Roger on the coconut shell buttons (and the really vintage shirts have mother of pearl buttons), but the Cotton repoductions came onto the market after the 1960's. All of the originals from the late 1930's were heavy silk and hot as a son-of-a-gun. I've got a couple. Wore a more "formal" hibiscus on black one to a Carlisle dinner once a few years back - thought I would die from overheating!!!!
The next version of "originals" were done with the same prints but on Rayon. Same vibrant colors as the originals (in fact, some of the silk originals from Reyn Spooner's wife, Ruth, we SO vibrant that they made the shirts with the fabric inside out to mute them out - the so-called "reverse fabric" shirts) but the Rayon version was MUCH cooler than silk and felt better on the skin. Still, even though Rayon was pretty expensive back in the 1950's, they sold well in Hawaii. Then the Box stores wanted to get into the act and began ordering cheap, knock-off shirts in similar (or the same) patterns in cotton from all over the place: Fabrics printed in India, shirts assembled in Bangladesh or Sierra Leon and so forth. Many Vintage stores wouldn't sell them, but they sold well at Macy's and Dillard's and so forth.
I used to buy my Hawaiian shirts at Hula Heaven in Kona, HI, but they've stopped selling vintage shirts. The Aloha Shirt Shop is a good second best (they're not the same as "Aloha Shirts"), but I suspect that they're in Southern California, not Hawaii. I still get occasional offers from a friend who lives on the Big Island and finds them at auctions, but it's getting so I can't afford some of the real vintage shirts ($1,250 for a SHIRT? Once upon a time, maybe, but now? No Thanks!!)
Anyway, you can check out Hula heaven's or Aloha Shirt's web sites here:
Hula Heaven:
http://www.hulaheaven.net/
and Aloha Shirt Shop:
http://www.alohashirtshop.com/index.php
