HANAPEPE — Finding an aloha shirt on Kauai is one thing. Getting your hands on one crafted by Kauai’s “Aloha Shirt Lady,” however, is something entirely different. Jacqueline Vienna, owner of Jacqueline on Kauai, says what sets her shirts apart
HANAPEPE — Finding an aloha shirt on Kauai is one thing. Getting your hands on one crafted by Kauai’s “Aloha Shirt Lady,” however, is something entirely different.
Jacqueline Vienna, owner of Jacqueline on Kauai, says what sets her shirts apart is they are handmade, with love, right in the heart of Hanapepe town.
“It’s not like I send them out to Sri Lanka,” she joked.
Vienna began sewing at age 11 and has been at it 40 years. As a child, she remembers being drawn to the consistency of garments hanging on store racks.
“I marveled at that,” she said. “That’s one of my things, is being consistent with what I do — from the stitching to the sleeves.”
Despite trying her hand at many jobs over the years, Vienna always came back to being a seamstress. And while she does not consider herself a designer, she knows she is good at making striking, colorful and handsome aloha shirts.
Best of all, doing so is her passion. Even the tags on her garments tell the story.
“My love for Kauai binds the strings of my heart to the threads of this garment,” they read. “Promise me one thing: Have fund wearing it, because I loved making it.”
Today, Vienna says she is putting out upwards of 2,000 shirts per year, including uniforms for high-end resorts and porters at the Lihue Airport. She is convinced there is no one else in the world doing what she does single-handedly, and even aims to set a Guinness World Record someday.
The fabric she uses comes from a variety of Mainland sources. Among her current favorites is a dark red shirt adorned with gold music notes.
“I try to have a little something, something for everybody,” she said, adding that aloha shirts are best worn by guys who like beer and pizza.
Once someone purchases one of Vienna’s shirts, she requests they send her a picture of them wearing it. If you visit the shop, you’ll see countless photographs of customers donning their colorful aloha shirt — often from an ocean away.
“It’s very fun,” she said. “I have so many photos.”
In addition to specialty shirts, the Jacqueline on Kauai gallery features fine handmade clothing, alterations and uniforms, wedding and family attire, children’s wear and production sewing. It is open seven days a week — closed only for hurricanes and tsunamis — and located 3837 Hanapepe Road, across from Robert’s Jewelry.
Info: 335-5797.
