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The Hawaiian Shirt: Its Art and History
Traces the history of the Hawaiian shirt, discusses the materials, designers, and manufacturers, details its different varieties, and explains the items which make a shirt collectible
- GenresNonfictionArtFashion
96 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1984
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 14, 2015
In 2014, wearing a Hawaiian shirt is probably considered a fashion faux pas. However, during the 30s-50s these shirts were the height of fashion and their origins go back even further. H. Thomas Steele looks at the social and cultural history of Hawaiian shirts in, “The Hawaiian Shirt: Its Arts and History”.
“The Hawaiian Shirt” is a quick overview of the history and status of Hawaiian shirts both in the historic sense and the world of fashion. Sadly, this coffee table book fails to deliver any memorable highlights which may be due to author inadequacy or the fact that “The Hawaiian Shirt” was published 30 years ago and thus perhaps coffee table book standards were lower at the time.
Steele’s work is highly disorganized; lacking a cohesive strand and trend in the chapters. Although the author aims to introduce the history of these colorful shirts and present labels, brands, and types; the text often times strays on tangents—when there is text which isn’t often. Furthermore, Steele’s writing style is very elementary in both tone and language, and is best suited for readers on a middle-grade level. In fact, some of Steele’s phrasing is borderline offense such as the line, “They set about teaching the women to construct everyday gowns guaranteed to fit even the fattest” (p 9). All of this taken together leaves the reader without much knowledge gained and a book which is less than compelling.
“The Hawaiian Shirt” does present a plethora of Hawaiian shirts categorized by type which satisfies the kitschy eye. However, don’t expect the best graphics as again the book is very outdated. The reader will learn more from the photos than the text though, in a sort of self-lesson type of way.
The ending of “The Hawaiian Shirt” is abrupt without a summarized conclusion, references, or any sources for further reader exploration. This leaves the reader reaching for more without any access to material and yet; the text doesn’t exactly encourage interest on the subject, either.
Overall, “The Hawaiian Shirt” is a super fast (an hour or so) read which unfortunately doesn’t answer many questions on the history of Hawaiian shirts or even ups the ante on a coffee table. Steele’s work is only recommended for those who are fans of these blast-from-the-past shirts and must view all the photos available from decades long-gone. Otherwise, “The Hawaiian Shirt” can be skipped.
“The Hawaiian Shirt” is a quick overview of the history and status of Hawaiian shirts both in the historic sense and the world of fashion. Sadly, this coffee table book fails to deliver any memorable highlights which may be due to author inadequacy or the fact that “The Hawaiian Shirt” was published 30 years ago and thus perhaps coffee table book standards were lower at the time.
Steele’s work is highly disorganized; lacking a cohesive strand and trend in the chapters. Although the author aims to introduce the history of these colorful shirts and present labels, brands, and types; the text often times strays on tangents—when there is text which isn’t often. Furthermore, Steele’s writing style is very elementary in both tone and language, and is best suited for readers on a middle-grade level. In fact, some of Steele’s phrasing is borderline offense such as the line, “They set about teaching the women to construct everyday gowns guaranteed to fit even the fattest” (p 9). All of this taken together leaves the reader without much knowledge gained and a book which is less than compelling.
“The Hawaiian Shirt” does present a plethora of Hawaiian shirts categorized by type which satisfies the kitschy eye. However, don’t expect the best graphics as again the book is very outdated. The reader will learn more from the photos than the text though, in a sort of self-lesson type of way.
The ending of “The Hawaiian Shirt” is abrupt without a summarized conclusion, references, or any sources for further reader exploration. This leaves the reader reaching for more without any access to material and yet; the text doesn’t exactly encourage interest on the subject, either.
Overall, “The Hawaiian Shirt” is a super fast (an hour or so) read which unfortunately doesn’t answer many questions on the history of Hawaiian shirts or even ups the ante on a coffee table. Steele’s work is only recommended for those who are fans of these blast-from-the-past shirts and must view all the photos available from decades long-gone. Otherwise, “The Hawaiian Shirt” can be skipped.
December 16, 2022
This colorful book focuses on the 'classic' shirts from the 1930s-50s. It provides just enough history to be satisfying, but focuses on the shirts themselves.
Some pages show one shirt in a blazing display of color, but most pages have four shirts on a page in order to show a range of shirts. This means a magnifying glass would be handy, as the detail is hard to appreciate in an image that only spans a couple of inches.
Some pages show one shirt in a blazing display of color, but most pages have four shirts on a page in order to show a range of shirts. This means a magnifying glass would be handy, as the detail is hard to appreciate in an image that only spans a couple of inches.
May 21, 2018
We recently visited my son in Hawaii and I was astonished that everyone wore Hawaiian shirts, even businessmen. It was wonderful. Hawaii is probably one of our most visual and sensual states and the shirts are a celebration of that. And they have a wonderful history...they aren't just tourist items.
This was a fun book and I enjoyed it.
This was a fun book and I enjoyed it.
February 5, 2014
everything you ever, ever wanted to know about the title subject, this book is full of wonderful photos and illustrations of a true American art form. I just loved it.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews