In the Tiki Tiki Tiki Room
Last week I was killing time at Antique Alley (I do that a lot…) and was in Lorrel Mae’s space (visit her Facebook, blog, and Etsy) where I found this stellar pantsuit…
At first I was freaking out because it was so fabulous, then I looked at it closer and realized it was fabric was actually themed to Disneyland’s Enchanted Tiki Room! And I couldn’t try it on fast enough!
Since you’re seeing a picture of me in it, obviously it fit, and I purchased it – especially since we’re going next month! When taking a closer look at the garment, I observed that there were no labels and that it appeared homemade. I began to ponder where the garment came from…I did some digging on the internet and discovered Disneyland sold men’s shirts and women’s dresses in this print in the 1960s, and then in the early 2000s, Disneyland reproduced the garments. I found images of both original shirts, as well as reproductions, and compared the two fabrics, discovering subtle differences, and concluded my fabric was of 1960s vintage, but I still didn’t understand where it came from, since I could find no evidence that Disneyland ever sold fabric to guests, so I decided to contact someone I thought may have some insight.
Designer Kevin Kidney has an extensive wealth of knowledge for all things vintage Disneyland and I figured he may know something I didn’t. I shot him an e-mail including pictures of my suit and my questions about it. He responded with saying that the park did in fact sell small batches of Adventureland themed fabric to park guests, like this package here.
Photo credit: Kevin Kidney
He also noted that he had come across several creations including an Oriental dress, swim trunks and this suit jacket!
Photo credit: Kevin Kidney
He confirmed that my fabric was indeed vintage, circa 1964, and that this pantsuit was a new creation he had not seen before!
So, there you have it! A one of a kind pantsuit made in the mid-1960s of Tiki Room fabric! And you can sure as hell bet I’ll be wearing it to the park next month!
[…] The cutest piece of vintage clothing I’ve seen in the past three weeks: Tiki Room Jumpsuit. via […]
[…] me to contain my excitement! I’m really looking forward to wearing my Disneyland skirt and Tiki Room pantsuit!! I’m not sure if I’ll be doing any blogging while away, but be prepared for LOADS of […]
[…] in the day I changed into my Enchanted Tiki Room pantsuit. I had several people, mainly cast members, come up to me to comment on the outfit, many had […]
Oh EM GEE!!!!! I was looking for tiki fabric on Google and your site popped up.. what an amazing, gorgeous find!!!! Do you still have it? You wouldn’t be looking to sell it, would you??? 🙂
Thanks! And no, I am not willing to part with it! Sorry!
[…] On Sunday Patrick and I took a break from unpacking for Tiki Day, one of the now many unofficial theme days at Disneyland. We attended last year, and had a blast and were super happy that our move coincided just perfectly for us to attend again this year. Tiki Day is a great time for both tiki lovers and Disney geeks to get together and chat about both, and often wear their tiki Disney gear at the Disneyland Resort. This year I opted for my Enchanted Tiki Room jumpsuit, which you can read more about here. […]
What an outstanding find that fits you so wonderfully! The Vintage gods have truly been kind to you hehehehe. Gosh the colours are my favorite part! High Five to such an amazing find 🙂
liz
[…] Tiki Room fabric! Mindblowing doesn’t even begin to describe it. Read more about the jumpsuit here. As far as I’m concerned, she won Tiki […]
I have a men’s aloha shirt with the green tiki room fabric. It has the Disneyland label. How can I tell if my shirt is original?
If it has one of the two labels pictured here, then it is an original for the period. However, the green was reproduced and would feature a different label. You are welcome to send me a photo via e-mail, ellis.janey@gmail.com