User:Wikikauai

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This article is about the Hawaiian loose dress. For other uses, see Muumuu (disambiguation).

"Moo-moo" redirects here. For other uses, see Moo moo.

The muumuu /ˈmuːmuː/ or muʻumuʻu (Hawaiian pronunciation:[ˈmuʔuˈmuʔu]) is a loose dress of Hawaiian origin. Within the category of fashion known as aloha wear, the muumuu, like the aloha shirt, are often brilliantly colored with floral patterns of Polynesian motifs. In Hawaiʻi, muumuus are no longer worn as an everyday dress, but continue to be a popular option for social gatherings, church, and festivals such as the Merrie Monarch hula competition.

Etymology and history[edit]
The word muʻumuʻu means "cut off" in Hawaiian. The dress, which was originally used as an undergarment or chemise for the holokū, lacked a yoke and featured short sleeves or no sleeves at all. The muumuu was made of lightweight white cotton fabric which, in addition to its role as an undergarment, served Hawaiian women as a housedress, nightgown, and swimsuit. Holokū was the original name for the Mother Hubbard dress introduced by Protestant missionaries to Hawaii in the 1820s. In contrast to the muumuu, the holokū was comprised of long sleeves and a floor-length, unfitted skirt falling from a high-necked yoke which was worn by the aliʻi as well as the common people. By the 1870s, the holokū of the aliʻi adopted a fitted waist and often featured a train seven or eight yards in length, and included ruffles, flounces and trimmings, while the modest and train-less holokū continued to be widely worn by women of all classes as their daily dress. In time, with the introduction of printed fabrics to Hawai'i, the muumuu, essentially a shortened and more comfortable version of the holokū, gained popularity for everyday wear.

References[edit]

 * 1) ^ Gary Luke and Susan R. Quinn, Americanisms: The Illustrated Book of Words Made in the USA (Sasquatch Books, 2003).
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Further reading[edit]

 * Housedress (muumuu), 1970s, in the Staten Island Historical Society Online Collections Database

External links[edit]

 * Media related to Muumuu at Wikimedia Commons
 * https://themuumuarchive.com