We’re also preparing for another simple photo shoot this weekend and will unveil a new Hawaiian dress style next week. This dress style also comes in a wedding white print with a matching shirt for the groom for those of you planning a beach wedding this summer.

And since it is Aloha Friday (every Friday is Aloha Friday) we thought we’d share a funny Taco Bell commercial that just started airing in Hawaii.

Have a Happy Aloha Friday and we great weekend! Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to see what we’re up to over the weekend.

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We experimented with a green screen backdrop so we have some flexibility on how we use the pictures. And it also served as a test bed for us to get used to this type of thing for future projects under development. Although it was a learning experience, we had fun as you can see in the video below.

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The two most popular TV series ever shot in Hawaii are the original Hawaii Five-0 featuring the intense Jack Lord, and Magnum PI featuring the laid back Tom Selleck. Both shows featured exciting intros with catchy theme music.

Hawaii Five-0 has arguably the most iconic intro in the history of universe. It’s fast, furious and totally gets you in the mood to watch good guys catch bad guys.

Magnum PI’s intro is also quite awesome and kinda makes you want to drive fast, take a friend swimming and learn how to fly a helicopter. Note that the shirt Tom Selleck is wearing at the end of the video is the Jungle Bird aloha shirt that is now in the Smithsonian.

We like both! But what we’re more interested in knowing is which one you like better and why.

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Nowadays it is pretty hard to find clothing that’s made in USA. But here in Hawaii, the garment manufacturing industry is still going strong. Over the past few decades, most garment manufacturing shifted to overseas factories in China, Vietnam, Indonesia and other places. The biggest advantage of overseas production is labor cost. The biggest disadvantage is having to buy shirts and dresses in huge quantities and stocking expensive inventory. In recent years, the cost of labor has gone up considerably in places like China. While it is still cheaper to manufacture Aloha shirts and dresses in China, the lower cost per unit is offset by having to buy them by the hundreds, or even thousands. So rather than tie up so much money in inventory, companies stock their fabric in local warehouses and simply get by with smaller and more frequent production runs. This allows them to respond quickly to market demands and tastes.

The production techniques here in Hawaii have not changed much sine the first aloha shirts appeared in Honolulu in the 1930s. Fabric is still rolled onto cutting tables and cut by electric blades. Shirts are still individually sewn with a sewing machine. The biggest change is in how the fabric patters are designed. Computers and design software makes it much easier and faster to create designs, make revisions and control color than in decades past. But as far as the actual shirt manufacturing process is concerned, a modern Hawaiian dress factory looks very similar to ones from half a century ago.

Most of the shirts, dresses and muumuus we sell are made in Hawaii. A few items are imported like some kid’s clothing, bags and some muumuu prints. But chances are, if you buy a muumuu, Hawaiian dress, or aloha shirt form us you’ll see the “Made in Hawaii” tag and your item will be made as shown in the video.
 

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The ever-poplular White Hibiscus Panel men’s Hawaiian shirts are back! This simple yet classic Aloha shirt is one of the most popular shirts of all time! Well, at least since 1999.

They’re back! The perennial favorite White Hibiscus Panel (in blue and red) men’s Hawaiian shirts are finally available again. Since we opened for business back in 1999, these shirts have been one a fan favorite year in and year out. Other manufacturers have tried to copy it with slightly different prints and slightly different colors. But none of them have had the success of these shirts for some reason. Perhaps because they’re bold but not too bold. They’re simple but not too simple. They’re just right, which I guess makes them easy to match with different kinds of bottoms like khaki shorts, jeans or whatever.

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Angel and Scott discussing Instagram and Pinterest in grape bubble gum Aloha shirts

This may not qualify as totally new or interesting news, but we’ll mention it anyway. You can now follow us on Instagram and Pinterest. We’d love to get your feedback on our pictures there, especially if you have suggestions on what kind of pictures you would like us to add in the future.

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Who wants free shipping?

Happy New Year! We’re looking forward to a bunch of new things this year to improve on the overall experience of engaging with us here at AlohaFunWear.com. We wanted to start off by making a few simple changes. First, nobody likes paying for shipping so we are now offering free shipping on all US orders shipped via US Postal Service. In the past, free shipping kicked in if your order exceeded some amount like $50 or $100. Our new free shipping policy applies to any order of $0 or more.

Second, we’ve eliminated our 10% restocking fee on returned items. So anything that you return, assuming it is not damaged or worn, you’ll get a full 100% refund on those items, excluding shipping (via FedEx or whatever). You would be surprised what kind of condition some clothes come back in. One dress came back wrinkled, damp and covered with dog hair. We suspect it was a big friendly golden retriever. But returns like that are more the exception than the rule so we’re not worried about that.

Throughout the year we will be introducing new features that we hope will make your experience with us even more enjoyable. So for now, we’re starting off with free shipping and the elimination of the restocking fee. Stay tuned for more!

Aloha!

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Meegan poses in a Christmasy Hawaiian dress for a picture during our indoor photo shoot in a makeshift studio (spare office)

Photo shoots are one of the most difficult things we do. That is because we usually have it at a beach or beach house and coordinating that with the photographer, models and weather can be quite a nightmare. Even when things go smoothly, the level of difficulty is still pretty high. Since it is winter (iffy weather) we decided to try an indoor photo shoot. Luckily we had access to a spare office that was just big enough for some basic lighting and camera work.

So “Talent Coordinator” Chad arranged to have Meegan model for us at the last minute. And a couple of friends who love to take pictures of food and places agreed to be our photographers. So with the room, lights, model, props and photographers, we were set.

Overall it turned out pretty well as we got the pictures we needed. But we did learn a few things that we will improve on for the next shoot. But at least now we know that we can pull off a quick and easy photo shoot without the hassle of a full-blown beach photo shoot. We will still have the beach shoots but we will have many more of the studio shoots. Maybe we’ll secure a room to turn into a permanent studio, complete with more advanced lighting, backdrops and other stuff. We do have a green screen as well so hopefully we’ll find a way to make use of that early next year too.

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Check out her YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/keepingupwithashlyn and her Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/keepingupwithashlyn.

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The Five-0 Wave Hawaiians shirts (bottom) has a little bit of the famous Japanese painting “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” by Katsushika Hokusai and the Hawaii Five-0 wave in the opening credits of the original show. Though Paradise Found officially calls it Five-0, it reminds us more of the Hokusai painting. But it is a cool looking shirt either way.

Tiare (top) and Five-0 Wave (bottom) Hawaiian shirts

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