Father of the Aloha Shirt

Ellery J. Chun gave the aloha shirt to the world.

Although he first created aloha shirts in 1931, 

it was in 1936 he introduced the "Aloha Shirt"

 label to the distinctively bright, colorful

 Hawaiian attire. The term and 

the style caught on, 

and countless clothing manufacturers 

followed suit.

Chun first sold aloha shirts -

- originally inspired by 

palaka garments of plantation workers 

and silk shirts 

of high school classmates 

sewn from leftover kimono 

material by Japanese housekeepers -- 

at the family store, which he renamed 

King-Smith Clothiers, 36 N. King St.

The Honolulu native graduated from Punahou 

[ Like president Obama] in 1927 and majored in 

economics at Yale, class of 1931.

By 1933, he began to produce 

ready-to-wear patterns

 from cloth imported from 

the U.S. mainland, Japan, 

China and Tahiti. Surfers 

and beachboys snapped up 

the bold, breezy styles, 

and visiting Hollywood celebrities

 and other rich and famous ones 

began sailing home to 

display the new fashions.

In 1991, the state Senate 

honored Chun for creating

 the aloha shirt, on the 60th anniversary 

of his landmark contribution to distinctive

 Hawaiian apparel and the state of Hawaii.

From the Redwood Forrest

A  L  O  H  A !

Climb the mountains 

and get their good tidings.

                                                John Muir

" This is their temple, 

vaulted high,

      And here we pause 

with reverent eye,

      With silent tongue 

and awe-struck soul;

      For here we sense 

life’s proper goal. -

To be like these, 

straight, true and fine,

To make our world, 

like theirs, a shrine;

  

    Sink down, O traveler, 

on your knees,

      God stands before you 

in these trees. "

                           Joseph B. Strauss, 

                                                      “The Redwoods,” 1932

Hawaii Photo of the Day

A  L  O  H  A !

Sunny California Sunday

A  L  O  H  A !

We enjoyed a wonderful sunny day,

the kind that dazzles the senses

with bluer than blue skies

and palm trees gesticulating

before calmly moving

clouds of steamy white.

The Hawaiians of old 

read messages in the clouds, 

and I learned it

partly from them. But

Bay Area skies had been

muted shades of Winter

bringing blessed rain

since we arrived.

They spoke a language

that didn't say much to

me. But that is changing

as I remember

the glory I loved here 

in Summertime.

All on a sunny Sunday.

These clouds are beginning

to make sense -

And what

a refreshing sense of humor

they have!

The sun and wood  

skies & water

are singing to me

good right now.

This is a beauty equal

to any. All wrapped in

sparkling 55 degrees

         High temp. [12.7 C]

''""}i{"""

Hope your world

is dazzling you today!

Thanks so much

for dropping by.

          Fondly, cloudia

Scene From a Coffeehouse

A  L  O  H  A   from  San Francisco

"Old friends.

Winter companions,

The old men

Lost in their overcoats,

Waiting for the sunset.

The sounds of the city,

Sifting through trees,

Settle like dust

On the shoulders

Of the old friends."

Paul Simon,

'Old Friends'

Linking to

Scene From a Coffeehouse

Convention of Buddhas
Nicasio Road, West Marin


Linking to
Monday Murals

Hawaii Daily Photo

A  L  O  H  A !

West Marin

A  L  O  H  A !

“This land is your land, this land is my land, 

From California to the New York island,

 From the redwood forest 

to the Gulf Stream waters, 

This land was made for you and me”

                         Woody Guthrie 

It is impossible to convey the

 vast scale of this Marin mountainside.

Do you see the tiny fence in the upper left?

The corner of the fence is pointing at

hikers on a trail. See them?

They are enlarged below

" Not until we are lost 
do we begin to 
understand ourselves."
Henry David Thoreau

"A hunch is 
creativity trying to 
tell you something." 
                      Frank Capra

/[]\

Marin county is a triangle

pointing at San Francisco

across the Golden Gate.

On one side: The Bay.

Bordering the West:

Pacific ocean.

In between:mountains.

We live on the East

(Bay) side. These

photos were shot

in Central and West

Marin County California

Thank You Friend!

               Warmly, cloudia