The Paradise Found brand of Aloha shirts has been around since the 1980s and we have produced countless different prints. And while we always come up with new designs to keep up with the times, a handful of shirts have remained very popular over the decades. Sometimes we will release a new color of the design but we will always keep the most popular ones in production. We think of these as our Classics that have withstood the test of time.
The most famous of our classic shirts is the red Jungle Bird print. If this shirt looks familiar to you, it should. Tom Selleck wore the red version of this shirt in the opening credits of the 1980s TV series, Magnum PI. It is in the final moments where Magnum looks over his shoulder and wiggles his eyebrows at the camera. This shirt became so associated with the show that it was even inducted into the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. The Smithsonian reportedly chose this shirt and other Magnum PI memorabilia because of the show’s positive portrayal of Vietnam veteran characters Thomas Magnum, TC, and Rick in an era when the US was still dealing with the scars of the Vietnam War. Jay Hernandez has also wore this shirt in the Magnum PI reboot. And this shirt has also appeared in several other movies and TV shows over the years.
The red Jungle Bird shirt, which is often just referred to as the Magnum PI shirt, was originally made of 100% rayon. From 1983 to 2007, the shirt was made in either 100% rayon, 100% cotton, or both. From 2008 to today, the shirt and the matching women’s tops and dresses are made of high quality 100% rayon.
The Jungle Bird print also currently comes in black. While this version is not quite as popular as the red one, it is still a fan favorite. Both Tom Selleck and Jay Hernandez wore this shirt on their respective Magnum PI series. Many customers have also told us that they love the black one because black is an easier color to wear as it looks good with pretty much anything.
Back in the 1980s, this shirt came in several other colors besides red and black. We may bring back one of more of the colors for a limited run just for fun.
The Bamboo Paradise print is one of our all-time most popular prints and has been a top seller ever since we first made it back in the 1990s. The shirt is currently made in cream, navy, and black. All three colors are equally popular which is pretty unusual for aloha shirts. Normally one color is clearly more popular than the others but not in this case. This print also comes in some stunning women’s outfits as well which makes this a popular print for matching outfits.
Another one of our classics is the Calla Lily print. This shirt comes in black and purple. The purple one is special to us because Tom Selleck actually came to our office and picked this shirt out himself back while he was still filming the show. Usually it is the wardrobe or costume people who pick out who wears what on the show. But Mr. Selleck chose this one in person. This shirt went out of production for decades before we brought it back in recent years. Jay Hernandez wore both the black and purple versions of this shirt on the new Magnum PI. We also like the purple Calla Lily shirt because there aren’t too many purple Aloha shirts out there and we like the color purple.
The Star Orchid shirt, which is also sometimes called the Magnum Orchid is based on the original design that Tom Selleck wore on the original Magnum PI. That original design was different from the current version in that the orchids were more closely packed on the fabric making it look busier. During the 80s, we made this shirt in more than 10 different colors ranging from white to dark green and everything in between. The shirt sold fairly well but we felt it could do better. So we had to design changed by adding more space between the flowers just to see how people would respond to it. And low and behold, customers loved it. The new version sold so much better than the original that we stuck to the design ever since. Today we only the black version is in production. Jay Hernandez wore this shirt in Season 2 of the new Magnum PI and he is seen wearing it in the Season 3 opening music. This print also comes in various matching women’s tops and dresses.
Mini Anthurium first appeared in the 1980s and Tom Selleck wore the blue version shirt in some promotional pictures for the show. The shirt had been out of production since the 80s until 2019 when we brought it back in blue, black, and red. Jay Hernandez wore both the black and red versions on the new Magnum PI.
Magnum Bamboo also first appeared back in the 1980s. We have seen some screen shots of the original Magnum PI with Tom Selleck wearing the navy version of this shirt. It’s hard to tell based on the colors. But we do know that Jay Hernandez wore the black version of this shirt in Season 2 of the new Magnum PI. This shirt was out of production from the 1980s until we brought it back in 2018. It has been one of our most popular shirts since its revival and is one of the few shirts that doesn’t look overtly like a typical Aloha shirt.
