Stretching across this short-sleeved Harper aloha shirt are the Hawaiian Islands, each labeled and prominently displayed. Like many shirts of this era, this one features iconic images of Hawai‘i, from a fishermen casting his net into the ocean to the yellow hibiscus, the state flower. The images aren’t detailed — very simple designs of a flower lei, a pineapple, sailing canoes, a fisherman posited with his spear — and are scattered throughout the shirt, both front and back. Each image is a snapshot of daily life in ancient Hawai‘i and a reminder of its simple past.
