When we found out we were moving to Guam, one of the first things to cross my mind was that I needed to go shopping for new clothes. I needed a new swimsuit. I needed new flipflops. I needed a sundress. I needed a muumuu. My mother-in-law lived here in the 60s and mentioned more than once how much she loved the muumuu she found and wore all the time.
So far I haven't seen any muumuus. Lots of colorful sundresses are for sale that could be said to be inspired by muumuus - loose through the body, but fitted up top. But I'm not much of a spaghetti strap wearer.
Although I’m not a fashion trendsetter myself, I’m not immune to the feminine habit of checking out what other people are wearing. I can appreciate a pretty dress and a nice pair of shoes as well as the next lady. I admit to falling prey to the temptation to fit in, chameleon-like. I don’t want to be the one who stands out in the crowd.
So the other night, when I had to attend my first spouses’ club event, I had my first clothing crisis since we moved. I needed a cute muumuu to wear... I had packed plenty of clothes, and while on the road, I even bought a few of those things: a swimsuit, new sandals, and a couple sundresses – things that said “beach living” - all on sale, of course, or from Goodwill.
When you are living out of a suitcase, getting dressed usually is relatively easy. And since we only have one car, I haven’t been going out much. But this was one of those events that could require something dressier than shorts and a t-shirt. Choosing my attire was complicated by the fact that I had to leave early to go to a football game at a muddy field. And since we’re new, I wasn’t sure if Guam fashion was going to be like Virginia where the wives dressed more casually or like Mississippi, where getting done up was a regular event.
Of course, a muumuu isn't really appropriate for a Saturday night dessert and coffee party. In the back of my mind, I was remembering the advice from the 1968 Welcome to Guam magazine that my mother-in-law shared with me when we were visiting. This magazine suggested packing gloves and hats for wives’ club functions. No longer necessary, although I think I miss that more proscribed dress code.
From what I can tell so far, the style here is an interesting mix. When we were staying at the hotel, we were surrounded by Japanese tourists. I couldn’t get enough of checking out the Japanese women’s clothing. They have a recognizable style, but I’m not quite sure how to describe it. Very feminine. Very lightweight, gauzy type fabrics. They wore mostly skirts or dresses in bright colors or pastels and flirty cuts – ruffles, drapes, bias cuts. Even when they wore pants or shorts, they wore them in a feminine way: body hugging styles, cute shirts and accessories. Then they layered on lightweight sweaters or scarves and leggings in bright hues without regard for other colors they were wearing. Even their shoes were multi-hued. Since most of them appeared thin and graceful, they seemed to float as they walked. I felt like a clumsy moth around butterflies.
But down on this end of the island, there aren’t a lot of tourists. Clothes are serviceable. At the Mass on base, the military wives are a shorts, t-shirts, and flipflops crowd. Last Sunday at the nearby Church in town, the older ladies wore a lot of polyester that looked like it had been around a few decades. And the younger ladies had on a lot of polyester that looked like it wouldn’t last more than a few weeks. Next to flipflops, the most popular shoes were slinky high heels, paired with tight jeans - a vampy look copied even by little girls without any curves to flaunt.
Not my style. I guess I’ll have to stand out in the crowd if we go back to Mass there.
Of course, at church no one is supposed to be noticing. Our minds are not supposed to be on the shoes of the people going up to Communion in front of us. I can't help but think that if we all wore muumuus, we'd hardly notice anyone's shoes. It would be like wearing a habit.
In the tourist area, I assume, one of the main pasttimes is noticing what others are wearing and planning or shopping for clothes for yourself. Since I’m not much of a shopper, I never bought anything, but I did wonder where the Japanese women bought their clothes, because I didn’t see anything similar in the stores here.
So back to the night in question: I ended up wearing capris and a button-down shirt. Unremarkable – easy to slip out early without being noticed. The attire of the other ladies varied from shorts and t-shirts to dressy sundresses, but no muumuus, so I shouldn’t have worried about being too casual or too dressy. The irony is that I haven’t worn those beach-living sundresses that I bought back in Indiana. Although I thought I could recraft an identity, I just don’t feel like myself in those clothes.
I’m always a little frustrated with myself for worrying about clothing. It seems vain or lacking in humility. Why should I care as long as I’m clean and covered up? But on the other hand, we so quickly judge people based on their clothes, and here I am in another new place, wanting to make a good impression. Maybe I can order one of those engravable circle necklaces with “Do you want to be my friend?” on it.
Happily, I’ve already met a few women whom I like in the neighborhood. Everyone seems really friendly and welcoming. Maybe because Guam is such a small island, people are especially welcoming to newcomers. Since we’re homeschooling the younger kids again, I’m hesitant to reach out for too many opportunities to socialize anyway. I’m glad to have the excuse to stay home, even if I don't have a muumuu to wear around the house in the hot weather. No need to get a new outfit – just wear a friendly smile. I’m hearing that song from Annie on the soundtrack in my mind.
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