Bakobilly beauty riot!
Pin-up and rockabilly culture returns for another round of rumbles on 3/1/08! Don't miss the Grease Ball on 4/19!
"Jesse" of HowCool.com
By seafaire, Bakotopia.com contributor / Photos by HowCool.com
My early morning misery of consuming a bit o’ bagel, peanut butter and coffee at 5:30 a.m. came to a screaming halt.
What to my wondering eyes should appear but a vision of beauty singing my new theme song “You Know I’m No Good.”
Amy Winehouse had it going on! Like some ‘50s flashback, her teased black hair sprayed into the kind of beehive girls could hide switchblades in!
Winged, heavy black eyeliner and long fingernails massaging a glass filled with a 77 on the rocks.
The “Bakobilly” look had gone international!
Despite Amy Winehouse’s attempts to “keep it together,” her look is taking off something fierce on the international fashion set, like the pin-up revival in Bakersfield.
This new look found its home, and lots of support, in Bako. Check out Bella at The Marketplace showcasing the designs of Kelsey Kirkendall. She uses vintage T-shirts cleverly torn apart and re-pieced into the shortest, charming, micro-mini skirts. Some come with pockets, some with ruffles, but all in the inescapable chic of black.
Left to right: Angie, JSin, Neisha, Paulette,Girl in Polka Dot Dress, Joanne, Katie at Trout's on 3/1/08.
Kelsey’s design skills carry on with earrings and other jewelry created from charms and Fender guitar picks. The jewelry is all in the rainbow colors of Fender guitar picks and the charms include 1950s friendly designs like fans, decks of cards and other rockabilly era iconography.
So, if we use the term “rockabilly,” are we locked into a particular time frame and style of music? Let’s break it down.
Felicia
“Rock” comes from “rock and roll” and “billy” is from the derogatory term “hillbilly.” Together they refer to musical styles both terrific to dance to!
Some examples include the Stray Cats, and our very own Fatt Katt and the Von Zippers and The Iron Outlaws. Driving bass lines from stand up to traditional electric bass guitars blended furiously with the strident style of flat picking on electric guitar to create a totally recognizable sound - raw, unique and perfect for the soul of the Bako bar.
Angie
The twin local powerhouse promoters of good times HowCool.com and Trout’s nightclub came together and created the daytime/nighttime howl of the first Bakobilly Festival on March 1. The fashion show/concert and car show featured classic cars from the ‘50s, hair and makeup support from Atomic Kitty salon, great barbecue, plus top sounds from Fatt Katt and the Von Zippers, The Iron Outlaws, and The Councilmen.
Bakobilly beauties, from left: Marianne,Karessa, Jesse, Melissa, Jasmine at Trout's on 3/1/08.
The rough yet feminine beauty of the Bakobilly look filled Trout’s and spilled into the festival parking lots. Gorgeous girls combining toughness with a languor and felinity overwhelmed spectators. Pin-up hair, decorated with a flower or two, waiting to seductively tumble down for the right bad boy, plus long legs with fishnet stockings, sexy garter belts and sky-high heels.
A whole new world of female tattoos beautifying arms and delicate collarbones.
Stunning, silver-haired “cougars” - lovely older beauties with made up lips carefully outlined and filled in with deep colored lipstick curved into the forever come hither smile. Who could resist?
Bako-beauties know how to work our femininity with a skillful, chic combo of original clothes, hair, makeup, accessories, and that scarlet slash of smiling lips.
Mix into the fun and friendly atmosphere of Trout’s and welcome the new era of Bakobilly beauty into the heart and heritage of the Bakersfield Sound.
DON'T MISS THE GREASE BALL AT TROUT'S ON 4/19/08!
Story also printed in Bakotopia magazine, issue 25, 4-3-08
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