How did the shirts come to Hawaii?

Looking for work a diaspora of people from asia came to the islands of Hawaii. They were valued workers on sugar cane and pineaple plantations.

Their work clothes were often airy shirts made of blue checked Japanese cotton, called palaka. The original form of the Hawaiian shirt is attributed to this workwear. However, until the 1920s, more and more marginalized groups wore these casual shirts.

The immigrants imported traditional fabrics from their home countries. From these, tailors began to sew colorful, airy shirts. This resulted in the first Hawaiian shirts made from colorful yukata and kimono fabrics from Japan.

The eye-catching shirts were particularly popular with students, who helped them to become increasingly well-known. Over time, aloha shirts became a popular souvenir of the island and were distributed all over the world in the luggage of soldiers and tourists.