Aloha Print Scale
Ever wonder why scale in Hawaiian prints is so big? It might be thanks to Wong’s Drapery. In the 1940s Wong’s began to make shirts from heavyweight drapery fabric. Upholstery fabric tends to use larger scale repeats than one would put on the body. Kids would buy them to go to college on the mainland where the heavier fabric made sense and the large floral prints communicated their Hawaiian-ness.
“After textile imports ceased during World War II, the creation of uniquely Hawaiian textiles began out of necessity in Hawai`i. Artists began designing textiles with large scale tropical motifs for interior design applications such as for slipcovers and draperies. Remnants from the production of slipcovers and draperies were used to make aloha shirts; these were among the earliest tropical print aloha shirts. The drapery shirts produced by Wong’s Draperies were a local phenomenon; they were only worn by local residents, never by tourists. Although these drapery shirts were not advertised, they remained popular from the 1940s through the 1960s and even became popular in America as Hawaiian students went to college on the US mainland, then sent requests home for Wong’s shirts. They were made of heavy cotton, and were comfortable for football games on the US Mainland”
Who is this guy? Anyone know?