Tiki Party

  Tiki, as it turns out, is the name of the large carved humanoid figures found in Polynesian cultures. The Austronesian people are a larger ancestral group that include the Polynesian peoples of New Zealand and Hawai'i, as well as the Taiwanese aborigines.  As a descendant of the Hoklo tribe in Taiwan, chances are better than not that I have some aboriginal ancestry.

  This last weekend, some lovely friends of mine threw a Tiki party. It was a chance for me to get out of the apartment and look at something that wasn't a chemistry problem for a few hours, as they are exceedingly generous hosts with great taste in food and fine interesting friends to meet.

  And then, and mark this well, friends, I said something that I very rarely say: "Aw crap, I have nothing to wear." I own nothing I would consider "tropical" in appearance. I bundle myself up in vaguely military or Ye Olde style clothes with random extra buckles and stitching. It was time to go digging. Here is what I found:

I also found out light outfits cannot photograph worth a damn outdoors.

    I wore the skirt I last wore when participating in Style Imitating Art. I hope the outfits don't look too similar. I guess that's the risk you run with light colors and a big white skirt. I also wore a tank top under a handkerchief ...shirt(?) I bought several years ago in Paris.

  I bought this thing because it was 110°F (43°C) almost every day when we were there, the sun was up for 12 hours a day, and we were out walking in it most of the time. I wore it with a pseudo-bra made of a plain bathing suit top tied together with the strings and I felt slightly less like passing out of heat exhaustion. Meantime, Parisian ladies would be dressed in nice suit jackets sipping steaming coffee in the sun. (What is this I don't even)

  I have of course never worn this shirt out in the States because 1) hypothermia and 2) getting approached by strange men. Speaking of hypothermia, even though it was quite reasonable for SF, this outfit would not keep me warm by itself, leading me to wonder: what do Hawai'ians wear when it's cold?*

  I hoped my accessories would make up for my lack of tropical wear:

I'm annoyed the focal length didn't turn out right. The shortcomings of a point and shoot.

  I bought the makau when I was in Hawai'i several years ago. I didn't think anything could live up to the giant hype of the most perfect weather and landscape, but it did. Hawai'i really is that beautiful. I was impressed. I also felt like a ninja because people would walk up to me and ask me for directions, or shopkeepers would ask if I was native. :D

  I was big into semiprecious stone jewelry when I was a kid, and I still have a few pieces.

  I also wore my much loved Eastland Lagoon sandals.

  I should do a wide shoe review to focus on them some time. I've trekked all over Paris and Taiwan in these and they're fantastic.

* Hahaha! Trick question.

Skirt: KOMMOTiON NY (eBay)

Shirt: FRANGI (Paris)

Makau: Hawai'i

Bracelets: v. old gifts

Sandals: Eastland Lagoon Sandals (DSW)