Aloha

Welcome to the ultimate online source for Hawaiian Shirts and Hawaiian clothing. We have a large selection of Men's Hawaiian shirts, Women's Hawaiian Blouses, Children’s Hawaiian Wear, Ladies' tropical floral dresses, and Hawaiian style beach sandals. Banana Jack has been a leading name in Hawaiian apparel and tropical clothing since 1996, providing authentic, original Hawaiian clothing - Made in Honolulu, Hawaii - to satisfied customers all over the world. Whether you're looking for men's Hawaiian shirts, Hawaiian blouses for women, beach wedding attire, or kids Hawaiian shirts, you have come to the right place!

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About Us

Banana Jack is a family owned company located in Honolulu Hawaii, USA. We've been on the web since October 1996, shipping our Hawaiian Aloha shirts, our hawaiian style dresses and beach fashion footwear to the entire planet. Shop our site with confidence knowing once you purchase any of our fine Hawaiian shirts, dresses or sandals, your payment and personal information will be kept strickly confidential. We never sell, give away or compromise any of our client data, in any way, and we take great pride in all our hawaiian clothes and shoes - offering unsurpassed, world class customer service and speedy delivery. | Read More

About Hawaiian Shirts

Hawaiian Shirts have earned a place in American Heritage as an ambassador of the 50th state and embodying the true spirit of Aloha. The traditional Hawaiian Shirt came from the utilitarian beginnings in the plantation fields, and was first made from the inner bark of the Wauke tree. This may be attributed from colonial pressures by missionaries going back as far as the late 1800's.

Early Hawaiian Shirts

Early designers of Hawaiian shirts first took their surroundings as subject matterfor the shirts: deriving images from ancient lands to include symbolic images of tigers, bamboo trees as well as peaceful landscapes. It didn't take long before the local culture contributed surfers, outrigger canoes, coconut trees, expanding to fish, birds, beaches, sunsets and tropical rainforests to their Hawaiian Apparel.

The fabrics used for Hawaiian shirts and Hawaiian clothing have included Chinese silks and Japanese kimonos eventually including modern synthetics and blends such as Rayon, polyester and cotton. Over time, the classic style has changed from the original palaka, with designs now borrowing from the barong of the Philippines and even the collared shirts the had started coming from the continental United States.

The inventive appeal of a blank canvas Cotton Hawaiian Shirts provided an opportunity that sprang from this simple shirt design. This drew the interest of Hawaiian Shirt designers such as Ethel Chun Lum, sister of Ellery Chun who was first to officially register the "Aloha Shirt" name in 1936. Elsie Das contributed botanical prints of native flora and fauna, most notably hibiscus, and incorporated the amusing pattern of hula girls. More flamboyant designers such as John "King Keoni" Meigs contributed during the "golden age" of the Aloha shirt from the early 1930s to early 1950s. In the late 1950s, Reyn Spooner and Reyn McCullough joined forces to introduce the faded look by sewing the pattern in reverse, in essence, inside-out.

Hawaiian Shirts as Formal Wear

Traditionally, Men's Hawaiian Shirts are to be considered formal wear locally, for local government and business. These Hawaiian Shirts can be considered an equivalent of a shirt, coat, and tie used formally in other regions. However, the warmer climate of Hawaii was the driving force that made the Aloha Shirt appropriate for any formal occasion. Newcomers (or Malahini) often sport Cotton Hawaiian Shirt designs of many bright colors, while locals (called Kamaaina) tend to chose patterns not so busy.

Collector's of this iconic garment look for trademark elements that characterize vintage Hawaiian shirts:

  • coconut buttons
  • double stitched seams
  • button-down facings
  • horizontal buttonholes
  • the absence of top stitching on the collar
  • a top button collar loop
  • pattern matching on pocket attachment
  • short sleeves
  • straight bottom (these shirts are intended to be worn out, not tucked in)
  • original "Made in Hawaii" label

Respect for Hawaiian shirts and the international statement they make for the true spirit of Aloha has earned it a place in accepted formal wear in business and amongst professionals in Hawaii, as well as tradtitional and authentic Hawaiian wedding dresses and attire. You can find authentic, original Hawaiian clothing from Banana Jack, a leading name in Hawaiian apparel and tropical clothing since 1996 - Made in Honolulu, Hawaii.