In the late 1920's and early 1930's tourists, always looking for exotic souvenirs, fell for a fad of the young islanders' unusual prints. Artists and tailors spotted a serious business. The name "aloha shirt", registered in 1936, soon labeled a flourishing industry.

Paintings of famous artists were transferred to the fabric of choice, rayon, silkier than silk and inexpensive. Designs competed in intricacy. Border shirts, picture shirts, patterned shirts. How many ways to say Hawaii? Labels themselves became works of art, reflecting inspiration and wild dreams of success.

After the darkness of the second World War, colorful, exotic prints were more than ever what visitors wanted. Add to this the attention Hawaii received in the 1950's when it competed with Alaska to become the 49th state, as well as the intrigue with Hollywood. Aloha shirts became a craze.

Source:  http://www.coffeetimes.com/aloha.htm

The modern Aloha shirt was devised in the early 1930s by Chinese merchant Ellery Chun of King-Smith Clothiers and Dry Goods, a store in Waikiki. Chun began sewing brightly colored shirts for tourists out of old kimono fabrics he had leftover in stock. The Honolulu Advertiser newspaper was quick to coin the term Aloha shirt to describe Chun's fashionable creation. Chun trademarked the name. The first advertisement in the Honolulu Advertiser for Chun's Aloha shirt was published on June 28, 1935. Local residents, especially surfers, and tourists descended on Chun's store and bought every shirt he had. Within years, major designer labels sprung up all over Hawaii and began manufacturing and selling Aloha shirts en masse.

Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloha_shirt

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