Not Your Mother’s MuMu

It used to be, and not long ago, that the words “Hawaiian Shirt” conjured up visions of loud, poorly designed shirts that were so ugly they were laughable. Today there has been a revision of what makes an aloha shirt an aloha shirt.

Companies such as Tommy Bahama that concentrate on quality of the garment, place emphasis on harmony and artistic value of design and concertedly nurture their brand name have changed the Hawaiian shirt in to something that more accurately expresses the Aloha spirit. Even the old companies who have been making Hawaiian shirts from the beginning such as Tori Richards have produced stunning designs.

It is not just shirts that have been made popular by island inspired design. That essentially tropical women’s dress the MuMu has been given some astonishing upgrades in style. Sometimes these are shockingly good upgrades, some of which would not even be recognized as a Mumu by the casual observer.

Such dresses fall through the cracks of our awareness when our female executive boss wears one, or we see some glamorous starlet strut the red carpet in a designer dress we don’t even recognize as being a MuMu.

Traditionally a MuMu is made starting with a single piece of cloth that has a hole for the head. Then the sleeves and dress is sewn to its hem to hang loosely. The definition of MuMu from several sources is “a dress that hangs from the shoulders”. Think of a full length tunic. This allows for huge variations in theme and design.

MuMus have traditionally been used in patient recovery of for the morbidly obese as MuMus  do not restrict the abdomen and allow the wearer to remain cool and comfortable. For everyday wear, it is easy to design and execute a MuMu without the pleating along the neckline, making for a slimmer, more form-fitting garment. The MuMu dresses you see on the red carpet typically are from a high-end designer and have been accessorized, and are uniformly mis-identified as gowns!

High fashion MuMus are typically tastefully accessorized. A belt worn across the waistline to accentuate the hourglass figure does not make the dress not a MuMu. Nor does adding a sweeping sash raking down from the shoulder.  Nor would a dazzling diamond brocade necklace creating an avalanche of light from the throat make a MuMu not a MuMu.

Manufacturers are making aggressive inroads. For example, there is now such a thing as a “wedding MuMu”, and it does not look at all like your first thoughts. It is form fitting, well tailored; tastefully a snow white pattern on a snow white fabric and for all appearances is a formal gown.

The fabrics used are also changing. Gone are the threadbare cottons, and in are the viscose herringbone rayon, multilayer silks, crisps linens and linen blends and high thread count cottons. The designs are often the same as they use in their better high-end aloha shirts, and often it is the very same fabric.

And it can be a bargain too. While the Hawaiian shirts may be selling for $120 a pop, the MuMus may be fetching less per garment while using more fabric. This is because of both market factors and ease of fabrication from the simplicity of the style.

Today’s MuMu are not yesterday’s. You can wear your aloha with pride, and no one will be the wiser!