The time period right after WWII but before Flower Power hit in the 1960s is a less than twenty-year span.A popular style of the time, both in architecture and in home interior design, is a branch of Art Deco collectors call Post-War Moderne. In addition, a twin obsession with all things French and Tahitian really got rolling in 1958 when the musical South Pacific jumped from Broadway to the Hollywood screen. Barkcloth with tropical themes, blond Heywood Wakefield furniture, and colored Melmac dishes were only a few of the interesting trends of the period. And there were a few really odd color schemes that popped up. Witness this combination of gray, dark green, maroon, chartruese, and peachy orange.
Things certainly have come back around since the recent TV hit Mad Men has started a fad in imitating and collecting vintage clothing and furnishings of that time period. But this color combination, unlike any that I can reference, remains unique. It seldom made it into quilts (which were being made less and less as women took to office jobs) or into mainstream clothing. Just on your great-aunt Zelda's back porch!
