Most Hawaiian shirts can be broken down into
a few major categories The most common ones are the basic
all-over print and the scenic print. But there are
variations within these types well as several other styles.
We'll also cover some of the terminology used for Hawaiian
shirts. All of our shirts are made in Hawaii with great care
and with special attention to the details like matched
pockets.
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Basic All-Over
Print Hawaiian Shirts
These shirts are probably the most
common shirts. They are characterized by a repeating
print that appears all over the fabric in a uniform
manner as illustrated to the left. These shirts can
be worn tucked in our out. These shirts typically do
not match up perfectly to create a seamless image at
the buttons.
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Scenic Print
Hawaiian Shirts
The scenic shirts are similar to the
all-over print shirts in that the details in the
print repeat in a uniform matter. The only
difference is that these shirts contain scenery
rather than just a simple repeating image of a
flower or leaf. For some people, the scenic prints
conjure up feelings of freedom and being on
vacation. These shirts typically do not match up
perfectly to create a seamless image at the buttons.
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Panel Hawaiian Shirts
Some shirts have prints that are laid
out in vertical panels, usually flowers and/or leaves.
Like the basic all-over prints and the scenic prints,
the panel designs have repeating patterns, but they
repeat as you go from one side of the shirt to the
other, rather than all over the shirt. These shirts
typically do not match up perfectly to create a seamless
image at the buttons.
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Border Hawaiian
Shirts
Shirts that have a design going across
the shirt are called border Hawaiian shirts. Most of
these shirts have a design in them that repeat every
10-12 inches as you go from one side of the shirt to the
other. If the design happens to go across the bottom of
the shirt, they may be called a Bottom Design
Hawaiian shirt. The shirt illustrated at left is a
border shirt that also happens to be a bottom print.
Border Hawaiian shirts are meant to be worn untucked.
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Engineered Hawaiian
Shirts
Engineered Hawaiian shirts have a
seamless image from one side of the shirt to the other.
The image usually repeats every 18 inches, which is
greater than that of most border print shirts. The
shirts also have a seamless image that is uninterrupted
at the buttons. These shirts are usually the priciest
shirts for any given quality of fabric because it
requires the most fabric to manufacture. Engineered
Hawaiian shirts are meant to be worn untucked to show
off the entire design.
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Matched Prints
Some border or bottom print Hawaiian
shirts have a seamless image at the buttons. The shirt
to the left, unlike the one right above it, is perfectly
matched at the buttons creating a seamless image as you
go across the shirt. Notice how the turtle crosses the
seam uninterupted.These shirt are harder to make and
require greater skill and attention to detail. Many
border print shirts do not match at the buttons like
this one does.
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Matched Pocket
The better Hawaiian shirts have a
matched pocket. That means the pocket exactly matches
the print on the shirt making it nearly invisible. In
the picture to the left, you can see that the palm tree
leaves on the pocket precisely line up with the leaves
on the shirt. The result is a seamless image created by
the pocket on the shirt. Creating matched pockets
requires the use of more fabric and more precise cutting
and sewing. All of our Hawaiian shirts come with a
matched pocket.
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