Gitman Vintage teamed up with Kahala, the oldest operating apparel company on Hawai‘i, for a limited aloha shirt capsule. Kahala started making silk shirts cut from Japanese kimono fabrics in the 1930s, before pivoting to rayon printed with colorful motifs like flowers, surfers and palm trees in the 1940s – producing Hawaiian shirts as we know them today. By the late ’50s Kahala started experimenting with reverse prints, creating the iconic Duke’s Pareo print in 1960. For the uninitiated, Duke Kahanamoku (the prints namesake) is a surfing legend who helped popularize the sport, won five Olympic medals for swimming, and was a huge fan of Kahala’s shirts. Originally sold in just 2 colors, blue and red, the reverse prints offered customers a more subtle option and became a favorite with locals. Gitman Vintage recreated the print in two styles, a short-sleeve popover ($215.00) and a long-sleeve button down ($220.00). Cut and sewn in Gitman’s Tennessee factory, the shirts are finished with a button down collar, chalk buttons, locker loops and double-track stitching. Both styles are available in the original ’60s red and blue colorways, with an additional tonal grey-on-white long-sleeve version exclusively available at kahala.com.
Gitman Vintage + Kahala Duke’s Pareo shirts – gitmanvintage.com & kahala.com
