The Hawaiian shirt definitely belongs in the trend category “Ugly is the new cool”. Comparable to the dad sneakers, which are a very similar trend phenomenon: The chunky 90s-style sports shoes that dads wear to mow the lawn were suddenly the hottest thing to wear on your feet. The same goes for the Hawaiian and bowling shirts this summer, and if you are a bowling player you can check the bowling ball reviews for more information. When it comes to colorful short-sleeved shirts, most people probably think of cliché tourists with a straw hat and a camera slung around their neck, or of Tom Selleck, who is a private detective who hunts Magnum criminals. In short, the flower-heavy textiles were a clear sign that the wearer had absolutely no fashionable taste. High time to get that Hawaiian shirt out of the cliché moth box.
The Hawaiian shirt trend is announced
The fashion goddess Miuccia Prada showed a series of Hawaiian shirts for her autumn/winter 2018 collection, which were printed with a kind of remix of her archive prints. It didn’t take long and the pieces were the it-pieces of the season. So-called fashion and hypebeasts fought for the shirts printed with flames, bananas, and flowers. At the latest when various rap artists, Instagram stars, and actors were seen in the shirts, there was no stopping them. The starting shot for the Hawaiian shirt trend could not be ignored and this summer things really get going. Those who like it classic and relaxed can combine the Hawaiian shirt with jeans or chinos. Jeans look coolest when they have a tapered fit (tapering downwards) and end at ankle height. Chinos look most modern with colorful shirts when they have a slightly wider and, above all, straight leg. Chinos in workwear style made of strong canvas look very cool. Of course, you can also wear the trendy short-sleeved shirts a little chicer. Normally, the following rule applies: Never wear a short-sleeved shirt under your jacket. We’re making an exception this summer, but only for the Hawaiian shirt. It is best to wear suits in summery natural colors (for example beige, sand, camel). So that the look is a little more “tidy”, you should rather avoid eye-catching patterns. Combine dark, slim-fitting cotton trousers with a shirt to add some calm to the outfit. There is a very cool alternative to hibiscus and palm trees. Photo art prints and trashy 80s / 90s motifs are particularly popular this summer. Granted, these eye-catching all-over prints are not for everyone. The gaudy shirts are aimed more at hypebeasts and experienced trendsetters.
Where does the Hawaiian shirt come from?
We owe the Hawaiian shirt to the missionaries stationed in Hawaii at the beginning of the 19th century, who made sure that the previously wild, naked locals dressed with it. At the beginning of the 1930s, the Hawaiian shirt (also known as the “Aloha shirt” at the time) made it to the North American continent. Many tourists finally brought it home with them as a souvenir of their stay on the paradisiacal island. The big breakthrough came in the early 1950s when Hollywood discovered the colorful short-sleeved shirt. Suddenly movie idols like Burt Lancaster and Elvis Presley wore Hawaiian shirts in US productions. Stars like Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby also appeared in it at their concerts. And although the eighties cult series “Magnum” with Thomas Selleck in the lead role once again gave the myth of the Hawaiian shirt a huge boost, for European taste it was still on the border between kitsch and cult. Nowadays, fashion and American triviality, and pop culture are dealt with much more informally. “Al Bundy”, wearing a Hawaiian shirt, from the American trash series “A terribly nice family” became a cult star. And even THE absolute cult designer of the nineties, Helmut Lang, was inspired by the Hawaiian shirt and designed an ironic version of it.
