The man who gave the world a colorful style loved by everyone from June Jones to Jimmy Buffett fans has died. Alfred Shaheen, a pioneering textile manufacturer and the man credited with bringing Hawaiian shirts into the mainstream, passed away December 22 at the age of 86. Shaheen’s aloha shirts debuted in 1948 and even made the cover of Elvis Presley’s 1961 “Blue Hawaiiâ€
This is somewhat incorrect. The Hawaiian shirt was first popularized by Cy Barcus. This was was just the first person to truly bring in large-scale production.