Accessories for you

There is a range of beautiful Hawaiian "silk' leis, also pretty little frangipani clips for your hair. Accessories for you to wear such as rayon sarongs in bright colours. There are also the "antique" cotton sarongs with very traditional, detailed, old designs. There are delicate thongs (or flip flops) with rectangles of pale shell covering the straps. There are some lightweight cotton and silky wraps small and unusual handbag/baskets for daytime use. There are soaps, lotions lip balms and more from Australia, Samoa and Hawaii.

Lei is a Hawaiian word for garland or wreath - a series of objects strung together into a necklace. The most popular in Hawaiian is a wreath of flowers draped over the shoulders, presented upon arrival or departure or for special occasions. In addition to the standard leis there are also leis for the head, the wrists and the ankles. They are most commomly made from fresh flowers, leaves, vines, fern fronds and seeds, using a base material such as tree bark or long leaves and braiding it while adding the fresh material. The most common flowers are plumerias (frangipani), orchid, tuberose and pikake, though several varieties of leaves are popular especially for traditional hula dancers. Ti leaf is thin and braided and can be entirely made from only fresh green ti leaves. Maile lei is another type of Hawaiian lei which has a looser and completely leafy apprearance made from the leaves of the maile vine. There are many other types of leis including shells, seeds, bones, sweets, fabric flowers etc. The leis I sell are Hawaiian "silk" frangipani leis. They are not actually silk but a long-lasting polyester fabric that is washable (by hand and carefully). There are approximately 100 plumeria (frangipani) flowers tightly packed on the approximately 1 metre circumference lei, with occasional pieces of baby's breath and little fern fronds. They come in beautiful colours and are wonderful for all occasions.

Sarongs, lava lavas, pareus, whatever you want to call them, are items of clothing traditionally worn by many races in the tropics. They are casual, comfortable and inexpensive and are ideal for hot climates. The sarongs usually consist of a rectangular length of silk, rayon or cotton, sometimes fringed at the ends, wound round the waist and tucked in or tied, worn as a skirt. Some sarongs are traditional tapa designs but most are brightly coloured floral designs, many being copies of original designs from Tahiti. In the early days in Hawaii and Samoa these garments were fine mats - made from the bark of the paper mulberry or wild hibiscus. By the late 1800s fabric pareus were being worn by men and women in Tahiti. Then they were bold and simple designs, often floral, in white on a dark background. In Samoa the fine mats and tapa cloth are still worn for ceremonial occasions. For everyday use in Samoa, Tonga and some other island countries the fabric lava lava is worn by men and women as business attire and by schoolchildren, as their uniform.

I can make up a personalised gift basket for you - any combination of basket and products from my site - just contact me to make arrangements. I will wrap in cellophane and write your message on a small gift tag.