwar aloha shirts.
https://us.konabayhawaii.com/?woo-products-count=view-all

There's nothing I could find on that site that says where any of these are '30s patterns. I couldn't find anything marked "From Here to Eternity" there.
Now I realize why I haven't been able to find any repro 30s shirts. Nobody seems to make them for less than a couple of hundred clams.
I was shocked when I went to Hawaii several years ago and hit all the big shirt places, and nobody had anything in retro patterns earlier than the 50s. I should have realized then that if I couldn't find one there, it probably didn't exist.
I was hoping to have a pre-war pattern I could wear for living history events (a bunch of guys and me put on a Pearl Harbor thing every other year, so we've all been trying to find civilian wear for the era as well). Those crazy priced repros are way out of what I'd be willing to spend. And forget an original from that timeframe, as they can easily cost you into 4-figures.

Absinthe_1900 · Jun 30, 2017

p51 said:
Leaping Lizards, those are insanely priced!

There's nothing I could find on that site that says where any of these are '30s patterns. I couldn't find anything marked "From Here to Eternity" there.
Now I realize why I haven't been able to find any repro 30s shirts. Nobody seems to make them for less than a couple of hundred clams.
I was shocked when I went to Hawaii several years ago and hit all the big shirt places, and nobody had anything in retro patterns earlier than the 50s. I should have realized then that if I couldn't find one there, it probably didn't exist.
I was hoping to have a pre-war pattern I could wear for living history events (a bunch of guys and me put on a Pearl Harbor thing every other year, so we've all been trying to find civilian wear for the era as well). Those crazy priced repros are way out of what I'd be willing to spend. And forget an original from that timeframe, as they can easily cost you into 4-figures.

There are a number of shirts from the movie on that website. They don't call them out, so you'll need to which ones from the movie you are looking for.

I've not seen any 30s type aloha shirts being repopped, you may have to resort to doing like they did at the beginning, and have something custom made from kimono fabric, to get something like the early aloha shirts.

Absinthe_1900 · Jun 30, 2017

Sun-Surf did do a repro of a Musa Shiya Shoten shirt some years ago. That may be your best shot if you can find one for sale in Japan in your size.

David Conwill · Jun 30, 2017

Isn't a shirt from From Here to Eternity more likely to be from 1952 than 1941? Hollywood isn't known for its attention to period detail--especially in that time period.

GHT · Jun 30, 2017

p51 said:
Can anyone suggest a good company for this? Someone's gotta be making them somewhere!

Maybe it's down to what the market is prepared to pay. My wife uses an original pattern that she buys from a lady in Canada. To make me a shirt requires three and a half yards of material, three if the pattern is less bold. The pocket and panels all line up so there's just that extra bit of waste because of this. Top quality cotton print is around £15 to £20 a yard. Therefore the basics that's material and notions, pattern, buttons, thread, lining and so on, can be as much as sixty pounds.

It takes her ten hours from start to finish. A reasonable labour rate would be about £20 an hour. That's what a bride would pay for her wedding dress if it was bespoke. So, labour and materials come in at two hundred and sixty pounds, add forty pounds profit and you can see why bespoke, hand made original shirts, are so rare.

Absinthe_1900 · Jun 30, 2017

David Conwill said:
Isn't a shirt from From Here to Eternity more likely to be from 1952 than 1941? Hollywood isn't known for its attention to period detail--especially in that time period.

It's okay, Burt Lancaster shoots down an AT-6, with a hand held 30 cal Browning, so a postwar Cisco aloha shirt is just fine.

Seriously, other than the several years out of print repro Sun-Surf Musa Shiya shirts, everything else is going to be the more popular postwar prints.

Tiki Tom · Jun 30, 2017

Absinthe_1900 said:
Kona Bay makes some nice looking repros of the "From Here to Eternity" shirts, and other postwar aloha shirts.
https://us.konabayhawaii.com/?woo-products-count=view-all

Those are some nice shirts. I'm in Hawaii at the moment. One of my "hobbies" is sifting through the large quantities of Aloha shirts that you can usually find in second hand shops. Often you can find good examples from the 50s and 60s. Not sure I'd even be able to recognize one from prior to WWII. Any tell-tale clues that I should look for?

The other day I found a "to die for" Aloha shirt of the post war, four pockets and epaulets variety (popular with retired WWII vets in the 60s) but, alas, too small for my 21st century frame.

p51 · Jun 30, 2017

Tiki Tom said:
The other day I found a "to die for" Aloha shirt of the post war, four pockets and epaulets variety (popular with retired WWII vets in the 60s) but, alas, too small for my 21st century frame.

The one I really kick myself about is someone was making BDU tops in Hawaiian prints, all hand-made by the wife of one of my soldiers many years ago when I was still in the Army. She apparently had access to an embroidery machine, and she'd make nametapes, rank and the unit patch in a Hawaiian color print, too.
MAN, how I wish I'd ordered one of those. They looked great on the ones who got them. I ran lots of off-post logistics teams, and I'd for sure have worn one when we were hanging around the cantonment area...

Talbot · Jul 1, 2017

Tiki Tom said:
Those are some nice shirts. I'm in Hawaii at the moment. One of my "hobbies" is sifting through the large quantities of Aloha shirts that you can usually find in second hand shops. Often you can find good examples from the 50s and 60s. Not sure I'd even be able to recognize one from prior to WWII. Any tell-tale clues that I should look for?

The other day I found a "to die for" Aloha shirt of the post war, four pockets and epaulets variety (popular with retired WWII vets in the 60s) but, alas, too small for my 21st century frame.

It would come down to the label I guess. Those more scholarly than I on the subject may be able to assist.

Much Aloha and enjoy Hawaii!

Talbot · Jul 1, 2017

At the more affordable end of the spectrum:

https://avantishirts.com/collections/men?page=1

I haven't bought from here yet, but like some of the patterns.

handymike · Jul 1, 2017

Love this one:
https://us.konabayhawaii.com/hi/bear-blue

p51 · Jul 3, 2017

The problem here is that people are posting shirt patterns they like, but I'm looking for one that has a pattern that existed before the war...

GHT · Jul 3, 2017

When you say pattern, are you referring to the shirt pattern to make a shirt or the pattern that is the print on the material? If it's the later, this might be helpful.

Absinthe_1900 · Jul 4, 2017

Sun Surf Replica of a Musa Shiya print:

http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/cleverwebshop/item/sunsurf-ss34178-145/

YMMV

Replica pre-war Hawaiian shirts?

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