Alfred Shaheen raises the look of Tropical Wear to New Levels...

Recently the fashion world lost another icon....Alfred Shaheen, who turned a Hawaiian souvenier into a fashion craze!

Alfred Shaheen, garment industry pioneer, dies at 86

Shaheen revolutionized the garment industry in postwar Hawaii by designing, printing and producing aloha shirts and other ready-to-wear items under one roof.

The Honolulu Advertiser

Alfred Shaheen, a textile manufacturer who revolutionized the garment industry in postwar Hawaii by designing, printing and producing aloha shirts and other ready-to-wear items under one roof, has died. He was 86.

The tropical-print shirts for men and sundresses for women became standard and sometimes tacky souvenirs for travelers, but Shaheen raised the garments to the level of high fashion with artistic prints, high-grade materials and quality construction.


Even Elvis Presley wore a Shaheen-designed red aloha shirt featured on the album cover for the "Blue Hawaii" soundtrack in 1961.
(dress at right can be found at Dorothea's Closet )








So next time you find yourself coveting that Hawaiian Tiki Idol shirt at your local Vintage Shop...remember Alfred Shaheen made it all possible!
(dress at left from: GlamourSavvy.com )