Best dress for Hawaii travel

Got my wife a 55th wedding anniversary gift from Rip Skirt. Very comfortable, lots of colors, different lengths available. OK to wear to pool, ocean, walking, dinner Very Hawaiian.

I feel that fabric is the most important consideration, as Hawaii can be humid. Many synthetic fabrics just stick to you in Hawaii. I prefer 100% cotton, or as close to that as possible, and a more loose, casual fit. Linen wrinkles too much in that weather. Brands can be hard to recommend, as each season sees different fabrics being used, as many are getting away from the natural fabrics.
Aloha!

Bring money (card or cash).

Casual wear:
https://www.crazyshirts.com/home
If you are a cat person: https://www.crazyshirts.com/category/new/kliban-cat-collection.do
Dog persons: https://www.crazyshirts.com/category/new/adopt-a-dog.do

"Designer aloha shirts":
https://toririchard.com/

I am with Edgar.

Shops selling clothes for women are all over. Broad range of pricing.

If you are having to buy something to wear there, just get it there.

I agree with others to shop in HA. A midi or maxi is my preference as well. Good coverage in the trade winds! Over the years when visiting Maui I have found quality items, & quick to dry. I bought a dress from Jams World years ago & it looks like new. I think you will find what you are looking in the islands. May will be lovely! Enjoy.

Hi, we were in Maui in February. I brought a dress, a few tops, a pair of shorts and a Hawaii Ripskirt midi length along with a swimming suit. I was very surprised how much I kept selecting the ripskirt because it was so comfortable! I like to look nice, and the “Maui Moonlight” skirt with a black top, hoop earrings and nice sandals were perfect for dinner, hiking (with Keen sandals) or anything we wanted to do in Maui. It washed easily in the sink and quickly dried

For dresses, I’ve purchased most of mine from Macys, some cotton ones from the former Christopher & Banks, or Amazon.

I liked my skirt so much that I bought another one from their website when we returned home!

We do carry-on only to Hawaii but I have a REI folding duffle bag that packs into the bottom of my REI carrry-on backpack. I bring back the full duffle bag as checked baggage.

https://www.rei.com/product/195806/rei-co-op-roadtripper-40-duffel

PS don't check you light jacket. Airlines no longer have blankets onboard and you may be returning to early spring conditions back home.

The Gap has this fabric that they call “soft gauze knit”. Its amazing. The perfect travel fabric. Here is just one example:
https://www.gapfactory.com/browse/product.do?pid=688552031&cid=1150781&pcid=1150781&vid=1#pdp-page-content

They make various styles in this fabric: spaghetti strap, tank, short sleeve, midi and maxi lengths. They offer them in regular and tall options. I bought one dress for Costa Rica last year and fell in love with it. Super lightweight and breathable. Wash in the sink and hang in the shower to dry. It’s a crinkle fabric, so not meant to be perfectly smooth - no ironing. After that trip I bought it in every variety they have. Now I just need to go on vacation again!

Jean, I am liking the Ripskirt idea! Thanks for sharing. “Dress it up or dress it down.” All purpose, comfortable & perfect for warm weather.

If you do not have tough feet, consider multipurpose watersport sandals: Keen, Teva etc. An alternative is to buy on arrival some rubber "slippahs” (known on the mainland as flip-flops).

Cheap slippahs at ABC Stores: https://abcstores.com/apparel/footwear/

Hi Jeannie, I just bought this t-shirt dress from JJill that I’m hoping will work for a vacation. I got it in black to dress up or down for dinner. It comes in several other colors.

https://www.jjill.com/product/we-relaxed-two-pocket-t-shirt-dress?color=4SF

I bought a midi-dress on Lulus website and I wore it on a cruise, although it got wet boarding the catamaran. I had my husband take a photo of me on the beach, but the rest of the time, I just wore shorts, since we did a lot of hiking, and for me, shorts were the most comfortable and easiest. Lots of fun dress options on Lulus, though, and lots of purchasers post helpful reviews.

https://www.lulus.com/categories/13/dresses.html

One travel dress I have that I like is the Origami Dress. It can be styled in a bunch of different ways and even double as a top or a skirt.

https://dianekroe.com/collections/origami

Prana is a favorite brand for anything athleisure/travel. Same with Patagonia.

For cheaper alternatives, I really like Daily Ritual, it's an Amazon brand. I've bought several jumpsuits and rompers from them that I've worn all last summer and on my recent trip to Maui. They have plenty of dresses, too. As much as I'm not a fan of supporting Amazon, I love this brand. Very good quality for the price, perfect for summer weather.

I have one of these and have worn it on three trips to Hawaii since 2020. Comfortable and lightweight and cute with sandals, add some jewelry and you can go to a nice dinner, bring a scarf too. https://www.rei.com/rei-garage/product/191462/toadco-rosemarie-dress I also have a plain black tank style dress that can do everything, flip flops and swimsuit under and I am ready for anything. Everything is quite casual.

I have a couple of these from Lands End https://www.landsend.com/products/womens-cotton-jersey-sleeveless-swim-cover-up-maxi-dress/id_346581?attributes=32664,43307,43324,44256,44967. While it says “cover up” they truly are dresses.

This one https://www.eileenfisher.com/stretch-jersey-knit-tank-dress-s2tff-d5056#colorid=1958 is at a kind of high price point but dress up or down and very light, easy care.

I just looked up the Hawaii Ripskirt. LOVE them. I live in a beach town on Vancouver Island, and they would be great here and on any Hawaii or Mexico vacation. Unfortunately they don’t ship to Canada! Drat!