Floy Mercer? 30's/40's Hawaiian dress

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rtj2008

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Floy Mercer? 30\'s/40\'s Hawaiian dress

Hey all..... I am hoping there is someone here with knowledge on offbeat vintage Hawaiian labels. I have a gorgeous dress here with a designer label I can find zero info on. At first I thought the label read "Floy Mercer" but now after looking at it sideways 52 times I think it may say "Hoy Mercer." It could really be either. Made in Honolulu.

The dress is late 30's or perhaps early 40's with small shoulder pads, made from rayon and has a gorgeous huge screen printing of hibiscus flowers on the skirt portion. I am thrilled to bits to have laid hands on it. I will post images when I can. I am just hoping to find out some info on the designer if anyone has ever heard of him! Thanks!
 
OK.. I normally shoot my pics outside but it is raining and dark so this is the best I can do for now... Here are three images.. the label, the construction of the top of the dress and the print on the length of the skirt. It has three quarter sleeves. It has a side metal zip and it is gorgeous on! I can even picture this being worn as a wedding dress for a less formal Hawaiian wedding. I will post better photos once I can shoot outdoors!

Mercer-1.jpg


Mercer-2.jpg


Mercer-3.jpg
 
I think you're right the first time - it looks like Floy to me. On a quick google search, I came up with several Floy Mercer Honolulu silver pins. I wonder if Floy was a jeweler who dabbled in fashion on the side?
I love the screen printing on that. Do you have a full length shot? From the bodice photo, I'm not seeing 30s or 40s. It looks late 50s to early 60s to me, but it's hard to get a good feel for it.
 
Hi Maggie... I am pretty certain it is 40's.... it was in with a lot of 40's pieces and it is a floor length dress with a few other details that are pretty telling. I will shoot a full length pic once I can get I outside tomorrow. We are living in our Airstream at the moment and I have no good lighting in here to shoot decent pics in... much less space! Lol!

I did see that Dorthea's Closet has a 40's rayon Hawaiian dress where she mentions the fabric is a Muriel Mercer print. I wonder if the two could be husband and wife?
 
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