Hawaiian Clothing

2013Frozen

Mouseketeer
Joined
Nov 24, 2013
Hi, has anyone bought Hawaiian clothing (shirts, dresses) online before going to Aulani? Any good or bad experiences? Any recommendations on web sites?

I assume you can buy clothing at the hotel, but would think it would be more expensive?

Thank you!
 
I haven't ordered online before, but you'll have plenty of opportunity once you are there. At the resort, t-shirts and branded clothing can be found at Kalepa's. Nicer clothes are at Hale Manu. Across the street at the ABC store they sell t-shirts for a very good price, and they have a ton to choose from. ABC does have an online store you could order from before your trip http://www.abcstores.com/local-wear In the same shopping complex as ABC there is Hawaiian Fire, which also has a lot of more casual clothes. There are also several other stores over there that sell nicer clothes, such as Pineapples Boutique and Jams World.
 
In addition to the suggestions above, I'd also recommend going to the flea market at the Aloha Bowl stadium. Many vendors there have very inexpensive Hawaiian clothes.
 


I'd do the Swap Meet for an on-island experience. If you're not opposed to Walmart, they have a big online selection of Hawaiian clothes with free shipping if you want to shop before you arrive.
 
Hi, has anyone bought Hawaiian clothing (shirts, dresses) online before going to Aulani? Any good or bad experiences? Any recommendations on web sites?

I assume you can buy clothing at the hotel, but would think it would be more expensive?

Thank you!

I would not recommend purchasing online unless you buy from a designer with a good reputation- variations in quality at the lower price levels is quite dramatic. You will understand what I mean when you touch the items. If you just want something cheep that you can wear for your time on the Island, you can get tropical printed clothing everywhere, including ABC stores, swap meet & thrift stores.
 


Do you see people (even locals) wearing Hawaiian style/prints everywhere on Hawaii?? Or just here and there? I've always wondered if that's a "stereotype" or if it was really true.
 
We locals were t shirts and shorts with slippers mostly if we are just out and about.

Hawaiian collared shirts are used more by individuals for business attire and fine dining.

I second going to swap meet for cheap tshirts and some hawaiian shirts. If you want better quality hawaiian shirts you might want to hit up an on island costco. Also reyn spooner, tommy bahama, cook street, hilo hattie make very nice hawaiian shirts but they are pricey.
 
Do you see people (even locals) wearing Hawaiian style/prints everywhere on Hawaii?

Nope. It's exactly what Frank said.

And just to revisit my Walmart suggestion, I often make the assumption that people are just going to wear their Hawaiian clothing here and not incorporate it into their wardrobe back home. So, if you just want something cheap to wear on vacation, then Walmart is a good choice. For more lasting outfits, places like Hattie, Reyn Spooner, etc. are good choices. Pricey, but good.
 
Do you see people (even locals) wearing Hawaiian style/prints everywhere on Hawaii?? Or just here and there? I've always wondered if that's a "stereotype" or if it was really true.

There is a lot nuance in Aloha fashion that is completely lost on visitors. Check out this photo of the Hawaii Legislature's opening ceremony. You will notice men and women is Aloha patters as well as suits. They are interchangeable for most situations here in Hawaii.

legislature%2Bopening%2Bday%2Bcourtesy%2BRobert%2BHarris.jpg


Now compare these to, um, this...
KYAL-460-Blue.jpg


What people on the Mainland might consider casual is actually formal. Don't misread a situation and think that anything goes. If you are in a grocery store wearing a swim suit, expect to get lots of tisks and disdain from old Japanese ladies.
 
There is a lot nuance in Aloha fashion that is completely lost on visitors. Check out this photo of the Hawaii Legislature's opening ceremony. You will notice men and women is Aloha patters as well as suits. They are interchangeable for most situations here in Hawaii.

Now compare these to, um, this...


:P Yeah, lol, the color and print makes a huge (no pun intended) difference. I have a few professional aloha dresses that I've described as such only to be have confused people tell me they "don't look Hawaiian". I guess they're figuring it has to be bright with big patterns or in the mu'u mu'u style. My favorite one is a dark blue with delicate fern patterns all over it.
 
Yeah, you don't usually see a lot of women wearing aloha, unless it's more touristy locations or at a luau, or at an event where you're wearing something like Midoria mentions. I have some dresses that I wear to events that call for aloha attire, but they're less "hawaiian print" and actually things I could get away with on the mainland in the summer. They aren't tourist dresses. I have tourist dresses , but they're not the same. Really hard to explain. Don't try to wear a mu'umu'u. LOL Men tend to wear aloha shirts lots of places: out to eat, church, work. My son gets to wear them on Fridays for school. once you've been here for a while it's easy to pick out the tourists because tourist shirts are generally way bright, way cheap looking. Good mens aloha shirts are expensive and they are taken as dress up clothing.

All that said, you're tourists, don't even bother trying to blend in. Just wear what you want. Wear aloha when you go out to eat, have fun, but don't spend a ton of money on clothing you're never going to touch when you get back to the mainland.
 
Yeah, you don't usually see a lot of women wearing aloha, unless it's more touristy locations or at a luau, or at an event where you're wearing something like Midoria mentions. I have some dresses that I wear to events that call for aloha attire, but they're less "hawaiian print" and actually things I could get away with on the mainland in the summer. They aren't tourist dresses. I have tourist dresses , but they're not the same. Really hard to explain. Don't try to wear a mu'umu'u. LOL Men tend to wear aloha shirts lots of places: out to eat, church, work. My son gets to wear them on Fridays for school. once you've been here for a while it's easy to pick out the tourists because tourist shirts are generally way bright, way cheap looking. Good mens aloha shirts are expensive and they are taken as dress up clothing.

All that said, you're tourists, don't even bother trying to blend in. Just wear what you want. Wear aloha when you go out to eat, have fun, but don't spend a ton of money on clothing you're never going to touch when you get back to the mainland.
Does your son attend damien memorial school?
 
We are attending a vow renewal while on our trip and needed clothes to fit the dress code. We didn't want to leave it to chance or spend a crazy amount of time once we arrived to try to find something that fit both the dress code and us. We ordered from http://www.jadefashion.com and had a good experience.
 
Has anyone ordered from tydelhawaii.com? It's pretty hard to find matching adult and big kid outfits that are nice, not tacky :/
 

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