• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.379-388
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• 2018

The Hawaiian shirt, also known as the Aloha shirt, is a short-sleeved, colorful shirt with traditional Polynesian designs (e.g., hibiscus, fish) originating in Hawai'i. The shirt was selected for study because it is a unique garment that originated in the Hawaiian Islands in the late $19^{th}$ and $20^{th}$ centuries and marketed as a tourist product but was eventually adopted as appropriate residential clothing by the $mid-20^{th}$ century, however with different aesthetic details. Today, it is assumed by Hawaiian Island residents that tourists demonstrate poor taste when selecting a Hawaiian shirt. The purposes of this study are to examine the validity of the assumption that tourist taste and resident taste in Hawaiian shirts are different and to investigate the current Hawaiian shirt market change. For this study, 555 questionnaires were obtained from tourists and residents, and 10 Hawaiian shirt retailers/wholesalers participated in in-depth interviews. The results indicated that differences do exist between tourists' and residents' preferences for print designs and colorway. The market change of Hawaiian shirts was also recognizable in that an increasing number of tourists select Hawaiian shirts similar to resident customers, as part of their routine lives rather than as holiday or vacation garments. Other differences in Hawaiian shirt shopping behavior included the findings that tourists consider fabrication less important than resident customers who consider fabrication more (i.e., cotton 100%). By using both quantitative and qualitative methods, this study contributes to the fashion design and marketing field as well as help manufacturers and retailers with their merchandise and distribution plans.

• Journal of the Korea Fashion and Costume Design Association
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.59-68
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• 2007

"Aloha" is the Hawaiian word that extends the warmth friendliness, and pride of the Hawaiian people to their island's visitors. The aloha shirt truly symbolizes aloha sprit to islanders and visitors alike. The earliest foreign settlers in the Hawaiian Islands were the Chinese and Japanese. They brought with them their myriad talents and trades, among them the art of tailoring. In July of 1936, a shirtmaker named Ellery J.Chun coined the term "Aloha Shirt" an apt characterization for such an eloquent garment. He was the first to make the shirt on a commercial basis. The shirt sold for as little as a dollar in Chun's own King-Smith store. The genuine aloha shirt is now regaled as a work of art and avidly sought out by collectors. When tourism came to Hawaii in the late 1930s, these unusal shirts were among the first thing that visitors had to have. Local designers and tailors worked quickly to meet the demand and began to expand the range of decoration to include palm trees and romantic beaches, tropical jungles and volcanoes, exotic flowers and scenes from polynesian legend. Therefore the aloha shirt had been born. The functional use of creative colors and amazing artistic renderings in these shirts certainly capture the simplicity and sprit of Hawaii. Aloha shirt is dress that display mystery and charm of Hawaii and cultural symbol of condensed Hawaiian mind. Furthermore, the innocence with which Hawaiians formerly translated their life and heritage onto fabric ranks these shirts with the finest of American folk art. Aloha shirt is made from cotton, silk, rayon in present and past. Most important design element of Aloha shirt is print pattern. Main print pattern of Aloha shirt are all over pattern, horizontal pattern, border pattern, Japanese pattern, picture pattern and back panel pattern. In this study I investigate the design characteristics and development process of aloha shirt.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.857-863
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• 2008

The purpose of this study is to analyze the types of Hibiscus patterns expressed on Aloha shirts. This study analyzed real data collected from man's aloha shirts displayed at the International Market Place in Waikiki of Hawaii during January 21-27, 2007. 35 pieces of Aloha shirts with Hibiscus Patterns were was analyzed. The total of each analysis means all number of patterns sampled or appeared to analyze the types of patterns. The motif of Hibiscus was sampled a total of 42 units for some shirts having several motifs. Its motif was divided into two groups, 20 units(47.62%) of natural type and 22 units(52.38%) of stylized type, according to modeling. Two types were much the same percentage. Hibiscus patterns were classified into three groups, isolated, band and arabesque type, by formation type. The isolated type was appeared most frequently. The layout of Hibiscus pattern was classified into three groups, engineered print, all over print and border print. All over print was appeared most frequently. The data of this study will be provided as a resource to promote using and developing of the pattern of Korean rose of Sharon.