Ever since WWII ended in the 1940s, Hawaiian print shirts, sarong dresses, and tropical flowers have been popular clothing in summer. Women of the late 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s hosted Tiki parties complete with tropical drinks with little pink umbrellas. Restaurants and dance halls picked up on the fad and held tiki-themed dances with lounge style musicians. To dress for the occasion, women wore tropical print dresses also called tiki dresses. Many were inspired by Hawaiian life in the 1940s after the bombing of Pearl Harbor put Hawaiian shirts and dresses in the spotlight.
1955 Tropical-Print Halter Dress
Women’s 1950s tiki dresses had two main shapes. Full circle skirts (i.e. 1950s swing dresses), and the very narrow pencil shape dresses associated with the Pinup Girl that is VERY popular today. The only difference between 1950s clothes and Hawaiian tiki style was the material and colors. Tropical print fabrics were used to make full circle and pencil shape dresses. The sarong style dress is one style that was made almost exclusively with tropical print fabrics. Colors were bright pinks, greens, and blues all fit for a summer poolside party.
Other tropical or vacation themes such as Caribbean prints, Mexican Riviera colors, and even safari adventures found their way into the tiki mix.
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- 1951 hand painted tropical print dress
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- Vintage 50s palm print clothing
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- Sarong tiki dress and playsuit
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- 1950 Swimsuits and Sarong dress
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- Safari print skirt
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- Caribbean print tropical dress
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- 1955 Caribbean print dresses
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- thy Blackburn, Sylvia Daneel and unidentified in the stage production A Desert Incident
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- A hair flower is a must for any tiki outfit
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- 50s Tiki Family
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- My own tiki themed family photo
With the popularity of the 1950s fashion revival, there any many vintage or vintage reproduction clothing choices online. For vintage items, I recommend looking through eBay, Etsy.
Don’t forget to add a pair of retro sandals, a hair flower, and parasol to your tiki dress. In summer, we love a good pair of wedges or strappy sandals. Espadrilles are also a very tiki type of retro shoe.
Men’s 1950s Hawaiian Shirts
1951 men’s Hawaiian shirts
A Hawaiian shirt and pair of khaki pants are all that’s needed for a 1950s lounge look.
- Shop for 1950s Men’s shirts to find all kinds of tropical summer shirts. Or these:
- www.vintage-aloha-shirt.com Love this site. Carries real vintage Hawaiian shirts.
- www.thehanashirtco.com Many vintage Hawaiian shirts. Very $$$
- See these matching couples outfits for ideas
Debbie Sessions has been teaching fashion history and helping people dress for vintage themed events since 2009. She has turned a hobby into VintageDancer.com with hundreds of well researched articles and hand picked links to vintage inspired clothing online. She aims to make dressing accurately (or not) an affordable option for all. Oh, and she dances too.
