Hawaiian Women's Fashions: Kapa, Cotton and Silk by Agnes Terao-Guiala

Abstract

Reviewed by: Hawaiian Women's Fashions: Kapa, Cotton and Silk by Agnes Terao-Guiala Linda Arthur Bradley Hawaiian Women's Fashions: Kapa, Cotton and Silk. By Agnes Terao-Guiala. [n.p.]: Agnes Terao-Guiala, 2019. 288 pp. Illustrated. Bibliography. Index. $49.00 paper Terao-Guiala's book on Hawaiian women's fashions is the result of extensive research on Hawaiian clothing and history. It is a big, beautiful book, lavishly illustrated with line drawings and photos that enrich our understanding of the era prior to the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy. The last chapters discuss Hawai'i's contemporary designers who continue traditional Hawaiian designs within the global fashion industry. It is in these areas, the 19th century, and the 21st century, that the book shines. While there are many books on the aloha shirt, this is only the second book produced that covers Hawaiian women's dress. It is a welcome addition to the literature. As a trade book, it is written in a comfortable style intended for a wide audience of readers in Hawai'i. It is neither an academic or history book, as there are no footnotes and few source citations. Beginning with a discussion of Hawaiian material culture and of kapa designs in pre-contact times, the author sets the frame for examining later Hawaiian textile designs and their focus on Hawaiian flora, fauna, and culture. The shift from wearing kapa to clothing of woven fabric began in 1820 when American missionary wives arrived and first made garments for royalty inspired by their own western styles, but without waistlines. That has remained a unique feature of aloha attire. From then on, Hawaiian fashion developed through the interplay of western styles and Hawaiian print designs. This book is as much about history as fashion. Within each chapter, the author presents a long discussion of Hawaiian history and key personages followed by information on clothing and textiles from that era. The evolution of [End Page 177] style lines is presented through stories of significant Hawaiian women from the nineteenth century forward as they interacted with missionaries and others, then adapted western styles to their own use. This approach makes for fascinating reading, but along the way, there are contradictions regarding terms used, but none are defined. The reader is left confused as to the differences between the four basic styles of women's aloha attire, and that was also apparent in the identification of garments in the book's twentieth century photos, where half of the garments labeled as holokū would generally be classified as mu'umu'u. Key terms need to be defined and a glossary of Hawaiian terms is needed for readers unfamiliar with the Hawaiian language. With regard to women's aloha attire of the twentieth century, there are recognized definitions of the types of aloha attire based on the Hawaiian Garment Industry's nomenclature, found in academic articles and encyclopedias of fashion, and used by the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa's Historic Costume Collection. The holokū is a long gown, generally with long sleeves; it could be loose or fitted and became a formal garment with a train. A mu'umu'u is a loose day dress with a variety of sleeves and lengths. The holomu'u is a more fitted dress, like a holokū, but without a train. Aloha shirts were made for both men and women. Terao-Guiala does not discuss women's aloha shirts, though some remarkable ones were produced in the 1940s and 1950s. The book's subtitle, "Kapa, Cotton and Silk", refers to the dominant fibers for fabric used in Hawai'i's clothing. Each chapter title begins with whichever of these fibers seemed to be most important for that era. Unfortunately, rayon and polyester were completely ignored, even though most of the fabrics used in aloha attire in the last half of the twentieth century were rayon, cotton, polyester and cotton-polyester blends. Rayon was used in the post WWII period for about a decade. Aloha attire produced in rayon from the late 1940s through late 1950s is highly collectible today and can cost well over $1,000.00. Cotton dominated the 1960s, polyester came...