Avid readers of this blog will know how much I absolutely ADORE vintage & vintage-inspired clothing styles from the 1920s, 1950s, 1960s & 1970s & these two looks from famed designer Alfred Shaheen are basically the pinnacle for many vintage aficionados, including yours truly! I am very blessed in that these dresses were gifted to me by a dear friend but there are many, many different options available at different price points & in different, inclusive sizes (including plus sizes) online, especially vintage emporiums like Etsy, which would be a great place to start compiling a collection.
For a little background, Alfred Shaheen (1922-2008) was a textile industrialist from America who is widely credited with inventing the "Hawaiian Shirt" as we now know it, popularised in what is perhaps my all-time favourite Elvis Presley film, "Blue Hawaii." Born in New Jersey to family of Lebanese immigrants, he always had big dreams & after gaining a degree in aeronautical engineering & spending time in the Army Air Corps as a fighter pilot in WWII, Shaheen returned to his island home & founded his own garment company, using the lessons he'd learnt from his parents' custom garment business. Shaheen was nothing if not innovative in both design & method & when the Korean War severely curtailed the importation of goods to Hawaii for manufacture, he made his own equipment from odds & ends he found in Honolulu's junkyards to dye & finish his fabrics. A true believer in celebrating cultural diversity, he & his artists adapted many designs from authentic sources such as cultural artefacts & rare books & travelling around the Pacific Rim for further inspiration. Moreover, Shaheen created innovative fabrics that were hard wearing, easy to launder & able to withstand the hot, tropical climate & salt water from the beach. Together with his head dye chemist, Edmund Lutz, he created over 100 metallic colours that had previously not existed in clothing manufacture & even today, these fabrics & colours are used by a multitude of modern companies including Speedo & Stetson. For many collectors, he is best known for what were called "East Meets West" pop-up boutiques in department stores all over the Hawaiian islands & mainland America in the 1960s & that's where these designs were most likely to have been originally sold. They truly are something extra special & I plan to wear & enjoy these beauties for years to come...
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Dress: Gift, vintage Alfred Shaheen acetate
Heels: Kitten D'Amour vegan leather
Bag: H&M woven straw
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The first Shaheen look showcases this utterly divine blue & purple tropical floral print acetate in a stunning, Asian-inspired maxi dress with a mandarin collar & sheer sleeves from the 1960s. Unfortunately, due to damage (possibly from years being packed away in a box or at the back of someone's wardrobe) I had to cut the long, tapered sleeves into boxier, shorter versions but this doesn't really detract from the dress' beauty & makes it easier to wear year-round in the Queensland weather. When it came to styling, less was definitely more & I chose a pair of mauve vegan leather deco heels from Kitten D'Amour for a modicum of height & a natural woven straw handbag from H&M to carry all the essentials to an afternoon tea with friends, eschewing jewellery entirely, however I could foresee re-wearing this stunner with "dressier" accessories for a nightime or after five event (perhaps a pair of stilettos & clutch) including armfuls of sparkling bangles.
Scroll down to see more & don't forget to continue to the bottom of the page to see the second look in greater detail...
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Dress: Gift, vintage Alfred Shaheen acetate
Heels: Jo Mercer leather
Bag: Princess Highway woven straw
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The second Shaheen look celebrates this stunning baby pink & metallic printed acetate shift dress covered in stylised depictions of traditional island musical instruments & with mandarin collar, buttons/toggles all the way down the front & a knee-length hemline. Much like the first dress, this one also required removing the bottom part of the sleeves due to damage but once again, this doesn't take away from the lines created or the overall beauty of the ensemble. I've styled it up with a pair of rather bare silver leather strappy heels with Jo Mercer & a natural woven straw handbag in the shape of a shell from Princess Highway as a ode to the Hawaiian heritage of the dress' designer & manufacturer, although I could see it "made modern" with a pair of chunkier, lace up heels, a funky shoulder bag & plethora of silver, gold & rose gold jewellery pieces in a twist on 1960s bohemia.
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