The History of Hawai‘i From Our Files: A Chinatown Grocery, Noodle Factory and Dim Sum Spot Served as Offbeat Backdrops for a Fashion Story in 1965

For 133 years HONOLULU Magazine has kept its readers and advertisers at the vanguard of fashion, insight and fun. Starting out as Paradise of the Pacific in 1888 with a commission from King Kalākaua, we’re the oldest continually publishing magazine west of the Mississippi. Here is a look into our archives.

September 3, 2020

Brie Thalmann,

A Chinatown grocery, noodle factory and dim sum spot on Smith Street serve as offbeat backdrops for a Paradise fashion story highlighting the latest trends in morning attire. Once relegated to the “tailored shirtwaist, preferably in a practical, medium color” for their errand runs, early bird fashionistas now had their pick of “apron-crisp casuals for A.M. adventuring” inspired by “smocks and old-fashioned marketing dresses.” Wonder what they’d think of our T-shirts and yoga pants?

fashion history in hawaii

history of fashion in hawaii

The Way We Wore

Signaling the start of fall (and the much-anticipated release of designers’ new fall/winter collections), September is traditionally one of our big fashion issues. With that in mind, we devoted the September 2020 edition of From Our Files to stylish blasts from our past.