Party Like it’s 1929

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‘Tis the season for parties but one group that never needs an excuse is The Art Deco Society. With so many fabulous historic buildings in Los Angeles, this organization knows where to socialize! They regularly gather in some of the city’s most amazing settings to have a drink, wear their finest vintage attire and discuss ways to preserve Los Angeles’ most precious structures – those built in a time when art, style and craftsmanship took precedence over cheap, nondescript disposable architecture. I love being a member of this group knowing I’m contributing to some dedicated conservation efforts and I don’t mind drinking a toast to it as well! See some photos from recent events:

Art Deco Society Parties

See you at the next party!
K.

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Bella Bella Hair B’tique: You’re Invited

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Every girl loves to get her hair done. A hairdresser becomes part of the inner circle, you talk to them, they know your secrets and more importantly, they know your hair. And it’s important that the environment where you get your hair done is a comforting one – worthy of you letting your hair down and feeling confident you are in caring hands. That’s why I was thrilled when my hairdresser, Elizabeth and eyebrow waxer/makeup artist/hairdresser Rachelle moved to Bella Bella Hair B’tique in a charming converted house in Old Town Pasadena. The place has a shabby chic elegance and ease of your own home. Elizabeth and Rachelle love to play “fix up” as they did when I went in last week to go from blonde to brunette for the winter. I got a full makeover, with color, brows and a set in big ol’ rollers for a sexy va-va-voom do.

See the photos of Bella Bella and my transformation by clicking the link below.

 Bella Bella Hair B’tique

Photos by Kastle and courtesy of Bella Bella

And you’re invited to see the place for yourself  THIS FRIDAY, Dec. 2 from 6-8 p.m. for their HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE PARTY. Stiletto City has donated a raffle prize of a bedazzled rhinestone stiletto keychain charm. Other prizes include gift certificates from local business. Bella Bella is located at 49 W. Bellevue Dr., Pasadena, CA 91105

Celebrate the holidays with us – and find your makeover sanctuary that will leave people saying, “Bella Bella!”

See you there!
K.

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Love of Vintage

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There are times I feel I was born in the wrong era. I simply love the fashions of past decades, namely the 1920s-1960s. There is something about how the clothes are so feminine, the cuts so divine, the materials so exquisite and the silhouettes that make a statement. I have a hard time walking into a vintage clothing store without leaving with SOMETHING – a dress, a handbag, a hat, some jewelry. Vintage shopping is the ultimate treasure hunt, because these items are rare survivors of the past, they don’t come in a rack-ful of sizes, they aren’t all in perfect condition. So when you find that one piece that happens to fit, isn’t damaged and is at a good price, you just CAN’T leave it there in the store!

Which is why I went home with two new dresses from The Loved One last week. I’d heard about this little Pasadena store from a friend and when they posted on Facebook that they were having a “cocktails ‘n’ shopping” party, well, I just can’t pass up that combo! Turned out to be the cutest little shop, all the clothes are in great condition and the setting is nicely art directed, which makes the shopping experience all the better. Can’t wait to wear my new treasures!

Click the link below to check out a slideshow of the store:

Photos of The Love One Vintage Boutique

Love it!
K.

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A Blogger in a BlogWorld

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I got a chance to attend the BlogWorld New Media Expo at the LA Convention Center last week. Imagine if you will – thousands of manic, Tweeting, Facebooking social media movers and shakers, exchanging tips and Twitter handles, crammed in one building to lift the online world to the next level.

I was absolutely inspired and excited to see what can be done with branding and blogging in this new space. I was also quite taken with the speakers as I watched a full day of them. They were smart, charming, and even quite funny. And it was nice to be in a room with people who spoke my same hashtagging, bit.ly shortened @language.

I even ran into social powerhouse Ramon DeLeon who has put Domino’s pizza on the map in Chicago, yes Chicago, you know the town of the classic deep dish? Well, move over Chicago pizza, Ramon owns that town and has done it through being all over the web. He was more than willing to share a few tips with me in the lunchroom. Thanks Ramon!

Then I stopped by the WordPress “Happiness Bar” in the exhibit hall where they helped me adjust my blog template. WordPress really did serve up some happiness that day!

And I plucked out a few noteworthy (and Tweet-worthy) words of wisdom from the series of speakers I saw. Follow them on Twitter, heed their words. You’ll no doubt learn a thing or two about being a social media guru yourself!

From @Guy Kawasaki

“Google+ is to Facebook what Apple is to Windows”

 “What truly enchants me about this technology is that it’s going to be used in unanticipated ways.”

 From HARO’s @PeterShankman

 “Learn to write. Bad writing is killing America. And it will kill your business.”

 “Everyone tells you to have a backup plan for when you fail. Here’s a better thought, have one for when you succeed, when that thing blows up and goes viral. Be sure to put your contact information on it!”

 “As much as you’re going to do great things, you’re also going to screw up. Own it. Apologize, tell the world how you’re going to fix it and move on.”

 “If you don’t have haters, you’re not doing enough to change the status quo.”

From David Murray @DaveMurr

“Your content is your product”

 “Be a helpful resource of information, not just information about yourself.”

From Debba Haupert @Girlfriendology

“Spend your time strategically because we are all limited in the time we have.”

“Find other like-minded bloggers and promote each other rather than compete.”

 From @MariSmith

“This business isn’t B2B or B2C, it’s P2P – people to people”

 “Before you post anything, ask yourself – what is my deepest intent?”

From Amber Naslund, Radian 6 @AmberCadabra

“We are the wayfarers, we are the people responsible for ushering in this new era. We see the future nobody else sees – we can’t even define it yet.”

“We are the missing link for business of the last 20 years and the business we are creating for the future.”

 See the photos from BlogWorld, click the link below:

Photos from BlogWorld 2011

Thanks BlogWorld and all the amazing presenters and exhibitors. I learned so much! My Klout score is gonna go through the roof!

Blog on,

K.

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Lomography School

Posted on by stilettocity

Every picture tells a story. It’s one of the reasons I’ve always loved photography. I did some photojournalism a few years back and would go wherever and whenever to get a great shot. It was a major creative rush. But I fell out of doing artistic photos when easy point-and-shoot digital automatics came along. There was no art to it, just capturing the scene in perfect focus, perfect lighting – and perfectly boring. Recently (as many who follow this blog know) I’ve fallen for Lomography – experimental analogue photography using plastic cameras and film, yes, film to completely deconstruct the perfect photo into moody, textured, inspired works that play off happy accidents of light leaks and double exposures.

Sure there are now apps available on your iPhone for that. But nothing is more fun than getting a roll of film back to see what you got. It’s like a prize inside the Cracker Jack box – sometimes you love it, sometimes it’s disappointing, but usually there’s at least one or two shots that draw pure excitement.

Mind you, my first few rolls were complete crap as I learned to work with my camera and started remembering to check all the manual settings. But if you ever need help, the super friendly and supportive staff at the Lomography store In West Hollywood is standing by to show you how to work the camera and recommend films to try for different effects. I love going in there, I always leave feeling part of a community of total enthusiasts just nutty for these colorful little cameras.

I was lucky enough to get a Diana F+ camera for my birthday last month and the Lomography store just happened to have a workshop on how to use it. During a brief session in their upstairs “classroom,” we learned all about the different lenses and backs you can try for endless possibilities – way beyond what you can do with a little digi automatic. I tricked out my camera with a 35mm sprocket back and splitzer lens and we took stroll down Santa Monica Boulevard to shoot what inspired us. Here’s a sampling from my roll.

Click below to see the slideshow:

Lomography Diana F+ Workshop

 Thank you Lomography – you’ve got my creative juices going!

Smile for the camera,

K.

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Occupy America

Posted on by stilettocity

While getting ready for my recent trip to New York City, I was hearing a lot about the Occupy Wall Street movement – a demonstration started one month ago by “we the people,” the majority who make up the 99% – as opposed to the wealthiest 1% – who have had it with what has been happening in our economy, our government, our healthcare system and our job market.

As the movement began spreading city to city at a feverish pace – including my own LA – I became more intrigued and pleased to see people finally speaking up. The 1960s had their demonstrations and their protest songs but for the decades since, an incredible apathy has had a hold of this country as it declined into a mess. Once thriving citizens are now part of our nation’s homeless, poverty stricken population. Our leaders are setting examples of debt and stubborn squabbling that’s an embarrassment. Is this really America?

Occupy Wall Street is doing something amazing – rallying the fed-up and it’s been long overdue.

And they are doing it by exercising their freedom of speech and right to assemble in non-violent protests (though there are always the troublemakers who turn up who have nothing to do with the movement.) It’s a completely grassroots movement that combines people, passion and the power of social media to spread the word. It represents today and who we are in every way.

So when I was in New York City last week, I wanted to see the group who began this now-global action statement for myself. I checked their Twitter and Facebook pages and found they were gathering at Washington Square Park at 3 p.m. Oct 9th. During my walk there, I noticed that the NYPD also got the memo and I’d never seen so many police roaring up – they came in cars, vans, motorcycles, scooters and on horseback. They lined every street on both sides leading up to the park. It seemed a bit of overkill to me and looked like they were waiting for something big and terrible to happen. It made me very nervous to say the least. One dicey move by anybody could trigger this to go ugly very fast.

However, what I saw on that day was a very peaceful protest of people with the guts to speak up and speak for everyone, to stand in the hot sun and hold up signs to make people think and question about what we’ve just accepted as THE system.

It will be very interesting to see where this goes.

Click the photo below to see the photos from my day with Occupy Wall Street:

 Occupy Wall Street, Washington Square Park – NYC

Find out more:

Occupy Wall Street Website
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube

Make your stand.

The whole world is watching,
K.

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Goodbye Steve Jobs

Posted on by stilettocity

heel iconFor me, going on vacation means unplugging. In my daily personal life and in my day job, I’m a social media, blogging maniac, online at my desk and on my phone pretty much from the moment I wake to when I go to sleep at night. So this year, I chose to take a week holiday in Vermont, courtesy of some friends in Boston (thank you Jane!), to allow me some peace and quiet in the beautiful setting of tree-lined countrysides, where the leaves were just changing into their fall colors.

But my web-free holiday came crashing down when out to pick up dinner at a quaint Wilmington pizzeria, my boyfriend’s phone began to buzz with breaking news updates from his Twitter feed.  Steve Jobs had died.

I sank into the wooden booth and pulled out my phone and we both began scrolling through our Twitter feeds, news websites, and Facebook pages to get more details. We knew it was coming. I was crushed when Jobs resigned from Apple at the end of August and I think everyone went into denial about the real meaning of the move – he was dying.

And now it was official, Jobs lost his 7 year battle with pancreatic cancer. This amazing mind, this creative force who inspired us all to think different and live our own dream could not invent something to end this disease that has taken so many great ones.

The rest of my evening was spent in our quiet Vermont house online and in stunned silence, surfing the wave of postings as the news spread. With everyone having a voice now through social media, the grief was literal and instantaneous. It brought me to tears. Yet I felt comforted in sharing the loss with so many I didn’t even know by adding to the Twitter string.

Jobs will be remembered for how he completely revolutionized our culture. He changed the way we work and socialize, how we listen to music, talk on the phone, connect and share every moment of our lives – even the moment we hear of his passing.

A few days later, I am in New York City and feel it’s important to make the pilgrimage to the 24/hr Apple store on 5th Avenue to pay my respects. A remembrance area filled with flowers, notes and of course, apples, lined the entrance to the store. And I am compelled to leave a note of my own:

“You inspired us all. Thank you Steve.”

Think different,
Kastle

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Tiki Getaway

Posted on by stilettocity

I capped off my summer with a getaway to a perfect paradise. I zoomed down to San Diego for the annual Tiki Oasis. This gathering of hardcore Tiki-philes who love all things to do with retro Polynesian-style subculture offers a total emersion into this ultra fun subculture. The entire hotel was booked out so there is nothing but Tiki partiers there to enjoy the sunshine and marketplace shopping by the pool by day and bands and room parties by night. DJs and live music play pretty much ‘round the clock with a soundtrack the mixes the sounds of Herb Alpert, surf rock and exotica. I rocked out to Los Straitjackets, bopped along to HERB, picked up some jiggling and shakin tips from saucy burlesque and super groovy go-go dancers, saw some vintage slides of people I don’t know to the hilarious narrative of Charles Phoenix and encountered an actual Mai Kai girl serving up a mystery drink. Tiki Oasis truly is an oasis all its own. It was certainly hard to go back to reality after that!

Read more about Tiki Oasis, including my interview with founder Otto von Stroheim HERE.

Click the link below to view the slideshow from Tiki Oasis:

Tiki Oasis Slideshow

Aloha!

K.

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Clever Vintage Fashion Show

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Knowing my love for the ‘60s, my pals at Clever Vintage Clothing invited me to model in their fashion show at the photo exhibit of iconic shutterbug Phil Stern who had his celebrity snaps on display at the Los Angeles Theatre Center.

A bevy of vintage-loving scenesters babe turned up to help show off Clever’s finest ‘60s era threads in the style of old style fashion shows

Fittings took place a week prior and I was lucky enough to find a teal and olive floor length gown fit for a Bond girl. I dreamed about wearing that dress all the way up to the event!

Call time was 6 p.m. and backstage was a flurry of last minute wardrobe changes, hair teasing, white clouds of hair spray, and makeup touchups. Special thanks to my hair and makeup artist pal Rachelle of Bella Bella salon in Pasadena for coming out to help with my updo and pitching-in to help other girls get period-perfect hair.

Clever’s Dave and Sabino laid out a buffet of vintage handbags and shoes to go with our outfits and it was like being in a candy store. When it was all done, the entire room looked like it a movie set of the 1960s with the girls in elegant eveningwear holding their numbered cards to let the guests know details and designers of their outfits.

Our gaggle of models were trickled out into the crowd, walking through with our numbers, stopping and doing a spin every so often as people asked about our gorgeous frocks as they also enjoyed a selection of Italian wines provided by LA Wine Tasting and gazed upon Mr. Stern’s amazing collection of photos. As I gazed upon black ‘n’ candid moments with Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole, I could only imagine what it was like to be back in a era of glamour and pop culture influence that extends to today.

What a great night! Click the image below to see the photos:

A Night of ’60s Photography & Vintage Fashion

Heels on!
K.

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It’s a Mod, Mod, Mod, Mod World

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Are you a mod or a rocker? I have to admit I like a bit of both, but I do have a soft spot for the groovy smoothness of the mod squad, especially when it comes to their choice ride, the scooter.

The Petersen Automotive Museum is currently celebrating the scooter with an exhibit chronicling the history and I checked it out during a special event where they encouraged locals to bring their own to enter a contest for best thing on two wheels. Inside the museum were vintage scooters and modern scooters but I have to say, the parking lot was where the best looking scooters were hangin’. Local mods with tricked-out, multi-mirrored, checker and leopard trimmed hot wheels had the most personality. It was especially fun to see them all take off and ride over to Molly Malone’s in a huge pack after the contest!

So where else would I be when the Mod Weekender came around, courtesy of Rich Sihilling of Bullet Club fame. Three action packed days of mod, mod, mod!  Friday night was for dancin’ and while it wasn’t super crowded, the music was great for some fancy footers who shook it with a backdrop of ‘60s imagery. DJ Jesse Trejo played such amazing stuff I have to get that setlist on my iPod!

The next day’s vintage fair gave modsters a chance to pull some new threads while the scooter run from Griffith Park wasn’t exactly smooth sailing, filled with breakdowns, crashes and a run-in with the cops who couldn’t quite figure out, “who are these stylish road warriors?”

Saturday night the place was packed with a full lineup of bands. I was diggin’ the garage sonic sounds of the Swarm and the blue-eyed soul of the 20 Grand Club whose big sound blew the roof off the place. They were followed by the more punkish pop of the Question who closed the night with a little vocal help from Jerry Miller of the Untouchables.

Sunday was for recovering and those who could soothe their achin’ dancin’ feet to make it to the lunchtime BBQ and Santa Monica scooter run.

Click the link below to see the slideshow (shot in Lomography!):

Mod Weekender Slideshow

Until next time…

What’cha Gonna Do About It?
K.

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