Vintage Hawaiian Shirts|Hawaiiana|Vintage Hawaii

Name just about anything and you will find someone, somewhere who collects it or something related to it.  People love the romantic image of Hawaii and there is an entire area of collecting surrounding the 50th of the United States.  Known as Hawaiiana, collectibles from the far off tropical paradise have exploded in value.  There are so many different vintage collectibles in this bunch that I'm breaking them down into different posts.

Vintage Hawaiiana is what people are looking for to add to their collections.  Vintage Hawaiian shirts have gone up in value since earlier in the decade and now can sell for prices well in to the hundreds of dollars.  Original Hawaiian shirts still turn up on eBay from all the way back in the 1940s.  I was watching some recently and saw that there was actually some deadstock showing up.  These are items that were originally for sale but ended up in storage without ever being sold to anyone.  Of course these are immensely popular because the condition is often excellent even though the shirts are over fifty years old.  The most popular shirts seem to be the ones made from all rayon fabric with very "loud" prints emblazoned upon them.  No one particular theme stands out as a best seller to my eye, but it does seem that the more outrageous, the better to collectors of the vintage shirts.

Personally, I have never had any luck at all in finding these old shirts.  If you don't get greedy and price yourself out of the market before you even get a sniff, these shirts sell very well.  The authentic vintage Hawaiian shirts with names that collectors recognize do very well.  Collectors are from all around the world, not just the United States.

One thing to check carefully when buying these shirts is the condition.  You will not find an endless supply of Vintage Hawaiian shirts in "like new" condition.  Reputable sellers will let you know about any damages that might present.  Some sellers pay to have clothing professionally repaired if there are any rips or holes.  Many times these repairs will be mentioned in auction ads.

Tags: collecting hawaiian, hawaii collectibles, hawaiiana, vintage hawaii, vintage hawaiian shirt, vintage shirt