Category Archives: Vintage Pop Culture

Vintage Road Trip :: Going Nuts Over The Nut Tree

Best of Alix, Vintage Pop Culture


Driving from San Francisco down to Sacramento, I was always transfixed by a set of groovy signs in Vacaville, California. The graphics were fabulous and the names were even more intriguing. Take a look:



image: hm david

What was the story behind these buildings? I knew I had to investigate.

It all started with a small roadside fruit stand in 1921 alongside what was then the Lincoln Highway. At the heart of this little cluster of buildings was The Nut Tree. Established in March of 1965, The Nut Tree was a little oasis located at the interchange of Interstate 80 and 505 . It’s convenient roadside location was a welcome rest stop for travelers making the drive between Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area. This was no typical roadside pitstop, however. Open from 6 a.m. to midnight and serving up “imaginative food in a contemporary setting for California’s highway travelers,” the Nut Tree was a destination!

The key here is the phase, “a contemporary setting”. They weren’t kidding.

The master mind behind the genius of the Nut Tree was Don Birrell. Don (as I like to call him) took over as graphic design director in 1953 and ushered in a new era of bright, beautiful California modernism. Colorful! Quirky! Stylish! The Nut Tree had it going on.

While The Nut Tree wanted to maintain a colorful elegance, it was a family friendly place. There was plenty for kiddos to do: they could watch a show at the puppet theater, hop on the little red train that circled the property, rock back and forth on giant hobby horses and gorge on homemade lollipops and honey-baked cookies shaped like bears, hot-air balloons or giraffes.


image: Cathy of California

These hand rolled candy sticks look so colorful and cool!

A trip to Denmark in 1957 gave Birrell the idea of designing the Nut Tree’s patio area to resemble the Tivoli Gardens with special lighting and kiosks. While The Nut tree featured a gift shop, a toy shop, an airport and a wee railroad (that gave rides from the toy shop to the airport, of course) the true star was the restaurant.

Tables were carefully set using stylish Dansk silverware, and the chic dish pattern he created was eventually featured in New York’s Museum of Modern Art. The very visual Birrell had the tables set with individual peppermills and menu items were often served on a leaf or decorated with an orchid blossom, all plated exactly as he designed it.

Don Birrell even brought Eames chairs to dining room —and eventually sold them in the Toy Shop (gift shop). For a time, The Nut Tree was the sole retailer on the West Coast for Eames furniture!


image: siwojima

The  official Nut Tree Restaurant was considered an early pioneer of California cuisine, with “exotic” fresh fruits and vegetables featured prominently in the recipes.

The place had really vibrant, colorful decor….take a look at these fantastic, embroidered wall hangings. The one on the left was by Jean Ray Laury the one on the right by Charlotte Patera.

Celebrities and locals alike mingled on the stylish grounds. The Nut Tree played host to celebrities and politicians such as Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Richard Nixon and even Queen Elizabeth II.

Alas, the Nut Tree closed its doors in 1996 due to financial problems and the dreaded family feud. The main buildings (including the Coffee Tree diner, which was across the street) were demolished. So sad! This story does have a happy ending, however. In 2009 The Nut Tree reopened! Attractions include the Nut Tree Railroad, Carousel, and other historical elements of the first Nut Tree, as well as firepits, signboards, and the ice cream pavilion. They’re even making the famous frosted honey cookies at the new Vintage Sweet Shop. And of course….the hobby horses are still rockin’ and rollin’. I think we’re going to have to pay them a visit!

photo Nut_Tree_9b.png
Special thanks to AlamedaInfo for the beautiful collection of photos.

What was your favorite Brady Bunch moment?

Vintage Pop Culture

I swear I didn’t watch that much TV as a kid, but man, I feel like I watched every episode of  the TV classic, The Brady Bunch. And I can’t lie…I might have watched it for the fashion. What can I say? Marsha, Cindy, Jan and Mrs. Brady all had some FIERCE style.

But one might ask–what was the Brady Bunch episode non plus ultra? What was your favorite episode? I’m not sure if I could pick a favorite but hmm.. there were some good ones.

Like how about the volcano model accident?

Or when Cindy and Bobby wanted to win the teeter totter world record?

Or the time the boys tried to ruin Marcia’s slumber party by faking ghost encounters!

How about the episode when Cindy was OBSESSED with Shirley Temple?

Or remember when Greg made the entire family dress up as pilgrims for his own student movie? And Mrs. Brady was pissed that it was in color and all of the girls dresses were totally drab?

Or when Marsha was hit by a football in the nose?

Or when Greg and Marsha fought over the attic bedroom?

I would totally rock that plaid ruffle outfit Mrs. Brady is wearing.  WORK IT, CAROL!

Or when Bobby turned into a pool shark?

Or when Marsha got to meet DAVY JONES (I was SOOO jealous!)

Or when Mr. Brady mixed up his architectural plans with Jan’s poster at the amusement park?

Look at Peter rocking on plaid pants and velvet sports coat AND an Easter basket?

Two words: PORK CHOPS AND APPLE SAUCE!!! (Hee hee! Moriah!)

Or when Greg accidentally dyed his hair blonde?

Or the whole trip to Hawaii? Man, what I wouldn’t do for these sassy tiki ensembles.

Oh, the list goes on and on. AND ON! Don’t you wish you could watch it right now?

Well, guess what?  You can! I’m so excited. For the first time EVER, full episodes of The Brady Bunch are available online for free at CBS.com. You can even tell ’em what your favorite Brady Bunch scene or episode is on the CBS You Tube page and then check back later in July to see if it makes the cut!


Image via: Zinc TV

Looks like the “Fender Bender” episode did make it! You remember that one. That was the one where Mr. Brady threw the briefcase on the floor of the courtroom to get they guy in the neck brace to turn around proving he was lying! Quick thinking, Mr. B!

PS: I’m not going to even TALK about Oliver…

 

The “Ready to Tear” World of Vintage Paper Dresses

Best of Alix, Vintage Pop Culture, , ,

OK. I go through these little phases of obsession. For a while it was collecting vintage choker necklaces that had little flowers with a rhinestone center. Then Enid Collins bags. Then it was Franciscan Starburst china. Then it was 70s 8-track tape players. The list is endless, I won’t bore you (today anyway. heh). S0 a while back I was fascinated with paper dresses. I tried to buy one on eBay but some crazy Greek bidder was literally buying EVERY SINGLE ONE. It became a “thing”. I would find 5 or 6 of them on there….and Greek Paper Dress Magnate would inevitable outbid me and win ALL of them. I kept a mental tally and I swear this guy accumulated about 45 of ’em in a short period. It drove me completely crazy and, of course, made me want one even more!!

The paper dress was actually the genius of the Scott Paper Company (yep, the same peeps who made paper towels and “facial tissue”). In 1966 they marketed the “disposable dress” as a marketing gimmick and sold them for $1.25 in grocery stores to promote their new colored tissues. You also got a little stash of coupons for paper towel, along with your sassy A-line dressie. Scott didn’t really mean for them to be taken seriously but ladies knew what was up and ordered them in droves. I mean how fun to “hem” your new dress with a pair of scissors??

Scott advertisers described the paper dress as “created to make you the conversation piece at parties. Smashingly different at dances or perfectly packaged at picnics. Wear it anytime…anywhere. Won’t last forever…who cares? Wear it for kicks — then give it the air!”

Hallmark soon followed suit and released a line of paper hostess dresses, designed to coordinate with napkins, tablecloths and more. It must be said that the dresses were, in fact, made of more than simply paper. Most of them were composed of “Dura-Weve,” (similar to a Fed Ex mailer!) which was cellulose reinforced with rayon. They were still more fragile than cloth, however they were not likely to rip at the slightest move. Many paper dresses featured Velcro closures, adding to the “space-age” mystique.

Paper dresses were even the cover story of Mademoiselle magazine in 1967!

“In terms of how much pow you get for your pennies, the paper dress is the ultimate smart-money fashion! And the news in the paper is this: surprisingly pretty prints, clever new shapes that would do credit to an origami expert. (Surprisingly long life too: as many as 12 outings).”  —”The Big Paper Craze” Mademoiselle, June 1967.

 


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{How cute are the “sizes” in that above dress? “Eeny” “Meeny” and “Miney”. I love it.}

Scott stopped producing them after the first run (I think all the suits were a little freaked out by the success, declaring they “weren’t in the garment business”). No worries, lots of others companies jumped on the band wagon. Andy Warhol joined in with his infamous Campbell’s Soup Dress (the “Souper Dress”) and even Richard Nixon created a paper dress for female supporters!


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The trend continues and according to a Time Magazine article from 1967, “Sterling Paper believes in paper resort wear, the idea being that vacationers could buy paper clothes at the hotel when they arrive, throw them away when they depart, thus eliminating packing and carrying heavy luggage.” Amazing! Designers began upping the ante, creating full length gowns and mock paper “fur” coats.

Alas, the rage only lasted for a few years and fashionable “ready to tear” paper clothing died out as suddenly as it had appeared but remains a testament to the innovations of the 60s.

Greg procured a paper dress for me for Christmas a few years ago (yay greg!) and I love it—the packaging is kind of the best part. I think it was a fun fad—I kinda of wish they’d pick it up again. How fun/funny to put your dress in the recycling bin instead of the clothes hamper??

Recently there have been several touring exhibitions of paper dress collections. There was one at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and there is one currently in Melbourne at the Chadstone Shopping Center. Which makes me wonder….just WHO WAS  that crazy Greek man who scooped up all those dresses and just what did he do with them? Hmph.

Come Fly With Me! Pan Am + Vintage Airlines

Best of Alix, Vintage Photos, Vintage Pop Culture, , , , , , ,


image: DannDC

I’m obsessed with vintage travel. I love every thing about it—old suitcases, vintage travel posters, retro airports and I love love love old stewardess uniforms (yeah yeah, I know…“flight attendants”). The other night Miss Dottie and I were out for dinner with The Dames (our retro supper club) and she mentioned that there was a new TV show on the books called Pan Am—all about a group of stewardesses in the 1960s. While I know this show is clearly pandering to the Mad Men craze, I can’t help but say, lawdy I’m excited!


I’ll post the trailer for the show at the end of this post, but first I wanted to share with you some of my favorite old skool airlines!

Back in the day flying was much more glamorous. Taking a trip was an event. People were genuinely impressed with the miracle of flight (“Holy smokes! We’re FLYING through the air in a metal ship!”) Everyone got dressed up and wore “traveling outfits” when they went on vacation. You ate food on real china with real silverware. You didn’t have to pay for drinks. You were a jetsetter! And stewardesses were like super models, tall, chic in stylish uniforms. Becoming a “stew” was considered quite prestigeous…and dating one? Well it was the ultimate status symbol.


Of course I know it wasn’t all sunshine and roses. The ladies had to maintain strict weight requirements and “grooming standards” in order to fly—not to mention leering drunkards pinching their pert lil booties. But at its most basic, it was a pretty glamorous lifestyle. My favorite “vintage” airlines were Braniff, Pan Am and PSA. Lemme show you why.

BRANIFF

First up, Braniff. These guys had it going on. In 1965 they famously hired graphic designer Alexander Girard to revamp their brand. He launched a campaign called “The End of the Plain Plane,” which introduced  a bold color scheme that was applied to everything from the lounges and ticket counters to the aircrafts themselves. Check out the fleet of “Jellybean 707s” in their brilliant candy colors!

Of course the other reason I love them is that Girard convinced top execs to hire Italian designer Emilio Pucci to redesign all the Air Hostess uniforms. Pucci, as we all know, is the master of the colorful, crazy print. He revamped their uniforms in his iconic patterns, adding a flair to air travel that had never been seen before.

One of his most infamous creations was the space bubble helmet (officially called a “rain dome” by Braniff) which protected your coiffure in windy/rainy weather. He also came up with a multi layered, inter-changeable wardrobe, which was dubbed the “air strip” because flight attendants would peel off various parts of the uniform (jackets, scarves etc) during flight to mix it up. Oooh lala!


images: BRANIFF

In the 70s they even had Alexander Calder paint a design on the planes to make them even more whimsical and fun. Oh Braniff, how we miss you!

PAN AM


Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) might not have had the space bubble (although that turban up there is prettttty darn close) they DID have what I think is quite possibly the best logo in aviation. This iconic airline was known a pioneer in transocean and intercontinental flying—they travelled to every continent except Antarctica. They are also credited with numerous innovations including the Jumbo Jet.

I have many happy memories of flying via Pan Am to Europe with my parents in the 70s. For some reason it always represented the ultimate in classy travel to me. It’s no wonder that they are the topic of this new TV series!


image: pollymcmillan


images: PAN AM

Back in the 90s I scored a Pan Am flight bag at the thrift store and its always been one of my prized possessions.I went through a phase where I tried to dress in a “60s stewardess” inspired way—neck scarves and tailored little dressies. Ahhh, those were the days!

PSA (or Pacific Southwest Airline)

Let’s face it folks, PSA was the total swingin’ 60s/70s airline. I discovered their crazy, colorful stewardess uniforms many years ago and was forever hooked. Mini skirts with hot pants and sassy go-go boots?? Sign me up! From 1970-1976 the ladies wore these amazing orange and pink or red and pink ensembles:



images: PSA

 


And one bonus shot, from a vintage Southwest Airlines crew. WOW. Look at those lace up go-go boots! A far cry form the khaki shorts and polo shirts flight attendants wear these days, eh?

I know we’re all about “being comfortable” these days. Most travelers wear sweats and sneaks or (shudder) shorts and  flip flops. We charged for everything from peanuts to water. We bemoan the delays and try to cram colossal rolling suitcases into the tiny overhead bins. But every now and then I’ll spy an older couple on a flight, beautifully dressed, sitting serenely. And I know they remember. To them, air travel is still a miracle of modern science. An exciting adventure. I always try to catch their eye and smile, as if to say “Hey! I remember too.”


image: julia davila
*ding*
You are now free to move around the cabin. Or watch the trailer for Pan Am. Hee.


Vintage Royal Wedding: Prince Charles and Lady Diana.

Vintage Pop Culture

Hi hi everyone! I’m back from my little Calistoga getaway–I’ll chat about with you all next week.  I can’t tell you how exhilarating yet sadly nerve-wracking it can be to be completely without Internet access for three days.  But what wonderful posties have been filling up our little blog, eh?  Thank you so much Jenny, Jody, Karen, Mari and most importantly, Alix for managing everything so beautifully in my absence.

But even in my little cocoon up in Calistoga, I heard rumblings from England about a ROYAL WEDDING.  Yeah yeah, I’m sure this Will and Kate wedding thing is all that and a bag of crisps, but as far as royal wedding go, really, there was only one wedding in my mind.

Prince Charles and Lady Di.

Yup. I was completely obsessed with them in 1981. Completely and utterly obsessed. Instead of spending my Saturday afternoons at the roller rink trading puffy stickers* with my friends during the slow songs, I would spend hours cutting up my Dad’s Newsweek magazines and adding all of the photos of Lady Diana to my scrapbook. Whenever my parents would have cocktail parties, I would shyly come down and annoy their kind guests for a half hour with my Royal wedding scrapbook. Fortunately drunk people are really tolerant of scrapbook toting kids.

I even watched and recorded on my Dad’s Betamax the TV movie of Charles and Diana’s romance starring Catherine Oxenberg.

And of course I got up at 4:00AM on Wednesday, July 29th to watch the Royal Wedding. Here are a few facts that I still have rolling around in my brain from my early eighties obsession with the Royal Wedding in no particular order:

  • Princess Diana rode in a glass covered coach
  • Diana didn’t get to choose her own bridesmaids or flowergirls
  • She did pick her engagement ring, which was the biggest one she was offered
  • She had to wear flats because she was so close in height to Charles
  • Kiri Tekanwa sang at the wedding
  • Diana didn’t promise to “obey” (right ON!)

Oh and I would have given my Raggedy’s life to be one of those flower girls.

I  remember the rush of seeing her wedding dress for the first time and swooning knowing that a girl could wake up one day as a “commoner” and go to bed a princess. Truly magical.

Sigh…

Yes, yes. We know how it ended. My scrapbooks were tossed somewhere after riding lesson and before senior prom and Charles and Diana went their own ways. But I will always remember this young lady and how she grew up to be a princess.

* Of course we’ll do a post on puffy stickers! It’s just a matter of time!