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Tag / kitsch

Our Glorious, Gaudy Dinner Date at America’s Kitschiest Restaurant

Free for a dinner date tonight? We’ll cosy up under the palm trees, beneath the eyes of Grecian statues and the bubbling of waterfalls; we’ll stroll amongst Medici-inspired gardens and socialise with 200-and-something other guests who’ve ordered a Delmonico steak, or triple-decker monte cristo sammie. Because this is the grande dame of fabulously kitsch American…

A Brief Compendium of “Are You Seriously Going to Eat That?”

Crab cakes anyone? They should have a museum out of misfortunate mid-century menus. Seriously, what were they thinking? Food styling has come a long, long way. I dare you to make one for your Friday night dinner guests. Shrimp Cocktail Tree, found on Pinterest. Stanley Kubrick Egg Treats, found on Flickr. You’re going to need a…

A Compendium of Vintage Postcards from the Great American Road Trip

The annual weekends of sparklers, parades and sending your neighbours smoke signals is soon upon us, and there’s no other way I wish I could be spending the 4th of July than on the great American open road, visiting the weirdest and kitschiest roadside attractions America has to offer… However, since I’m a (half) American in…

My LA Boogie Nights Bar

After 24 hours in the city of Angels, I had yet to find the perfect LA hangout I was looking for. I have this romantic vision of Angelinos hanging out on seventies lawn chairs in their backyards with twinkle lights hanging from the trees and margaritas in hand. I love it when my imagination becomes a…

The Kitschiest Hotel in the World

Imagine a place where caveman bedding, lime green carpeting and hotel rooms named after cultural ethnicities went unquestioned; where the sound of electric waterfalls and squeaking plastic leather seating was welcomed. My friend, you don’t have to imagine anymore, now that you know there’s a place where your inner-kitsch can be free. Welcome to the…

There’s a 73-Year-Old Tiki Bar Hiding in This Hotel’s Basement

Above ground, San Francisco’s esteemed Fairmont Hotel is every bit the prim, posh wonderland you’d expect. But if you ride the elevator to the basement, you’re in for a tropical treat at the Tonga Room, arguably the city’s last great Tiki bar… “The Tonga Room & Hurricane Bar” first opened in 1945, replacing what was…
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The Picasso of Circus Art

History didn’t know what to do with Fred G. Johnson. On the one hand, he was just another hard-working Chicago teen in the signage business, and far from a classically trained portrait artist. Yet, there weren’t many in the sign painting game making banners for “Bearded Brenda” or “Huey the Pretzel Man”; “Josephine the Electric Girl”…

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A Shortlist of the Most Obscure Design Oddities

Life is simply too short not to explore the strangest depths of design, which, in all honesty, are usually the most innovative. Case in point: exploring the world of antique fish pulpits in Eastern Europe, reusing WWII stretchers as fences, or fashioning a coffin to look like a cow or taking a ride in France’s…
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Greetings from Hicksville, California: Trailer Trash Chic & Ghostly Wild West Playtowns

I‘m writing this e-postcard to you from my little Pioneer trailer with 1950s cowboy curtains and I’m having the time of my life. Wish you were here! ↑ That’s me doing my best impression of trailer trash chic. Okay so I haven’t exactly traded in Paris for life in a trailer park, but we did book a room…

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Mum & Dad named me Vanessa, but you can call me Nessy.

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