SS39060 / SUN SURF SPECIAL EDITION HAWAIIAN SHIRT “THE LOST TOWN”
After Hawaii was annexed by the U.S. in 1900 and switched from official to free immigration, the number of Japanese immigrants continued to increase. Japanese communities began to form on the major islands of Hawaii, and "towns" with not only houses but also stores and factories sprang up. One of the most famous of these towns was Shinmachi, located in Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii. This first reissue of this design was created to commemorate the festivals held in Shinmachi at that time.
The original was created by Hata Dry Goods Store. S. Hata Shorten, based in Hilo and led by Sadonosuke Hata, who ran a successful business importing items needed by immigrants from Japan and the mainland US. His brother, Yoichi Hata, who founded Y. Hata Company, sold aloha shirts at Hata Dry Goods Store, which he owned. His main line of shirts were sewn by tailors in Hilo, and sometimes he ordered original designs from Japan via his brother, S. Hata Schoten. This shirt featuring SHINMACHI was made for a small community and was very rare, with only a few produced at the time. The fabric used was rayon slub, which was very rare for aloha shirts of the time. S. Hata Schoten was the Hawaii distributor for Ichida, a major fabric trading company, which made it easy to obtain rare fabrics.
TITLE： “THE LOST TOWN”
ORIGINAL BRAND NAME： HATA DRY GOODS STORE
ESTIMATED MANUFACTURING DATES： LATE 1940s
FABRIC： RAYON SLUB
PRINTING METHOD： DISCHARGE PRINTING
PRINTING PATTERN： ALL OVER PATTERN
BUTTON： COCONUTS BUTTON
Size Shoulder Width Body Width Body Length Sleeve Length
S Around 44.0cm Around 54.5cm Around 63.0cm Around 20.5cm
M Around 47.0cm Around 57.5cm Around 66.5cm Around 21.0cm
L around 49.5cm around 61.0cm around 70.5cm around 22.5cm
XL Around 53.0cm Around 63.5cm Around 73.0cm Around 23.5cm
XXL Around 55.0cm Around 66.0cm Around 73.5cm Around 24.5cm
