I’m a smoker. I’m also what would be described in height/weight charts as obese. When I appear in public, my usual outfit is my Postal Service uniform (bought on USPS’s nickel). That’s okay five days a week. On my days off, though, it’s slacks, and a (preferably) colored T-shirt under an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt.
My aloha shirt collection is not as large as I’d like for it to be, and I’m looking around for pieces to extend it some. Too often, though, the aloha shirts I’m seeing don’t have a pocket (to hold my cigarettes and lighter). I have two in my closet that I received as gifts, which I can’t wear except in jacket weather. If I could find a T-shirt with a breast pocket, it would be helpful, but I’m not seeing those around either.
I’ve tried googling “Where in Portland can I try on a Hawaiian shirt?”, hoping that it would exclude sites that will only sell online, but that’s not working out. Google will return results for any place that sells any kind of shirt at all, which isn’t helpful, and a couple of specialty shops with one or two aloha shirts that aren’t particularly appealing and cost upwards of $175 (which REALLY isn’t helpful).
Another thing that rankles is that my favorite aloha shirts are starting to show signs of their age, wearing at the edges of the sleeves or a small tear on the corner of the pocket.
I’m not really fond of winter in the PNW, but I find myself wishing it would hurry up and get here, so I can put on my sport coat and wear my Futurama shirt again.
It seems Urban Outfitters might have some shirts you like for sale. (not 100% sure)
There is one in Portland.
I would also say Amazon has (or had) a program to buy clothes, try them on and then send the ones you do not like back and only be charged for what you keep. Not as ideal as trying them on in a store but likely a much larger collection. If not that program then just buy and return as you would anything with them.
Dunno about Portland but here many Whole Foods stores have an Amazon return desk which is super easy to use. If not that then an automated return box. You can search for locations in your area.
Also, thrift stores might have some selection but that is hit-and-miss.
As to the Amazon thing, I’m a fan of deciding that I want to buy something and being able to have it right when I decide it, so I’m afraid that anything that means I have to wait for it to be delivered is a non-starter.
And I’ve never been inside a Whole Foods store; I use the Amazon return counter at Kohl’s.
Duluth Trading Company has a store in Portland. While I don’t personally buy T-Shirts with pockets, they have them in abundance, and I love their T-shirts (I’m assuming the pocketed ones are otherwise the same as the pocketless). As a fellow Hawaiian shirt fan (I’ve spent way too much on Tommy Bahamas over the years), Duluth has some fun shirts that aren’t really Hawaiian, but scratch the same itch for me. Not wanting to look like I’m spamming for them, I’ll avoid the links but if you search for “men’s bbq short sleeve” you’ll find them. Of the current choices I have the lawnmower pattern and the fishing boat pattern. I get more compliments on these shirts than any of my others.
How long have you been looking for shirts? Would you say that the amount of time you’ve spent looking is smaller or greater than Amazon delivery times?
I get what you’re driving at, but I’m not particularly swayed from my preferences in this regard. Also, when I have looked online, I’ve found it difficult or impossible to tell whether the shirts have pockets.
Both Hanes and Fruit of the Loom make pocketed crew-neck Tees which they conveniently list as Pocket T-shirts. They usually come in packs of 4 or 6 and are available in a variety of colors. They’re also conveniently available from places like Walmart, Target, or Amazon. I personally have a drawer full of them that I wear pretty much year round.
Brace yourself: there was an episode of the Hawai’i 5-0 redux where someone was going around stealing Hawaiian shirts — some were collectors items worth hundreds (thousands?) of dollars, due to who made them, what manner of accoutrements they sported, the condition they were in and other criteria. I mean, have you ever?
Thanks for this reminder. I listen to books from my phone (through hearing aids or earbuds), but apparently, my butt’s too big to get a good bluetooth connection from my back pocket. So I’ve been exclusively wearing my few t-shirts that have pockets.
I wish I could find shirts advertising cool brewpubs or bands… but also with pockets!
Oh, my problem with Hawaiian* shirts is that I need 100% cotton. So many are rayon or polyester (which I’m allergic to).
*Is a Hawaiian shirt the same thing as an “aloha” shirt, I assume?
Hawaiian shirt suggestion: if you don’t mind wearing “used”, try looking in antique stores. I was at the Monterey Antique Mall a couple of weeks ago and there were several vendors with nice “vintage” Aloha shirts for sale.
I’ve had good luck at thrift stores. Anything that Old Dudes donate are always plentiful.
(Or their wives get sick of that same old shirt and donate it for them.)
Luckily, I love Hawaiian shirts, cargo shorts and, in the winter, warm plaid shirts.
I’ve become a fan of buying used on Poshmark. They have great vintage stuff. I would search for the brand and size of shirt you currently have and enjoy and see what comes up. I myself am cornering the market on JamzWorld apparel from the '90s.
If you can delay your gratification a little bit, I’d recommend Hilo Hattie for good aloha shirts. I checked them out while in Hawaii on vacation, and they make high quality aloha shirts (with pockets where the pattern lines up even).
Almost all of my aloha collection came from the Big & Tall section at Dillard’s, the department store than anchors my nearest mall. Their retail prices are pretty eye-popping, especially for the Polo and Tommy Bahama offerings, but they have an almost constant clearance section where last season’s designs are at least 40% and up to 75% off. They don’t appear to operate in the PNW but you could look online, and I bet there’s another department store that operates similarly.
I also really like Reyn Spooner, though they’re expensive and their 3x isn’t quite as big as I’d like it to be.
Thrift stores are my go to, or friends sharing ones they no longer like. I still have my first one, my father bought it for me in 1968 or so, Kahala. Its not as lightweight as more modern ones, but well stitched.
Patagonia released a book called The Aloha Shirt, somewhat of an art book, but great history of the industry dating back quite aways
Seconding the thrift store suggestion. Sure, it’s a bit hit and miss, but I’ve had plenty of good luck. I don’t know how widespread they are, but there’s a chain called Savers that has pretty big selections.
I’m a bit surprised that your username isn’t “Newman”.
Hey, do you know a now-retired mail carrier by the name of Rocky? He delivered in Sellwood for about 20 years or so. He’s also paddles for the dragon boat bunch. Really good guy who looked out for the neighborhood and reported malfeasance to the cops. We had a farewell party for him when he retired.
I got many or most of my modest collection of Aloha shirts from Hilo Hattie when they had a store in Orange, and I worked in a building across the parking lot from the mall. My favourite is almost 30 years old and I still wear it. I have some newer shirts I bought from Amazon. I’m wearing a blue-and-white, cotton hibiscus pattern one right now. I wish I could go into a Hilo Hattie store and browse. Ya gotta feel the texture!
