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Vintage 1960s Watteau-backed Hawaiian Dress thedreamstress.com04

Watteau in (almost) Paradise: a vintage 1960s dress

Published by The Dreamstress

I’ve blogged about almost everything I wore to Costume College this year, except one: the one thing that was actually on-theme (1960s), and that I didn’t make.

I thought I’d give myself a break from corsets on Sunday, and wear a nice loose, flowing dress. Something that was both 1960s, AND fit the class I was teaching on Sunday: Tapa Cloth & Tiki Attire: the Pacific Influence on Fashion.

Vintage 1960s Watteau-backed Hawaiian Dress thedreamstress.com04

This was the dress!

Ironically, despite choosing it for comfort, this dress was the most least comfortable thing I wore all Costume College. Every commercially made Watteau-backed Hawaiian dress that I find seems to have been cut for someone who was 5’3″.  The bust is too high, and the waist is too high.  The armholes dig into my underarms and force my shoulders back to a really unnatural angle.

Vintage 1960s Watteau-backed Hawaiian Dress thedreamstress.com

This one is no exception.  🙁

If you’re thinking that ‘vintage 1960s Watteau-backed Hawaiian dress’ is a very specific description, it is, but they were a ‘thing’ from the late 60s to the early 70s.  I collect them, because they are the perfect intersection of my Hawaiian background and my historical costumer background.

Vintage 1960s Watteau-backed Hawaiian Dress thedreamstress.com04

I found this one in a vintage store while visiting Lauren of Wearing History after last Costume College.  The incredibly vivid, almost over-saturated colours are so fabulous.  It’s my first Waltah Clarke’s dress too!

Vintage 1960s Watteau-backed Hawaiian Dress thedreamstress.com

In Hawaiian dress terminology, you’d call this a holomu’u. It’s more formal than a mu’umu’u, but less formal than a fitted, trained holoku – the most elegant of Hawaiian gowns.

Vintage 1960s Watteau-backed Hawaiian Dress thedreamstress.com

I thought I was being clever and original wearing this at Costume College, but holomu’u were a popular choice – particularly for the Friday Night Pool Party.  So mine was a bit anti-climactic by Sunday!  There were some gorgeous examples.  I was very tempted to see if anyone was willing to sell theirs after Friday, but I restrained myself.  (It was hard).

Vintage 1960s Watteau-backed Hawaiian Dress thedreamstress.com

I was in such a rush at Costume College, racing between all my classes (I taught waaay too many hours of classes), that I didn’t get a single photo of me wearing this dress. So once I came home and it warmed up enough to make bare arms advisable (barely, I still turned rather purple during the photoshoot) Mr D and I went out and got some photos.

Vintage 1960s Watteau-backed Hawaiian Dress thedreamstress.com

It wasn’t quite as romantic and paradise-worthy as my ‘Watteau in Paradise‘ photoshoot. Hence: ‘almost-paradise’.

Vintage 1960s Watteau-backed Hawaiian Dress thedreamstress.com04

Please keep me in mind if you see any of these out in the wild at at a reasonable price-point. Especially if they are made for someone who is about 37-30-41 and 5’7″!  I’d really like a few more for my collection!

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Doucet does Cubism

Rate the Dress: Doucet does Cubism

Published by The Dreamstress

It’s Rate the Dress time!  This week we move from exoticism to modernism.  How will the transition go?

Last week: an 1840s evening gown with Ottoman-esque embroidery

Not only did most of you like last week’s 1840s gold-& floral embroidered evening gown, but the comments unearthed lots of fascinating information about it, and Ottoman inspired embroidery.  Go have a read of them!

There were a few niggles about the ‘clunky’ gold trim down the front of the dress, so which brought the rating down a wee bit.

The total: 8.1 out of 10

Not too bad!

This week: an early ’20s Doucet ensemble

We usually associate Doucet with his frothy Edwardian creations, but he was designing well into the 1920s.  His garments continued to change with, and reflect the times, while always linking back to the same passion.

Doucet, above all, was an art connoisseur.  His fashion creations were influenced and inspired by his love of art.  He continued to keep abreast of the latest innovations in art, and particularly loved Cubism.  He bought directly from artists such as Picasso, and owned an amazing collection of works, including  Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.  

This 1920s ensemble reflects Doucet’s interest in Cubism.

The angular lines of the skirt joins are interrupted by the straight waistband, creating a purposefully disjointed effect.  The  slight colour variation between the skirt and the top is just defined enough to create visual contrast, without being so different that the contrast is jarring.

The symmetrical beading of the bodice provides further contrast with the angled skirt lines, and highlights the vertical lines of the dress.

The diamond beading of the bodice plays with female anatomy, and highlights the fashionable low and flat bust of the early 20s.

The dress is topped by a cape, adding more curves and angles to the silhouette:

The cape’s beaded collar draws the eye up to the wearer’s face.  The sharp points at the hem of the cape along with the wide pleats of the skirt, would swing and move with the wearer.

While visually very different to the Edwardian gowns with layers of ruffles and delicate fabric that Doucet is best known for, this is still a typical Doucet creation in its attention to detail, beautiful handwork, and subtle contrast of colours.

What do you think?  Is this a work of wearable art?  Or did Doucet struggle to move with the times and update his style appropriately?

Rate the Dress on a Scale of 1 to 10

(as usual, nothing more complicated than a .5.  I also hugely appreciate it if you only do one rating, and set it on a line at the very end of your comment, so I can find it!  Thanks in advance!)