Tina Leser opened her first shop in Hawaii in 1935 and her early Hawaiian influences are present in much of her work.

Of course, Hawaii’s shores look quite different today. In fact, just since Leser’s death in 1986, Whale Skate Island, a tiny island in the northwest Hawaiian islands, has completely disappeared. Home to birds, seals, turtles, and all kinds of vegetation, it has been washed away by rising sea levels.

Yes, from the blue waters of Maui to the Big Island’s rain forests, climate change is having effects on species and ecosystems and the Hawaii that Tina Leser knew and loved may one day be completely unrecognizable.

Today’s VPOD features a lovely custom-made dress by Tina Leser that is hand-painted with the teeming beauty and life of the oceans as they were mid-century, without the Great Pacific Garbage Patch that we have created.

It’s a beautiful testament for clean oceans for an eco-minded vintage fashionista!

Available at Dress.

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