Fun, Fashion, Food & Life in Hawaii
We just added a few new Hawaiian tube sundresses just in time for your next summer party. These rayon sundresses come with a stretchy smocked top for an easy and comfortable fit. The v-straps can be tied behind the neck or hidden for a strapless look.
- 100% rayon
- stretchy smocked top
- easy to wear, comfortable fit
- Made in Hawaii
Front, side and rear view of tube Hawaiian dress with optional strap.
Hawaiian dresses with a mock sarong front wrap with elastic back and adjustable straps combine the best of both worlds, flattering look and easy to fit convenience and comfort.
The biggest question shoppers have when shopping for dresses online is “how will this thing fit on me?” Sizing information can only go do so much. Since everyone is shaped just a little bit different, what fits nicely one person may not fit nicely on someone else in the same size. One way around this is to make sizing and fitting more forgiving of different body types through the use of elastic waists or backs and adjustable straps. Sometimes, however, these features adversely affect the fit of the dress. It might feel okay, but it’ll look funny.
These sarong wrap Hawaiian dresses are one of the better ones that we’ve seen that combine the best of both worlds. They are easy to fit and they still look flatteringly feminine. And the way that the mock sarong falls when tied makes the dress look even more tropical with just the right amount of sass.
We currently have 8 dresses in our store to choose from, including the forever popular Jungle Bird (Magnum PI) print and the subtle Bamboo Paradise, both of which are available in matching men’s Hawaiian shirts.
Photo shoots are fun but they aren’t easy. It always takes a lot more planning and coordination than expected, no matter how many time we do it. Lucky for us, Geralyn at Hokuli’i Images has been our primary shoot photographer since we opened for business back in 1999. She’s fun, reliable and good at making the models feel relaxed, which is especially important if they’ve never worked together before. And it also helps to have a Talent Coordinator like Chad who can call upon many people to find the small handful of models that are available on the date of the shoot. And it especially helps to have someone like Robert who can pull small miracles by securing an awesome beach house on short notice. When everything comes together (and it somehow always does) we end up with a productive photo shoot that feels more like play than actual work. It’s not a bad way to spend a beautiful Saturday morning!
Sharks Cove is a popular place for tide pool exploration. It is invitingly calm during the summer months when it is usually perfectly safe for families and kids. I’ve gone there myself many times to look at little fish, crabs and other sea life. I even saw a small eel one time.
But during the winter, Sharks Cove can be downright angry. Sometimes it’s hard to tell just how powerful and dangerous a wave is until you see it pound against a rock. You might see a wave and think that it looks like a decent size swell but nothing scary. Then when it hits the rocks you see the water explode tens of feet into the air. That’s when you know that you better stay out of the water.
But no matter the time of the year, Sharks Cove is a pretty cool place to check out. If you’re driving along the North Shore and have never been there before, it’s definitely worth a look. Chances are you’ll either see a calm and peaceful cove or an exciting and awesome display of nature’s power.
This is how Halona Cove looks today. It seems smaller in person that it did in the movie, "From Here to Eternity".
One of the most recognizable movie scenes of all time is the kiss on the beach scene in “From Here to Eternity”. Despite growing up in Hawaii, I never knew that the scene was filmed on Oahu. Not only that, but it was filmed on a beach that I have driven past hundreds of times over the years. The beach in the movie scene is Halona Cove, which is a tiny cove tucked beneath the highway that snakes along the scenic Makapuu coast on the south shore of Oahu. It shares the same parking lot as the more famous “Blow Hole” which is always crowded with tourists. Few people bother to hike down the hill to the beach. But if you do, this is what it looks like from ground level.
And this is what it looked like in the movie over half a century ago. It’s funny how much bigger the beach looks in the movie. In real life, it’s a really small beach!
So next time you happen to be driving along the Makapuu coast on your way to Sandy Beach, the Makapuu Lighthouse Trail, Sea Life Park or anything on the south shore, be sure to check out Halona Cove. You’ll be standing on a piece of Hollywood history!
Ukulele instructor and recording artist, Bruce Shimabukuro, is back with his second lesson on strumming. In his first strumming lesson, he went over some of the basics including tips on technique. This time he goes over chords and hand placement.
We recently received an order for a KoAloha Ukulele through our parter, The Ukebox. Here, Issac shows us what the ukulele looks and sounds like prior to putting it in the case for shipping. Actually, it doesn’t ship from the store. It goes from the store to our fulfillment center where it is carefully packed for shipping. Part of that process includes loosening the strings as a precaution. Our shipping experts told us that the strings should be loosened for shipping in case the package gets bounced around during transit. If the strings are tight during an impact, the strings could put extra pressure and friction on the instrument. So for shipping, loose strings are better. Anyway, as this video says, this ukulele is on its way to a customer in Jersey City, which is about as far from Hawaii as it gets in the US. We hope the customer loves his shiny new ukulele!
For years, Paradise Found’s Jungle Bird “Magnum PI” Aloha shirt has been a top seller. Besides Magnum PI fans, other people order the shirt around October, presumably for use as a Magnum PI costume. If you are one of those people, email us a pic! We’d love to see all you Halloween Magnum PIs out there! But the shirt is also available in several matching dresses. We already have one of them available online in our matching set section and we’ll add the two shown in the picture above in the coming days.
Tom Selleck's aloha shirt in Magnum PI is the Jungle Bird print by Paradise Found. This print is also available in a variety of Hawaiian dresses.
And while we’re on the topic of Magnum PI, what a great show! It had action. It had humor. It had scenery. It had it all. It even had a cool song and an exciting intro. At the very end of the show’s intro, you see Magnum wearing the Jungle Bird shirt.
Well, another season of Hawaii Five-0 is in the books. In the spirit of that show, here’s a video taken by some fellow American tourists on vacation in London of the Buckingham Palace Band playing the famous Five-0 theme song. Sadly, they couldn’t name the TV show it was from. But at least they knew it was a TV show and seemed to enjoy the music and setting.
If you’re trying to teach yourself the ukulele, Bruce’s intro lessons is a good place to start. In his first lesson he goes over the basics of strumming, including some technique pointers. Give us some feedback on this video so we can take that into consideration when doing future ukulele video lessons.