Bonnie Rose, Candice DeVille and Ms. Chrissy at Viva Las Vegas 2012

Vegas! I have such a soft spot for this city having been married here to Mr SKM. The weather is gorgeous, the sky is blue and the low humidity means great hair! Having the chance to come back for an event like Viva Las Vegas was too good to pass up, so my besties and I packed out bags for a long weekend of fun, frivolity and fabulous music.

This year the event was held at The Orleans casino that is about 2kms off the main strip, so you are really insulated from the usual strip activities for a few days.  From what I’m told, the nature of the event has changed a lot over the years, starting out as a more vintage event and has now morphed into a more Kustom Kulture Rockabilly vibe. That said, there were some outstanding efforts on the vintage dressing front, and not only from the girls. I’m going to have to work on my charm to take photos of the boys next time, as the ladies were happy to feature but most of them weren’t too keen on me chatting to their lads..

I know you’ve already seen a few of these snaps, but most asked to see them bigger, so in this bumper Viva Las Vegas photo post, I thought I’d include some more. The VLV Pool Party is one of the not to be missed events of the weekend. People pull out all the stops for the most gorgeous pool side attire and kick back with margaritas and live music.

My dress is a 1960′s Aloha vintage number worn with matching blue and green jewellery and that cool sequinned hat find.

Of all the poolside efforts, this fabulous red head caught my attention most of all. It turns out I’ve been buying from her Etsy store, Butchwax Vintage, a number of times and this seahorse ensemble is an example of the great pieces she has.

I was thrilled to meet these other two delightful red heads who stopped me while shopping in the market place. The lady on the far right is Lisa Freemont Street, who’s blog you’re likely familiar with too (go and visit for loads more great VLV pics) and her friend Lulu in the fab Mexican circle skirt.

Bonnie Rose was up to her usual tricks winning friends and influencing people..

The evenings were a veritable parade of gorgeous ladies and gents, all in their best threads and out for a good time.  The line up had so many great artists it is hard to choose a favourite, but even before I got off the plane my heart belonged to JD McPherson.

Vegas, you’re the greatest; let’s not be strangers now y’hear?

The Millennium Biltmore is a place that you must go. Absolutely, without a doubt, if you have a vintage loving bone in your body; you MUST get to this gorgeous place! I’d been told that it was located in a somewhat dodgy end of town (being downtown LA), but I didn’t find that to be the case at all. In fact, downtown LA turned out to be my favourite part of the town with all the historic architecture and signage that makes the USA such a unique place to visit. I wish I’d had a whole day to just wander the streets photographing all the exquisite old buildings and signage that still remained from the early 20th century. The Orpheum, the stocking manufacturer, the simple business that had kept and maintained their company image from the 1930′s.  These are all the things you see when you walk through the city and look up.

After our big day aboard the Queen Mary, we were searching for something serious in the way of food, but like usual, we had no plans and just went were our feet took us. It seems that our feet have very good homing instincts because after a short walk we found ourselves in the very cool and very retro, Johnny Rockets – with the place all to ourselves! Our server, Brian, was an absolute gem; recommending places to go, drawing maps, making us malted milks and generally having a laugh with these crazy dames from Australia. It is meeting people like this in your travels that make days so much more memorable, and not a day went by that we didn’t collect a new friend.

My very first Philly cheese steak, and it did not disappoint!

Thanks Brian; you’re fantastic!

So back to the Biltmore where things get really fancy. Completed in 1923, the Biltmore hosted 8 Academy Awards between 1930 and the 1940′s. It’s the kind of place that makes you feel all the more special just by standing in her hallways, and certainly the type of place you should dress to match; which we well and truly did!

There is such a sense of grandeur and occasion in this hotel, the type I’ve never experienced before. I’ve stayed in some pretty swanky modern hotels across the world, but this is totally different. Lining the hallways were photos of my favourite Golden Years of Hollywood stars, treading where I was and looking right at home. Carmen Miranda, Shirley Temple, Jane Russell…. it makes you feel a part of that fantasy world you always wished you could visit. If you’ve ever thought that the best thing to do is check out the foot prints on the walk of fame to walk in your idols shoes, you couldn’t be more wrong. This is everything the walk of fame isn’t. While that space (still a must do at least once) is grotty, touristy and feels totally bastardised by 21st century consumerism, the Millennium Biltmore is the antithesis. Serene, elegant, transcendent… this is the real walk of fame to me.

I think you get the picture of just how stunning this place is.

Tomorrow It’s touch down in Las Vegas!…

I’m finally back in town!!! After this HUGE USA trip, limited WiFi and a huge phone bill, I’m glad to be back on these shores ’cause I missed you guys! It feels as though I’ve been away for a month even though it was only ten days, but we packed so much in I can hardly believe it. Mind you, shopping all day and partying all night does give you twice as many hours in the day.

Now I’ve had a chance to start downloading all these pictures I can hardly wait to share them with you all and I hope it doesn’t bore you to death. I always think of those movie scenes where people are tortured by being tied to a chair and forced to watch other people’s holiday slides… ugh. Instead of boring you with a hundred pictures of trees, I’m hoping that these fun snap shots will show you what fantastic places there are to visit out there; whether these towns are far from you or perhaps even near. Either way, you’ll discover that I travel just the way I live every other day; making it an occasion and staring in my own mental movie.

So I’m going to jump back to the beginning of the trip, as it is hard to get full sized pictures for you while on the move and it doesn’t really do it justice.

Travelling with friends can either be fun or can be a nightmare. Luckily for me, my girlfriends are just as crazy as me and we all know how to make a party out of a cardboard box. After leaving Melbourne and flying straight through to LA on a 14 hour flight, you’d think we would be ready for a bit of a nap. But no. As you saw, we headed straight out vintage shopping on the streets of Long Beach and collecting tales as we went.

One of the highlights for me was being invited in to meet the lads at Hawleywood’s Barber Shop, which smelt of soap, leather and pomade…. divine!  This is not a place that women are generally allowed into so we were very honoured to be able to pop in and say hello.

One of the fastest ways to get to know a town is to catch a local bus, which is just what we did to get to Fourth street. I’m always amazed at just how outgoing and friendly most Americans are compared to Australians. It isn’t that we aren’t friendly, it’s just that people tend to keep to themselves unless they have been introduced to you. The idea of talking to people on a bus or elevator is rather alien to us, and if you do talk to people you’re seen as a bit odd. Once we got used to the fact that people actually just talk to you and say what it on their mind, it was a very pleasant change.

On the bus ride back to our hotel, we came across two guys who decided that a bit of blues and gospel singing was to be the order of the day and they amused us greatly with their tunes across the bus. It’s kind of like being on a school camp when things like that happen and everyone is having a great time. I can only imagine what would happen in Australia should the same scenario occur. Most people would think you’re crackers, not look you in the eye and be dying to jump off at the next stop! But to us, it was a fantastic and memorable way to kick off what was to be a legendary trip abroad.

Siting at the bus stop in my cool new sparkly vintage hat.

Our first night in California was spent aboard the beautiful, (now permanently docked) Queen Mary in all her art deco splendour. Although she is a fading beauty, all the photographs of passengers and days past give her a romantic quality not found in even the fanciest of modern hotels. There are legends of her haunted passage ways, and after trying to find our room amongst hundreds of identical corridors, I can see why! It was like being an a scary episode of Dr. Who where the passages just keep going and no matter how far you run you end up back where you begun… I’m sure there must be ghost of guests who were never seen again after trying to find their rooms!

We knew by the morning of our official Day One, that we were already going to need some luggage solutions because we couldn’t close the suitcases we’d come with just 12 hours before. And so it was, with shopping bags and suitcases in tow, that we moved on to Downtown L.A where the adventure continued…

My readers are such a lovely and talented bunch! All the little notes and messages I received are read with pleasure and greatly appreciated. It seems that many of you are fantastic creatives in your own right. I know there are a number of musicians, tattoo artists, graphic designers, wordsmiths, and crafters who all read this blog.  So after receiving some wonderful fan art over the last while, I’ve just added a new Super Kawaii Mama Fan Art Gallery Section to this site. A place where you can check out the work of these cool illustrators and click through to go and visit them on their own sites.  Some are commercial artists, and others just like to doodle for fun; but either way I highly recommend that you check out their work and pay them a visit.

Just today I found this gem of a piece in my inbox, from Melbourne based illustrator Lizzie Lamb. I think she’s nailed it, don’t you?!

LOVE!

Thanks so much Lizzie, you made my day!

Sunday in Melbourne was the perfect day for High Tea. It was cold, wet and windy outside, so it made perfect sense to be inside eating cakes, sipping tea and talking vintage with friends. It was also the perfect place to wear this fabulous vintage cashmere embellished sweater I recently picked up. (It didn’t have magical properties that made me shrink Alice style – the flowers were just that big!)It has cord and bead detail with three dimensional white plastic flowers too! The skirt is also an original 1950′s atomic star burst skirt that I’m wearing with a yellow silk blouse and that great vintage style framed handbag from yesterday’s post.

An afternoon at the Langham Hotel is all about the ambience. I’d like to pretend this is my home for just a little while… That sweeping staircase, the amber light, the glitter from the chandelier… le sigh..  It forces you to slow down and enjoy the finer things, like these delightful little cakes.

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The arrangement of the chocolate table was beyond belief. There was a swell of gasps and giggles when we reached the table, but it was all so stunning and delicious that to tease you with images on a screen just wouldn’t be fair. You know that expression “good enough to eat”? Well these were all really far too pretty to eat; and yet somehow we managed it.

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Of course, everyone had frocked up for the occasion, not that this is any big surprise with a group like this; but it makes all the difference when you have an appreciative audience and can break out the ‘fine china’.

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No matter how polite we all are, there are definitely thoughts of mugging each other crossing our minds at this stage.

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With my lovely friends Anne Marie from Melbourne store The Button Tree, Dolores Daiquiri Australia’s tease queen and Abbie Cardwell songstress extordinare.

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We were very tempted to start singing show tunes right about now…

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It doesn’t matter how ‘vintage’ you are, there is no escaping the latest apps to capture the day!

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The only thing I think that is still sorely missing from the High Tea menu of everywhere I’ve been is a bit of sneaky ‘Irish’ in the tea!