The muʻumuʻu (more often spelled as muumuu, muu-muu or mumu) is a loose dress of Hawaiian origin that hangs from the shoulder. Like the Aloha shirt, muʻumuʻu exports are often brilliantly colored with floral patterns of generic Polynesian motifs. Muʻumuʻu for local Hawaiʻi residents are more subdued in tone. Muʻumuʻu are not as widely worn at work as the aloha shirt, but may be worn as a uniform by women working in the hotel industry. Muʻumuʻu are also popular as maternity gowns because they do not restrict the waist. State nickname: The Aloha State Other U.S. States Capital Honolulu Largest city Honolulu Governor Linda Lingle Official languages Hawaiian and English Area 28,337 km² (43rd)  - Land 16,649 km²  - Water 11,672 km² (41. ... Aloha shirts are usually adorned with repeating tropical patterns. ... Maternity is the social and legal acknowledgment of the parental relationship between a mother and her child. ...

Etymology and history

The word muʻumuʻu means cut-off or amputated. Originally it was a shorter, informal version of the more formal holokū. Holokū was the original name for the Mother Hubbard dress introduced by Protestant missionaries to Hawai'i in the 1820s and 1830s. The holokū featured long sleeves and a floor-length unfitted dress falling from a high-necked yoke. Over the years, the holokū approximated more closely to European and American fashions, as worn by the Hawaiian chieftesses. It might have a fitted waist, and even a train for evening. As the holokū became more elaborate, the muʻumuʻu, a shortened version, became popular for informal wear. Tahitian girls in their unadorned grandmothers dresses in 1877 A Mother Hubbard dress is a long, wide, loose-fitting gown with long sleeves and a high neckline. ...

In popular culture

• The cartoon character Zippy always wears a yellow muumuu with red polka dots.

Homer Simpson donning a muʻumuʻu

• In The Simpsons cartoon series episode "King-Size Homer", Homer Simpson wears a muʻumuʻu after becoming more obese than he usually is.
• In The West Wing episode "The U.S. Poet Laureate", there is a classic scene in which Josh describes the moderator of a fansite devoted to him as "a dictatorial leader who I'm sure wears a muumuu and chainsmokes Parliaments".
• Jon Fishman, drummer from the jam-rock group Phish, is often seen wearing a muʻumuʻu while playing, as he feels it lets him move freely.
• Pleakly, an alien from Lilo and Stitch, often wears it.
• In Married... With Children most fat people are described by Al Bundy as wearing a mumu.
• In the cartoon Daria, the recurring character Mrs. Johanssen was a massively obese, hypoglycemic woman who was only ever seen wearing a muumuu.

Zippy the Pinhead is the main character in the comic strip of the same name, created by Bill Griffith. ... Image File history File links Homer_simpson_-_muumuu. ... Image File history File links Homer_simpson_-_muumuu. ... Homer Simpson is also a character in the book and film The Day of the Locust. ... Simpsons redirects here. ... King-Size Homer is the seventh episode of The Simpsons seventh season, which originally aired on November 5, 1995. ... Homer Simpson is also a character in the book and film The Day of the Locust. ... This article is about a TV show. ... The U.S. Poet Laureate is episode 60 of The West Wing. ... Jon Fishman is a drummer, best known for his work with the American jam band Phish. ... This article is about the band. ... Agent Pleakley is an alien from the movie and television series Lilo & Stitch. ... Lilo & Stitch is an animated film, set in Hawaii. ... Married… with Children was a long-running American sitcom about a dysfunctional family living in Chicago. ... For St. ... Hypoglycemia is a medical term referring to a pathologic state produced and usually defined by a lower than normal amount of sugar (glucose) in the blood. ...

External links

• Journal article by Linda B. Arthur