Miss L Fire in Hollywood!

Last night I had a chance to go to the opening-night celebration for the Miss L Fire store that just opened here in Hollywood.
I'm so excited to be able to try on their adorable shoes and buy a pair with out having them shipped from the UK!

It was just a little schoolnight soiree, but a lot of people showed up!

The store is in a fun part of town. Technically the address is Hollywood, but it's almost in Silverlake...I tend to think of that area as Silverlake, anyway. One of my favorite vegan restaurants, Cafe Flore, is just down the street, and one of my all-time fave art galleries, La Luz de Jesus, is in the same block. So it;s a pretty cool neighborhood.

The store looks super cute, and of course the shoes are amazing. Their displays are a lot of fun.

Besides amazing shoes like these:

and these:

they're also carrying a bunch of other goodies, like a line of repro celluloid/bakelite style jewelry

They also have the Miss L Fire line of repro lucite bags:

Those are really cute, I think, and honestly you could spend years and years, not to mention a bajillion dollars, for a "real" vintage pink lucite bag. Why not have a cute pink bag now?

I was also really thrilled to see that they are carrying Freddie's of Pinewood jeans!! Hooray! I've wanted some for the longest time, but no-one sells them anywhere in LA (until now) so now I can try them on and see how they fit!

They had a band, which unfortunately was packing up just as we arrived, and there were lots of guys & gals dressed to the nines.

I met Monica:

and Vanessa:

You probably can't appreciate it from my crummy iPhone pic, but she's wearing the greatest novelty-print rayon dress with sombreros on it, and around her neck is an amazing celluloid (or Bakelite..I didn't ask) and cork necklace.

The ironic thing about the whole night? I was walking around in my Lucky Lou tiki-heeled shoes that were KILLING my feet!

Time to trade these babies in for some Miss L Fires!

Tiki Tuesday: Tiki Caliente 5

I'm sure you tiki lovers have heard about the Tiki Oasis in San Diego, but have you heard about Tiki Caliente? It's such a fun event!!My husband and I were lucky enough to attend Tiki Caliente 5 this past weekend.
It's tiki everything, a big pool party, lots of mai tais, and tons more, all in sunny & fabulous Palm Springs, California!
There were vendor booths with TONS of wonderful vintage Hawaiian clothes...

look at all those eye-popping colors!

Every kind of hand carved tiki wall hanging, statue, ceramic mug, artwork, many of them limited editions for you hard-core collectors...

There was even a dude working on carving tikis right there...

Yikes! I'd lose an eye...or a spleen...or something

There were live bands all weekend, including the Ding Dong Devils, who all wore matching custom outfits, and looked like they were having a great time...I think maybe I heard a theremin up there!!

Here's what I wore on Saturday: a vintage Cole playsuit (Etsy), with tiki-hut purse (eBay), a hat I've had for a million years, my Dior Mohotani sunglasses, and sandals that I got ages ago at Target. I'm so glad I never got rid of those sandals 'cause they match my playsuit perfectly!

My fave band was Kitty Chow and Fisherman, who did a late-night adults-only show...and boy was it adults-only!
Here I am waiting for them to play...bright halogen lights at midnight are an affront to the senses, but the very patient bartender helped us invent a drink that helped dim the lights a bit...

Dude! these lights are tooo bright

we call it an Ectoplasm! Captain Morgan, Mango Puree, and a splash of Blue Curacao? I think?

The whole weekend, people were all over the place wearing amazing vintage Hawaiian clothing...

great colors and mid-mod design!!

who doesn't love a matching set?

Two adorable members of the Ding Dong Devils

amazing shirt...and look at that beard!

even the doggies have tiki style!!

the event was sponsored by Deadhead rum and so there were a lot of rum drinks to be had!!

The above particular mai tai may or may not have caused a particular blogger to pass out for an hour or so in the hotel room in the middle of the afternoon :-)

I met this great gal named Amy Swenson. First I just took a pic of her because of her lovely vintage Hawaiian dress, but then come to find out that she's an artist, an a killer one to boot!

Amy the artist

I bought this adorable little painting of a Benihana Maneki Neko mug...it's painted on vintage Aloha fabric...isn't that genius? I collect Maneki Neko (Japanese lucky cats) so this painting brings together two of my loves. I can't figure out where to hang it. Right now it's just sitting by my nightstand where I can gaze at it adoringly.

Here's a link to Amy's website

Another lovely lady I had a chance to meet was Tayva from SparkleLux . She makes these gorgeous glitter Lucite earrings and sells them on Etsy, and at Pin Up Girl, among other places. Doesn't she have fabulous style?? Look at that dress! Deadstock, she said! *sigh*

does that bag look familiar? :-)

 I did a bit of shopping, too...besides the Maneki Neko painting, I got a really cute Hawaiian barkcloth dress...

The lighting in my dining room is making this look freaky, but it's a gorgeous dress! Really!

I also got some prints from a Palm Springs artist named John Murasky.

these cuties are going in my tiki-theme guest bath

His artwork is amazing for many reasons, but the thing that got me is that he does them in ball point pen! I know! He also does super-great custom portraits. Check out his website...it's a good one.

Whew! Now a few days to rest...and work...
It was a fantastic, fun weekend, and I can't wait to do it again next year!

OOTDs...Or Is It Outfits Of The Weekend?

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?

 

 

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Grauman's Egyptian Theater and Sunset Boulevard

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!

Tiki Tuesday: Don The Beachcomber

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.

See you at the next Tiki Marketplace!