Hawaiian shirts are returning - but 'people want to think twice', says expert

[cinematicdiversions]

Sometimes the Guardian... well just has to Guardian... I swear some days it seems like the Onion has embedded one of its reporters over there.

https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2021/apr/12/hawaiian-shirts-fashion-trend-expert

The return of the Hawaiian shirt has been celebrated in the style press, as celebrities including Bill Murray, Rihanna and Sophie Turner have been seen to wear them.

But according to Zara Anishanslin, a fellow at the Davis Center for Historical Studies at Princeton, people should think twice before wearing the garments.

“They are the fashion equivalent of a plantation wedding,” said Anishanslin. “They could be seen as fashionable embodiments of the history of American colonization, imperialism and racism against Hawaii’s indigenous inhabitants. People might want to think twice about whether the look is worth the weight of its associative past.”

Hawaiian shirts have also been co-opted by the “Boogaloo” movement, white supremacists who advocate war against the federal government.


I don't even know where to begin.

[PortTack]

1. Yup! The guardian sadly has become the equivalent of the NT post.

[Treefrog]

2. Lol.

[Eugene]

3. The Boogaloo Bois' look is so obviously awful, that it's hard to mistake

an innocent wearer for them. Still, the concern is noted.

That said, my heritage is partly Afro-Caribbean, which also features the bright floral shirts. This cultural subtext is news to me.

[mahina]

25. They have very bad taste in aloha attire.

Much better:

https://sigzanedesigns.com/collections/buttondown-shirts

https://www.manaolahawaii.com/product/aloha-short-sleeve-2-13/

[d_r]

4. do not allow boogieloo freaks

to take Aloha shirts.

[cinematicdiversions]

6. Honestly I had never even heard of the boogieloo till this article. NT

[d_r]

10. they want a civil war

That's their whole point. They think they are cute. They call the "civil war 2" that they want to start the "boogaloo," after the film Breaking 2: Electric Boogaloo. It is their "joke" that they want a sequal civil war. From the "loo" in boogaloo they get "luau" so they wear Hawaiian shirts. They think they are clever. They are internet incels with ar-15s (and shotguns apparently from the above picture) who think they are funny. They think that they can instigate enough things to cause a race war by getting black folks to blame white folks and white folks to blame black folks. They are manipulated by the same Russian internet gang that wants to cause chaos in the US. They'd benefit from a good caning.

[mitch96]

5. I have a ton of H shirts. I need a sticker saying"I don't boogaloo, do you?"........ nt

[dameatball]

8. yeah, I have a few that I liked but seldom ever wore, mostly maybe for grilling when in the mood.

Now they just sort of hang there in the closet wondering if it is their fault...

[area51]

7. Obligatory reference:

Firefly's Hoban Washburne:

[PatSeg]

9. Oh my god

Seriously, is there really nothing else to write about? Maybe journalists should "think twice" before submitting articles for publication. There are so many really important stories to cover and THIS is what he/she chose?

The Boogaloo reference is the only legitimate concern I can find. Can't find the name of the writer though.

[BradAllison]

11. Oh for fuck's sake

Don't worry, this will morph, it will become "problematic", someone will write a naval gazing essay in the Atlantic about how they cried over a traumatic episode of Hawaii Five-O or "Tiny Bubbles" always triggered them and Hawaiian shirts will be cancelled.

[BannonsLiver]

23. Don't kid yourself

I’d be mildly shocked if someone didn’t have that take here or elsewhere, but I predict HuffPo would be the most likely based on past examples of utter lunacy.

[Jose Garcia]

12. Don't tell Weird Al

[lame54]

14. Or Trader Joe

[Dave in VA]

13. OK, Hawaii

what do you have to say about this?

[Sibelius Fan]

15. If you're going to cancel something, why not beards, especially three-day stubble beards?

[Ilsa]

26. Oh, goddess, yes, please.

I'm so sick of that look, and the hillbilly beards of the white supremacists.

[mactire]

16. Fashion

The Guardian News article was from the Fashion section reporting on a Princeton University historical study on a particular fashion item and it’s relation to current societal trends. It was not an opinion piece, and certainly doesn’t warrant a comparison of the NY Post!

[Gaugamela]

18. Thank you! And welcome to DU! The Guardian is a great news organization and well to the

left of many of the comments here on DU. I was amazed at the comparison to the NY Post and about to respond when I saw you beat me to it.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

17. I know several science fiction writers who wear pretty much nothing but Hawaiian shirts.

So that's about the dumbest article I've ever seen.

[bdamomma]

19. Welcome to DU!!

Not to be too critical but we also have a DU Lounge for topics like this. Post away.

[Trailrider1951]

20. Nonononono!

I love my Hawaiian shirts! My basic summer wear along with my shorts and flip-flops! I REFUSE to surrender them to the asshole racists, along with my American flag!

[BannonsLiver]

21. Zara has way too much spare time on her hands. What a crank.

[Johnny2X2X]

22. Have a couple Hawain shirts

But I get it, racists have appropriated it as their uniform. There are cells of racist anti American terrorists using them as their identifier. So I will not wear one right now, unless of course I am vacationing in Hawaii.

The OK finger sign was appropriated by White Supremacists too. 15 years ago it was just the "Okay" sign, now it universally means "White Power." People who use it thinks this gives them plausible deniability, but at this point everyone knows what it means. Not to say it can't be used functionally, in scuba diving, the Okay sign is still used to communicate everything is OK, it has nothing to do with White Power. But in any remotely political event, the OK sign in a picture, or given by a Rightwing Speaker clearly means White Power.

[Basic LA]

24. Just don't wear one to Trader Joe"s

Or everyone will keep asking you where things are. Happened to me. (BTW, I like the cut & comfort of the shirts, without the floral prints. You can get them in plain colors.)

[tritsofme]

27. The line between news and satire is as thin as ever.

[Backseat Driver]

28. How else to blend in with one's pool-side Mid-Century Modern furnishings?

[Ilsa]

29. So, no more Hawaiian-themed parties or

proms? That sucks for nursing homes and the disabled community.

[panader0]

30. I went to high school in Honolulu many years ago.

Fridays were 'aloha' days and everyone wore Hawaiian shirts and muumuus.
My favorite shirts were the 'reverse Aloha' shirts, with the cloth turned inside out
so the look was faded. More cool I thought back then. I haven't seen them here on
the Mainland.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

31. I have a few I wear when it's hot outside

As an old man I don't look that good in a tank top so these are a cool alternative.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

32. I have a few "Hawaiian" shirts. But the labels seem to mention ...

"Caribbean" or "Bahamas".

So, same imperialism, different islands.

All my "Hawaiian" shirts are from the "pre-Boogaloo" era.

[Arthur_Frain]

33. Gate keeping my sartorial splendor now, are they?

Hello, I’m Natalie Attired.

Shall I wear the dashiki, the scrubs, or the Hawaiian today?