Sew What?! Barkcloth Betty

Even though it looks nothing like the iconic, blue halter dress that she wore every single day of her entire adult life, I was inspired by the essence of Betty Rubble when I found two-and-a-half yards of vintage, So-Fro Originals barkcloth at the thrift store.  So-Fro Originals was a mid-century fabric manufacturer that often employed well-known designers/artists, including Peter Max, to create over-the-top prints. 

My fabric featured a chocolate-brown field with
myriad geometric shapes in brilliant neon colors.

This primitive, So-Fro print had me envisioning something that Betty would have packed when she and Wilma finally ditched the boys for a well-deserved, girls-only, seaside vacation.

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With Betty in mind, I created a gathered tube top with detached puff sleeves and a matching skirt.  Because yardage was in short supply, I ditched the idea of intricate patterns and made everything out of a series of rectangles - easy!  Mary decided to pack the ensemble for our trip to Japan and busted it out for our exploration of Yoyogi Park and the Harajuku district of Tokyo.

Because these areas of Tokyo are well-known for the extreme fashions displayed by participants in Tokyo's many subcultures, Mary elected to turn things up a notch when styling the outfit.  She teased her hair within an inch of its life, adding an aqua scarf and two armfuls of colorful bangles; more than Betty Rubble, I think she was channeling Jill Scott from The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (definitely recommended if you've never seen it).

Our friend, Kazumi, helped us check off a major item
on our Harajuku to-do list - "Purikura" or Print Club!

Print Club takes old-timey photo booths to a "whole 'nother level!"
A series of digital photos are taken, giving the subjects the
appearance of a flawless complexion and giant, anime eyes.
I'm pretty positive it shaves a couple pounds/kilos off too. 

We were so taken by the fun of Purikura that we went back the next day to take even more photos.  The fun doesn't end with a vaseline lens, magic-mirror airbrushing, and bugged-out eyes; users are offered a stylus and screen to add captions, stamps, make-up/eyelashes, frames, backgrounds, hats, glasses, and any number of things to distract from the hateful realities of one's actual appearance.

I call this one "Angry Angel Babies."

And this one, "Only Mother Could Be Loving" - translated directly from Japanese.

Sadly, neither of our trips to Harajuku resulted in hoards of fabulously-dressed, Japanese-wannabe-Gwen-Stefani-wannabes.  Believe it or not, we were the most oddly-dressed folks swimming decidedly against the current in a sea of modestly-dressed tourists looking for photo-ops of Harajuku Girls, Lolitas, and members of the Japanese Rockabilly Club.  I think all of the cool kids realized what a tourist trap this area was becoming and moved on to pastures greener.  Left stranded wearing neon barkcloth, teased hair, and hand-painted monster sweatshirts, we coined a new term for our wacky tacky Japanese looks - "Hara-cuckoo!!!"

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

SAYONARA!!!

Well, I can hardly believe it, but the time has come to say goodbye!  Almost.

In two short weeks Tiny & Mary take Tokyo!!!  You might have noticed a giant, man/boy-sized gap in the blogosphere in the last couple of weeks.  I have been prepping, planning, and stressing out about our upcoming trip to Japan...and we still have so much to do.

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At this point (after playing host to nearly forty Japanese students), our family home is basically known as one of Southern California's "Little Tokyos."  Nevertheless, it doesn't seem quite real that we should be winging our way all the way to the island nation of Japan.  Our trip might not seem real, but the fact that one of those forty students, Nami, is getting married is very real!!!  Nami lived with us for three years and truly became part of our family (she was the student with whom I took tap dancing classes).  While she was here, she earned her Associates Degree, bought a car, learned how to surf, and fell in love with Thanksgiving dinner.  We shared so many experiences with her and we're thrilled to be able to share in her wedding day!

I tell you all of this only to explain that as absent as my blogging has been in the past two weeks, it is only going to get "absenter."  I am going to try and immerse myself fully in the Japanese culture (except for the food, and nude hot springs - nobody wants to see that).   To achieve that goal we will be leaving gadgets behind (with the exception of our cameras).  Truly, I just don't want to be bogged down by electronics during my first trip to the Far East.  After all, if I can't enjoy Japan without checking Facebook and playing Words with Friends, then I'm just kind of a creep, aren't I?  If I am, don't tell me...and just blame it on my parents.  Instead of blogging I plan to be seeing a lot of....

This...
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And hopefully this...

"My Girl from the South Sea Isles" - Sweet Hollywaiians

And this...
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And this...
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And this...
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Not so sure about this...
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Absolutely NOT this...
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Or this...
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But definitely this...
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And for sure this...
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And these...
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And even this...
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And don't forget this!!!
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As always, my expectations may be more than mildly informed by stereotypes and an overactive imagination, but just let me live in my wacky tacky dreamworld, won't you?  Given its history, its adherence to tradition, and its unabashed embrace of the future and all things weird (see: vending machines that sell everything), I know that Japan will not disappoint.  If you have any travel advice or must-see places while we're in Nippon (our major stops will be Fukuoka, Kyoto, Nagoya, and Tokyo), please feel free to let me know.  I wish that we could stay longer and see EVERYTHING, but time and finance (Japan's expensive y'all) will not allow. 

The craziest part of this whole trip is that coincidentally, we will have friends and an aunt and uncle (all from Southern California) in Japan at the same time!  It will be old home week in Tokyo!!!  We are so grateful to be going and so happy for our Japanese sister, Nami.  We will be singing at her wedding and, hopefully, will be playing a few shows along our route...maybe a little "Sukiyaki" is in order, hmmmm?

"Sukiyaki" - Kyu Sakamoto

I look forward to reconnecting with you and sharing our adventures upon our return, at which time we will have many pictures and stories to share, I am sure.  Until our departure I will continue to blog, but when it comes time to get our passport stamped, we hope that you'll wish us the Japanese equivalent of "Bon voyage!"  I think it's "BANZAI!, BANZAI! BANZAI!!!!"

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny