I would like to show some Hawaiian dresses from this site http://hawaiianfashionplace.com/SFNT.html The prices are $75 to $99. If you dont sew and want a cotton dress that can be worn daily and will withstand the wear and tear of the home, it is well worth the price. An apron worn at home can protect it. When you go out, just remove the apron. I love these dresses, and as a sewer, would certainly feel justified in charging these prices, for my time and effort. This cotton appears to be a higher quality than the kinds I am currently using for my home sewing, so if you do have to buy your clothes, this would be a very pretty, modest dress to have.
Hawaiian Fashion Place has matching shirts and clothes for your husband and children, too.Little girls dresses are here http://hawaiianfashionplace.com/girls-hawaiian-dresses.html
Before I found this site, I had cut out a dress similar to one of these, and bought piping for the neckline. I used that New Look pattern that has no zipper.
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Notice the hem line. This is thread drawn up to make gathers every few inches around the dress. A quilters fabric, 100% cotton, it is very soft, and does not need ironing .
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For want of a photographer, I can't post a picture of me in the dress, yet.
I certainly would have no hesitation in buying one of these gorgeous Hawaiian dresses. The fabrics are available here http://hawaiianfashionplace.com/hawaiian-fabric.html and are $12.00 a yard. You need an average of 4 yards to make a dress, more or less. If you left off the ruffle it would eliminate a yard or more.
For Hawaiian style sewing patterns, go here : http://www.myriahsbazaar.com/VICTORIA-JONES-POLYNESIAN-SEWING-PATTERNS-s/80.htm You could immitate the style with one of the 99c patterns that you can buy at the fabric store when they are on sale.
27 comments:
Dear Lydia,
What beautiful dresses! I never would have thought to search out Hawai'ian-themed clothing. The ruffled, asymetric hem (if that is an accurate description) is very pretty. Even with my glasses on, I am not able to discern if the body of the dresses are constructed with princess seams or are simply A-line. In any case, they are lovely and flattering for most figures.
Please continue to encourage us with your innovative sewing ideas and techniques.
Kindest regards from,
Mrs. T.
My favorite is the one with the pink piping on the neckline. Not everything in that site is modest or wearable for home making. I picked out the ones that I thought would be suitable. They have a category that called "demi length" that might be wearable for some women at home, but these were the ones I liked the best.
I love these!
~ Ann
I love the dresses you just posted from the Hawiian Fashion Place.
I am also wondering where I might find the same pattern to make my own using their fabrics. Do you know of any resources?
These dresses are truly beautiful. I had no idea these existed. Wonderful.
These are awesome! Thanks for posting!
I heartily recommend looking on the shoe wall where some of the 7 dollar and 9 dollar shoes are hanging. They go great with dresses and you dont have to worry about ruining them, for that price. I get them to match my dresses. They are flats but some are canvas and very lady like and can be washed in the washing machine. I love them for the home because they are quiet on wood floors!
I added a link to Hawaiia patterns for you, on the main post
Dear Lydia:
I must say you have inspired me. Even with my beginner sewing skills, I have made two simple, knit, a-line skirts to wear with tops that I already own. I even learned to draft my own pattern since I am a "hard fit" according to my seamstress Mom.
I love the dresses you show, but my sewing skills will have to improve a bit before I can tackle that one!
Mrs. H.
I didn't know that the Aussie and British women would need the same kind of clothing at home, and did not want to speak for them. One thing we do here in the US is spend more time in our cars. We cant have too much clothing flapping about being caught in doors or making it difficult to get in and out of a car. Hats do not work well in a car. Unfortunately, American women have been taught to wear a track suit and sprint. Then, when it is time to settle down and be a home maker, she still has on her track shoes and runs. If she decides to wear a dress, it requires a different movement. She has to walk differently, and walking is a new thing if she has been used to rushing around. The clothes have to be feminine but they have to be streamlined enough to move more rapidly. I do not know how it is for homemakers in other countries, but I always thought that the Welsh designer, Laura Ashley had perfect clothes for homemakers in the 80s. They were so beautiful but could be worn at home, too, since they were made of natural fabrics.
Dear Lady Lydia I have tried today to open your other blog Guard the Home, from where I have many excellent articles over the years. It seems to be only for designated readers. Have you put a stop from general readers going into your blog? Thanks, Antonia from Australia.
I am changing a few things on that blog. If you will email me, I can get your email and give you an invitation to that blog so that you can see it. ladylydiaspeaks@comcast.net
Remember to comment anonymously here. You are welcome to put a link to me from your blog or website! Thank you very much for this consideration.
Ladies, one thing I notice on some of the paintings from the 1800's is that the bodice areas sometimes had gathers and pleats and vests and collars that put more of a modest barrier between them and other people. I have several pages of fashion plates that show drawings of this. In the 1980's the dresses and blouses had tucks and pleats, large collars and scarves that draped over the bustline. I was wondering if anyone else noticed this, in contrast to the clothing today.
Thank you for the website post of the Hawaiian dress patterns. My four favorite are the Victorian, Sweetheart, Waist Tuck and the Gathered Neckline. So feminine and beautiful. You are right, we can modify a pattern from the .99 sales to resemble them simply by switching our necklines, sleeves and adding tucks or ruffles and flounce.
Thank you for sharing.
I would like to compliment the lady in India who has a blog with a good post about the care of babies and children. Also, I liked the things you wrote about modesty in dress for women, as well as modest body language and behavior. You did not have an email to contact you, and I noticed you visited my blog this morning, so I hope you get this message!
Pretty! The fabric does look to be of excellent quality. I don't think the price is out of line. I've paid that much for dresses, many of which are dry clean only or of very poor quality.
Lydia,
Those are pretty dresses. I especially like this post because my dad is hawaiian and my grandma always wore a lovely mu'u mu'u each day and if she went to town she had a special hat with a flower lei around it. She also wore her hair in a little bun.
She passed away a year ago, I'm missing her. Another neat thing in Hawai'i is that a lot of the local women have long hair, either waist length or to their knees. And it's not hair extensions, either :)
I do not remember if I ever wrote about the last princess of Hawaii, before "annexation" (when Hawaii became a US territory), but she was a gracious, forgiving, and beautiful woman, who dressed in long flowing garments.
Women of the previous centuries DID wear pants--either pantaloons or bloomers, but they wore them UNDER their dresses.
Women of Oriental countries wore pants, but wore tunics over them; tunics that covered them modestly so that the back view was still feminine.
The last queen of Hawaii was different than the last princess of Hawaii. I think the Queen was the aunt of the princess. There are a couple of good books written about these women. One was a picture book that was very nice.
THank you for adding the TownHall article on the top left, here. It does say exactly what many preachers and older women have been saying, for a long time. The man is not even a preacher and he did a better job of being forthright about this matter. We are supposed to help the weaker brother. Preachers should plead with women to be tolerant of weaknesses of others and dress modestly to help them out. Dressing immodestly is thoughtless, arrogant, ignorant, conceited, and devious, whether they realize it or not. It has gotten very militant in the last few years. In the Victorian era, women thought that exposing too much flesh in public (especially the daytime) was offensive. They didnt want to offend anyone, and they covered themselves in public. Only the circus and the theatre had as much immodesty as is common today. There were also laws against public indecency, and people knew that if you let someone get buy with a little, they would take a lot. The mindset today though, is that "I have a right to go around half naked and if you dont like it it is just your dirty mind." I have actually talked to women who believed this. I know that immodesty is a militant movement, because people like the author,ministers and even yourself, have been attacked for teaching against it. One sign of a nation losing its freedom and creeping into socialism, is the blatant display of immodesty in its women.
Readers, please continue to add my link to your blogs! I do appreciate it. I am just asking you to post anonymously when you make a comment here. Thanks so much,
The Samoan ladies here often wear such dresses for dressy occasions and church.
Lovely!
If I were to sew this Hawaiian dress for someone, I do not think $75.00 is too much to pay. It is well worth the price for such a beautiful dress. People spend more o.n jeans and tank tops and sports shoes. They spend more on fake nails and hair appointments and jewelry. Why not spend more on the dress. It is 75 percent of appearance. If you dont get your nails and hair professionally "done" the beautiful dress makes the appearance so much better, not to mention the esteem
So this is an example of a muumuu as described on What Women Never Hear!! Now this is beautiful!!! I could not, could NOT understand why any woman would ever want to be caught dead in what I envisioned as a "muumuu". Until I read the comment from the lady with the Hawaiian grandmother, I did not know it was a Hawaiian word, I just thought a muumuu was a big tent dress you wore when you couldn't fit into other clothes and you just didn't care anymore (this was an impression I had formed as a child) These are some of the prettiest dresses I have ever seen. Thank you for sharing them!!
I have found several patterns without zippers or buttons, that are very easy to make, and have cut out several dresses similar to the Hawaiian ones, above. I actually got the idea before someone sent me this link. I will post pictures as soon as I finish them, but I must say the fabric and the colors and patterns were a delight to sew. Sewing is not just a labor, it is an experience. You can listen to beautiful music and enjoy the print or color of the fabric you are working with, and in just a day, complete this kind of dress.
What a pretty dress!
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