Don’t Miss Vintage Lines: Aloha Shirt Exhibit Going On Now At Ward Village, Honolulu

Don’t miss this great Aloha Shirt show going on now through September 30th at Ward Village in Honolulu. See the history of our state’s favorite garment— daily from 10 to 5 in the landmark IBM building.

Aloha Shirts have literally been woven into the history of the islands, starting with the traditional palaka prints worn by the paniolo and plantation workers. Later Hawaiian prints were made popular by Elvis, Sinatra and Magnum P.I… This winter 2019, Saint Laurent is showing Hawaiian prints for men on the runway! Can I say how happy I am to see the new hip generation wearing Aloha shirts again! Like everything in life, fashion goes in cycles…

Get the scoop at this exhibit curated by longtime family friend, Dale Hope. Dale wrote the book! His father started one of the first Hawaiian textile companies ever in Honolulu that later morphed into Kahala.

When Dale was the creative director at Kahala many years ago, he encouraged my parents to start designing textiles after he saw my mom’s cool floral designs like the hat above (Monstera print by Louise Severson). Since then, both my parents fell in love with designing textiles …and so have I! So fun to be able to wear your artwork.

Above: my dad, John Severson, with some of his favorite shirts that he designed. My family has created thousands of Hawaiian Style patterns over the past 25 years for many companies, including Kahala and SunSurf.

So cool to see my dad’s stuff in the exhibit. Above, left: one of my dad’s textiles in the show, called “Spinning Boards.” To the right, his Big Wednesday poster!

For more about Ward Village, see my blog “Where Can You Own a New Home in Honolulu Like a Designer Hotel Suite with Ocean Views – for $1M?“