Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-07-14
FEMININE DRESS IN SAMOA.
Startling Effects of Blending Native
and European Garments.

Startling Effects of Blending Native
and European Garments.
From the San francisco Chronicle
In spite of the simplicity of national at
tire the single tapa iava-Iava, or loin
cloth, worn by all, both sexes alfke-the
Samoans spend great deal of their time
in identifying themselves. The body is
creased with cocoanut oil and the hair is
often plastered with white lime and roach
ed up pompadour style, giving it when dry
the effect of the judicial wig worn bv En-
glsh barr1sters. The lime is washed off at
night and renewed from day to day The
result Is a gradual change in the color of
the mar, which, in undergoing the bleach
ing process, passes from coarse coal
black, through brick red to a bright vel
low. The effect of this brilliant contrast
with their shiny copper skins is gro
teSque In the extreme, but in their eyes
surprisingly beautiful.
No Samoan belle of my circle of ac-
qualntance would use such a torture and
unnatural deformity as STAYS and corsets
to make her sylphlke and willowy though
she is quite ready to puncture her nose to
wear Jeweled ornament. Their hair,
however, is their pride, and mass of yell
low spongelike stuff carefully tied up on
top of their heads is the envy of every
one for miles around-"a thing of beauty
and JOY forever" In common with this
strange fancy, the Samoans quite share
the European ideas in regard to beauty
They particularly admire tall persons and
1t is quite common for a stranger espe-
cially If above the ordinary height, to find
himself followed by an admirlng throng
of unobtrusively obtrusive natives Wor-
Shipping in silence.
Neither sex is overburdened with clothes
The common dress for both men and wo-
men is the already mentioned lava-lava a
kind of kilt or piece of drapery wound
about the waist in a manner whose adj
justment seems to foreigners nothing short
of miraculous. The adults, however seem
to have no difficulty. in keeping the lava
lava in place, but the children are less ex-
pert and careful of theirs and often lose
the scant scrap of cotton stuff that serves
as an out-of-door custume. Children of all
ages indoors, and babies in arms every
where, wear no clothing at all. This kind
OF garment-or drapery, perhaps, would be
a better word for it's, in slightly varied
form, common to most South Sea island
ers, as well as inhabitants of the Indian
archipelago and the southern countries of
Asia. 1t is called by the Malays a sarong,
and its name differs in the different groups
of Polynesia The Malays and Kings of
Singapore, Ceylon and the Malaysian pen
inSula wear it loose or straight, while the
Burmese and Siamese tuck it up something
after the manner of the well-known infan-
tile accessory.
The finery and gimcrack adornments of
civilization are now gaining foothold in
Samoa. as elsewhere in the track of COM
merce, particularly with the feminine
heart, and it is not unusual to see
Samoan lady gorgeously arrayed in fine
mat ldFd-ltNa cOInDineu With d Dali gown
waist velvet basque cut V-necked, or
with her hair done up empire style and
wearing, to complete her toilet, a string of
ferns about her waist and necklace of
sharks teeth around her dusky throat
bust arms and limbs bare-promenading
with all the refreshing grace and con-
scious airs of Bridget on her Sunday out
ing, the observed of all observers But
there is one shackle of civilization they
positively refuse to accept shoes and
stockings. Perhaps, however, this is be-
cause they can find no covering large
enough for the aboriginal "trilbies." New
ertheless, in one of the fights in which our
native allies participated 1 observed one
warrior proudly wearing a pair of sixteen
button black silk stockings extending
above the knees, with his huge black feet
protruding beyond the soles. which were
worn through. He had doubtless looted
them from some European house, whose
owner fed when hostilities began.