Summer Vintage: Blue Prints and Florals

above, from top left: blue rose cotton textile, blue and green silk on 1960's dress, batik sun on tie dye blue rayon on 1980's dress.

Florals and bold patterns are coloring new and vintage fashion right now in eye catching color combinations. Retro blue, aqua, and blue/greens seem to look fresh and really great. When I look for fashion this summer and into fall, it's hard not to miss some of the beautiful vintage and more recent patterns currently shown in fashion and textiles.

The beautiful silk fabric on the right is close to the very mod, mid-century textile designs produced by the Finnish company, Marimekko, during the 1960's and 70's. It is the dominate feature on a floor length sheath dress. The batik sun on blue/green background is scattered all over a soft rayon textile, made up in a loose over sized 1980's sun dress.

from upper left: screen print floral on cotton, on 1960's dress, Persian print panel, on 1960's dress, blue pansy print, cotton fabric.

Cotton prints on vintage fashion were often produced by screen printing, a process that produced limited quantities. This gorgeous panel of a mythical Persian scene is one example of how elaborate some screen printing designs were. This is from "Florida Handprints, Miami". The floral at upper left is on a cotton sateen fabric. Its bold pattern is subdued by the very simple dress design, accented only by cording and a tiny bow a the waistline.

from upper left: 1960's geometric floral on cotton voile yardage, field flowers, on cotton yardage, blue brush stoke on white rayon, 1980's dress.
Summer fabrics seem best when soft and sheer. Uncommon 1960's cotton voile is always a wonderful fabric to find. I love the way it carries a visual weight, while being nearly airless. Another popular warm weather stand by are the soft rayons. This version in white has 1980's designs in sky blue brush strokes, a reflection of a summer sky.

It's going to be a long summer ahead and I know that I don't want to be caught without a few great patterns to choose from. That is all anyone needs to wear with flip flops and still make a great fashion statement.