Featured Help w/Dating Vintage Silk Hawaiian Shirt

hi everyone. i've been selling vintage Hawaiian shirts for a long time and in the past, i've never spent that much time studying details all that closely. i recently bought this piece. there's no label, so any researching the manufacturer is off the table. however, what i've noticed is, the buttons and button holes appear to be hand sewn. i know that this is a characteristic of earlier, pre WWII era shirts(as is the fact that it's silk). in the past i've always assumed that shirts with this sort of print art were mid to late 50s era. now i'm wondering if this is possibly a much older shirt(at least as it relates to Hawaiian shirt manufacturing). does anyone here have specific knowledge of manufacturers using these construction techniques as late as the mid 1950s? i don't consider this any incredible shirt, but with a reasonable argument that it's an early piece, it might be worth more money. any help would be greatly appreciated...thanks

 

Admittedly I don't know a lot about aloha shirts but that fabric doesn't look like silk to me... but of course I can't feel it.
The collar shape also doesn't look right for an older shirt and I'm surprised that the pockets aren't pattern-matched.
The flat-felled seams at the shoulders and sleeves are nice and I agree that the button-holes appear hand-sewn. What do the inside of the side seams look like?
I like the subtle pattern!

 

Doesn't look like silk to me either. Perhaps it's raw silk? The colorway looks 1950s but I'd be concerned about the quality of the hand-stitching and the unmatched buttons in addition to the concerns above. A photograph of an inside seam would be helpful.

Debora

 

hi, yes, i agree with you about the collar. to me it looks mid to late 50s. the fabric is a very sheer silk that's common in older shirts of this period. the seams are very neatly sewn along the inside. the edges along inside of the placard are both selvedge edged. the mismatching pockets is common on old Hawaiian shirts. these shirts were, in their day, inexpensively made tourist apparel and sportswear, whether they were made in Hawaii or here on the mainland. that's why this piece has me wondering. by the 50s manufacturers were machine sewing buttons and button holes pretty routinely.

 

i'm not sure i understand what you mean by "unmatched buttons." all of the buttons match except for the one under the collar. that's pretty typical of older sport shirts of this era.

 

That's what I meant by unmatched buttons. I'll take your word that typical of older sport shirts if that's the case.

Debora

 

it's not unusual. some might have a matching smaller button under the collar, some don't. that whole loop collar design is more typical of 50s era shirts. that's one of the reasons i'm wondering if this shirt is older or not. here's the pics of the selvedge and the seams.

 

I would think early 1950s, maybe even late 40s, but that's just a feeling. Really, cool design.

Is the (photo above) showing staining under the arms? That will impact value as you probably know.

It's a great looking shirt, can see why you got it.

 

yes, i've already decided i'm just going to list it as 50s and make mention of the hand sewn button holes. i think what you're seeing is an issue with lighting. there's no real staining at the armpits. it's actually in pretty good condition. thanks for your input.