You Should Wear an Aloha Shirt This Summer

The aloha shirt — which you may know better as a Hawaiian shirt — is one of the most high-risk, high-reward pieces in all of menswear (at least for those of us who don’t live down on one of the Islands). Wear it wrong and you risk looking like your dad on a lame beach vacation. But wear it right? It’ll unlock a ton of possibilities in your wardrobe.

For a long time, I personally found them far too intimidating to incorporate into my wardrobe — that is until a work trip took me down to Romer House in Waikïkï late last year, where I was introduced to Avanti Shirts. The brand’s high-quality aloha shirts (made from Crepe de Chine silk and authentic coconut shell buttons) featured a level of detail and craftsmanship that firmly set them apart from the cheap polyester shirts you’d see at the airport. The brand is also deeply immersed in the tradition of the aloha shirt, which recontextualized it for me — an outsider — as something with a real cultural significance in a part of the world that I love rather than the uniform of annoying tourists. This year, they’ve brought back one of the most iconic aloha shirts in the history of cinema: the blue number worn by Leonardo DiCaprio in Baz Luhrmann’s iconic (and deeply influential, from a menswear perspective) film, Romeo & Juliet, to commemorate the film’s 30th anniversary. It’s as great an excuse as any to break down the significance of the aloha shirt and how to best style one — whether you’re living on island time or can see the CN Tower from your apartment. 

As Royce Hui of Avanti tells us, aloha shirts first came into prominence in Hawaiʻi in the early 20th century. They were pioneered by Asian immigrants living in the islands and often featured artwork connecting back to the countries of origin of the people who made them. World War II saw the phenomenon go global as soldiers stationed in Hawaiʻi brought shirts back to the mainland with them when they left. They became popular among the celebrity set of the era — think Elvis Presley, Bing Crosby, and Montgomery Clift — a tradition that Avanti has kept going: they count Bruno Mars, Aubrey Plaza, and Teddy Swims among their customers, and Karl Urban can be spotted in their Tiger shirt throughout The Boys. At one point, many of the original designers of authentic aloha shirts vanished, leaving polyester knockoffs and mainland brands like Tommy Bahama to fill the void. Avanti launched in 1991 under Royce’s parents, John and Jenny. They brought back the authentic silk textiles that restored the shirts from cheap souvenirs to the luxury products they were in their time. That the quality of the work so quickly converted me (and others) speaks to the misconceptions surrounding the shirts and how to wear them. 

Let’s talk about that: there’s no wrong way to wear an aloha shirt, technically. Whether it’s over shorts, tucked into trousers, or worn over a tee shirt, the key to pulling the shirt off has much less to do with what it’s worn with and much more to do with the shirt itself. First of all, if you haven’t already caught on, avoid cheap polyester blends and thick cotton. Stick to shirts made from silk. In addition to preserving the garment’s history as a luxury product, the purpose of an aloha shirt is to allow drape and breathing room. Silk has that in spades. You want it to flow in the summer breeze, not to stick to your arms and shoulders. 

Speaking of which, an aloha shirt shouldn’t come in a slim fit. It’s supposed to hang loosely, to have sleeves that come down close to your elbow. Even if you’re still on the skinny-fit beat (no judgement here) this is a garment that isn’t going to look nearly as good slim as it does relaxed. The good news? Most aloha shirt brands come in a generous fit to begin with. In the case of Avanti, just order your true shirt size and it’ll fit the way it’s supposed to. Proportion is everything when wearing these shirts, too. If you’re wearing it with shorts, make sure they also have a bit of drape to them rather than a tight leg. If linen drawstring trousers are the move, then make sure they have some pleats (or at least a subtler taper at the ankle). You can even go formal and wear one with a suit (a real power move that I highly recommend), provided it isn’t one with a slim fit and skinny lapels. In this particular instance, Aloha shirts aren’t all that unique — like with any good fit, proportion is key.  

Famously, aloha shirts come in vibrant patterns. That’s the whole point. The best way to make sure that comes off as sartorially savvy rather than tacky is to make it the statement piece of an outfit rather than one loud piece among many. Instead of salmon-coloured shorts, wear it with a pair of well-fitted linen pants. Make sure the rest of your fit consists of neutrals (like beige, black, or white) rather than other loud colours. It’s probably best that your bottoms — whether they’re cotton shorts or linen pants — don’t feature a pattern. 

Throughout the 2010s, I personally noticed a lot of guys in aloha-inspired shirts with gaudy patterns, worn with a tinge of irony. They’d often be paired with loud accessories like hot-pink knockoff Ray-Ban Wayfarers, swim trunks worn as shorts (despite zero proximity to water), or even thrift shop ties. It’s an impulse I understand, even if I’d encourage you not to lean into it. Sometimes, when a piece of clothing is inherently loud, we feel the easiest way to wear it is to lean into the loudness; that way, it seems like a joke (after all, if we’re making the joke then people have to laugh with us, not at us). And hey, mainlanders in North America don’t exactly have the best history of styling aloha shirts over the years. But look at Leo in Romeo & Juliet. Look at Ryan Gosling in The Nice Guys. Hell, look at Bruno Mars and The Rock in real life — if you treat the garment with respect, it’ll return that respect in full.

“Whenever I see another person wear an Aloha shirt,” Hui tells us, “Whether it be in Hawai’i, the US Mainland, or internationally, I can’t help but feel a certain warmth knowing that this tiny set of islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean has spread its Aloha all across the world.” 

FEATURE PHOTO: ROMEO AND JULIET SHIRT. PHOTO COURTESY OF AVANTI.

The post You Should Wear an Aloha Shirt This Summer appeared first on Sharp Magazine.