Andrew Mau Kicks Up the Aloha Shirt’s Cool Factor in His Latest Apparel Line

You may already know MAU-HOUSE’s popular shaka and opihi shell bottle openers; Now meet your new favorite aloha shirt.

Courtesy of Andrew Mau

Artist-designer Andrew Mau’s stylish furniture, barware and stationery may already be on your radar. But our newest Mau favorite comes courtesy of his studio’s lesser-known sartorial division, MAU-HOUSE Apparel. Its latest release, a trio of smart-casual men’s aloha shirts, brings a modern, fashion-forward sensibility to the Island essential.

To start, Mau took a little off the top, stripping out the standard, fold-down collar and full placket, in favor of a simple, pull-over neckline and a banded, Mandarin collar that offers a touch of the exotic. Then he trimmed a little off the sides, creating a slim fit that complements the shirt’s square-cut hem—the slight drop in the back; Mau’s subtle nod to the formal coat tail.

The shirts are crafted from small-batch, remnant fabric bolts. Translation: just one to five of each size is made, so you won’t be running into doppelgangers all over Downtown. Slip on a linen version in solid midnight, a cotton, cornflower-hued take finished with cross-hair stitching or, our favorite, an offbeat spiny lobster design done in a drapey, reverse-print crushed rayon.