At the moment, Dale Hope estimates, he owns more than 500 aloha shirts.

“But ask Annie (his wife) and she’ll say more than 1,000,” he added with a laugh over the telephone from California, where the Honolulu waterman and designer was on a national tour for the new, updated edition of his book “The Aloha Shirt: Spirit of the Islands,” co-authored with Gregory Tozian.

The lavishly illustrated book covers the history of the aloha shirt and its inspirations, from Hawaiian tapa to paniolo palaka (cowboys’ checked pattern) and Tahitian pareu, to the “pre-aloha” shirts made in the 1920s with Japanese prints and the advent of the first Hawaiian-print shirts in the mid-1930s, through today.

Once in a while he’ll thin out his collection — he sells a Hope for Man line of mint-condition vintage shirts — but it is soon replenished, said Hope, 62, whose parents manufactured aloha wear and who has designed shirts for the Kahala brand and Patagonia’s Pataloha line.

California-based Patagonia, known for its high-end outdoor clothing and gear, published the new edition, which features a forward by famed surfer and board shaper Gerry Lopez, whom Hope has known since both were students at Punahou School.

Hope talked more about “The Aloha Shirt: Spirit of the Islands” and what he’s wearing:

Question: You designed aloha prints for Patagonia over the years. How did you connect with them?

Answer: After the first book came out in 2000, (Patagonia founder) Yvon Chouinard asked if I’d come work with them and help with Pataloha. In 2001 I was visiting Yvon in Wyoming when 9/11 happened. I was stuck there for about seven days, fly-fishing. I stole some of his hand-tied flies and used them in an aloha shirt. It was red.

Q: This looks to be a major redesign, starting with the cover and end papers, and a lot of new content.

A: It’s completely changed. Patagonia’s creative designer gave it a whole different look, added lots of photos and art. It’s kind of a dream come true.

Q: How did you collect all the surf photos?

A: It was a huge benefit to have (surf photographer-editor) Jeff Divine step in and help curate all our photos. We all searched and came up with ideas. I put out a letter to surf historian Mark Fragale: Any idea who took this photo of George Greenough wearing an aloha shirt in the (board) shaping room?

Q: Also new to the book is that awesome shot of famed watermen Tommy Holmes and Aka Hemmings dropping down a huge wave in an outrigger canoe.

A: Tommy died at age 47, in the ’90s. He was a character. I admired him and miss him a lot. His canoe book (“The Hawaiian Canoe”) was fabulous, and without him this book wouldn’t have probably happened. We won a Pele Award for stationery we designed, with aloha shirts on it, to solicit funding to research and write a book, but we got zero help.

Q: What about the canoe surfer on your Hope for Man shirt label?

A: That’s Jimmy Thurston on a wave at Tonggs.

Q: There’s a new chapter, too, on Rell Sunn. (The world surfing champion and “Queen of Makaha” died in 1998 at age 47.)

A: I had George Kam write about Rell ’cause he was best friends with her. When (Patagonia) started Pataloha in the ’80s, Rell started giving them a good introduction to Hawaii’s more spiritual lifestyle and helped curate a few designs for them at the time.

Q: What else is new?

A: There are a couple of stories. When Ellery Chun (widely credited with creating the first aloha shirt, in the 1930s) passed away and Perry and Price were talking about it on the radio, Rube Houseman called in and said that he created the first one. I talked to him; he’s since passed away.

At my book events I do this PowerPoint talk, including my visit at her home with Dolores Miyamoto, widow of Koichiro Miyamoto of Musa-shiya, who claims they made the first aloha shirt. She said, “You know that movie actor John Barrymore? He once came in my shop, yeah? He asked me and I wen’ made the first shirt. In a Hawaiian print. Before, it was just kimono shirt.”

In truth it was all happening at the same time. All these people were coming to Hawaii, and they wanted to have something special. There were a hundred or something tailors in downtown Honolulu.

Q: How has the book tour been going?

A: It’s been great. All the events have been at Patagonia stores.

New York was really busy, fun people, a lot of young people, surf people from Montauk. Chicago, I didn’t even know what to expect. There were a lot of younger people, the Chicago Surfrider Foundation group that does all the lake beach cleanups. A great crowd.

One of the collectors who lent us a shirt we picture up front in the new book came to the San Francisco event, and Brownie Barnes, who worked for Kimo McVay and used to drive Duke Kahanamoku once in a while, came to the signing in Santa Cruz.

Q: What’s your favorite era of the Hawaiian shirt?

A: The ’50s had the best and Shaheen’s were my favorite. Incredible art, and their shirts were printed in Honolulu. One of Alfred Shaheen’s daughters, Camille Tunberg, came to the Santa Monica event. Wonderful person.

Q: Does it seem to you that for a time, young people in Hawaii weren’t wearing aloha prints, but now it’s back in favor in rejuvenated styles?

A: I think that’s happening. They’re buying shirts from Roberta Oaks and from Plate Lunch by Gregg and Cory Kaplan, two brothers on Maui. These younger guys are making shirts for their generation.

The prints are simpler; today’s generation in their 20s and 30s appreciates and can relate to them. They don’t want to wear their grandfather’s or father’s shirts. Our generation, me and Gerry Lopez, went to the Punahou thrift shop. But they’re slim and their shirts are slim. It’s a slimmed-down world. You don’t want to wear big baggy shirts after you’ve spent all that time at the gym getting slim.

Q: What are you wearing at your book events?

A: I’m just wearing old shirts that were Tommy Holmes’. I have one of his shirts to wear for every event that I do. All of his shirts are so good, they’re all faves. One is Duke’s (the Duke Kahanamoku label’s) Cisco shirt: red, long-sleeved, ginger pattern. I’m wearing them on his behalf.