On April 3, the CDC issued a recommendation that Americans start wearing cloth face coverings when going out in public, in order to slow the spread of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). A number of aloha shirt manufacturers immediately jumped into action, quickly producing runs of colorful aloha-styled masks from scrap shirt fabric. Kudos to these companies for helping us do our part in style, and injecting a bit of whimsy and color into this uncertain time!

I’ve recently published initial versions of two reference pages that I plan to gradually build out. One is a reading list, capturing all of the publications, podcasts, and major works I’ve found that focus on aloha shirts. The other is a general guide to aloha shirts, covering the basic terminology and design points to notice, as well as lists of common pattern families and floral motifs.

Earlier this month I found myself with a few hours to kill during a layover in Atlanta. As I wandered around the terminal, peeking into the shops, the cover of the latest CNET Magazine caught my eye. The vivid cerise cover features actor Adam Scott (of Parks and Recreation, Big Little Lies, and The Good Place fame, to name a few) wearing an exquisite 1950s vintage aloha shirt by Kamehameha.

2019’s Stranger Things 3 takes us back to Hawkins, Indiana for another go-round with Eleven and the gang. It’s summer 1985, and the only thing hotter than the pavement at Hawkins Community Pool is the eye-searing ‘80s fashion. Hopper’s hi-liter coloring book of a shirt is the star of the show style-wise, but radical tropical-inspired attire is found throughout. Here’s a roundup of the top Hawaiian and patterned shirts in Stranger Things 3, including details on where to get your own Hopper shirt.

Everything is awesome in the world of Lego minfigs (or so I hear), but are they wearing the most awesome kind of shirts?