Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hi. I'm arriving there next week to start a new job. Actually, I'll be house hunting next week & my new job starts in August. During my househunting trip, I will be meeting my new boss and her boss. I want to dress appropriately according to local standards. I'm very ignorant in this regard. My impression is that business attire in Hawaii is a Hawaiian shirt. Of course, I can buy those anywhere (mainland or overseas) but I have this fear I will buy something inappropriate or cheap-looking without even being aware. Therefore, I won't buy my Hawaiian professional attire until I get to Hawaii. I arrive Tuesday morning. My meeting with my 2 bosses is Weds evening. It's a casual dinner meeting, and I am a professional manager. In the 36 hours available to me, where can I shop to get the appropriate clothing and how much should I plan on spending? For reference, in my current job I wear a suit & tie on the job, and blue jeans off the job. I think that both are generally inappropriate for Honolulu. I need "head to toe" advice. Shoes, socks (if any!) slacks & shirt. I hate to sound lame; I know I would figure this out myself in due course. But I won't have the luxury of time. In the 36 hours before my dinner, I'll probably be at Ala Moana mall buying an iPhone, plus running around looking at apartments & cars (plus being jet lagged; I'm coming from Asia). I'll need to work quickly & efficiently; shopping for clothes is not my strong point. Thanks!
yeah don't get fooled by the "hawaiian shirt" that you find on the mainland, Buy it here. I love shirts here and love the way guys dress in the office (but I do miss a nice shirt and tie that I used to do on the mainland). The standard look tends to be an aloha shirt (muted mostly, but as you go along you can get more creative depending on the job), good pants, and black shoes. I'd say the bottom half of you is what you'd do on the mainland. Men tend to differentiate themselves by their shirts for a large part, and like throwing out names of the schools people attend here, they also can throw out the designer of their shirt. Reyn Spooner and Tori Richards are of two names worn by the business community.Their shirts are sold at Nordstrom, Macy's, and their own shops. There is a Reyn Spooner outlet across from the Bank of Hawaii building on Merchant St.. just before Bishop and the shirts are sold for less than the dept stores.
I will suggest an excellent shop, but it is located in the heart of downtown and not Ala Moana center, but they have an incredible selection of proper business attire and unique styles as well. My worry for a large part is buying a shirt that 50 other men in the office might have, but this shop has great shirts (avg around $70-80), pants, jackets etc. They would be an excellent resource as well on the finer points of dressing for Honolulu business.
This is the shop, Andy Mohan, in the Topa Financial Tower downtown on Bishop & Queen St.. They have a website too and I've linked a page which shows some aloha style shirts and you can see the styles are probably much more different that you might expect frm a mainland Hawaiian shirt version (or the kind you get in Waikiki tourist shops).
Hi. I'm arriving there next week to start a new job. Actually, I'll be house hunting next week & my new job starts in August. During my househunting trip, I will be meeting my new boss and her boss. I want to dress appropriately according to local standards. I'm very ignorant in this regard. My impression is that business attire in Hawaii is a Hawaiian shirt. Of course, I can buy those anywhere (mainland or overseas) but I have this fear I will buy something inappropriate or cheap-looking without even being aware. Therefore, I won't buy my Hawaiian professional attire until I get to Hawaii. I arrive Tuesday morning. My meeting with my 2 bosses is Weds evening. It's a casual dinner meeting, and I am a professional manager. In the 36 hours available to me, where can I shop to get the appropriate clothing and how much should I plan on spending? For reference, in my current job I wear a suit & tie on the job, and blue jeans off the job. I think that both are generally inappropriate for Honolulu. I need "head to toe" advice. Shoes, socks (if any!) slacks & shirt. I hate to sound lame; I know I would figure this out myself in due course. But I won't have the luxury of time. In the 36 hours before my dinner, I'll probably be at Ala Moana mall buying an iPhone, plus running around looking at apartments & cars (plus being jet lagged; I'm coming from Asia). I'll need to work quickly & efficiently; shopping for clothes is not my strong point. Thanks!
When you get to Honolulu - a good place to go is Ala Moana Mall.
Shirts - especially in summer, you wear short-sleeve Aloha shirts. A good store to go to is Reyn Spooner or Tommy Bahama (the elegant ones). Shirts like those are generally $100 and represents the high end. You can go to Macy's and spend less on other brands. If your budget is on the low end check out Sears. At any of those stores - they will help you with appropriate shirts. The less loud and more conservative the better.
Wear dress shoes with socks!
Khaki slacks or black dress slacks is the way to go. Again, Macy's or if on a lower budget - Sear's.
Wow, great feedback with two people in agreement. Thank you very much! The shoes & slacks are a surprise, but good to know that I already have 1/2 my wardrobe. Next stop: Reyn Spooner and Tommy Bahama.
Wow, great feedback with two people in agreement. Thank you very much! The shoes & slacks are a surprise, but good to know that I already have 1/2 my wardrobe. Next stop: Reyn Spooner and Tommy Bahama.
I love my Reyn Spooner shirts. Their signature look is a shirt made of a reversed printed cloth with the print side turned in, with the softer, muted side out.
I recommend you ask the clerk to show you shirts that will blend in for office wear, not stand out like a tourist. They'll know exactly what you mean.
I prefer Nordstroms in Ala Moana Mall for slacks/pants and shoes. Their discount location, Nordstrom Rack is located in or right next to Wards Center which is located almost immediately west of Ala Moana. No financial interest on my part. I think the level and quality of their clothes, shoe selection and service is some of the best on Oahu.
I love my Reyn Spooner shirts. Their signature look is a shirt made of a reversed printed cloth with the print side turned in, with the softer, muted side out.
I recommend you ask the clerk to show you shirts that will blend in for office wear, not stand out like a tourist. They'll know exactly what you mean.
Good luck!
I like Reyn Spooner too (well, on my husband I like them) for more casual wear and the Tori Richards silk shirts for less casual. If you're moving here, I'd go ahead and make the first purchase a Tori Richards silk short sleeve... can't go wrong there. (And yes, husband buys them at Nordstrom... good selection, same prices as the other stores, and helpful people.)
But then again, I haven't checked out the shop mentioned by Manarii... may go there for the next purchase to see what they have! (You can also get vintage shirts at some of the secondhand shops around town that are really really nice, and he gets complimented on them all the time. But it's hit or miss there, and you've got limited time. Just something to think about when you come back. The secretaries in my department love it when they see a young guy new to the island in a really nice vintage shirt that they recognize from 20+ years ago.)
Caution on the Tommy Bahama -- there is a difference between resort wear and business wear, and Tommy Bahama is weighted towards the resort wear. The big, bright floral prints are more for the resorts instead of the office. It's not a major faux pas, but might as well avoid it if you can.
As mentioned above, Reyn Spooner is a safe choice -- so is Tori Richards. At either Macy's or Nordstrom's, just tell the salesperson exactly what you've told us; you aren't the first one with that question and the sales reps will be able to help you out. Definitely wear slacks, socks and polished shoes -- and business aloha shirts are generally worn tucked in.
Tucked in?? Wow, I was about to do EVERYTHING wrong. o_O Thank you again...
Yes, tucked in! And Socks! And a Belt! Slacks! And dress shoes!
Honolulu is business casual unless you are an attorney. The only different thing from the mainland business casual is the shirt. Wear a conservative aloha shirt even to interviews. If you buy the Tommy Bahama white shirt with bright red lettering on the back that says "Tommy Bahama", that doesn't qualify as conservative.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
