The tropical trend is seen in the palm and flora prints and an off-shoulder neckline of these dresses. Tito Olorunsola (left) models a BCBG shift ($148) from Geraniums; Claire Barth poses in a patio dress ($108) from Cache, and Jane Harrison wears a dress by Leona ($308) from Charlie.
Girls Night Out sports a luau theme
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The heat is on. Imagine floral leis, grass skirts, puka shells and umbrella drinks. Revive images of Don Ho's "Tiny Bubbles," Carmen Miranda's pineapple headpieces, moonlight surf on exotic bodies of water, and the sounds of a ukulele.
Hawaiian, tropical, beach or parrot, no matter what you call the party, it's hip to hula on island time this summer.
Luaus are the "it" summer-party theme whether they're held in a neighbor's back yard or as community grand affairs -- the Alzheimer's Association's July 16 benefit in Parkersburg is called "Luau on the Green," and "Luau on the Lawn" is the theme for the Aug. 12 Girls Night Out, the annual fundraiser for the YWCA.
Although there is not a dress code, guests at "Luau on the Lawn" are encouraged to wear relaxing island gear, from Hawaiian-print aloha shirts and grass skirts, to dresses in hot flashes of dazzling color and patterns. Anything that says "hula girl" in cheerful, vibrant, coastal shades and prints is sure to be stylin' for the fashion flock at the island-paradise yard party.
Flowers always fashionable
Floral designs and garden-party looks are a perennially favorite sign of the summer season. Dramatic, demure or downright saucy, Hawaiian prints are a floral bonanza saturated in color, a classic that merges the beach-bum attitude with city-girl style and creates the perfect summer fashion statement.
These cheery fabrics, characteristic of the South Seas, are breezy, colorful, fantasy florals that herald summer and invoke images of majestic seashore sunsets, Hollywood screen-queen comedies or Margaritaville -- depending on your vintage.
Designers added some Hawaiian punch to their summer collections. Seems everybody's riding the tropical wave as an instant antidote to the summer heat. The new again, always popular, splashy tropical patterns have been spotted on women's dresses, skirts, jumpsuits, handbags and shoes, men's sport shirts, luggage and pet collars.
Retro beach prints packed a punch in Prada's spring 2010 collection. Carmen Marc Valvo enlarged Georgia O'Keeffe-style flowers as prints on his runway. For Tracy Reese it was peonies. Her fall collection, recently previewed at New York Fashion Week, also incorporates floral designs.
No matter the climate, flowers always fit in the fashion world. Florals in fashion provide an endless source of inspiration. Watercolor, impressionistic, ethnic, pop art, sweet, small ditsy prints or large, bold blossoms, vibrant island imagery is especially fun during hot weather.
It started with the aloha shirt
Tales of the origin of the first Hawaiian, tropic-inspired clothing have circulated for decades. As one story goes, the Hawaiian fashion trend got its start from the men as the aloha shirt. Early patterns depicted ancient symbolic imagery. Pine and palm tree prints represented long life, good fortune and success. A tiger pattern held courage and bamboo prints denoted strength and flexibility.
There is no argument, however, that Ellery Chun was the first to register the name "Aloha Shirt," in 1936, for the shirts he sold that were designed by his sister. The rayon or cotton sport shirt, full of coastal island colors, made its way to the mainland later that year.
Although often copied, the original designs on aloha shirts were based on the artistry of Myron Von Brundt, who painted birds of paradise, fish and outrigger canoes in vivid designs and color. As its popularity spread to states that were nowhere near the beach, the aloha shirt became a symbol of a relaxed, carefree lifestyle.
Hollywood picked up the trend when celebrities like Bing Crosby and John Wayne occasionally wore aloha shirts. But it took President Truman wearing an aloha shirt on the cover of Life magazine in 1951 to make the shirt a memorable style in fashion.
Girls Night Out sports a luau theme
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The heat is on. Imagine floral leis, grass skirts, puka shells and umbrella drinks. Revive images of Don Ho's "Tiny Bubbles," Carmen Miranda's pineapple headpieces, moonlight surf on exotic bodies of water, and the sounds of a ukulele.
Hawaiian, tropical, beach or parrot, no matter what you call the party, it's hip to hula on island time this summer.
Luaus are the "it" summer-party theme whether they're held in a neighbor's back yard or as community grand affairs -- the Alzheimer's Association's July 16 benefit in Parkersburg is called "Luau on the Green," and "Luau on the Lawn" is the theme for the Aug. 12 Girls Night Out, the annual fundraiser for the YWCA.
Although there is not a dress code, guests at "Luau on the Lawn" are encouraged to wear relaxing island gear, from Hawaiian-print aloha shirts and grass skirts, to dresses in hot flashes of dazzling color and patterns. Anything that says "hula girl" in cheerful, vibrant, coastal shades and prints is sure to be stylin' for the fashion flock at the island-paradise yard party.
Flowers always fashionable
Floral designs and garden-party looks are a perennially favorite sign of the summer season. Dramatic, demure or downright saucy, Hawaiian prints are a floral bonanza saturated in color, a classic that merges the beach-bum attitude with city-girl style and creates the perfect summer fashion statement.
These cheery fabrics, characteristic of the South Seas, are breezy, colorful, fantasy florals that herald summer and invoke images of majestic seashore sunsets, Hollywood screen-queen comedies or Margaritaville -- depending on your vintage.
Designers added some Hawaiian punch to their summer collections. Seems everybody's riding the tropical wave as an instant antidote to the summer heat. The new again, always popular, splashy tropical patterns have been spotted on women's dresses, skirts, jumpsuits, handbags and shoes, men's sport shirts, luggage and pet collars.
Retro beach prints packed a punch in Prada's spring 2010 collection. Carmen Marc Valvo enlarged Georgia O'Keeffe-style flowers as prints on his runway. For Tracy Reese it was peonies. Her fall collection, recently previewed at New York Fashion Week, also incorporates floral designs.
No matter the climate, flowers always fit in the fashion world. Florals in fashion provide an endless source of inspiration. Watercolor, impressionistic, ethnic, pop art, sweet, small ditsy prints or large, bold blossoms, vibrant island imagery is especially fun during hot weather.
It started with the aloha shirt
Tales of the origin of the first Hawaiian, tropic-inspired clothing have circulated for decades. As one story goes, the Hawaiian fashion trend got its start from the men as the aloha shirt. Early patterns depicted ancient symbolic imagery. Pine and palm tree prints represented long life, good fortune and success. A tiger pattern held courage and bamboo prints denoted strength and flexibility.
There is no argument, however, that Ellery Chun was the first to register the name "Aloha Shirt," in 1936, for the shirts he sold that were designed by his sister. The rayon or cotton sport shirt, full of coastal island colors, made its way to the mainland later that year.
Although often copied, the original designs on aloha shirts were based on the artistry of Myron Von Brundt, who painted birds of paradise, fish and outrigger canoes in vivid designs and color. As its popularity spread to states that were nowhere near the beach, the aloha shirt became a symbol of a relaxed, carefree lifestyle.
Hollywood picked up the trend when celebrities like Bing Crosby and John Wayne occasionally wore aloha shirts. But it took President Truman wearing an aloha shirt on the cover of Life magazine in 1951 to make the shirt a memorable style in fashion.
Aloha shirts in loud prints and bright colors are one of the few occasions when men with a flair for debonair have to make a fashion statement. Generally, the guys are held to cotton or linen pants or shorts, in khaki or white, to complement their aloha-shirt pattern.
"The patterns on men's shirts look like paintings; unbelievably beautiful, like photograph and postcard prints. I have both men and women buying these Hawaii-made shirts," said Ivor Sheff, owner and buyer for Ivor's on Lee.
Dresses in sun-drenched colors
Tropical-print dresses were born when Dorothy Lamour wowed moviegoers in 1936 appearing in "Jungle Princess" in an exotic patterned sarong. By 1941, the craze for South Seas prints in sun-drenched colors was in full swing.
Floral patterns in citrus colors and simple shift silhouettes burst onto Florida's Palm Beach scene in the late '50s and early '60s when a juice-stand worker asked her dressmaker to design dresses in bright, colorful, printed cotton to camouflage juice stains.
Lilly Pulitzer's designs are immediately recognizable as a "Lilly." One of the first celebrities to wear the Lilly Pulitzer label in dresses was the designer's friend and schoolmate, then-first lady Jackie Kennedy, who was featured in Life magazine wearing a "Lilly."
When Hawaii became the 50th state in 1959, California women went hula-happy wearing grass skirts and Polynesian print dresses (muumuus) to parties. Style-savvy trendsetters pumped up the fun and flair with a yellow hibiscus blossom (Hawaii's state flower) tucked into their hair. According to island lore, if one is lookin' for love, the flower goes behind the right ear. Those who are already spoken for should wear the flower behind their left ear.
Elvis Presley's Hawaii-based movies of the '60s contributed to making the Hawaiian fad a full-blown, enduring fashion look. The New York fashion industry took notice of this bright, flirty rage with a touch of the exotic, and the rest, as they say, is history.
The wearing of the florals
Head-to-toe blooms in South Pacific colors and exotic Polynesian prints are chic, artistic, modern and office-appropriate. Precise and specific, abstract or whimsical, it's the silhouette and fit that matters. Just pass on the urge to show any lingerie straps (tacky, even if it does slide in and out of style).
Team your juicy tropical print with a shoe of intoxicating color, a gold gladiator sandal and a panama hat.
Mix florals with timeless stripes, classic plaids, leopard spots or another floral pattern of a different size or color. Anchored with black or white, florals look smart, sharp and sophisticated. Sunglasses are the only must-have accessory here.
Jazz it up and add the jangle of bangles or a bit of bling, but just a bit. This look doesn't need much help standing out in a crowd. It's pinup-perfect just like it is. Let the pattern, print and colors be the spark that illuminates your luau glow.
"Luau on the Lawn" promises to be a tropical blast, splashed all over with vibrant island fever. Catch a wave with the luau ladies, sittin' pretty on top of the hill, Club Charleston style. Aloha!
Tommie Sue Roberts is the freelance fashion writer for the Sunday Gazette-Mail. She may be e-mailed at tsr1...@yahoo.com.
