Aloha Friday

Well today is Friday, so I can't think of a better today to write about Aloha Friday!

Aloha Friday is a common Hawaiian tradition of celebrating the end of the workweek by wearing more casual attire on Fridays. It initially started because people were trying to promote the aloha shirt. These days a modern aloha shirt can have some intense and out there designs. Some of the most common prints I have seen include palm trees, map of the Hawaiian Islands, flowers and surfboards.

In 1965, Bill Foster, Sr., president of the Hawaii Fashion Guild, started campaigning for "Aloha Friday", being one day that would let men wear aloha shirts on the last work day of the week, only a few months out of the year. Results were positive, and so Aloha Friday officially started in 1966. By 1970, aloha wear had become the norm and was acceptable throughout Hawaii as business attire for any day of the week. Saying that however, I rarely saw women wearing aloha attire at work; I think this tradition is much more acceptable for men; when women wear aloha attire in business it can come across as too casual.

Hawaii's custom of Aloha Friday made its way to the mainland, in particular to California, continuing around the globe until the 1990s, when it became known as Casual Friday.

"Aloha Friday" has become immortalized by Kimo Kahoano and Paul Natto in their 1982 song, "It's Aloha Friday, No Work 'til Monday", which is played every Friday on radio stations across the Islands. Enjoy the song and clip below - and enjoy your Aloha Friday!