I HEART EVERYTHING: monkey

You know the collectors rule of three don't you? How when you acquire three of something it is officially a collection? Well I just started up a new official collection this weekend after a trip to a new thrift store in Santa Paula where I found a few unlikely & affordable kitschy items amongst the overpriced storage locker buy-outs that made up the majority of their merchandise. Out of the purchases, I found some things for existing collections and the magical 3rd item for my new obsession: Fez Hats!

Fez party time!

Fez #1 - Classic

I like to add gaudy pins to them!

This is a shorty version of the classic red fez. It is made of thick red felt and has the longest most tassely tassel you have ever seen. I fell in love with it immediately! I met the lady who originally owned it and she said that she would collect hats from her world travels as souvenirs. She gave me a heckova deal on it because I was so taken with it!

Fez #2 - The Lady Fez

It came with this snazzy hat box

This pin reminds me of the drunk dream sequence from Disney's Dumbo with the pink dancing elephants

This is less of a fraternal fez and more of a fashion statement. This hat is definitely a "Lady Fez" and is made from black textured raffia. It is much taller than the other two fezzes and I think that is because the wearer's elaborate up-do would most likely be skillfully stowed beneath the protective shell of this hat. If it weren't for the tassel, this would look like any other ladies 1960's hat. Instead it is a sleek and sophisticated take on what has become known as the party animal's choice in hats. Leave it to the ladies to class it up a bit. I would love to get all dolled up and sport this bad boy. I'm waiting on just the right occasion!

Fez#3 - White Knights

It reads: Caballeros De Dimas-Alang - Karurukang Dak Kalihiman Simoun No 4

Nice big rhinestone tassel band

The latest in my collection is this rare white fez for the Caballeros De Dimas-Alang, which after some good old Googling turned out to be a fraternal organization created by second generation American Filipinos. The club was founded because the white social scene was off limits to them at the time. The Caballeros were named after a Philippine national hero whose pen name was Dimas-Alang. In the 1930's there were 100 chapters throughout the United States. In addition to their undoubtedly secret fraternal activities, they would sponsor beauty pageant contests and dances in their for the community. Huzzah!

Here is a group shot of some Caballeros de Dimas-Alang. Note the white Fezzes! What a snazzy bunch of fellas!

Pic courtesy of University Libraries of Washington

Like most vintage lovers, I have an undeniable fondness for fez hats. By the way, what is the plural for them fezzes? Fezi? Fezs? I'll just stick with fezzes. Anyway, is there anything more kitschy and iconic than these silly overblown pillbox hats with long tassles? Doesn't the idea of a fez immediately conjure up visions of Shriners riding around in their little cars or a party animal in a smoking jacket tossin' back martinis? How about a be-fezzed monkey smoking a cigarette? I have long had the love for fezzes. Check out some evidence from the ol' I.H.E. evidence locker to back up my obsession whydontcha:

Exhibit A: I actually wear them

I'm sure you noticed my mug shot up there on the left. Yessir, that is "The blog author relaxing at home" pose. Submitted again here for closer inspection. Looks like I'm a bit perturbed that my corncob pipe smoking was interrupted for this photo. Of course we all know this picture is 100% authentic! (wink wink) This fez was worn out to a party the very night I obtained it and recieved rave reviews. Well to be truthful, it remained on my head from the instant I found it at a thrift shop and stayed there until coincidentally there was a party that night. It has the longest tassle I've ever seen on a fez, coming in at about 18"! I added the big gold feather pin to this otherwise unembellished fez.

Jeeves, fetch me my slippers.

Hipstamatic proof of ye ole' fez at the party. Thanks Alicia!

Exhibit B: I build entire costumes around them
Lets go back a bit further to another photo that has appeared on this blog before. Anyone remember my Halloween Hootenanny post of homemade costumes? In this one I am essentially a really kitschy party animal. I called this costume Drunk Monkey. I made this costume from a bag of fake fur and a million hot glue sticks. Not yet owning a real fez, I transformed a felt covered Tupperware container into a fez!

I made the little "drunk monkey wearing a fez" patch on the fez out of felt. Fez on a fez!

In case you were wondering, yes I did fulfill the drunk part of the costume and yes it was very hot in that suit!

Exhibit C: They appear in my art
Art and doodles with animals in fezzes. I guess this is where the idea for Drunk Monkey originated. Here is Mr. Monkey (on his day off) working the dames over at the bar. This drawing ended up being a print ad for a boutique I used to work at called Blue Moon. It was so loved by the owner, that she also commissioned a large painting of it to display in the window.

I drew this all freehand pen & ink and then imported to Photoshop for color.

Here is the acrylic painting version. Don't you want to just live in this window? I love the reds and the blue together. So pretty!

Here is a fun little doodle that always makes me smile, it's called GoGo Gator and has been turned into stickers. I enjoy sticking him up around town. There is one at our local DMV I hope he makes the folks at the DMV smile, they can use it!

He started as just a doodle and ended up being a star!

Then of course some of you lucky bloggers have one of my handmade Fezmingos at home!

The Fez obsession is definitely not a passing fad for me! I will be keeping my eyes open for them in the future and can't wait to watch my collection grow. Are any of you lifetime members of the Fez Fanclub? Do you have your own collections? I'd love to see them!

Where o' where to begin! I have so many wonderful things to share. I thought I'd say hello with some of my favorite friends. These are some of my "misfit" toys. I have had these guys for a long time. Say Hello Guys!

HIYAH!

I collect A LOT of stuff. Ever since I was a kid I have been very interested in old junk. I practically grew up in thrift stores and at swap meets. My mother used to take me along on her dumpster diving missions when I was a kid. We would scour the hot spots for items and resell them at the flea market. It was something I loved then and love now. As you will see....I HEART EVERYTHING!

Now, say hello to my little friends:

Mr. Dragon - A Handsome Devil

This is something I have had since I was a kid. I bought him at a random Drive-In turned Flea Market in Maryland. I had a brief infatuation with dragons back then. I just love how he is missing a horn. And what a million dollar smile!

Mr. Bali Hai - Has been there and seen that

Nothing impresses this guy, believe me. I've tried. He came from an AMAZING old-lady-run thrift store in Ottway, Ohio. (Ottway was a very small township that had a restaurant/gas station & a thrift store. Some one had spray painted an "R" in front of the Ottway on the sign. lol) I paid something like .10 cents for him. Everything in there had prices form the 1950's! He is a drink mug and on the bottom it says "Mr. Bali Hai, made exclusively for Bali Hai restaurant, San Diego California. He has been missing half of a tusk as long as I've known him.

The Natives - Not Very Politically Correct - but love to party

These guys....wow. They are carved out of wood with fluorescent neon painted features. They are a fun loving couple and have no idea why people gasp when they meet them. Whatever island they are from, it is permanently stuck in the 60's! I found them in Ventura at the now defunct Easter Seals thrift store. I had seen them on my lunch break and thought they were cool but too much (about $3.00 ea.) and passed on them. I thought about them for the rest of the day and when I got off of work I ran down and bought them.

Bouncy Frog - Is a hoppin'n guy

What a happy little guy! A spring connects his upper half to his lower half. He has felt pads on his feet. Everytime I see him I smile. Its fun to bop him on the head and watch him bounce. He is also from a Ventura Thrift Store.

The Monkees - Stylin' Guys

These are another item I thought was expensive (I think 7.99 ea) but they were so damn cool I bought them on the spot at the Mission Thrift Store in Oxnard. These are in my "prize jewel" category. They are ceramic with a groovy orange spotty glaze. The pic doesn't do them justice. There is a marking that says CRO 1971.

They each have what looks like the remnant of a paper cigarette in their mouths. I wish I knew more about them.

Miss Kitty - A Purrrfect Lady

She is ceramic and has a line of rhinestones running down her dress and one in her hands. She has a marking on the bottom that says D.C. SPOOR and a JAPAN sticker. I bought her for a few bucks at the Retarded Citizens thrift store in Ventura. Her age is unknown.... but that's how she likes it dah-ling!

Jelly Fox and Lil' Caveman - So ugly they're cute

Jelly Fox is made of a jiggly jelly-like substance. He has embedded wires holding up his wobbly arms and legs, plastic eyeballs and a big bushy tail that is akin to a troll doll's hair. I know nothing of his origins but he reminds me of Ed Roth's Rat Fink character. I'm guessing he's from the 70's. I got him at a now long gone Ventura Thrift store that was stuffed to the rafters with all kinds of crazy things.

Lil' Caveman is some random thingy that I got for free from a yard sale. He's a finger puppet I think and has stringy red hair and buck teeth. He is made of plastic and is hand painted. He has no idea how ugly his is, cave men don't have mirrors.

So welcome to the big happy world of I HEART EVERYTHING! These guys are just the tip of an ever growing iceberg of awesome. There is so much more to come! Y'all come back now ya hear!