Evening star., 1939-04-21
How to Dress in Hawaii
Simple Wardrobe Advised by D. c. Traveller
Who Finds Styles Free but Decent
BY G. A. LYON,

BY G. A. LYON,
Associate Editor Of The Star. vacationins
in Hawaii.
Persons contemplating a visit to
Hawaii need have no anxieties on
the score of the proper wearing ap-
parel to carry along. The matter
Of luggage, which is somewhat i'm
portant in view of the cross-country
train ride and the eventual boat ride
to the islands, may be reduced to
the simplest terms, if the tourist is
willing to make modest showing Of
styles and fashions at the outset.
The average tourist visitor to the
islands appears to be under the i'm
preston that the more clothing
carried the merrier will be the visit.
But that is not exactly correct. In
some circumstances of tourist ex-
istence in Hawaii the reverse is
quite apt to be the case. The fewer
the arments-variety does not
really count much save in the
swaggerest circles-the happier will
the tourist-visitor be.
This does not mean that the
average tourist is as rule content
to dress with especial simplicity. 1t
means that he-or she-can dress
thus and be entirely comfortable in
both mind and body. For the simply
clad visitor attracts no attention
whatever. 1t is the elaborately
garbed and gowned malihini who
catches the eyes of the elder tourists
in point of length of visit-and
Of the islanders, although he or she
may not hold it long, with lively
competition assured with each new
ship load of travellers.
Given sufficient coverage, and
everybody is happy. Just what con-
stitutes sufficient coverage is
matter of taste and discretion. 1t
would be bold dictator of styles
who undertook to prescribe the
proper wear for hotel dining rooms
and for beach sojourning. For it
would seem that the sky is the limit
In both directions.
How to go Native"
One of the first things that the
visitor does, in the main, is to go
native" in the matter of garb. Just
what is native" is matter of taste
rather than judgment. In truth, 1t
is matter of imagination. And
Imagination goes pretty far astray
at times. For the natives" of
Hawaii as a rule wear more clothes
than do the malihinis, especially
the more newly arrived. Indeed the
elder women Hawaiians are still
partial to the holoku. which is
completely enveloping Mother Hub
bard"-like garment which was pre-
scribed by the early missionaries
for the feminine Hawaiians as being
more modest than the grass skirts
Of aboriginal fashion.
Doubtless the spread OF candid
photography has had much to do
with this matter of establishing a
mainland idea that life in Hawaii,
particularly Oahu, where Waikiki
Beach is located, is mainly on the
nudist side rather than the en-
veloped. Countless tourists have
come to Hawaii with little cameras
In their luggage and have gone
straight to Waikiki or another of
the beaches and have snapped yards
and rods and miles of film at bath
ing beauties" both male and female,
and have gone back and shown those
pictures on screens in their homes
and before their clubs and have thus
established the idea that Hawaii is
q nudist colony They do not know,
perhaps, that most of the folks at
whom they point their cameras are
just tourists, "even as you and l."
and that the real Hawaiians are
looking on in some wonder and I
have no doubt some amusement at
the display Of cuticle and avoirdu-
poise provided by the visitors.
As matter of fact the Hawaiians
were never In historic times a par
ticularly bareskinned people Doubt
less in the days of Kamahameha
the clothing bill was very small,
save for the royal raiment of pre-
cious feathers. More cash, or its
early Hawaiian equivalent, was
spent for feather than for fabric
garb. Certain decencies of attire
were observed, and beyond that
necessity dictated the only require
ments. I have an idea that if
kamahameha had ever seen his
peoples scampering around in garb
as scanty as that which is now
worn by many of the tourists he
would have been right royalty in
dignant and would have put a tabu
upon such practices.
It is not to be thought from these
remarks that there is any indecent
clothing-or lack of clothing-in
Hawaii, on the part of either mali
hinis or kamaainas. There is enough
clothing for any and all the pur-
poses for which clothes are worn,
those purposes being three in num-
Der, as I conceive the case-com-
fort, convenience and decency.
And In that last term may lurk
IN element of self-respect. The
values of social relationship are
somewhat vague, but there is basis
OF common comprehension that
leads to understanding.
Everybody who has spent a vaca-