Vintage Esprit: 1981 Summer Sarongs and Sun Dresses

Vintage fashion does seem to reoccur in many ways.  In the early 80's, there was a strong trend towards 40's and 50's style revivals. Designed by Susie Tompkins for Esprit, this 1981 group of tropical print summer sarongs and sun dresses is from the summer 1981 collection. Adaptions of sarong skirts, fashion bras, and strappy or strapless Hawaiian style beach dresses like these were wildly popular at that time.

Summer Sarongs: Vintage Styles with a Tropical Tiki Look

RESERVED for mrandmrssparkle... HarrietGrayVin... $250	1950s ALFRED SHAHEEN // Fish... dethrosevintag... $375
1950s Dress / 50s Sarong Dre... GuermantesVint... $475	Vintage 80s Does 50s Hawaiia... stilettoRANCH $94
Peggy Wood late 1940's H... OrchidRoomVint... $225	50s Hawaiian Sarong DRESS / ... LuckyDryGoods $325
Shaheen Style Hawaiian Tie S... stilettoRANCH $82	Vintage 40s 50s Hawaiian KAM... BombshellBetti... $1200
CHEEKY TIKI-Bold and Vibrant... snootylilcutie $295	Vintage 1940s 1950s McInerny... OuterLimitz $180
50s Hawaiian Sarong DRESS / ... LuckyDryGoods $225	Vintage 1950s Dress / 60s Ha... TuesdayRoseVin... $118
1950's Dress // Hawaiian... GarbOhVintage $275	Vintage 50's Betty Higgi... bombshellbetty... $339
1950's Vintage Polished ... RubyFayesVinta... $165	1950s Vintage Green Hawaiian... vintagebluemoo... $250

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This is the perfect time of the year to shop for vintage sarongs. Whether you love the exotic originals by Alfred Shaheen or the many other Hawaiian fashion labels, you are sure to see some amazing textile prints and dramatic draped silhouettes.

This collection of vintage sarongs shows current styles now listed on Etsy. I had a great time looking through the listings for this type of dress. Along the way it also exposed me to some great vintage vendors who have other gorgeous items listed, so feel free to click on the photos to see a dress up close and visit some wonderful vintage shops too.