How to Style Your Pareo

You bought a pareo, so now what? Wearing a pareo is a tradition shared around the world. In Samoa a pareo is called a lavalava, in Papua New Guinea a lap-lap, in Bali a sarong, in Brazil a canga, and throughout the Cook Islands a pāreu or pareo. There are dozens of ways to tie a pareo.

We will walk you through a few of our favorites we learned while on the road.

WAHINE

Every girl needs a pareo. With one simple knot, go from beach-goer to beach goddess.  

How to tie Pareo Wahine style:

1. Hold pareo lengthwise behind you 
2. Bring the two ends to the front over your bust and tie into a knot
   

IPANEMA

Where the jungle meets the sea on Rio’s famed coastline is where we first saw this style. Leave it to the girls from Ipanema to show us how to go from beach to bar with a twist of a knot.

How to tie Pareo Ipanema style:

1. Start by tying lengthwise over your bust as in the Wahine style
2. Grab pareo in the middle from both sides and fold up a couple of inches to form two handles
3. Grab the handles and double knot around your waist in front

SALVADOR

Take it up a knot (notch) with the Salvador, named after the capital of Brazil’s northeastern state of Bahia. Salvador is known for its Portuguese colonial architecture, Afro-Brazilian culture, and tropical coastline. The best thing we took from this cultural collision was our new favorite way to tie our pareo!

How to tie Salvador style:

1. Start by tying lengthwise over your bust as in the Wahine style
2. Pull the pareo behind you and twist halfway down  
3. Fold up and grab pareo from sides and form handles
4. Grab the handles and double knot around your waist in front

HAVAIANA

Get back to your roots with this timeless classic.  

How to tie Havaiana style:

1. Start by tying lengthwise over one shoulder
2. Grab pareo from sides and fold up in the middle to form handles
3. Grab handles and tie on the side

COUNTRY

Oahu’s North Shore is famous for its 7 miles of world-class surf, including the Bonzai Pipeline. Wear this casual style on romantic sunset beach walks or to rub aloe on your boyfriend’s reef rash. (Watch the movie North Shore to see this style in action.)

How to tie Country style: 

1. Hold pareo widthwise
2. Cross over ends and tie around your neck

TOWNIE 

Town girls set trends! We have seen this style from NY to LA. Pair with a knotted tee to complete the look. 

How to tie Townie style:

1. Grab pareo widthwise and fold in half
2. Wrap pareo up high on your waist and wrap tight
3. Tie a small knot

TAHITIAN ROMPER

Just when we thought we’d seen it all, along came the Tahitian Romper. This wrap is about as innovative as you can get with 2 meters of fabric. 

How to tie into the Tahitian romper:

1. Hold pareo lengthwise
2. Place pareo over your bust and tie the upper ends behind you
3. Pull lower flap back between legs and then up over hips
4. Tie ends at the front of your waist into a knot