Are you getting ready for your trip of a lifetime and your not sure how to dress for the occasion?

What to wear in Hawaii? Believe it or not dressing for your Hawaiian vacation is pretty simple, mainly because the Hawaiian culture as a whole is pretty laid back, with emphasis on comfort. Pretty much everywhere you go you will see tourists as well as locals wearing flip flops, cargo shorts, t shirts, and of course Hawaiian shirts. Part of the magic of vacationing in Hawaii is that you get live the part of being... well, a tourist.

Of course what to wear depends a lot on why you came to Hawaii in the first place. Most conventioneers are going to be dressed in a pre-agreed upon style, usually aloha shirts or casual attire. But on rare occasions the convention dress code may be mainland style business suits. So you could find yourself having to dress for business and personal time. A lot of men and women living on the islands just wear t-shirts, shorts and flip flops. But there is also a fun loving, carefree group that wears only Hawaiian shirts and shorts (people like myself). Regardless of what you choose, both styles are acceptable forms of dress in Hawaii. Even the finest restaurants in Hawaii will seat you wearing a Aloha shirt and shorts.

Now we must advise you that you will not see many a native Hawaiian wearing a Hawaiian shirt with airplanes, pot leaves, or motorcycles, etc. What you will see depicted on Hawaiian shirts for men are the more traditional designs as found in tapa (a grid of squares, each of which contains geometrical patterns with repeated motifs such as fish and plants) and simple floral designs depicting native flowers.

Children usually wear t-shirts teamed with a swimsuit or trunks and of course flop flops. Many little girls will wear a children's Hawaiian dress with a simple print, in colors such as pink, red or blue. Keep in mind that children grow like weeds, so if you intend on buying children's apparel its best not to buy their outfits too early or you risk it not fitting. You can even make the children wear pants that have the same design as the shirt does, of course we can not guarantee that they will be handing out much praise for that when they grow up.

Hawaiian shirts for women are normally more feminine in color and the designs are usually quite flowery. Muted or shirts with subdued designs are also popular with the ladies. The dress code for an island vacation is pretty non-existent and more in line with wear whatever you brought. But if we were hard pressed for figures we would estimate that maybe 50% of the ladies wear t-shirts and the other 50% wear muumuu and Hawaiian dresses.

Couples and family can of course dress the same for their Hawaiian vacation, but you usually don't see it much on the islands as most people seemingly like to have their own unique identity.

Regardless of what you chose to wear in Hawaii, there are 2 simple rules that you should follow. Rule number one: do not wear your Hawaiian shirt tucked in. Rule number two: do not wear socks with sandals or dress shoes with shorts.

Wave Shoppe has the latest Hawaiian shirts and offers same day shipping.  Next Day Express Delivery is available at checkout

Uniqueness is what you get when you purchase a Wave Shoppe brand Hawaiian shirts. The majority of our designs are closed prints and are only available through our store. You will have peace of mind when you are packing for your Hawaiian vacation knowing that its very unlikely that you will be sitting on a airplane or standing next to someone in Hawaii that is wearing an identical design.

If you have ever spent the better part of your day picking out the perfect apparel for a trip to Hawaii or major function, only to arrive and see that others choose the exact same outfit, you will definitely know what we mean.