Watteau Dress
Made to order, limited number available.
Based on the “fashion” Holoku, our Watteau has a modern loose body. The iconic watteau pleating down the back speaks to Hawaiian history. The back is intentionally lowered to allow for the proper wearing of a lei. Knee length. On seam pockets.
Due to the scale of the print, print placement varies on finished garments.
Print: Westbeth
100% cotton. Printed in Italy.
Wash gentle cold and hang dry.
Size Guide | Shipping & Returns
Made to order, limited number available.
Based on the “fashion” Holoku, our Watteau has a modern loose body. The iconic watteau pleating down the back speaks to Hawaiian history. The back is intentionally lowered to allow for the proper wearing of a lei. Knee length. On seam pockets.
Due to the scale of the print, print placement varies on finished garments.
Print: Westbeth
100% cotton. Printed in Italy.
Wash gentle cold and hang dry.
Size Guide | Shipping & Returns
Made to order, limited number available.
Based on the “fashion” Holoku, our Watteau has a modern loose body. The iconic watteau pleating down the back speaks to Hawaiian history. The back is intentionally lowered to allow for the proper wearing of a lei. Knee length. On seam pockets.
Due to the scale of the print, print placement varies on finished garments.
Print: Westbeth
100% cotton. Printed in Italy.
Wash gentle cold and hang dry.
Size Guide | Shipping & Returns
The Print
Westbeth is named after the famed cooperative housing project developed in the 1960s as affordable homes for artists in the far West Village of Lower Manhattan. The print is a tongue and cheek take on the authentic “artist’s mark.”
Brush stroke gestures are repeated at a suboptimal resolution so the viewer can clearly see they were manufactured rather than handmade. The print looks a little messy and broken apart—like out of a 80s post-punk zine. We updated the print for 2024 using a much deeper and richer black than the original print.
Westbeth Housing
The Watteau
There is nothing more iconic than the watteau pleating that adorns the Hawaiian Holoku form. At first you might think this pleat is some ossified detail linked to a romanticized notion of Hawai’i’s Victorian past. In actuality the pleat has a more complex and nuanced history.
Watteau pleating was adapted by Hawaiians from 1820s missionary sacque dresses. By the mid 19th century the garment had been so naturalized it was read as “a Hawaiian dress.” Since the 1893 illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom the pleating signals a respect for “old Hawaii.” It is, in part, kept alive in the form as a subtle protest.
