Post #2430 by Swanky on Wed, Jun 19, 2002 7:02 AM

Are you sure? I could argue that it's broader than the "cocktail" craze. Why? I see tropical/tiki shirts at the drugstore! And everywhere! On a certain level, it is much more pervasive.

It's also a lot easier to grasp and get into. How many people do you see a day in a "Hawaiian" shirt? As opposed to a sharkskin suit in the 90s?

One big difference is that this tiki thing seems to be more of a common man kind of thing whereas the Cocktail Nation was a hoity-toity thing.

There is also a disjoint in this from the "serious" tiki-philes like us. It didn't start with us and it doesn't look to us. I bet the Exotica music we love isn't even seeing a blip of new sales.

Here's a huge example: In the 90s, when Combustible Edison came to town, how many people who might have been interested in a slight way felt they had the appropriate thing to wear? Next month for Hukilau, how many people who have a marginal interest have the appropriate thing to wear?

It's everywhere and nowhere at once.