Exposed: Hidden facts of Hawaiian fashion

History's funny turns from my week in Oahu. Also, my last post about Hawaii for a while (I promise)

Hawaii’s weather is like those boxes of tiny chocolates that come in mini cupcake wrappers. The kinds of candy I would never buy because why gamble (suffer) with chocolate of all things? Sunshine there is just like seeing the tiny hazelnut on top of the bonbon and making wrong assumptions: expecting delicious Nutella, but when you bite in, you are surprised by rum raisin marzipan some Willy Wonka thought would be a good idea to mix in. I drove through storms and my entire body was micro needled by the wind that darted Kailua beach’s sand at us.

I am embarrassed to admit it, but I deserved it.

A few days of monsoons and razor wind was the least that I could get for embodying the saddest, scariest stereotype of all: the stupid white American tourist. I hopped on the 5h30 plane from LA to Honolulu expecting the things Jack Johnson sings about, but not even realizing that this was just the tip of the iceberg, or better, mount Kea. What is known today as Hawaii’s Big Island is actually the world’s tallest mountain, which sits 19,700 feet below the Pacific Ocean. Over half of it is submerged. What I am sharing here is just a snowflake (yes, snow) that lay on top of its peak, with much of the magic still submerged.

My ignorance started to sink in as soon as we arrived and I found many references to Polynesia, like the Polynesian Culture Center. The images attached gave me a tiki-bar vibe but I was more clueless than Alicia Silverstone in a grass tutu. Spoiler: Hawaii is part of Polynesia, a group of islands in the triangle with Hawaii as its northmost point, Easter Island at the east, and New Zealand at its West. The area within the Pacific Ocean that the Polynesians sailed during the past 3000+ years is LARGER than all the continents combined. I was even more shocked than when I saw the Mexican pyramids (I know there’s no point in comparing, but I am human). I have no words to describe this warrior, sailor people’s feats.

They had no written language so locals used to dance the Hula to share folklore and knowledge. My recollection of Lilo and Stitch's watered-down Shakira moves with a Lai flower necklace could not be furthest from reality. It is exciting, engaging, and beautiful storytelling. A more accurate description would be a Hawaiian take on cousin Polynesian Haka, the ritual choreography performed by the All Blacks rugby team.

Ok, finally getting into fashion, let’s talk about the lei, a flower necklace you might have seen or even worn a plastic sad version of in corporate happy hours. In Hawaii, a lei is given as a celebratory accessory, like a crown or medal. However, a lei can be worn for no other reason than to enjoy the fragrance and take pleasure in the flowers. Isn’t this beautiful? Why don’t we just wear flowers for pleasure itself?

The Hawaiian Aloha shirts with loud prints, curiously, come from a completely different place: Japanese prints. Hawaii is the American state with the largest Asian American percentage of the population at 58% and Honolulu has the highest percentage of Asian Americans of any county in the nation, with 62%. Believe it or not, America’s surf staple used by Elvis (and also many other soldiers) was actually an adaptation of the Japanese kimono. After the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese-influenced designs that had been common—featuring cherry blossoms and shrines—temporarily fell out of fashion, supplanted by designs that highlighted Hawaii’s local culture like the hibiscus flower.

And until today, the Islands are a central destination for Asian tourists, especially Japanese, due to proximity but also because of the culture. Almost everyone at my hotel was Japanese and most of the signs weren’t even in English. Waikiki is to Japan what Miami is to South America if it makes sense. Seeing maxi skirts paired with extremely oversized sweatshirts and platform crocs, live from Tokyo streetwear, was a real treat instead of expected summer dresses worn by white-now-sunburnt-red tourists (me).

What I did not do, however, was try Spam Musubi (sort of large ham nigiri), a Japanese snack now local in Hawaii. The meat is so random that its name was chosen to label our unwanted emails. I do, however, regret not having taken the risk. Now that I am far, maybe I will head out to LA’s See’s Candies and try that random box of tiny chocolates to remind myself that the only way to learn about great things is to try the unexpected.

Even, if for a moment, you become a stereotypical tourist. One of Oahu’s many delights. Aloha to all of you and have a great weekend 🌸