Designs From Paradise - Part Three - Bailey's Antiques and Aloha Shirts

Designs from Paradise – Bailey’s Antiques and Aloha Shirts

This is the third episode of Designs from Paradise.  The first was Tori Richard LTD, the second was the story of Dale Hope.

Last year my husband and I visited Hawaii to celebrate a family member’s birthday.  Just before leaving home I saw an old episode of Anthony Bourdain when his adventures took him to HNL.  One of his tours was a visit to Bailey’s Antiques and Aloha Shirts. He highlighted the amazing collection of vintage textiles, with an emphasis on Aloha shirts,  David Bailey had on display in his shop (more of a museum in reality). You can see a part of his visit on a video at www.alohashirts.com  Naturally, I took this as an invitation from the “gods of textiles, old and new,” and made the required shopping experience.

 

The shop is located at 517 Kapahulu Avenue, Honolulu, a short city bus ride into the suburbs and a 2 block walk. Established in 1980, it was, at first, located on Waikiki Beach, but moved to its present location to accommodate the growing inventory of vintage textiles and island memorabilia. We were very impressed with the knowledgeable staff and their friendly assistance, which included permission to photograph within the shop.  Before we left (after much time browsing, examining the shirts and taking notes) David Bailey spent time explaining his love of island textiles and the history of his collection of over 15,000 shirts which were arranged into categories: used, new, vintage and specialty.

Shirts are displayed on racks, folded on shelves and even hung from the ceiling.

Even Santa Claus can go Hawaiian

This is a reproduction of Tiger-Tiger Thousand Tigers

The original of this shirt sold at a California auction for $25,000!!!

The original shirt is on the top, priced at $990.99

The reproduction shirt beneath is $54.99

If you are ever in Honolulu and in the mood for a most dramatic vintage textile experience, I highly recommend a stop at Bailey’s.  If travel is not in your immediate future you can visit the website or pose an email question to baileysalohashirts@yahoo.com

Add caption

More reference books on Hawaiian shirts

I hope you enjoyed our 3 brief excursions into textiles from paradise. 

Swim Suits

“It was an itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini”

                  Brian Hyland, 1960

We are well into summer so I suppose I should tackle a problem garment that has plagued women for decades: a fashionable and comfortable and flattering swim suit (I was going to add affordable, but that may be way too much to ask for).

Women before our time had the right idea about swim wear.  The suits covered all those not-so perfect figure flaws and protected delicate skin from those awful damaging solar rays. I’m not sure how much water action those suits saw, seems as if one might actually sink into the briny when the suits got wet, but it was the right idea.

Standard Mail Order Co.
423-439 West 55th Street
New York City
July-August 1915

Every season fashion magazines publish articles on the chore of selecting a bathing suit.  Usually, they advocate certain styles that would flatter various body types, for instance “if you are pear- shaped choose this type of garment, whereas if you are apple-shaped here is one for you”.  Perhaps that has been my problem.  All along I thought I was a pear, in reality I guess I am an apple.  It seems as if there is no other garment that has caused more frustration to a potential buyer.  You only have to pass by the outer door of the fitting room to hear the moans and cries of despair.

I have had only one totally satisfactory suit.  I was 16 and had a navy blue two-piece suit with a “little boy leg bottom” and very modest top that buttoned in the back.  Made of cotton, it was cool and comfortable and I loved, loved, loved that suit.  I felt like Annette frolicking on the beach with Bobby Darren (only his name was Ken).

Now for some bikini trivia.  According to Real Simple Magazine (July 2013) the bikini first appeared at a Paris swimming pool on July 5, 1946.  The designer was Louis Reard and was, supposedly, named after the Bikini Atoll in the South Pacific that was the site of  atomic tests (go figure!)  That first suit contained a whopping total of 30 square inches of fabric.  One can only imagine.  This type of suit was not particularly popular until a decade later.  Today’s suit now covers 150 square inches of fabric (still that doesn’t cover very much).

So until this dilemma is solved I will continue to take my summer vacation at the mountains, not the beach.

Designs from Paradise - Dale Hope

Designs from Paradise- Part two- Aloha Shirts and Dale Hope

In my June 21^st blog I wrote that I have had 3 terrific textile experiences while visiting Honolulu, the first at the offices of Tori Richard Ltd, and now the story of Dale Hope, designer and author.

Hawaiian shirts are everywhere on the islands.  I never gave them too much notice beyond their bright designs and thought of them as essential tourist purchases.  My visit to the studio of Dale Hope some years ago changed that view.

Aloha shirts are found everywhere 

Small child Hawaiian shirt and shorts

They even come in size xxxl

Dale Hope was born in Honolulu and grew up with his parents garment business. When he inherited his family’s clothing industry in 1986 he purchased the well-known Kahala label and became the creative director for Kahala Sportswear.  But it is his passion for the iconic Aloha Shirt that is today’s story.  At his studio and archives I, and a group from the Textile Society of America were shown an array of vintage shirts which Kahala was reintroducing.  The process of selecting appropriate designs and color-ways as well as partnering with well-known printing facilities in Japan indicated the attention to detail that was so important to Hope.  Of course, there were also new lines to design and produce.  Since that visit Hope has made many changes to his career.  He has collaborated with Lucky Brand, a line of casual wear known to many of you (Lucky Brand is owned by Fifth and Pacific).   Kahala Sportswear is now a subsidiary of  Tori Richards Ltd. He has traveled the world with his family searching new designs and he has written the most fascinating history of the Aloha Shirt with Gregory Tozian : The Aloha Shirt: Spirit of the Islands.

Dale Hope

This volume includes everything an enthusiast would want to know about this classic garment: history, designers, textile print-makers, manufacturers, down to buttons and labels. Photographs of garments and designs are stunning and included are many, many paper memorabilia and biographies of early Hawaiian textile designers.

Reading through this volume again on this hot summer day, I can almost hear the surf of the Pacific Ocean (nearly, as I am in a desert).  Or maybe it is this second tropical drink I am enjoying that reminds me of my visits.

Sunbonnet Sue - The Darling of Applique Quilts

Sunbonnet Sue- The Darling of Appliqué Quilts

For centuries needleworkers have embellished cloth by adding layers of fabric in pictorial  designs of religious and folk art themes.  In renaissance Europe this technique was considered a form of embroidery, known as “intasia” embroidery from the Italian for “inlay”.

In American quilt making tradition, initial appliqué was termed Broderie Perse (Persian Embroidery) in which elements were cut from printed chintz fabrics and sewn onto a plain ground. At times, borders were decorated with designs cut from scraps of plain or small-print cloth.  This would become the definition of American appliqué where entire designs were created from small pieces of overlaid fabric or “patchwork”. Applique embellishments were popular for garments and household linens.

As with all trends, rises in popular techniques are often followed by declines and by the end of the 19thC “piecework” in which fabric “pieces” were sewn together to form units became popular.  These units were then joined to form the quilt or garment.  This was further augmented by the increasing popularity of purchased commercial patterns and quilt kits with pre-cut shapes ready for stitching.

By the 1920’s appliqué was back, due in part to the production of colorful small-print Amercian-made fabrics.  At this time, also, arose children’s décor with quilts, linens and china created just for the small ones in the family.  Prior to this, many of these items were simply smaller versions of full-sized adult products.  

Now we come to Sunbonnet Sue.  There were early versions of this design, these versions were actually outlined embroidery.  In 1910 Sunbonnet Sue first appeared as a pattern for an appliqué child quilt. The design for this bonneted little girl came from the postcards and books by British illustrator Kate Greenaway in the late 1800’s.  In America, Bertha Corbett published The Sunbonnet Babies Primer in 1902 from which many, many first graders learned to read.

Post cards reproduced from original Sunbonnet Pictures.  Merrimack Publishing Corp., N.Y.

There have been hundreds variations of this design, including a small boy companion called Sam.

Embroidered Sunbonnet Sue quilt blocks

Sue's friend Sam

Designs from Paradise - Tori Richard

Tori Richard Designs

I have been fortunate to have visited Hawaii on many occasions. I have decided to write about 3 textile-related experiences I  encountered in Honolulu over several years.

 The main focus of one such visit was to attend the Textile Society of America Biennial in HNL.  I have written many times about the TSA and their wonderful conferences.  At this particular conference I was able to participate in an excursion to several HNL textile venues which will be the subject of two blogs: Tori Richard and Dale Hope of Kahala Designs.  The third of this series will introduce you to one of the most fabulous vintage clothing shops I have ever visited, Bailey’s

Today I wish to introduce to you the design house Tori Richard.  One of the benefits of touring with textile experts is the inside look at collections we are usually afforded.  At their office/archives panel after panel of the iconic fashions, designed over a period of more than fifty years,were displayed. .One could easily image their famous clientele wearing these fashions at galas, during cruises and on the most fabulous vacations.  Just seeing the glorious designs in the most vibrant printed fabrics made one appreciate the impact made by this company in the field of resort and vacation-wear.

This volume was published in 2006 to commemorate the fiftieth  anniversary of Tori Richard.
The history written here  is beautifully highlighted with photographs of the Tori Richard design line which recall fashion and design from the 1950's onward, but are still immensely popular today.

As is the case of many successful entrepreneurs, Mort Feldman the founder of Tori Richard was a self-made man.  Originally from Boston and already established in the textile trade of Chicago, Feldman fell in love with the lifestyle of Hawaii upon visiting a friend in 1953.  In 1956 he established Tori Richard with 2 partners in a room at Pier 7 at the Honolulu Harbor. 

The company name, Tori Richard is built upon the names of 2 of his children, Victoria and Richard.

Feldman had a great love of Asian, particularly Japanese design.  This, coupled with the impressive design elements of the Hawaiian Islands would be the beginning of a fashion empire that soon became global. The main factor to this success was, in my opinion, his attention to detail.  Feldman chose the most highly skilled Japanese fabric printing firms too produce his fabrics.  One such endeavor involved the making of Tegaki, a handprinted yardage created in lengths of up to 12 yards. This guaranteed each garment design was unique and no client would see her Tori design on another client. The designs also matched pockets and fronts for an uninterrupted pattern and French seams insured there was no raw edges ever to be seen.  Collars were interlined so they laid flat and buttons were created to match the garment.

In 2008 Tori Vintage reintroduced the most popular Tori designs with a modern update.

Tori Richard shops can be found in many major cities throughout the US and abroad.  Many upscale stores also carry garments from this fashion house.

Because of the superior manufacture and the lasting popularity of the designs, original vintage Tori Richard garments can still be found on the secondary market at a high price.. I still look for them at every “slightly used” shop I encounter.

Tori Richard vintage Hawaiian shirt found at Bailey's

Monochrome Pictorial Prints - The Glorious Toiles de Jouy

Toiles

From early days, patterns were printed on cloth using a wooden block. Areas of the block were carved away leaving a relief design that was then colored from a tub of dye.  The block was firmly pressed on the stretched cloth ground and allowed to dry, before another color was added using another carved block.  This process was time consuming and required precision for the registration of the pattern, therefore it could not be used for mass production.

 In the 1700’s a new technique was advanced using large copper plates.  The large plates were able to be engraved in great detail (much like etchings).  The inked plate was then pressed onto the cloth.  The large size of the plate, sometimes as large as 3 feet square, could represent an entire scene and could be repeated with good registration for lengths of cloth. Occasionally, depending upon the skill of the printer, a thin, horizontal white line can be detected where one impression would end. The drawback to this procedure was the difficulty in printing in more than one color and so the majority of these fabrics were printed with madder, indigo or woad dyes.  Nevertheless these are some of the finest printed fabrics produced in France and Britain,18thC monochrome pictorial prints, referred to as Toiles de Jouy, “Toile” is French for cloth and “Jouy” refers to the village near Versailles where the most famous of these cloths were produced.  the factory at Jouy was established by Oberkampf in 1760.  Christophe-Phillipe Oberkamph was a German-born naturalized Frenchman who, through his skills in the processes of engraving and dyeing of fabric patterns, was named "Royal Manufacturer" by the French king.  He is also known for creating a process for the manufacture of wallpaper.

Monochrome c. 1800

Throughout the years these monochromes were reproduced and adapted with small changes made to the original design.

Toile c. 1830

Toile c.1890

Toile c.1920

The themes of these pictorials can be classified into broad categories: pastoral, romantic, mythological and historical  If one takes the motif of  these categories as definition of a toile design, it becomes necessary to include printed fabrics of the 20thC also.  Although at first glance these stylized textiles are not recognized as toiles (they are multicolored and were often printed on coarsely woven ground fabrics such as “barkcloth”) they do belong to this category of printed textiles.  I will bring examples of these contemporary cloths for you in a future blog.

Wedding Handkerchiefs

Wedding Handkerchiefs

Last June I wrote on the subject of “Hankie History”.  June is traditionally associated with brides and weddings as the month is named for the Roman Goddess Juno (wife of Jupiter) who was the goddess of marriage and households and, therefore, I chose “wedding handkerchiefs” as today’s topic.

Wedding handkerchiefs are the most valued of all hankies.  Traditionally they were made for the bride to carry, usually by the bride’s best friend. These textiles range from simple tatted edgings to very elaborate whitework.  Whitework is a broad term which includes white embroidery, lace and drawn work on fine white fabric. Very popular are monogrammed handkerchiefs, especially those from the late 19thC which feature small motifs of flowers and vines and intricate scrollwork.

If you find a suitable example of these handkerchiefs it is well worth the purchase so that you have on hand a remarkable gift for an upcoming bridal shower or to include with a wedding card.