Reverse-Print Aloha Shirts: Made & Designed in Hawaiʻi

Reverse-Print Aloha Shirts: How a Subtle Classic Took Over Downtown

Walk through Bishop Street on a Friday and you’ll spot it everywhere: low-key, sun-washed Aloha shirts that look right at the morning stand-up and still feel perfect at sunset. That’s the reverse-print vibe—print to the inside, softer face to the world, mellow from day one.

Where it all began (quick history, island style)

In the early 1930s, local tailors started cutting shirts from colorful kimono and island prints. The name “Aloha shirt” shows up in Honolulu newspapers by 1935, thanks to Musa-Shiya the Shirtmaker—one of the earliest to advertise “Aloha shirts” in print. Soon after, Ellery Chun helped take the look mainstream: he stocked ready-made shirts and registered the “Aloha Shirt” and “Aloha Sportswear” trademarks in 1936–37. Together, those two threads—grassroots making and savvy merchandising—stitched the Aloha shirt into everyday island life.

How it became “office official” (and why reverse prints thrived)

In the 1960s, the local garment industry championed Aloha attire for work—what became Aloha Friday. Dress codes relaxed, and subtler patterns (hello, reverse prints) found their groove in boardrooms and break rooms across Hawaiʻi. Today, Aloha wear is widely accepted business attire here, not just on Fridays—one shirt, two speeds: meeting at 10am, mai tai at 6pm.

Why reverse-print wins downtown

Reverse prints read like island “quiet luxury”: toned-down color, a soft, sun-kissed look, and just enough texture to feel lived-in. It’s the shirt that gets nods in the lobby and compliments at sunset.

Made here, designed here: Lavahut’s promise

We’re one of the few brands that still designs prints in Hawaiʻi with local artists and sews our shirts in Hawaiʻi—supporting cutters, stitchers, and finishers right here at home. Expect coconut buttons, a pattern-matched pocket, and breathable cotton poplin tuned for our trade-wind life.