Pareo

The term was originally used only for women's skirts, as men wore a loincloth, called a maro.

Nowadays the term is used for any cloth worn wrapped around the body by men and women.

But both terms were already used in the 19th century (the Dutch geographic magazine De Aarde en haar Volken of 1887 had a few South-seas articles, some of them using pāreu, others pareo).

Originally flower patterns, the hibiscus flowers in particular, or traditional tapa patterns, were printed in bright colours on a cotton sheet of about 90 or 120 cm wide and 180 cm long.

Nowadays they are also made in Tahiti itself and dye painting with varying colours is popular as well.