Hawaiian dresses

[Darhling]

heres me in my whirlingturban wing bust, sorry for the pic, im sweaty from dancing at the all nighter! but i love it, its so comfortable.

You are gorgeous!!!! And look at that guy swooning over you!!

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

Also, any thoughts on taking it in? I assume I should tell the women who does it not to cut the fabric...

 

[pdxvintagette]

Three of my four Hawaiians are Shaheen, although one is missing its label. I seem not to have very many photos of myself in them, which is strange for all except my most recent acquisition.

The first I acquired - photo from May 2004, although I've worn it at every VLV I've been to! (And no pics, strange.) This is full length with a mermaid hem.

And this one - gosh, you can hardly see it, a Shaheen missing the tag, but unmistakable. Has that great bust with the diagonally placed elastic straps that cause the low decoletage and terrific shape.

And the best one -- I JUST bought this, and managed to resist it long enough to get it on my ebay model and photograph it ... but the measuring process was deadly, because it is JUST my size, and couldn't be more fabulous. Those are Tiki gods in the print, and the shoulder sash is detachable. Marked on the selvedge "Pagan Primitives Copyright Alfred Shaheen."

And if you notice they are ALL reds... well, I DO love red. And red loves me.

My best friend has an investment piece in his collection, because it is part of a hawaiian wedding set he owns - the Kamehameha Gauguin print in these marvelously 30's colors. (The set is 1938.) I will see if I can get him to post a photo.

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

And the best one -- I JUST bought this, and managed to resist it long enough to get it on my ebay model and photograph it ... but the measuring process was deadly, because it is JUST my size, and couldn't be more fabulous. Those are Tiki gods in the print, and the shoulder sash is detachable. Marked on the selvedge "Pagan Primitives Copyright Alfred Shaheen."

And if you notice they are ALL reds... well, I DO love red. And red loves me.

Amazing!! Would you go back a page and take a look at the dress I just got? You must know more than me about it!! xo

 

[positivelypinup]

I can't seem to get the photos to work. If I can figure out why it hates me I'll post it.
But i have a beautiful brown, white, and orange shaheen dress that i got for 90 bucks and it fits me like a glove. I was in love. I thought it was a good deal.
Everytime I wear it people tell me it makes my boobs look great. A waitress even told me, it was kinda ackward. lol

 

[Shirin]

.

OMG I LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS!!!!! Sorry for yelling, I just can't help myself! That dress is fabulous!

 

[pdxvintagette]

OMG I LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS!!!!! Sorry for yelling, I just can't help myself! That dress is fabulous!

Haha, thanks ladies! The best $24 estate sale find I've had in a long while. Worth a fortune, but I can't give it up! What you don't see is that the skirt is a faux wrap with ties on the opposite side, too.

Bella, your dress is fabulous. I'm not familiar with the label, though, they were probably a single-shop boutique.

Definitely the late 50's or possibly as late as, say '62 - MAYBE - but I know you know this already. A small line like that wouldn't have been printing their own fabric, maybe check the selvedge, you may find out who did!

As to taking it in - careful!! for sure. No chance of just wearing a really good strapless/long line padded or push up?

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

As to taking it in - careful!! for sure. No chance of just wearing a really good strapless/long line padded or push up?

Oh, the boob isn't the problem, it's the waist. I suppose I could belt it but that might mess up the lines of the dress, no?

Re: Carol & Mary, I've been doing some research and it's coming up as a luxury house that was similar to Shaheen:

Ex:
"Mrs. Marcos has also been seen shopping for dresses in the most expensive sections of upscale stores, such as Liberty House and Carol & Mary, where dresses cost as much as $900 apiece." (1988 article about Imelda Marcos)

"Believe it or not, there was once upon a time a belief, in the streets of Honolulu, that the height of luxury was defined by a handful of stores: Carol & Mary, I. Magnin and Liberty House."

"Living on Royal Hawaiian Avenue in Waikiki, Durand spent hours wandering through high-end shops such as Carol & Mary, Liberty House and Elsie Dass. "I wanted all those clothes, but I couldn't afford them, so I learned to sew from a neighbor and started to make my own.""

So I'm curious....

 

[pdxvintagette]

Very interesting, I will do some snooping on the name myself.

On ebay in the last 90 days, there have been two Carol & Mary items listed as such, the first a 50's swimsuit that closed at $46 110398036044 and the second a terrible 70's dress - not one good Hawaiian designer escaped the terrible style of that decade, sadly - item 250450387409

The great thing for us a collectors is that there are these high-end labels with fabulous designs that no one really knows about or recognizes, and we can score bargains.

As a seller, though, it sometimes kinda sucks - because you know that this name is as good or better as others with collectibility attached the label, but they won't command the same prices.

Taking in the waist - I would rely on darts that can be easily taken out.

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

Very interesting, I will do some snooping on the name myself.

On ebay in the last 90 days, there have been two Carol & Mary items listed as such, the first a 50's swimsuit that closed at $46 110398036044 and the second a terrible 70's dress - not one good Hawaiian designer escaped the terrible style of that decade, sadly - item 250450387409

The great thing for us a collectors is that there are these high-end labels with fabulous designs that no one really knows about or recognizes, and we can score bargains.

As a seller, though, it sometimes kinda sucks - because you know that this name is as good or better as others with collectibility attached the label, but they won't command the same prices.

Taking in the waist - I would rely on darts that can be easily taken out.

Thanks for your input! Great idea about darts. I will take it to a tailor who actually speaks English.