Clothing in Samoa consists of a lavalava, a single piece of cloth that is worn as a wrap-around skirt by both men and women.

Brightly colored floral print shirts or blouses, or in more informal settings, T-shirts, complete the typical outfit. In remote villages some women go without tops wearing just a lavalava around the chest while washing clothes or performing other household tasks.

While Samoans prefer colorful floral designs in both their lavalava and tops, darker colors are preferred on formal occasions. In such instances, Samoan men often wear a lavalava made from suit cloth material.

Such a formal lavalava, when combined with leather sandals, white shirt, tie, and suit coat, is considered appropriate dress whether attending a funeral or hosting government dignitaries. In such settings women will wear a puletasi, a sort of mu'umu'u designed by the early Christian missionaries.

On Sundays, we prefer to wear white clothing to church.

Although Samoan concepts of personal modesty may differ from western concepts, they are very important to Samoans. The area between the calf of the leg and the thigh is considered to be especially inappropriate for public exhibition.

Many traditional Samoan villages ban beach wear such as bikinis and swimming suits. Some even ban women from wearing trousers.

While the appearance and garb of Samoan women are subject to a range of cultural restrictions, full-body tattoos are common on Samoan men.

The tattooing process is prolonged and painful. It is believed by Samoans to be a means of helping men appreciate the prolonged labor pains involved with childbirth.