When Hawai'i became a state, there was dancing in the streets — in poodle skirts, shirtwaist dresses, tailored men's suits and snappy fedoras. In 1959 Hawai'i, fashion was far more formal, feminine (or gentlemanly) and tailored than it is today.

"The overall look was the shirtwaist style, with a small waist and circle skirt with crinolines. And, of course, saddle shoes and bobby socks. But for Hawai'i the look was translated into aloha prints," explained Carol D'Angelo, curator of the University of Hawai'i-Manoa Costume Collection, as she walked us through the impressive collection of 1950s garments in the closets of the university's Apparel Product Design and Merchandising department.

Princess seams and peplums were spotted on several of the period's ensembles. Trims such as rickrack and piping were often added to blouses, skirts and suits.

D'Angelo noted that Asian details such as frog closures, mandarin collars and emperor sleeves were de rigueur in late '50s Hawai'i.

The pake mu'mu'u was in vogue. Inspired by the Chinese cheongsam, it had a mandarin collar, fitted body and long sleeves similar to those of an emperor's coat. The one-shoulder, Dorothy Lamour-style sarong was fashionable, as were capri pants with Japanese or Chinese-inspired tunics. Frog closures were worn on everything from sundresses and tunics to capris. Palaka was a stylish fabric.

At the beach, the bikini was considered scandalous. It did not gain acceptance until the '60s. Instead, the "it" girls wore custom-made two-piece suits from Linn's in Waikiki. In solid colors such as blue, yellow, red and green, they were made of cotton duck that wore like iron. These suits replaced the sailor mokus of the 1930s and 1940s, taking the halter-neck style and boy shorts but leaving behind the sailor-style panels of buttons.

Princess Kaiulani Fashions was founded in 1959, a few months before statehood was declared. Its customers were commonly the ladies who did lunch — and entertained at home.

Fashion designer Joan Andersen, founder of the 50-year-old company, remembers the "pupu lounger," a tunic and pants ensemble with a wrap-around top and skirt, worn over Audrey Hepburn-inspired capri pants. She recalls it was an ubiquitous garment for women who enjoyed entertaining.

Chic Eleanor Pence was among them, inviting friends to picture perfect dinner parties. Her daughters were among the girls attending the Dan and Ginny Wallace Dance Studio Cotillion at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in demure sundresses and little white gloves.

Pence owns a vintage mu'umu'u celebrating statehood, created in 1959.

WHAT MEN WORE

"In the late '50s, men in Hawai'i were dressing like their counterparts on the Mainland, even wearing suits," said Linda Arthur, author of "The Art of the Aloha Shirt" and former head of APDM at UH-Manoa.

"Generally, guys who worked in the white-collar arena wore shirts, ties and trousers, but execs wore suits. Hats were less frequently worn in Hawai'i than the Mainland.

"Aloha shirts were worn for casual dress, but it wasn't until 1965 that men wore them to work, and there was a regulation that any pattern in the shirt be confined to the pocket."

Of course, many men wore hats for sun protection, adding a Hawai'i touch with a feather lei. Fedoras and panama hats were the most popular.

Aloha shirts were rising in popularity, but mainly with the visitor population. In 1959, few Island men would be seen in them, and certainly not on Bishop Street.

In the late '50s, rayon shirts were passé, replaced by cotton and cotton blends, and prints were more subtle, geometric and abstract, according to Arthur's book.

Honolulu textile designer Alfred Shaheen was considered the prince of prints. Shaheen created a statehood print, complete with a map of the Islands, that had an Elvis Presley vibe.

Arthur's book offers another photo of a statehood print that was characteristically conservative: black, gray and turquoise stripes, with a crest reading "Hawaii 5-0 State."

The only nod to a "Hawaiian print": a subtle tiki in the turquoise stripe.

The rebels, of course, were wearing blue jeans and white T-shirts with the sleeves rolled up — and a pack of cigarettes tucked into the sleeve, a la James Dean.

SEE THE REAL THING

In conjunction with the celebration of statehood, Ala Moana Center and the Hawai'i Fashion Incubator (Hifi) are presenting "Fifty Years of Fashion in Hawaii," an exhibition of more than 50 garments from the Historic Costume Collection at UH-Manoa.

To set the tone, the exhibit will showcase several tea dresses, the late 19th-century gowns that were precursors of the mu'umu'u. The rest of the exhibition will feature garments from the statehood era to the present, with at least five ensembles from the 1950s.

It will be the largest showcase of the collection ever shown outside the university.

Special-feature displays will include swimwear, aloha attire and statehood era-inspired fashions. Current fashions inspired by past eras, archived fashion magazines and an Ala Moana Center retrospective will also be included.

The Costume Collection houses more than 20,000 archived garments and is among the largest university collections in the nation. Hifi, which has adopted the collection as a community project, is hosting the exhibition to highlight this outstanding resource.