Magnum P.I. would be proud. The oft-maligned “Hawaiian” shirt is making an unlikely come back on European catwalks.

Designer brands including Prada, Givenchy, and Stella McCartney are putting a modern spin on the aloha shirt.  

The Wall Street Journal reports that some retailers are calling them “tropical shirts” to distinguish the slim-fitted modern update from the wide and billowy traditional version.

One retailer appears to have picked up Reyn Spooner’s inside-out printing trick. The WSJ reports:

The newer versions come in much slimmer fits. In some cases, the patterns and colors are less vibrant. Topman, the fast-fashion retailer, produces the prints on its shirts from the inside out “so as to diffuse the colors,” says design director Gordon Richardson.

The reinterpretation of the Hawaiian shirt is the latest example of designers and retailers trying to create chic styles from items once thought nerdy, even tacky. Examples in recent years include bow ties, high-water pants, thick-framed glasses and tucked-in, short-sleeve woven shirts.

World News Australia put together a nice history of the aloha shirt through the ages: 

Since its emergence in the 1930s, the Hawaiian shirt has gone through a number of phases. Harry Truman was photographed for the cover of Life wearing one. In 1952, Frank Sinatra and Montgomery Clift wore Hawaiian shirts in From Here to Eternity, while, in 1961, Elvis Presley donned an orchid-printed model and sang “Can’t help falling in love” in Blue Hawaii.

That was the harmless phase. …

You might recall that back in November, President Barack Obama got panned by Hawaii media for opting not to wear custom-made Aloha shirts in the APEC leaders’ final “family photo” together. He wanted to project a more business-like attitude. 

The Aloha shirt’s star seems to be rising regardless. The U.S. Post Office reported this week it had sold 50 million Aloha shirt stamps in April — and was re-releasing the stamps in a new booklet form.