I never do OOTDs, because frankly, my workaday outfits have left a little bit to be desired lately. Think yoga pants, random T-shirt, hoodie, and sneakers...not even vintage sneakers. Hey, I work in front of the computer in my own house! Who am I trying to impress, here? But I digress...
This past weekend I got a chance to do my vintage thing TWICE!
First up, Saturday morning:
This is one of my favorite novelty-print early-60's dresses. It has clocks and calendars and the days of the week written in French, which totally reminds me of the French teacher/tutor I had in 6th grade, Madame Clinard. I can hear her voice in my head right now..."Bonjour, Dina!!!" The cashmere (mmmm, cashmere) sweater is an estate sale find. Shoes are thrifted, not vintage, but whatever. I was telling my hubby the other day that if a person has a whole wardrobe of vintage shoes, they are truly hard-core. You may notice there's no Bakelite happening here...I was going to a religious service where you need to be vewwy, vewwy quiet!
Here's Sunday:
Going to the Vintage Fashion Expo in Santa Monica. Dress is a 40's Etsy find. I got it for a steal, because it needed somewhat major restoration, something I love to do wen I have the time! You can't see it, but the scarf in my hair is a souvenir scarf from Hawaii, an estate sale find. The handbag is one of my MoMosMadness creations...an upcycled 60's handbag with my own hand-painted tiki design. Bakelite earrings and bangles were bought from mix of places...estate sales, antique stores, eBay, etc. Shoes are thrifted, vintage repro's.
Hmmm, that was fun! Maybe there are more OOTD's in my future! What do you guys think? should I do more?
The other night my charming husband escorted me to Grauman's Egyptian Theater
in Hollywood, CA for a special screening of one of my favorite films...Sunset Boulevard!
I've lived in SoCal most of my life and yet I've never been to this glorious movie-palace of old until now!
Double-leopard action just as a tribute to the film, I promise!
Graumans Egyptian has a wonderful history, and its foremost claim to fame is that the first-ever Hollywood movie premier was held here.
The Egyptian theme was all the rage back then, and they did it up nicely with murals, faux sandstone walls, and imposing columns.
Inside are somewhat-creepy Anubis dog statues and lots of other fab details.
Above is the best shot I could achieve of the glorious ceiling with my little point & shoot camera. You just have to trust me...it's breathtaking!
The film was being screened as part of a Film Noir festival put on by American Cinematheque
Anyone who knows me knows that I love me some films noir, but my absolute fave is Sunset Boulevard. Wait, I lied! First Double Indemnity, THEN Sunset Boulevard.
If you haven't seen it, run-run-run to your Netflix queue and hook this baby up! You'll thank me.
Honestly, it's not just because of the plethora of leopard prints in the film that draw me to it, though that's a perk :-)
There are SO many quotable, classic lines in this film, and it's had such an incredible impact on the history of movies.
We were treated with a newly-restored digital copy of the film and it was like seeing it for the first time again!
"...and all you wonderful people out there in the dark!"
Are any of you Noir fans? What's your favorite film? I'd love to hear!
This past Saturday I went to Don the Beachcomber
In Huntington Beach, CA, for the Tiki Marketplace. The address says Huntington Beach, but to me this restaurant is in Huntington Harbor, not Huntington Beach!
Does the sign look familiar? Used to be Sam's Seafood!
Are you guys tired of looking at this leopard purse? Time to mix it up, Dina.
Don's has an interesting history. The founder of the original Don's in Hollywood was named Ernest Gantt. He opened his first Don the Beachcomber in the 30's and his identity became so tied to it that he legally changed his name to Donn Beach! He was apparently quite a character, and is widely credited with inventing the Mai Tai, Zombie, and Navy Grog recipes...he focused on rum because rum was the cheapest liquor!
Now the "Don the Beachcomber" name is licensed. There have been a boatload of restaurants bearing the name over the years, all over California, Hawaii, some in Texas and even Minnesota.Currently there are only three: two in Hawaii and this one in Huntington.
Love that slogan!
It's a great big sprawling place with a labyrinth of dining rooms and bars inside, all decorated in super-kitschy, high-Polynesian style.
this one's for you Noelle M.
The main bar is called the Dagger Bar, after Donn's collection of antique daggers.
It's a great looking little bar, with lots of seating and yet a cozy feel. There is fantastic artwork everywhere, including big full-wall murals.
The main dining room has a stage for live musicians to play in front of a waterfall.
fun artwork everywhere!
The Tiki Marketplace was held in two rooms further back in the building...I swear this place goes on forever!
It costs 10$ to get into the Tiki Marketplace, and for your ten bucks you get a food/drink voucher worth 10 dollars, which will buy you a Mai Tai! Haha...drunk shopping? Danger Will Robinson!!! Danger!
There was a ton of amazing Tiki-themed stuff to peruse. From antiques to brand-new fun things. Several vendors had amazing drool-worthy vintage lamps like these:
I splurged and bought a set of Franciscan Starburst china from this nice guy I met, named Spike. Now half the time I forget the names of the people I meet almost instantaneously, but how could you forget the name Spike? It was actually pretty funny because he was selling the dishes from under the table, being that they weren't really "tiki" merchandise. I felt like I was making some sort of black-market deal :-)
Turns out he's in the band The Hula Girls
They're super fun! Check out this clip of them playing live at Don's:
Denise and her fabulous creations!
I also met Denise from Retro Ruthie
She makes the cutest reproduction-vintage clothes using real vintage patterns. Isn't this top and skirt set adorable? She has a great selection of true-vintage and vintage-look fabrics to choose from, and she'll even make something out of your vintage fabric if you ask nicely :-)
The cover artist of the newest issue of Tiki magazine was there, but I didn't get a chance to meet her. As a watercolor artist myself, I love that she uses watercolor in a field dominated by other media. I also love that she's a she!! Most tiki artists are men, for some unknown reason.
Tiki magazine
is a lot of fun...it's hard to find in stores, so your best bet is a subscription.
The Tiki Marketplace was great fun if you're into Tiki. I bought myself some cool tiki earrings (made of Shrinky Dinx!!) a lovely and well-made flower clip for my hair, and the aforementioned dishes.
I had a really delicious Mai Tai that sort of kicked my butt, as I drank it on an empty stomach! We didn't actually eat at Don's, mostly because their restaurant isn't very vegetarian-friendly. I suppose that would be my only criticism...throw us a veggie-burger or something, people! It's really not that hard!
Don the Beachcomber in Huntington Beach hosts the Tiki Marketplace every 6-8 weeks or so.
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