Aloha shirt

Wearing an untucked shirt was possibly influenced by the local Filipinos who wore shirt-tail out, and called these bayau meaning "friend".

[10] It has been observed that locals (kamaʻāina) tended to shy away from the garishness of aloha shirts as "too wild" when they first appeared,[11] whereas tourists embraced wearing designs of many bright colors.

[b][12][13] It has also been contended that the aloha shirt was devised in the early 1930s by Chinese merchant Ellery Chun of "King-Smith Clothiers and Dry Goods", a store in Waikiki.

[22] Within years, major designer labels sprang up all over Hawaii and began manufacturing and selling aloha shirts en masse.

[24][6] Retail chains in Hawaii, including some based on the mainland, may mass-produce a single aloha shirt design for employee uniforms.

After World War II, many servicemen and servicewomen returned to the United States from Asia and the Pacific islands with aloha shirts made in Hawaii since the 1930s.

[citation needed] In 1946, the Honolulu Chamber of Commerce funded a study of aloha shirts and designs for comfortable business clothing worn during the hot Hawaiian summers.

Economically, the week-long event first attracted visitors during October – traditionally a slow month for tourism – which benefited the Hawaiian fashion industry as they supplied the muʻumuʻu and aloha shirts worn for the celebration.

Hawaii's fashion industry was relieved, as they were initially worried that popular clothing from the mainland United States would eventually replace aloha attire.

[33] In 1962, a professional manufacturing association known as the Hawaiian Fashion Guild began to promote aloha shirts and clothing for use in the workplace, particularly as business attire.

[34] The wording of the resolution spoke of letting "the male populace return to 'aloha attire' during the summer months for the sake of comfort and in support of the 50th state's garment industry".

[35] Aloha Friday officially began in 1966,[36] and young adults of the 1960s embraced the style, replacing the formal business wear favored by previous generations.