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!

Tiki Tuesday: Thrift Store Finds

Have you ever had the wonderful experience of wishing for something, and then almost magically finding it?

I have been thinking a bit about doing a little new artwork with a tiki theme. The first thing I need when I start a new art project is resource materials, and I was just starting to think along those lines, when...voila! Look what I found!

 

There is a little thrift store on my street, which, to be honest, rarely coughs up anything great. This day, however, it was home to an enormous collection of old books on primitive cultures, including these nice books.

Check out the illustrations!

 

I can't wait to put these to use...stay tuned for a little artwork, maybe!

 

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Book Review: Hollywood Sketchbook

Here's something for you all to put on your Christmas gift lists...and maybe if you're very good (or very naughty, wink wink) Santa will get it for you!!

Hollywood Sketchbook: A Century of Costume Illustration, by Deborah Nadoolman Landis

This is a huge (600 pages) heavy, glossy coffee table book.

It's got page after page of costume illustrations by designers like: Bonnie Cashin, Travilla, Orry-Kelly, Adrian, Cecil Beaton, and Travis Banton. Only costume designers who were also accomplished illustrators are included.

Here's some eye candy for you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aren't these gorgeous???

The author has written many other books on costume design and is herself an Academy-Award nominated costume designer. She has a PhD in the history of design.

This book is really all about the pictures, though...and what pictures!!

 

OK, Santa, you know what to bring me!!!

 

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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!