Mona Loa Hawaii Shirts

Sales wise its always pretty slow around here in the wintertime, but be rest assured that we are working on bringing out new designs for our customers.

Right now we have 2 designs in sewing that are being released a size at a time.

The first colorway is a fiery orange colored Hawaiian shirt named orange mauna loa Hawaiian shirt.

Mauna Loa is one of five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii and a very appropriate name for this smoking hot looking Hawaiian shirt.

The fabric was sold as being red in color but its pretty obvious that its orange with splashes of red throughout the repeat.

The material is 100% cotton poplin and they are made in San Diego with the same loving care that all of our shirting receives!

The companion colorway is a subtle blue colored Hawaiian shirt named blue mauna loa Hawaiian shirt, we stuck with the naming convention because the largest volcano on earth isn't always erupting, sometimes its calm and at rest

Once we get these beautiful mens shirts released we will probably move on to some other projects and get some restocking done so were ready for the Spring rush.

Mahalo for all of your support and stay warm!

Top 10 Hawaiian Shirt Websites on Page 10 of Google

 Today we are visiting the murky depths of page 10 of Googles search results, yep that place that rarely gets visited by anyone. So today I did a search of the word Hawaiian shirts to see not only where www.waveshoppe.com was listed, but the less fortunate as well.

Top 10 Hawaiian Shirt Websites on Page 10 of Google are as follows:

1. https://www.golfdigest.com/story/game-improvement-hawaiian-shir "honestly its a awful website, as soon as the website opens they hit you with a full screen video. When you do make it to the article titled "Game improvement: Hawaiian shirts aren't only for luaus" there is a 1 paragraph blurb on how a Hawaiian shirt can improve your golf game. though I believe lots of practice will serve you better.
2. https://totalfratmove.com/5-hawaiian-shirts-ensure-you-dominate-this-spring/ Titled "5 Hawaiian Shirts That’ll Ensure You Dominate This Spring" this page is one ginormous ad for a Hawaiian shirt retailer, enough said.
3. https://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=https://www.forbes.com/sites/katiechang/2016/11/27/how-to-incorporate-the-hawaiian-shirt-the-years-most-surprising-fashion-trend-into-your-wardrobe/&refURL=https://www.google.com/&referrer=https://www.google.com/ another garbage website, first visit hammers you with one giant ad. I can easily see why its buried in the back of the internet.
4. https://postgradproblems.com/embrace-the-hawaiian-shirt/ Titled "Embrace The Hawaiian Shirt" it appears to be a blog post that rambles on about clothing choices and personal hygiene or something.
5. http://www.kyifi.com/ site belongs to a Hawaiian shirt wholesaler but it super hard to navigate and doesn't look very user friendly.
6. http://www.whowhatwear.com/hawaiian-shirt-trend The Next Big Trend Is Already Lurking in Your Parents' Closet its one of those BS fashion blogs that wants you to think their models depict what the future of Hawaiian fashion in going to look like. The reality is that its lip service for their advertisers 
7. http://www.eonline.com/news/781533/diane-kruger-makes-hawaiian-shirts-look-cool-no-really Diane Kruger Makes Hawaiian Shirts Look Cool—No, Really She has odd looking legs
8. https://www.heddels.com/2015/05/beginners-guide-hawaiian-shirts/  A Beginner’s Guide To Hawaiian Shirts AKA images of washed up Hollywood actors wearing Hawaiian shirts
9. https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2017/jun/29/from-elvis-to-balenciaga-five-ways-to-wear-a-hawaiian-shirt From Elvis to Balenciaga: five ways to wear a Hawaiian shirt Yawn... another site like #8 on my list
10. http://www.bigkahuna.com/ and I end my painful journey with a competitor website, not sure a link will help them any but its the thought that counts, correct?

If you dared to visit even a few of those websites it becomes clear as to why they are way back on page 10. Personally if our company site ever looked like one of those and we couldn't correct the issues, we would seriously consider pulling the plug on it. IMO Hawaiian themed websites should look as fun as the shirts they sell, not laden with popups and ads.

Wear Red on Labor Day

Red Hawaiian Shirt

There are many reasons people wear red on Labor Day, often its to show support for a cause and occasionally to show discontent for something.

But usually its just because it a good time of the year to wear read. I will wear a red Hawaiian shirt on Labor Day because the holiday marks the onset of fall and fall holidays. Dare I say Christmas.

The Red Hawaiian shirt pictured on the left is one of our latest masterpieces. What sets it apart from other red and white Hawaiian shirting is that it contains a more scenic depiction of Hawai'i vs the standard red and white shirt with hibiscus flowers.

This shirt has them too, but we feel the addition of islands, wahine (a Polynesian woman or wife, especially in Hawaii or New Zealand) and outrigger canoes, puts it in a class by itself. And best of all it's made in the USA as are all of Wave Shoppes Hawaiian shirts.

Don Fracisco De Paula Marin Coffee in Hawaii

In 1813 Don Fracisco De Paula Marin, a Spaniard whom eventually became a confidant of Hawaiian King Kamehameha, recorded in his journal a story called "Manin". In that journal he noted that he had planted coffee on the island of Oahu.

Don Fracisco De Paula Marin had many passions and talents, one being he was a horticulturist, planting seedlings left by Spanish ships, unfortunately the first seedlings did not live. As the time passed by, Fracisco De Paula Marin again began diligently and successfully planting coffee in the islands. Then in 1825 royal governor Boki and a group of select local agricultural people brought plants from Brazil, and also successfully planted coffee in the valley of Manoa.

The coffee plants produced beans without any trouble. As the coffee plants kept growing and propagating, it eventually lead to all of the islands of Hawaii being introduced to coffee. As the coffee groves produced more and more delicately flavored brown beans, they also began to usher in a period for small factories to begin commercially processing coffee.

As this industry was further developing, the government successfully made the improvements that benefited the coffee groves, such as sound agricultural research, farming techniques unique to the geographical area. The coffee industry had great amount of support from everyone, to the point that it was prospering the Island.

Coffee in Hawaii was as popular as Hawaiian shirts from Wave Shoppe and macadamia nuts from Mauna Loa. Of course once coffee became a extremely popular as well as valuable commodity, the government soon decided that they needed to tax the daylight out of it.

One of the best known and rarer coffee plants is the Kona coffee plant. The price of this coffee was so high, that this alone made the Kona farmer's pretty famous through out the world. The Kona's brown coffee bean is now often blended outside of Hawaii.

This amazing coffee is been successfully selling in the markets since 1970. Even today Kona coffee is still the best tasting coffee in the islands.

While we do not offer a coffee themed shirt, we do have a beautiful brown coffee colored Hawaiian shirt in a mens cut (pictured above). Consider picking one up for yourself, the shirts are made in the USA and it will grow on you!

Mahalo

Distressed Blue Hawaiian Shirts Come to Hawaii

Its hard to believe that it's already May and we're guessing that most of the country should be thawed out by now. With a thaw comes warmth, and everyone is probably starting to engage in more outdoor activities. Since we are in a warm weather area, we get to be outdoors constantly, it's a luau every weekend around here.

Of course not every day is a party, we too have to work, and we work very hard to keep up with our customers demands. Even though I admit that most of the work is coming up with new shirt designs that customers will like. But that not as easy as you think, in Hawaii we have to come up with designs that no one else has made and it has to have uniqueness and a cool factor to it, or people wont buy it. Its not uncommon to have a customer say I like that design, but I already have a shirt similar in design.

Having said that let us introduce us to one of our most recent releases, a Hawaiian shirt that the folks in the cutting shop refer to as the distressed blue Hawaiian shirt. In a nutshell distressed means having simulated marks of age and wear, the trick with this design was to make the shirt look well worn, while still looking brand new.

If you ask me the artist that did this design hit it out of the park. The coloring and balance in the design are perfect, and the distressed effect is quite well done. To take a good look at the distressed effect you will need to visit the company website and use the magnifying feature, which is made available for all products, all you need to do is place your mouse's cursor over any of the product images.

The distressed shirt is highly recommended not just because of the design, but also because it will match up so well with a myriad of pants colors. For most of the Spring and early summer we are going to focused on bringing out new designs for the guys and they can all be found on where else, but in our mens Hawaiian shirt department in the company online store.

Wave Shoppe Customers Say it Best

"Aloha Charles and Wave Shoppe Company. I want to share with everyone that is looking for customer reviews, that this company is the best. The customer service is awesome, the quality of the product is over the top. This company takes pride in their work. The fine craftsmanship in the muumuus and shirts that we have bought, stands above any other, I have purchased. 

From the choices of design, color, and fabric that is available, you can find a print that will work for you and yours. I buy matching clothing for my wife and I, a mid-calf muumuu for her and an aloha shirt for me, and they are so fine. We wash the items, upon delivery, (and they get here fast), and they are perfect, feel good, look good, and are soft. The collars and button line are well made, a quality that is not shared among other manufacturers. 

The sewing on the clothing is phenomenal. I have requested, and made, a custom order with Charles, who fulfilled my order, quickly, correctly and was superb with customer service. Ordering is always easy, delivery is quick, and the quality of the product is never overlooked! This comes from a Hawaiian native, or kanaka, from the Big Island, I have seen many shirts and muumuus. 

I have also bought from many different manufacturers. This company is, "da best", in customer service, quality, and good pricing. Do yourself a favor and purchase from the Wave Shoppe, for your loved ones, or your company. Paul (Big Island Boy)" 

Cereus Flowers Bloom at Night

Its hard to believe that it's already fall as well as starting to cool down in many parts of the country. But that doesn't stop us from making Hawaiian shirts no mam.

This week sewing did a partial release on a beautiful new design that's perfect for Hawaiian shirt Fridays at work, as well as holidays such as Christmas.

As our regular readers already know, we name our shirts, the names are usually derived from something in the shirts design, well most of the time. This one is called the Burgundy cereus flower Hawaiian shirt

Cereus flowers bloom at night, in Hawaii, night-blooming cereus crown the lava rocks and some species have a very short lifespan and bloom only once a year for a single night. But don't worry, the cereus flowers on these shirts are in bloom 24/7

We have some additional mens designs that are slated to be released late this year, just keep an eye on our authentic mens Hawaiian shirt department. Additionaly you could sign up for our newsletter, and be one of the first to get notified of new products, the form is located in the footer of our website.

Mahalo

Why we blog

Aloha,
If your reading this, then you are probably one of the many customers and subscribers to the Da Kine Hawaiian Aloha blog. You may also be a fan of our business on Facebook or Twitter. But recently it came to my attention that many readers, customers, and close friends do not fully understand why we actually blog.

I think about a lot of topics and why I do something's and why I don't do others, but the blogging portion is pretty clear. Like a lot of our friends and customers businesses, we are a shining example of a mom and pop business. Our business model is pretty clear, we manufacture and sell Hawaiian shirts on-line and in our retail location in downtown Escondido CA. All in hopes that we will make enough money to pay our day to day bills, and maybe get a few items for the grandchildren, as well as covering a little entertainment for ourselves. Fishing fits the bill for me and my wife.

We primarily we use this blog as a venue to advertise and promote our products, we post for anyone that will read. Promoting a small business in a niche market can be daunting as the market is small and advertising budgets dry up fast, though there are many months where advertising money is non-existent.

But I have to say that in the back of my mind that I am also hoping that a reader or customer will have some Aloha and possibly blog or simply tell their friends about us. I believe that is also referred to as wishful thinking. I am also the first to admit that we don't have the advertising money to compete in the paid advertising arena.

Word of mouth is a powerful tool that shouldn't be taken lightly by any business, it can make you prosper or break you as well. How does your blogging help us? Well it's a multifaceted objective, in one hand doing so give you something to write about, it also exposes our business to your readership (which helps us with new customer acquisition). Your friend my in turn tank you for turning them on to some great products. Secondly, a blog article or webpage with a URL in it pointed to your favorite product page (like the one in this article) helps us somewhat improve our position in search engines.

Admittedly it's a small amount boost (though good karma may come your way), but it all helps. Especially when our survival on the web relies on us bettering the big box stores and goliath shopping sites like Amazon, all of whom could care less about providing things above and beyond customer service. We will even open up the store on days that we were scheduled to be closed, all just to help out the customer with tight time constraints. Even if you just have a minor question you can call our office at 760-294-1765 and we will do whatever it takes to help you. Charles will answer, call in the morning and he will just listen to whatever you have to say, mainly because it takes him forever to wake up and be productive.

Ok so your saying to yourself what do I get out of all of this. Monetary wise you get nothing for your efforts, but in terms of karma and do-gooding brownie points, the reward can be monumental. Your efforts will in a sense bring you even closer to the Wave Shoppe family. There are not enough words in the English language to describe our sincere appreciation for our customers.

Mahalo \m/

Tropical Clothing is for all Species

With winter just around the corner you have to ask yourself, why get more tropical clothing, such as Hawaiian shirts, today? That's actually a pretty common question that's also relatively easy to answer.

Since humans are warm-blooded, we tend to design and surround ourselves with environments that incite warmth and coziness, and in many situations, tropical settings. You see it in our cars, our homes, and especially in our clothing choices.

Pick just about anyone living in a snowbelt state and ask them what they think of when its cold and snowy outside, if I was a betting man I would say they think of Spring or something tropical.

While you may find it odd that someone would be making snow angels while wearing a Hawaiian shirt and shorts, I am willing to bet that it has happened quite a few times. I have personally seen people snow skiing in shorts and Hawaiian shirts.

Ok so you say that's a guy thing? Nope, with the availability of brightly colored women's Hawaiian shirts on the internet, womens button-up shirts such as these womens purple Hawaiian shirts from Wave Shoppe's Ohana collection are giving the guys a run for their money.

Why if yopu don't believe me just go to any Jimmy Buffet concert, you will see a plethora of women wearing Hawaiian / Tropical garb and en mass. Be forwarned, the lady landsharks often choose colors and patterns so bright and bold that they are often eclipsing the mens tailgate wardrobes. And all in the name of charity, well, usually.

Save the manatee: www.savethemanatee.org

And on that note we wish to wrap things up with a picture of  one of our awesome (and charitable) customers taking the Polar Bear Plunge while wearing a one of a kind ugly Hawaiian shirt from Wave Shoppe's 2014 Ugly Shirt collection.

Take the plunge: www.plungemd.com


Mahalo!

To Tuck or Not To Tuck – that is the question

Sometimes my customers ask me the craziest questions and todays’ customer wins the award. This gentleman comes into the store and bellows dramatically from the door “To Tuck or Not To Tuck! That is my question!

I have to say I was amused by his question as well as his dramatic flair but he really wanted to know so I kept my response to my standard answer of “there is not steadfast rule”.

 

I have been asked this question before and the answer is that we work really hard to make comfortable, colorful Hawaiian shirts here at the Wave Shoppe and we encourage our customers to wear their shirts a little loose and hanging down instead of tucking them in. 

 

After all a loose fitting shirt allows for air to flow through and keeps you cool and comfortable I did say at the end of our conversation the only thing we discourage you to do is wear one of our shirts and pair them with black crew socks and any type of sandals because that is just wrong on so many levels!!!!

So if you are reading this blog post and you wear sandals and black socks, instead of getting all dignified and letting me know why it ok in your opinion. I say to you “ Bruddah just get some Slippahs! 

 

Here is another article on how to wear a Hawaiian shirt (with more pictures of course).

 

 

The Dreaded Wedding Invitation



The wedding invitation said for all guests to dress in “Aloha Attire” as the wedding will take place on the beach and the elderly couple who visited my store last Saturday begged for advice on what to wear. “Aloha Attire” simply means that the men should wear a Hawaiian shirt and the women should wear a Hawaiian muumuu dress! Nothing to panic about, but some people are really concerned that they dress to the occasion. The wedding was the next day and this couple had been all over San Diego County looking for something tropical to wear and found us after their granddaughter did a Google search.  

Now I do know a little something about casual beach and Hawaiian weddings. I have probably worked with about 25 brides in the last 4 years and have become accustom to helping the bride and groom dress those who are in the wedding ceremony including bridesmaids, groomsmen, ring bearers, father and mother of the bride and groom etc. These events are typically casual, but most of the brides want a color coordinated look so that the wedding pictures come out looking great instead of too crazy!

My female customer was in her 70’s and after trying on quite a lot of clothing decided on the blue Hawaiian mid-calf muumuu we stock here at the Wave Shoppe showroom located in downtown Escondido on Kalmia Street. She was about 5’1 so the mid-calf muumuu fit her perfectly ending well above the ankle, so she didn’t have to worry about tripping on the hem like she would have if she would have worn our traditional long muumuu. I asked her what shoes she was pairing with it and when she said heels I discouraged her from that choice and suggested a pair of sandals that she could easily slip off and get rid of the sand that a beach wedding surely would bring.

Now the husband had been sitting in a chair patiently waiting for his wife, but he was getting bored. I know that look as he started to look like my Charles right before he bolts out of a store. So I suggested our white/blue Hawaiian shirt and he tried it on and it looks good with the blue Hawaiian mid-calf muumuu as the colors are complimentary. So voila they bought those items and exited the store very excited that they would look like a couple, but not match exactly.

I really do enjoy helping customers find what looks best on them and if you come to the store and don’t know what to choose just ask me. Beware; I am brutally honest, but you will look your best in the clothing I help you find.  

 

Peggy

 

How to make a grown man (almost) cry!

Recently my husbands’ Hawaiian shirt collection has grown to overflowing one whole closet.  While rifling through his stash I noticed some of the ones he has had 10 or more years are faded and a little ragged so I asked him to weed out the old ones to make room for some new ones and the look on his face made me laugh out loud.  Seriously you would think I had told him the sky was falling.  “But those are my favorite Hawaiian shirts” he said to which I replied so are all 150 or more but we don’t have the room to keep the old ragged ones and as the owner of a Hawaiian shirt apparel company you should be wearing the ones that still look good!  

After bantering and bartering he agreed to give 10 measly shirts to the Goodwill. So then he spent 15 minutes trying to select the ones he could part with and that was hilarious next thing you know he stomps off muttering “just pick the ones I can’t wear any more”  so I agreed and while he was gone I found 15 shirts that had seen their better days years ago. The next morning he came out of the bedroom wearing a t-shirt that had holes in it so can you guys guess what will happen next?


 

Bass Boats and Hawaiian Aloha Shirts

It’s summer here in always sunny southern California and prime time for outdoor activities. There are tons of outdoor activities that are challenging and entertaining, but one thing that’s does suck in San Diego and most of California is the fishing, the shore fishing is one of the worst things you will ever experience if you decide to try your hand at fishing California. When you want to fish our so called public lakes you will be required to have a expensive state fishing license, as well as pay for daily fishing licenses for that particular location and in some instances an additional parking fee. What our state fishing license fees are used for is anybody's guess. In my opinion it’s all just one big rip-off because you are paying to fish from shore with very limited shore access to most of the areas that actually have fish. And when you do manage to locate fish, they are numb to your lure presentations. That's most likely a result of all of the fishing pressure our lakes receive in general, not to leave out that the bass here are the ever finicky Florida strain bass.

Sure you can rent a small aluminum boat from one of the concession stands, but you will pay a lot for it. Take the sucky, nearly void of deep water Lake Hodges for example, a lake access/fishing permit and boat rental for 2 people will set you back about $75 for a unreliable boat (image below is what you actually get) that has to be returned by 6pm or something. I mentioned unreliable because in the past we have rented boats from Lake Hodges and every single one of them quit running at some point, most appear to run out of fuel or lose spark. Hodges solution was to give you another piece of crap which had the same characteristics. When they are out of replacement boats to give you, they prorate your rental fee and tell you that you now have the option to fish from shore or go home.

 

 

Nonetheless I tried to brush things off and give things the old college try and adopt the mindset that even though its Lake Hodges (which is close to my home), it’s still better than being in the office. I was also very easy to find on Lake Hodges, one just had to look for the bass fisherman wearing one of the (almost predictably) bright Hawaiian shirts from Wave Shoppe Hawaiian shirts, and yes that was a shameless plug for our business. But then one day not to long ago my wife and I got totally fed up with the local fishing scene and decided that we needed to go elsewhere for our outdoor entertainment. Being an old Mississippi river rat that's far from home, the only logical choice for me was to head to the next closest big river, that being the lower Colorado river.

It took just one excursion / trip to the lower Colorado to realize just how much Lake Hodges and California in general is screwing its residents and visitors. Everything in Yuma and probably most of Arizona is actually accessible to the public, do you see a body of water from the road? Just pull off the road onto one of the many paths through the sand and head to the water! But there was still one major annoyance (ok, frustration), that being access to the actual river. With few roads in the area you are still extremely limited on what you can access and ultimately end up to going to the public fishing docks and a sprinkling of cleared bank areas to fish. The good thing is that most water access is free, unlike California parks that charge you an access fee just look at the water.

So what was my solution for straightening out this dilemma you ask? Buy a bass boat of course! So off we went to our local Outdoor World (Bass pro shops) to look at boats, while we started out looking at a aluminum Tracker boat (which would have suited our needs well) but somehow ended up buying fiberglass boat, in particular a 2013 Nitro Z-7. We have not taken delivery yet, but in a few days we will have a boat similar to the one pictured below. (I snagged the picture below off the internet because it does have the same paint scheme, less the Mercury 150 fourstroke) Our Nitro Z 7 has a 2013 Mercury 150 Fourstroke, which I am really looking forward to running, Lowrance on the bow and Lowrance color sonar with GPS capability and chart plotters in the console, KeelGuard, hydraulic pedestal, hydraulic steering, etc.

Sadly I didn't see an option for a Hawaiian print bass boat, but I certainly would have considered it. Thinking out loud... I guess I still have the option to do a Hawaiian themed wrap for my bass boat.

 
OMG Not that it's a new low for me, but I just realized that I have already resorted to blogging some of my "line sheet" and I don't even have the boat yet! I guess that's what happens when you have bass boat fever. and of course my wife has taken every opportunity to buy boat related stuff for herself, if there was ever an excuse to needlessly blow money this is it. My wife has purchased more stuff in the last few weeks than she has all of last year (nonetheless I still love her).


I will update the Nitro Z 7 bass boat picture once I take delivery, which is this Saturday, but if you see someone wearing a bright Hawaiian shirt and standing on the bow of a bass boat in the vicinity of the Colorado river, it's probably me. Am I going to change my clothing to fit in more with the local fisherman? Hell no, my personal opinion is that there is no reason that we can not have a dress code that's somewhere between covert camouflage and sponsored tournament apparel similar to a NASCAR drivers suit. But because of my preferred clothing choice I am sure that someone will tag me with a funky nickname that will be hard to shake off. Next week we take the boat to the lower Colorado river for it's maiden voyage, so stay tuned, this could be a very interesting year.

Back in the day I used to fish Red Man bass tournaments and a whack of club and pro am tournaments, there is a voice in my head telling me I have some unfinished business in my future.

I previously stated that I was going to post more pictures here but have since changed my mind and started a new blog called Fishing Safaris which is 100% dedicated to our Nitro Z-7 boat and bass fishing on the Colorado River

Mahalo

Hawaiian Shirt Design from the Archives

 

While reviewing some old artwork that we had not yet followed through on (meaning the design never went to print), I came across this one and wondered if anyone can guess what the large flower is? Your hint is this: While this flower is cultivated commercially in the Hawaiian islands and the US mainland, the flower has a genus of South African flowering plants.



I also managed to dredge up the original pineapple photo that we used for the design we utilized in the Wave Shoppe pineapple shirts.

 

While the design is almost retired, you can still read about the process of designing textiles by reading this blog post appropriately titled Designing Hawaiian Print Fabrics

 

With a lot of new design being printed, as well as on the drawing board, it promises to be a summer filled with exciting new and original designs for Aloha shirts and select Hawaiian dress patterns in the Wave Shoppe line.

Mahalo from everyone at Wave Shoppe Hawaiian Shirts

4th of July Celebrations Hawaii

Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. It’s also one of my favorite BBQ holidays and most people would agree with me.

This year the 4^th is on a Wednesday so throwing the traditional Hawaiian party or Luau is going to be tricky. Many people I know plan on celebrating the 4^th on the day of, as well as the weekend before (and yes, I will be wearing my 4th of July Hawaiian shirt) and of course you will find yourself starting the holiday weekend in June, which in my opinion will feel sort of odd to some. But who really cares, you still get a day off work as well as a short, fragmented work week.
 
I wear Wave Shoppe Hawaiian shirts every day and can cook out on the grill whenever I like, so having my holiday weekend start in a different month is no big deal. While I am thinking about it, if you don’t have a new Hawaiian shirt for the weekend you may want to check out Wave Shoppe’s current holiday promotion and save yourself some money and time by shopping online.

 If you’re going to be visiting the Hawaiian islands during the 4^th of July you’re in for a real treat as all of the Hawaiian Islands celebrate the 4^th of July with fireworks and in multiple locations on each island.  The listings below link to Hawaii for visitors website.

Oahu 4th of July Celebrations
Independence Day events on Oahu include fireworks displays at Ala Moana Center, the Aloha Tower Marketplace, Maunalua Bay, and Turtle Bay and several 4th of July Celebrations in other Oahu locations. 

Big Island 4th of July Celebrations
4th of July celebrations on Hawaii Island include the Kailua-Kona 4th of July Parade, the Volcano 4th of July Parade, the Parker Ranch Independence Weekend Rodeo, the Great Waikoloa 4th of July Extravaganza, the Mauna Lani Turtle Independence Day, and the Firecracker Open Big Game Fishing Tournament. 

Maui 4th of July Celebrations
Parades, festivals, and fireworks displays celebrating the 4th of July on Maui Island. Independence Day events on Maui include the Lahaina Fireworks Show and Concert, the Kaanapali 4th of July Celebration, and the Makawao Rodeo. 

Kauai 4th of July Celebrations
Festivals, and fireworks displays celebrating the 4th of July on Kauai Island. The biggest Independence Day celebration on Kauai Island is the "Concerts in the Sky" festival, live music event, and fireworks show in Vidinha Stadium in Lihue, East Kauai.

Travel Info for Your Hawaii Vacation

Aloha everyone, with warm weather and summer fast approaching, it time to start thinking about summer vacations, as well as getting into the planning stages for some luaus. But we also know that those are not always simple tasks and that people may need ideas or basic advise.

So having said that, we thought that we would share some of our favorite vacation and travel articles/references with you. Yes, some of the sites are ad supported (we get a few cents if a visitor clicks on an ad), but the information contained on the sites we are suggesting could prove to be pretty invaluable to many people.

So first up in our favorites list is Travelers Frequently Asked Questions About Traveling to Hawaii  posted on Island Shirts. The page offers information on airports and flight travel as well as tips in eating, what to wear and so on. 

Next on our list is an article from Shop Hawaiian containing Recommendations on stores and businesses to shop at in Hawaii and smart shoppers know that personalized shopping recommendations are the way to go. Also on our virtual itinerary is the website Shop Aloha where you can Learn more about Hawaii's Culture and Lifestyle, its always good to have some basic knowledge of the culture, and that applies to just about any new location you visit.

Now onto our favorite part of summer, that being PARTIES! Yes, we live for them. But again many people are at a loss and do not even know where to start. And of course we are going to hook you up; let’s start with How to Decorate for a Luau where you can learn from someone’s first hand experiences. The writings cover everything you need to know about luau decorations and more.

And as an added bonus for our valued readers we offer you tips on How to Dress for a Luau which is a must read for the party planners as your guests will all be asking you what’s appropriate luau wear and what’s not.

Factually speaking, the most commonly questions asked still, and for some seamingly odd reason always will, pertain to What to wear in Hawaii and we think that it’s because most people simply want to fit in and in a way pay respect to the Hawaiian culture. If you consider yourself to be a really geeky Hawaiian apparel person you may enjoy an lengthy yet detailed article authored by Linda Boynton Arthur, titled History of Hawaiian Holoku (Hawaiian dresses). We hope this helps you have a more enjoyable summer and if you have a resource you would like to share simply mention it in a comment and we will check it out. Mahalo everyone!

Charles and the Four Letter Word

I will never forget my first visit to Oahu I was so excited when I was booking the trip one of the things on my wish list was to get a room overlooking the ocean where we could relax and watch those amazing sunsets framed by palm trees. My husband Charles sitting right next to me envisioned a room in the industrial area where we could focus on business, after all, many of the Hawaiian shirts from Wave Shoppe are made in Hawaii (as well as the mainland) and that is where we were going to meet our designers who would help us create our first custom fabric.

I remember finding an awesome room overlooking Waikiki while he was busily, or should I say carefully plotting the hotel that would be most convenient to businesses he needed to visit.

Being the wonderful wife that I am and not wanting him to waste too much time on his idea of a cheap room with no view or ocean breezes as soon as he came up with his dream “work” hotel I swiveled in my desk chair leveled him “the stare” and said “We ARE going to have an ocean view”.

My husband pulled his wallet out from his back pocket and pretended to dust it off thought for a moment and said those magic words “Ok Dear”.

Don’t get me wrong he is not a “Yes” man but he realized that it must be important to me and my husband does everything he can to make sure I am happy. So we got a great room overlooking the ocean and when we opened that balcony door to the first sunset it was stunning. The next day after lunch I sprung on him the dreaded FOUR LETTER WORD I casually mentioned that I wanted to SHOP.

I know I heard him mutter under his breath “you own a freaking Hawaiian store” but he denies it to this day, so we decided to check out the shops closest to the hotel. As we walked down the sidewalk of Waikiki we found a little store called the ABC store.

It was filled with cool stuff lots of touristy stuff and of course every family and friend I knew wanted something. We weren’t paying much attention to the names of the stores but after about the fourth store my husband looked at me in horror and said we were in the same store and there was one on every block and you know he was right.

There is an ABC store on just about every corner but just to make sure I didn’t miss anything I checked them all out. Next on my list was The International Market Place which is an open-air market filled with hundreds of booths it is one of the best places to go if you are looking for souvenirs they had entertainment in the form of a band and a group of hula dancers.

My husband watched a man carve tikis while I looked at each and every booth.

The next day we visited Hilo Hatties and that is one cool store! Then the following day we finished our shopping spree with a trip to the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet with one of my girlfriends who had once said “don’t miss that place it has everything” so we went there and was amazed at everything that was offered and there were great prices too.

It was hot that day and humid as it had rained a little in the am, so after our two hour tour we were ready for an early dinner. Charles decided on going down the strip to an all you can eat crab at a hotel buffet and arrived back to the room just in time to enjoy another sunset in paradise and vegetate for a while.


If anyone know's of some other cool places to shop while on Oahu please hit me up, as we will be going back again this summer and I am sure Charles will appreciate your referral.

Snakes and Hawaii

Snakes and Hawaii

I have heard it said that there are no snakes in Hawaii. Since I do not like snakes, Hawaii could very well be the paradise it is called just for that reason alone. I am not sure why some people bring their snakes into my Hawaiian shirt store. They have them wrapped around their arms, shoulders and neck like a living, breathing scarf. I never knew so many people owned snakes before we moved into our downtown Escondido location that is around the corner and a few doors down from a reptile house.  I have seen some huge ugly lizards, many types of snakes, all sorts of bug eyed lizards, chameleons etc and one guy even walks some type of baby dragon on a leash. They all prance around with their reptiles like they are so proud of them.  You would think they would have the common sense not to bring them into my store but OH NO they come right on in to show me their scaly pets.  

One day I had an elderly lady looking over some of our colorful muumuus and I was helping her find her size. I remember the customer coming into the store and said “Hi let me know if you need any help” I glanced his way and smiled but then turned back to speak to the lady I was helping. I found a couple of muumuus in her size and was halfway to the dressing room to hang them up when she started screaming her head off. She had one hand around her throat and was pointing in the direction of the guy who was the only other customer in the store.

At this point I am thinking he must have a gun he is going to rob us but even worse than that was when I turned to look at him I saw that he had a huge snake wrapped around his neck that snake was so long it hung down his back to the backs of his knees and was wrapped around his neck and down his arm and he was holding the head with his hand. I am thinking 8 feet for sure and of course those beady black eyes were looking right at us.

I guess you can tell my level of comfort with snakes considering I thought a snake was worse than having a gun wielding robber in my store, so during this commotion the man was slowly backing away from us trying to reassure us his snake was harmless. While my customer was doing some kind of weird dance and hiding behind me while holding onto me I yelled “Get that snake out of here now!” That man took off down the street and I have not seen him or his pet since then.

Really owners of large reptiles need to have their heads examined in my opinion. Don’t they watch all those shows that end up with the big snake overpowering the owner and killing them or the shows where snakes get out of the enclosures and kill children in the house? Can’t blame the snake, that’s what they do, they wrap around you and try to eat you.

So I am now curious how they can claim there are no snakes in Hawaii, are you telling me that not one snake lover has ever slipped a snake in a suitcase on board a plane?  So my question to the readers of this blog is…. Is it true there are no snakes on the islands? Let me know if you have ever seen or heard about encounters with snakes in the lush vegetation they have over there.  I did notice when I visited the island of Oahu there were a lot of mongooses over there perhaps that is why there are no snakes?  

Peggy