The Tori Richard story

Tori Richard began half a century ago, when Mort Feldman, designer and Feldman's soon-to-be wife Janice Moody started a new resort apparel company. Their singular goal was to imbue women's resort wear and swimwear with a new sophistication, using only the finest fabrications and exclusive, company-designed artwork for prints.

They named their new company Tori Richard, after Janice Moody's daughter, Victoria and Feldman's son Richard.

Today, the designer and manufacturer of better resort wear is still a family-owned company, led by Feldman's youngest son, Josh. The company maintains its dedication to exclusive prints and fine fabrications through a unique vertical design and manufacture process.
While its 50-year history has seen many changes and much growth, today's Tori Richard customer enjoys a beautiful offering of destination-inspired men's resort wear as well as the women's line that gave the company its illustrious start.

Tori Richard can be found in more than 2500 better department stores and specialty stores in all 50 United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, Mexico, Asia, Europe and the Caribbean.

Tori Richard remains committed to its roots as a Honolulu family business. The company recently added 20,000 square feet to its Kalihi headquarters, bringing the total space to nearly an acre where the administrative, design, operations, light manufacturing, distribution and warehousing departments will soon be consolidated.

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Bright in color and full of vivid design, Hawaiian shirts are an immensely popular way to introduce yourself - and your clothing - at parties, the pool or the beach. They have become an international symbol of Hawaii. Although they continue to increase in popularity, Hawaiian tropical shirts are not a new trend or fad. In fact, the design of these shirts has been around for decades.

Hawaiian shirts got their start in the 1930s, when clothing manufacturers on the tropical Hawaiian islands decided to produce a cloth that had a design unique to Hawaii. Watumull's East India Store led the pack by hiring artist Elsie Das to create 15 hand-painted floral designs that were then printed onto silk. Unfortunately for the store, the designs were not supposed to be printed on heavy silk. Although the manufacturer did not print the shirts as had been requested, it turned out for the best - the heavy silk shirts became extremely popular in Hollywood. Movie stars, singers, and politicians all donned the prints. Harry Truman wore them frequently in the White House. In the movie ""From Here to Eternity,"" Montgomery Cliff, Burt Lancaster, Ernest Borgnine, and Frank Sinatra all wore Hawaiian shirts. The craze has continued on for years. Tom Selleck was always wearing Hawaiian shirts in ""Magnum PI.""

Hawaiian officials have certainly encouraged the Aloha shirt craze. In 1947, the Honolulu Board of Supervisors passed a resolution, encouraging city and county employees to wear Hawaiian shirts from June 1 to October 31 each year. Further, every Friday in Hawaii is considered Aloha Friday, when locals and tourists alike wear their favorite Hawaiian shirt or dress with pride. The islands even have an official Aloha Week, where thousands of people dress in Hawaiian pride.

Today, Hawaiian shirts continue to be a symbol of relaxation in tropical paradise. A simple lifestyle statement that by their very nature symbolize fun and a sense of carefree attitude.

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