Vintage Hawaii T-Shirts

I don’t know if it was Magnum P. I’s fault, but Hawaiian t-shirts were a huge thing in the ‘80s.

I mean, besides bushy mustaches and knee-high socks, the floral Hawaiian shirts were pretty awesome. Those have been around for over eighty years. I'm selling Hawaiian shirts that date back to the 1950s right now.

But the Hawaiian t-shirt... that's more of a '70s /'80s trend and it never really went away.

I remember this blue and white ringer t-shirt. Many of my friends had it and in 1987, I was in the sixth grade. When fashion was a thing; when one is learning how to stand out and also be accepted. I would've loved this.

While I never had this awesome t-shirt, I did have an ‘80s Hawaiian t-shirt. It was royal blue and from a trip my family and I took during the mid ‘80s to Kauai. I wish so badly I had kept that shirt!

Anyway, as with most vintage things, I'm finding I have a way to get the items today that I wanted as a kid. All the things. Basically, I can have everything I wanted. 

The only caveat is I have to wait forty years to get it.

Those 40 years have passed, and I could easily keep this t-shirt. Only now, I'm okay if I don't keep it. It's just nice being able to hold it, try it on, and give it to someone who will really wear it.

It's in the shop, along with the rest of the Hawaiian shirts and dresses I'm selling. But be warned: as I've mentioned before, Hawaii is buying back all of its vintage items. 90% of my sales to Hawaii are Hawaiian items from the 1950s through the 1980s.

I don't blame them. I wrote about it before, and I'll say it again, vintage Hawaiian items are the best! The quality and colors of Hawaiian fabrics are nothing today like they used to be (sorry, not sorry).

Magnum, thanks for your influence. While no one will wear their Hawaiian shirts quite like you did (the two top buttons open all the time), you sure left a mark on vintage Hawaiian fashion for the entire world.

Aloha!