Shaheen, Alfred

Alfred Shaheen (1922-2008) was one of the best known of the Hawaiian garment and textile designers of the 20th Century. Shaheen was active from 1948 into the 1980s, but he is best known for his work in the 1950s.

He was the son of custom Hawaiian clothing manufacturer George Shaheen, and after college and serving in the military in WWII, he returned home to work in the family business. His plan was to expand into ready-to-wear, and in 1948 he opened Alfred Shaheen to make Hawaiian shirts for men and dresses for women.

At first he used fabrics brought in from the US mainland, but he soon realized that profits would be greater if he printed the fabric in Hawaii. He set up Surf ‘n Sand Hand Prints to print the colorful Hawaiian fabrics. His hand printed textiles were based on the flora and fauna of the Hawaiian Islands, along with Hawaiian traditions and authentic tapa cloth designs.

Shaheen produced not only the fabric, but they also manufactured clothing made from it. Shaheen was known for their sexy sarong dresses and swim suits, Hawaiian shirts and halter dresses with full skirts. The company closed in 1988 when Alfred Shaheen retired.

Written by fuzzylizzie

from a late 1940s shirt

Courtesy of fast_eddies_retro_rags

from a 1950s Hawaiian shirt (front and reverse)

Courtesy of FabGear Vintage

from a 1950s sarong dress

Courtesy of bigchief173

reverse of above label

Courtesy of bigchief173

from a 1950s circle skirt

Courtesy of sweetrockingal

from a 1950s dress

Courtesy of bombshell*frocks

from a mid-1950s shirt

Courtesy of pinky-a-gogo

from a 1950s sarong dress

Courtesy of artisannes

from a 1950s maxi dress

Courtesy of Ranch Queen Vintage

from a 1960s sundress

Courtesy of madvintage

from a 1960s maxi dress

Courtesy of Ranch Queen Vintage

from a 1970s sundress

Courtesy of amishtaxi

from a 1970s long jacket and pants set

Courtesy of Vanity Flair Vintage

signature from a 1970s print

Courtesy of thevintagepeddler

from a 1970s maxi-skirt

Courtesy of glamoursurf

from a 1970s blouse

Courtesy of VanityFlairVintage

from a 1970s dress

Courtesy of vintagefashionlibrary

from a 1970s dress

Courtesy of shopdesignarchives.com

from a 1970s halter dress

Courtesy of 1950spinup

from a 1970s Junior Line dress

Courtesy of fuzzylizzie.com

used in the 1970s and 1980s

Courtesy of denisebrain

from a 2012 men’s shirt

Courtesy of Ranch Queen Vintage