View source for Mu'umu'u

{{Short description|Loose dress of Hawaiian origin}}
{{about|the Hawaiian loose dress|other uses|Muumuu (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|Moo-moo|other uses|Moo moo (disambiguation){{!}}Moo moo}}
[[File:Woman in muumuu.jpg|thumb|A woman wearing a mu'umu'u]]
The '''muumuu''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|uː|m|uː}} or '''mu{{okina}}umu{{okina}}u''' ({{IPA|haw|ˈmuʔuˈmuʔu}}) is a loose dress of [[Hawaii]]an origin.<ref>Gary Luke and Susan R. Quinn, [https://books.google.com/books?id=7904pbwUF14C&pg=PT110 ''Americanisms: The Illustrated Book of Words Made in the USA''] (Sasquatch Books, 2003).</ref> It is related to the [[Mother Hubbard dress]], introduced by [[Christian Missionaries|Christian missionaries]] in [[Polynesia]] to "civilize" those whom they considered half-naked savages.<ref name="Gray">{{Cite journal |last=Gray |first=Sally Helvenston |date=2014 |title=Searching for Mother Hubbard: Function and Fashion in Nineteenth-Century Dress |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/676031 |journal=Winterthur Portfolio |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=29–74 |doi=10.1086/676031 |issn=0084-0416|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Within the category of fashion known as aloha wear, the muumuu, like the [[aloha shirt]], are often brilliantly colored with floral patterns of [[Polynesian culture|Polynesian]] motifs. In Hawaiʻi, muumuus are no longer as widely worn as an aloha shirt, but continue to be a popular dress for social gatherings, church, and festivals such as the [[Merrie Monarch Festival|Merrie Monarch]] hula competition.

==Etymology and history==
The word ''mu{{okina}}umu{{okina}}u'' means "cut off" in [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Nā Puke Wehewehe ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi |url=https://wehewehe.org/gsdl2.85/cgi-bin/hdict?a=q&r=1&hs=1&m=-1&o=-1&qto=4&e=p-11000-00---off-0hdict--00-1----0-10-0---0---0direct-10-ED--4--textpukuielbert%252ctextmamaka-----0-1l--11-haw-Zz-1---Zz-1-home---00-3-1-00-0--4----0-0-11-00-0utfZz-8-00&q=muumuu&fqv=textpukuielbert%252ctextmamaka&af=1&fqf=ED#hero-bottom-banner |access-date=2024-02-02 |website=wehewehe.org}}</ref> The dress, which was originally used as an undergarment or [[chemise]] for the ''holokū'', lacked a [[Yoke (clothing)|yoke]]<ref name=dictionarydotcom>{{cite web|title=Muumuu|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/muumuu|publisher=Dictionary.com|access-date=14 January 2012}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> and may have featured short sleeves or no sleeves at all.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Terao-Guiala |first=Agnes |title=Hawaiian Women's Fashions: Kapa, Cotton, and Silk |date=2021 |publisher=Agnes Terao- Guiala |isbn=978-0-578-62739-7 |edition=Revised |pages=38, 81, 224 |language=English}}</ref> The muumuu was made of lightweight solid white cotton fabric and, in addition to being an undergarment, served Hawaiian women as a housedress, nightgown, and swimsuit.<ref name=":0" /> ''Holokū'' was the original name for the [[Mother Hubbard dress]] introduced by [[Protestant]] missionaries to Hawaii in the 1820s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nā Puke Wehewehe ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi |url=https://wehewehe.org/gsdl2.85/cgi-bin/hdict?a=q&r=1&hs=1&m=-1&o=-1&qto=4&e=d-11000-00---off-0hdict--00-1----0-10-0---0---0direct-10-ED--4--textpukuielbert%252ctextmamaka-----0-1l--11-haw-Zz-1---Zz-1-home-muumuu--00-4-1-00-0--4----0-0-11-00-0utfZz-8-00&q=holoku&fqv=textpukuielbert%252ctextmamaka&af=1&fqf=ED#hero-bottom-banner |access-date=2024-02-02 |website=wehewehe.org}}</ref><ref>{{citation|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/446292872.html?dids=446292872:446292872&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105224409/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/446292872.html?dids=446292872:446292872&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 5, 2012 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|title=Show Will Trace Muu-muu Origins|author=Joan Burnham|date=March 24, 1960}}</ref>  In contrast to the muumuu, the ''holokū'' featured long sleeves and a floor-length unfitted dress 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'' took on a more fitted waist and often a train seven or eight yards in length for the evening, and included ruffles, flounces and trimmings, while the modest loose-fitting train-less ''holokū'' continued to be widely worn by women of all classes as their daily dress.<ref name=":0" /> In time, upon 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.<ref name=":0" />

==References==
{{reflist}}
==Further reading==
*[https://statenisland.pastperfectonline.com/webobject/1F3224AA-2FE8-4EF3-8733-401245381533 Housedress (muumuu), 1970s, in the Staten Island Historical Society Online Collections Database]
==External links==
{{Commonscat}}
* [https://themuumuuarchive.com https://themuumuarchive.com]

[[Category:Dresses]]
[[Category:Hawaiian words and phrases]]
[[Category:History of Oceanian clothing]]
[[Category:Polynesian clothing]]
[[Category:Symbols of Hawaii]]