To lessen the curiosity with which they were viewed by others, they lopped off their pigtails ﹘ mandatory for Chinese men during the Ching dynasty ﹘ and exchanged their flowing robes for Western-style clothing.
到了一九三○年代，中國社會名流出現在祭祖或正式場合的穿著是：頭戴絲帽、身穿三件式西裝、足蹬皮鞋。葛力克教授分析，移民心態上的調整期是在一次大戰之時。他們發現身處夏威夷，美國的距離比中國更近。當時甚至有不少人從軍，以保護自己的「國家」。