What clothes to bring to Honolulu (to rent, buy, moving to)

[bluejaye]

Hey I'm moving to Honolulu next month and trying to just pack one or two suitcases.
Do I ever need jackets or sweat shirts there?
Any other suggestions on what to pack and leave behind?

[Calico Salsa]

Some of this depends on what you intend to do, and how comfortable you are in various states of dress.

Yes, pack a light jacket or something for when you go up - hiking or driving, where it's cooler. Plus a light jacket is good for in the wind, heavy water spray, keeping off bugs, etc.

In general:

Shorts - swim, board, on shore, and nicer ones for parties or any place you need to look like you aren't coming out of the ocean.

Long pants - a good pair of jeans, maybe a nice pair of pants if you need them for work or parties.

Light shirts - tanks, tshirts, short-sleeved will get you through almost any situation. One or two long-sleeved shirts to go over, for reasons above.

Slippers (flip flops), sandals - don't waste suitcase space on cheap shoes, you can buy cheap slippers here for a $4 or less. Do pack nicer sandals or water shoes or anything like that.

Sneakers, tennis, sport shoes - if you intend to hike, play sports, Zumba dance, anything that requires ankle support, then pack shoes that fit a bit loosely now, because your feet will be bigger here.

Nice shoes - Nice sandals, dressy shoes only if you are in a business where you need to look good, or are going to parties and events.

Specialty shoes - steel toe, climbing, bike - bring 'em if you do that

Of course the undies & things, but don't overload if you have limited room.

Socks - you can always buy them here, but pack a pair each for your sport and dressy shoes.

Hats - if you've got a favorite, wear it or pack it.

Sunglasses - for sure

Workout & specialty clothes - biking, swimming, diving, gym...if you do that regularly, yes.

LEAVE BEHIND - snow gear, unless you are going to make regular trips elsewhere and don't want to rent/borrow. Gloves, scarves. Lots of jackets, lots of layers. Really dressy clothes, unless you need them for work.

[hothulamaui]

they say you wear only 20% of your wardrobe. bring some pants, shorts, a few tops. a couple pairs of shots, swimwear. the rest of it you can buy it here if you need it.

[hotzcatz]

If it is polyester fabric, don't bother to bring it. Polyester is miserable to wear in hot humid weather. You want the natural fabrics, cotton, linen, silk, etc. Rayon is okay for Aloha shirts, but cotton and linen are still more comfortable.

Folks in Hawaii don't dress up much, although they dress nicer on Oahu than the rest of the islands. For guys dress up, it's long pants (or nice shorts if it's only semi-dress up) and an aloha shirt. Go downtown Honolulu and see what the banker sort of folks wear. For girls, "resort casual" is probably as dress up as we get unless it's going out dancing or something at night, then a bit more dress up works.

I'd not pack much and buy stuff here since there is a certain flavor to local clothes and many mainland clothes just look too mainland somehow. You could leave a box of clothes with someone on the mainland and have them mail you things if you wanted them later.