some help on a vintage hawaiian dress.. thanks

I have a dress made by Jaxon's of Waikiki, whom I've never heard of before. I am putting a date of late 40s/early 50s on the dress but want to just have a second opinion. Drop waist, full skirt, horse hair edging, front buttons with a metal side zip.

I have the dress shown with a crinoline and without - which is the way it is supposed to be worn do you think?

And lastly.. what is supposed to be done with the back drapes? loose.. folded in a special way.. I tried a couple of different looks which I did not like at all. The material on the back is the same as the dress and if it isn't folded over correctly then it shows only on one side. It seems a little long not tied.

and lastly.. sorry for the big pictures.. photobucket resizing isn't working for me currently.

 

Hi there!

What a pretty dress. Can you post a photo of the label? Without really reseaching it, my initial feeling on the style is 1950's, but the fabric is throwing me a bit. Would love to see any and all labels inside the dress.

 

The fabric is the kind of rayon that you see on the older hawaiian mens shirts with the coconut buttons

 

and the print is a tree with leaves.. I'm calling it the "tree of life" dress because it reminds me of that Gustov Klimt painting.

 

it's gorgeous, and those colors are unusual for a rayon hawaiian dress, which kind of threw me.

is that a matching belt at the waist i see? not sure. my first thought about the long sashes from the shoulders was they come across the front and cross over the bust, then wrap around the waist. but if it has a belt, makes no sense to cover the belt with the sashes. crossed over the bust and tied on the back??

i haven't seen any cool rayon used past the 50s in hawaiian, but i don't get a 40s vibe from this. i agree on 50s.

 

It has a matching belt. I put the sash in the front and tried to think of something cool to do with it but just stood there tapping my teeth with my fingers. When the sash is in the front then the blue is facing the dress and you see matching fabric facing outwards.

 

I'll go back and do another burn test. I am so bad at them. It could be a blend.. but it is thin like parachute material but feels a little more substantial. I have never had anything like it and the color.. It is a screen print for sure. It has those underarm cut outs (trying to think of the technical term) that you see in early 50s dresses.

 

yes, i was thinking it may have been meant to have a wrap bodice effect (coming down at an angle that matches the v neckline), so it would be right that the matching fabric side shows. not wrapped around the waist, then, since it does have a belt.

it's really lovely

 

and what do you think about the crinni? The waist is dropped so low that you would have to have one of the dropped waist crinni slips from the 50s... nothing modern would really work unless you wear it way down on your hips.

 

I'm going to put it back on my manni and try that. And thanks.. I think it is gorgeous I just want to do it justice!

 

cross posted . could it be silk? now that i look at the label shot, it does look like it might be silk. if it is, and you do a burn test, it'll smell like burning hair. difficult to mistake, smells awful, lol!

oh, you mean underarm gussets.

 

yes, under arm gussets. I racked my brain all morning trying to think of the term.

 

we keep cross posting!

i can't decide about the crini. as you said, it would need one of those crinis that poof around high hip level. i want to say it was intended not to have one, but honestly it does show better with one.

 

The first thing I did was tie them at the back. It just looks loose and floppy and the wrong colors show on one side. So I tried a tie knot but that didn't work. The fabric doesn't have enough substance to pull off being tied is what I decided so wrapping does actually sound like what it is supposed to do.

 

Yes, I agree with this technique. It would be my best guess as well. When they are loosly draped one over the other they should end up reaching about hem level.

Still guessing 1950's as far as dating. I have to say that it is probably one of the most vibrant prints I've seen come out of that era. Very unique.

I would try to pull down your crinni so it doesn't bunch in the hip area if you're going to display the skirt fully. If not, I like it without.

 

The dress is silk and here it is with the crinni pulled down as far as it can go without falling off and the drapes in the front.