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Hula skirt

Sweater Orlon, glass beads: embroidered American, mid 1950s Gift of Bradley Slayton, 89.65.7

Skirt Cotton: hand painted, sequined Mexican, 1955-59 Woven label: "Tipicano/Hecho en Mexico" Gift of Emily Switters, 83.30.8

"In junior high, 1955-56, multiple petticoats were in full swing, so to speak. I remember trying to convince my mother that three or four of these were barely a decent minimum. It was critical that the skirt stand out like a longer version of the ballerina's tutu." ... What We Wore by Ellen Melinkoff, 1984

The full circle skirt and sweater, coupled with triple rolled socks, saddle shoes or penny loafers is the stereotypical outfit of the young woman of the mid-1950s. This skirt, like others in the collection, is hand printed and painted with a decorative scene and are products of Mexican manufacture for export. The donor remarked that she wore this skirt to San Diego Historical Society functions.