
Born out of endless summer surf trips to scour Central America’s coastline for fine waves and hidden beaches, Howler Brothers crafts dusty road-inspired clothing suitable for the vagabond patron saints like Hemingway and Kerouac.
I’ve been wearing the Hula Girl Gaucho Snap Shirt ($80) for a few months now. It’s a classic poplin with two hula girls playing ukulele emblazoned over the two chest pockets made of lightweight, quick drying poly-cotton blend with a mesh-lined, vented back yoke. Wearing the shirt is a bold statement, which simultaneously elicits “nice shirt!” with a side glance and raised eyebrow.
I’ve rarely had so much fun with a shirt. So I reached out to the founders to chat on the brand and their inspiration.

GJ: I’m not sure who has bigger cojones: me for wearing the hula shirt to work or you for designing it. Regardless, it gets a lot of attention! Chase, you behind this classic?
That shirt was really inspired by Andy’s and my mutual love of old western shirts by H Bar C and the like that had fairly outrageous but cool embroidery. We had a few we loved but they were either hot and sticky or threadbare. We wanted to replicate them with a cooler and more wearable fabric and some imaginative embroidery. The best part is deciding what to put on them from year to year.

What is your design process like, and where do you get inspiration?
The inspiration comes from all over really. Just like the Gaucho, I tend to pull a lot of ideas from historical garments and try to make them better and more wearable for today. Our Guayabera is a good example; it’s based off the classic Mexican or Cuban shirt but we teched the fabric up, added vents and modernized the fit to make it a little more accessible and versatile.

