Post #376137 by Swanky on Fri, Apr 25, 2008 8:15 AM

I wish we could send some copies of BOT to China or where ever these designs come from. But, the truth is probably far worse. The Party City Tacky Tiki aesthetic is what they have decided is what people really want. Seeing a traditional image would not get them to make anything like that. Or they would make the shape, and then paint it neon.

But, on the other side of the commercial coin, there is a helluva lot of really nice looking "island" and "tropical" stuff out there now and it is on the increase. If you want lawn furniture or other accessories for your tiki bar, you have a lot of good basic stuff to choose from. It's just when they try to actually do something "tiki" that they keep reaching into the wrong bag for inspiration.

I've seem a lot worse than these fountains. It's actually on the edge of worthiness in my mind. Right color pallette at least. Reminds me too much of Tiki Leilani though.

It all reminds me of the current image of Elvis that is popular. It's not Elvis and it's offensive to him and anyone who cares about the man. He was in a bad way at the end and was overweight. That bad image is all we see now. He wore outlandish outfits that were made by designers of the time. But since he died then, no one imagines him any other way. Elvis is just Tacky Elvis now. 20 years of dressing stylishly for the times and being handsome are gone. 6 months of being on drugs and fat in a jumpsuit is all anyone knows anymore. 30 years of Tiki being stylish and the place for the jet set is gone. Now it's just "Tacky Tiki". That's all anyone knows.