After World War II, many servicemen returned to the United States from Asia and the Pacific islands with Aloha Shirts which had been made in Hawaii since the 1930s. Large mainland companies inspired by the Hawaiian Aloha Shirts created summer lines with their own versions of printed shirts. The mainland companies had larger factories, bigger methods of distribution and advertised in national publications like Esquire, Saturday Evening Post and the New Yorker. Shirts were listed with selling prices of $5 for short sleeve and $6 for long sleeve shirts.
Harper was a mainland company and had a simple label with its name spelled out with all letters in lower case letters.
Mainland shirt companies, used to making more formal dress shirts meant to be worn with ties, also added neck sizes to their labels. Hawaiian companies never adopted this additional touch, as most men never bothered to button their top button in Hawaii. That was not the intended relaxed Spirit of the Aloha Shirt.
