Inside out shirts

My wahine picked me up a Hawaiian shirt that was sewn properly, except the material was sewn backside out. She told me the reason she bought it was the lady she worked with (before me moved) had lived in Hawaii half her life (husband was in the military) and the shops started sewing their shirts with the material that way for a reason. Anyone know that reason?

Was it a "Cooke Street" shirt? I think all of there shirts are made that way. Why? Dunno...

Inside out shirts have been around for a long time. I used to wear them in elementary school.

Here is an except from a book I own titled "The Art of the Aloha Shirt"

"Started in the 1960s. Often called Inside out shirts, these were made with the backside of the fabric intentionally facing outward. This was popular partly because the backward cloth made a shirt look almost like it was faded instead of brand new- A well worn favorite aloha shirt to some young men (such as surfers) showed you were a long term resident, not a tourist. In later years this toned down look came to be almost a requirement for aloha shirts worn to work in Hawaii by professional men."

I think that the style was pioneered by Reyn Spooner.
Those shirts are very common in Hawaii, especially among the folks that wear their aloha shirts to the office.
Aloha,
:tiki:

On 2005-03-06 21:00, Unkle John wrote:
Anyone know that reason?

It's the same reason I wear my underwear inside out.….no washer and dryer.

On 2005-03-06 21:26, Monkeyman wrote:
"Started in the 1960s. Often called Inside out shirts, these were made with the backside of the fabric intentionally facing outward. This was popular partly because the backward cloth made a shirt look almost like it was faded instead of brand new- A well worn favorite aloha shirt to some young men (such as surfers) showed you were a long term resident, not a tourist. In later years this toned down look came to be almost a requirement for aloha shirts worn to work in Hawaii by professional men."

Basically the same as what I'd heard: tourists wanted to look like they'd owned & washed a shirt many times, like the locals did, so a shirtmaker started turning the material inside out.

I also remember reading that the first "Aloha Shirts" were made with leftover Kimono cloth, and that there was still someone making them from antique Kimonos, maybe the inside-out shirts are trying to capture that antique cloth look, too.

On 2005-03-06 21:25, Doctor Z wrote:
Was it a "Cooke Street" shirt?

M.E. Sport
100% Rayon
Made in Korea

I've always known them as "reverse print" shirts. I see them quite frequently around here at the value village, but haven't found any worthy of bringing home.
There's a weird red and white beer logo one there now.

Molson Canadian reverse print hawaiian shirt! Just what I always wanted!

It always strikes me funny when the staff try to turn them right side out, thinking they're inside out or something. ha.

See http://www.reyns.com/history.htm for Reyn Spooner version of the tale.

JTD

On 2005-03-07 11:52, Unkle John wrote:

M.E. Sport
100% Rayon
Made in Korea

I have several of those despite trying to rid my collection of non-Hawaiian makers. Why? Because those M.E. Sports are some of the most comfortable shirts I've ever worn on a hot, humid day. Plus, if I spill something on it I won't faint dead away. :)

To me, the inside out Aloha shirts are a contradiction in terms, even to the point of being part of the Tiki devolution, since they are based on the "good taste vs bad taste" premise. The essence of a Hawaiian shirt is that it is VERY colorful (garish to some), and the "watering down" of that attribute undermine it's uniqueness. I love vintage, but despise faux vintage.

A couple of years ago I found a great Reyn Spooner shirt based on that fantastic Easter Island Mosaic at the head of the mug chapter of the BOT. A red mosaic base, with the Moais, modern fish, volcano, etc all there, but it was INSIDE OUT! Since I only could find it in a polo cut, I cut off the buttons and turned the inside-out inside out, and VOILA, beautiful clear contrast and colors!
(Now I just have to loose some weight to wear it again...)

LOL I know what you mean Sven. I've gotten a few shirts at thift stores that had great prints and either the shirts are a 4x (my wahine hemmed them for me. Or they are the correct size but the idiots ran them in the drier and they shrunk. So my wife has some that I can't wear, oh well they look good on her.

thank you for sharing, It is a great post.