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Fiji Clothing

What is the Fiji clothing like? Find out about both traditional and modern styles. The traditional sulu is the iconic Fijian clothing worn by everyone.

The clothing of Fiji contents:

Traditional

Remembering that the weather is tropical, traditional clothing was loin cloths for men, as pictured right by this Viti Levu highland warrior, known as a Kai Colo.

The women wore grass skirts as can be seen in some traditional dances (meke) today. The skirts were short for single
women and long for married women. The
girls would also wear virgin locks until they got married.

The chiefs wore more elaborate clothing with the women of higher rank having tattoos on their lower body.

Also, clothing differed in different regions in Fiji.

Sulu

The sulu is the modern day dress standard in Fiji. A sulu is essentially a skirt which is also known as a sarong, pareau, and lavalava in other cultures.

One that is worn by both men and women is called the sulu va taga (pronounced Sulu vah Tanga). It's a rectangular piece of cloth decorated with exotic patterns and designs which you wrap around. This is worn as casual clothing. Sometimes a resort will include these in a wedding or honeymoon package.

Along with the sulu, women alternatively wear a light dress for casual occasions as shown below at a village.

Formal Occasions

For formal occasions men have tailored sulus with a matching shirt often a western styled collared shirt. The sulu is a standard part of a uniform such as the one pictured below with the military guard.

Women usually wear tapa cloth often multi-layered with a blouse on top. On certain special occasions, the tapa cloth is worn from the chest.