Saturday, October 23, 2010

Postcards from Hawaii...part five: Patterns Galore' but They're Not Liberty of London

Liberty of London-esque prints espied at a Luau class...which got me thinking about prints in Hawaii
More modern-stylized versions of the Hawaiian printed dress

A traditional Hawaiian print done very well... this woman's sarong

Aloha from Hawaii one last time!

The style opposite of Preppies' beloved Liberty of London fabric prints is probably most all too obviously the bold tropical prints of traditional Hawaiian shirts, mumus and surfer board shorts.

Much bolder than even the brights and patterning of Lilly Pulitzer and Vera Bradley prints, Hawaiian prints are the "neon whimsy" of the fabric world. Some prints are just way too much but there are a few that are actually quite attractive in their clear simplicity. It's all in the stylized interpretation it seems... what is traditional can become either tacky or actually a tad bit tasteful depending on its application.

Personally, I'm just not a big, busy print typa' gal. But I make an occasional exception to this rule...most notably the shift dress I wore at the Luau this week on O'ahu. (as can be seen in a previous Postcards from Hawaii posting) An every so often splash of tropical bright patterning can be a good thing and is almost de rigor' within Luau settings but as I've written about before, too much Lilly Pulitzer sundress-sighting in my church sanctuary during the summertime is yes, simply, just too much.

Bold pattern prints are best a few sightings at a time...

The pictures above are of some delightful Hawaiian print sightings around the island here :)




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