The long lost Camera Girls at the South Pacific Paradise Clifton’s Pacific Seas circa 1952. Oh did you know that Vilma took all the new camera girls under her wing and showed them how to earn more $$ ?? She schooled them to be extra flirtatious, not to be afraid to jump IN to the picture with all the handsome military men and of course steal their hats and wear them as props for extra extra cute Souvenir photos ! #vivavilma
🎶Vilma and her Rock-a-Billy boys! 🎶 Did you know that Vilma grew up in El Monte ? And that El Monte was once the Country Western Swing, Rock & Roll & Doo-wop capital of California from the 1930’s-1950’s? Well it was all at El Monte’s “Legion Stadium” which became the epi-center of the music scene back then. And made more famous by broadcasting legend Art Laboe. Not only did our Vilma have the time of her life exploring all of Vintage Los Angeles, but her diaries are a witness to a young girls life exploring the music of the era right in her home town. The Legion Stadium was torn down in the 1970’s and became the El Monte Post office. Only vague remnants of its history remain in this town now. But this photo is a great snapshot in time of its tremendous history ! #rockabilly #vivavilma #artlaboe
Summer Days & Classic Cars: A slice of life in 1950’s SoCal: Vilma and her two sisters June and little MaryJane ham it up with June’s handsome beau Randy (later my dear uncle)! #americana #1950s #classiccars #vivavilma #sisters
Select from the menu of photo options! Group photo? Individual photo?….or the best option: let Vilma theeeeee most adorable camera girl jump into your Souvenir photo WITH you !! I’ll take the In & Out “secret” not on menu option number three please! #vilmathestarofyourphoto #vivavilma #cafeteriastyle
Will Y-O-U be Vilma’s Valentine?? ❤️💕❤️💕 IF and only IF you accept the challenge, you’ll need to know there are some very stringent dating rules she keeps to! Now straight from her 1952 diary, here are snippets of some of her rules she penned, which by the way still hold true to this day! Enjoy Vilma’s dating do’s & dont’s: ************************* ❤️When you throw yourself at a guy and want it to look like you didn’t really mean it, play it cool, real cool. Avoid the next date by telling him you have the measles. ****************************** ❤️Don’t wait around. If the guy really likes you, he’ll be back. ******************************* ❤️No Halitosis… Ever!!! Don’t be afraid to let him in on the bitter truth. *************************** ❤️A man’s chest is perfect for melting into when the time is right. **************************** ❤️No dough?? Flirt with a guy in the parking lot at the dance hall so he can pay your entrance fee…. then ditch the jerk when you get in. *************************** ❤️Never date a man who is just not that into you. Why waste your time when there’s a Sailor on every corner just waiting to be picked up? ***************************** ❤️No married men… Ever!!! Vilma’s go-to line when a married man asks her out? “Hit the Road Bum.” **************************** ❤️If you’ve planned a double-date with your girlfriend, and your girlfriend can’t make it, don’t let that stop you! Two guys are better than one. **************************** ❤️Hold fast to high standards and virtue. Don’t be a damned fool, or you’ll end up pregnant like her best friend Billie Jean. **************************** Oh how she can really dish it out! I’ll leave you with one of my all-time favorite one-liners that I’ve read in the diaries thus far: *************************** ❤️When you finally discover what a dirty rat he is, you must declare: “He is strictly for the birds, but I don’t believe the birds will have him.” #vintagevalentines #vivavilma #vintagelosangeles #chinatown
Adding a little color to the gray weather of today with one of my hand tinted photos from Clifton’s long lost professional in house photo studio 📸. Ooh La La to the lucky fella sporting a famous rock-a-billy musician vibe, as he gets a souvenir photo to take home from Vilma the camera girl! Her sunny yellow outfit along with vivid yellow highlighted blonde curls is surely a keepsake to remember ! #rockabilly #vivavilma
…. how else would Vilma spend 🎉New Year's Eve🎉 in Los Angeles?? So did you REALLY think I was making up Vilma having a Sailor for each arm?? Below is one of my favorite diary excerpts where we get to re-live a New Years Eve in Downtown L.A. as only Vilma the famous Clifton’s Camera Girl can describe it: ***************************** Tuesday Jan 1, 1952: Oh man what a crazy time me and Billie Jean had last night! She met me in L.A. after I got off work at Clifton’s. Then we went to the Los Angeles Theater and saw some fine movies. We left the show at 12:00am and went down to the streets and they were packed!! We were having a GAY old time blowing our horns and throwing confetti. Man what a racket, it was crazy! Guys would gang up on us and kiss us and we got so many New Year’s Eve kisses. We picked up TWO sailors for EACH of us and they went around with us on the streets. Man we needed them to protect us, we were so popular we should have brought a club with us to beat the guys off of us! We didn’t get home till 3:15 am. #whatanight #vintagelosangeles #inspiration #heysailor #vivavilma #cliffordclinton #diary #losangelestheater #sailorstyle #cameragirls #1950sdress ****************************** P.S. don’t you just L-O-V-E all the layers of interest in this photo? We get to take a peek at each “level” from the Candy Shop on the bottom level, to the group of ladies on the upper level, the lone diners and a waiter “in waiting”... and just 👀 look 👀 at the diversity of the crowd outside of Cliftons on New Year’s Eve...incredible!! This is the spirit of its owner Clifford Clinton ....and Vilma too !!
A “sailor” for each arm? No! Not so fast! It’s Christmas Vilma style! Sooooo it’s gotta be a “Santa” for each arm !! #vivavilma
#thismidcenturywallpaper is ✨magical✨sparkling✨shimmery✨divine🌟The magic of Christmas... The Magic of Vilma!! 🌟 Sparkling, winking stars abound in the heavens above. Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to all on this starry night of joy! Heartfelt thanks to all of you who are following on this journey through the secret diaries of Vilma, the Clifton's Camera Girl!! Stay #vivavilma tuned! #cliftonsla #vintagechristmas #vintagelosangeles #1950svintage
Has Vilma been NAUGHTY or NICE this Christmas? 🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋 If you've been following my diary blog, by this time you've probably noticed that my mother Vilma was a serial dater & notorious flirt in her single Camera Girl days. As I've sifted through hundreds of her pictures, I came across this little Christmastime jewel that I just couldn’t keep to myself! 💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄 Oh you may think this is an ordinary picture with Santa, but that just wouldn’t be Vilma’s style! What’s so special about this picture? I found THREE of them.....Turning the first picture over, in her handwriting was the line: “Hi JACK, wish this was you impersonating Santa Claus. Love Vi”. But wait...not so fast… the second photo had a slight variation on the back: “Hi LARRY, wish this was you impersonating Santa Claus. Love Vi”. 🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋 Well Vilma must’ve grown so weary from keeping her catalogue of men organized... because the third photo I found and turned over had the salutation “Hi DOLL, wish this was you impersonating Santa Claus. Love Vi”. 🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄 Pure genius level!! “DOLL” really covered it all didn’t it? And the best part? She could now mass produce them! “Doll” was still just as personalized, and the message: “Wish this was Y-O-U impersonating Santa Claus!” was flirtatious and downright adorable. 💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄 I just about fell off my chair in a bout of merry laughter, and could only imagine how many of these she gave away. Each of the fellas who were the recipient of this photo probably felt like the luckiest guy in the world..... but they were really just big ol’ SUCKERS in Vilma’s master class of dating!! #vivavilma #christmasvilmastyle #datenights #vintagesanta #tinseltown #vintagelosangeles
1950’s Movie Nights! What does a Clifton’s Camera Girl do for fun AFTER she gets off work? Well just steps away are the flashing neon lights of LA’s elegant movie palaces on Broadway !! Here’s a fun entry from the Diary of Vilma, January 7, 1954: ************************* Johnny met me at Clifton’s & we went to the show tonight at the Los Angeles Theater after I got off work. We saw “Walking My Baby Back Home” & “Glass Web”. He put a new fuel pump on my car today and even changed the oil for me. He also put a spark plug in my pipes so it’ll shoot 🔥flames 🔥 when going about 80 or 90 MPH. Margie the other Camera Girl was flirting with him today, only it didn’t break any ice with him. Gee I felt like spitting in her left eye!! ********************** #vivavilma 💋🔥💋 Vilma is hot hot hot! Ooooohh can you just imagine those blond pin curls racing down the street in her 1949 Aztec Yellow Mercury hot rod with flames shooting out the tailpipe??? Watch your back Margie !!!!!🔥💋🔥 Check out MORE 1950’s movie date nights on my blog for some sassy Vilma adventures & more diary entries ! (Link in profile) #vintagelosangeles #cliftonscafeteria
Las Mujeres Cubanas somos lo máximo . Gracias #FidelPorSiempre #VivaVilma #CubaUnica
Like mother like daughter! I love Vilma’s expression and realizing I have her same smile 😃 such a look of genuine joy in her and a love of life. I do suspect this was what drew people to her and why she was just so darn popular .. no wonder why all the sailors loved her… who could resist that flirty smile !! #vivavilma #cameragirlsrule
#Vilma:"Si algún mérito personal me corresponde es haber sido fiel a estos ideales, de ser martiana de raíz, de sentir en mi mejilla la injusticia; de amar, como amo desde que nací, a mi pueblo (…)". #MujeresEnRevolución #SiempreVilma #VivaVilma
🇨🇺🌻Y cuando necesito ser fuerte, sin perder la ternura, te evoco... Voy a ti, a tus ideas, a tu hacer, y sigo la marcha, por el mismo camino que nos dejaste trazado. #SiempreVilma #VivaVilma #MujeresEnRevolucion Federadas cubanas
Viva Vilma! To all the Camera Girl’s out there from the past & of the present … ✨📸✨click-click 📸take my picture pleeeeeeeeze ! #hardworkingwoman #vivavilma
Oh Margie, you vamp! The ICONIC (and still there today!) Brookdale Redwood Forest dining room terraces make for a perfect Souvenir group photo. Vilma holds hands lovingly with her fine new beau .... but uh-ohhhhhhh .... why is he making sneaky sly 👀googly 👀 eyes at Margie (Vilma’s Clifton’s Camera Girl gal-pal) behind her back???? Hmmmm Vilma’s personal diaries reveal that all was not so innocent on the Camera Girl racket! Margie tried to give Vilma a run for her money with the boys, but if you’re only a Checkerboard player going up against the master Chess champion in flirtation skills..... well honey, there is ONLY one winner!! ******Don’t you just ❤️Luv ❤️ the guy in the green checked shirt though.....”ummmm don’t mind me, I’m just here for the JELL-OOO!!! “ ***note**** all coloring is ORIGINAL, no filters! The little known Clifton’s photo studio “Keepsake Photography” hand colored select black and white negatives ....this is the result.... and I’m so glad they thought this photo was deserving of the colorized treatment!! The colors are still so vibrant even today! #flirt #rivalry #heismine #vivavilma #livinghistory #vintagela #cliftonscafeteria #imjusthereforthejello #jello #redwoods
So did you REALLY think I was making up Vilma having a Sailor for each arm?? Hmmmmmm...how else would Vilma spend New Year's Eve in Los Angeles?? Below is one of my favorite diary excerpts where we get to re-live a New Years Eve in Downtown L.A. as only Vilma the famous Clifton’s Camera Girl can describe it: ***************************** Tuesday Jan 1, 1952: Oh man what a crazy time me and Billie Jean had last night! She met me in L.A. after I got off work at Clifton’s. Then we went to the Los Angeles Theater and saw some fine movies. We left the show at 12:00am and went down to the streets and they were packed!! We were having a GAY old time blowing our horns and throwing confetti. Man what a racket, it was crazy! Guys would gang up on us and kiss us and we got so many New Year’s Eve kisses. We picked up TWO sailors for EACH of us and they went around with us on the streets. Man we needed them to protect us, we were so popular we should have brought a club with us to beat the guys off of us! We didn’t get home till 3:15 am. #whatanight #vintagelosangeles #inspiration #heysailor #vivavilma #cliffordclinton #diary #losangelestheater #sailorstyle #cameragirls #1950sdress ****************************** P.S. don’t you just L-O-V-E all the layers of interest in this photo? We get to take a peek at each “level” from the Candy Shop on the bottom level, to the group of ladies on the upper level, the lone diners and a waiter “in waiting”... and just 👀 look 👀 at the diversity of the crowd outside of Cliftons on New Year’s Eve...incredible!! This is the spirit of its owner Clifford Clinton ....and Vilma too !!
Has Vilma been NAUGHTY or NICE this Christmas? 🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋 If you've been following my diary blog, by this time you've probably noticed that my mother Vilma was a serial dater & notorious flirt in her single Camera Girl days. As I've sifted through hundreds of her pictures, I came across this little Christmastime jewel that I just couldn’t keep to myself! 💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄 Oh you may think this is an ordinary picture with Santa, but that just wouldn’t be Vilma’s style! What’s so special about this picture? I found THREE of them.....Turning the first picture over, in her handwriting was the line: “Hi JACK, wish this was you impersonating Santa Claus. Love Vi”. But wait...not so fast… the second photo had a slight variation on the back: “Hi LARRY, wish this was you impersonating Santa Claus. Love Vi”. 🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋 Well Vilma must’ve grown so weary from keeping her catalogue of men organized... because the third photo I found and turned over had the salutation “Hi DOLL, wish this was you impersonating Santa Claus. Love Vi”. 🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄 Pure genius level!! “DOLL” really covered it all didn’t it? And the best part? She could now mass produce them! “Doll” was still just as personalized, and the message: “Wish this was Y-O-U impersonating Santa Claus!” was flirtatious and downright adorable. 💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄 I just about fell off my chair in a bout of merry laughter, and could only imagine how many of these she gave away. Each of the fellas who were the recipient of this photo probably felt like the luckiest guy in the world..... but they were really just big ol’ SUCKERS in Vilma’s master class of dating!! #vivavilma #christmasvilmastyle #datenights #vintagesanta #tinseltown #vintagelosangeles
Christmas in Downtown Los Angeles’ once esteemed Broadway District. ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨ Close your eyes: Can you still feel the energy flowing in this 🎄Christmas 🎄scene? The hustle & bustle of the busy street, of the Salvation Army Bell clanging, voices mingling, car horns a ringing … now walk under the portico with the wonderfully over-tinseled tree.. ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨ …step inside … to a redwood forest dream, with a feeling of a warm fire in the hearth of the rock wall, home cooked comfort food, gaiety galore and a flirtatious smile from our favorite Camera Girl. #vivavilma ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨ Clifton’s Brookdale Cafeteria was the jewel of the west coast cafeteria’s & a main tourist destination. Free your mind of what today’s version of a “cafeteria” is .. this was a themed fantasy world inspired by the redwood forests of Northern California. This type of dining was once much, much more of an elegant affair! 🎁A Vintage Merry Christmas to all 🎁
Meus 64 aninhos... 😇😍🙏🏽 Que venham mais 64! Deus está no comando! . . . . #aniversario #setembro #vivavilma
¿Qué si estás? Como siempre. Más que siempre. ¿Qué si te recordamos con en cada labor y batalla que libramos? Inevitablemente eres de las primeras en ser evocada ¿Qué si te necesitamos? Todos los dias Por eso vives y #Cuba crece desde ti, con tu ternura y tu verdad, que es la que defenderemos hasta el último aliento. #VilmaPorSiempre #VivaVilma #LatirAvileño
#memorialday 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 Hey-ya Sailors!! A big shout out and thank you to all of our dedicated military dames & handsome dolls on this Memorial Day weekend... Vilma the quintessential Camera Girl loved entertaining her troops. She downright could have had her own USO tour right here at Clifton’s Cafeteria !! Well she had the time of her life playing the field with all of you Swabi’s, Flyboys, Jarheads and Grunts, as she so affectionately called you. Hats off to you... but watch out!! Don’t let Vilma tickle you under the chin and steal your hat away for the perfect Camera Girl photo op!! #vintagelosangeles #vivavilma #cameragirl #1950s
Take a time travel trip straight outta Vilma’s Diaries to 1950’s Vintage Los Angeles with the glamorous Clifton’s Camera Girl… ChinaTown, The Palladium, Ciro’s, The Moulin Rouge and more! Only a Handsome Sailor for each arm will do! Viva Vilma! #vivavilma #vintagelosangeles
In my photo collection and diaries I get absolutely enthralled when I find a photo which actually matches the diary entry from my mother Vilma's date nights. Would you like to imagine what a night on town was like in 1954 Los Angeles? And oh yeah.. Vilma really had this guy’s number, you don’t play games with the master chess player busterrrrrr!!! ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨ 04/23/1954 Well, believe me Chuck really showed me a good time tonight. Went to The Terrace Room in the Statler Hotel, went to the dance at Clifton’s, hit the Topper Club in Whittier and ended up at the Playroom in El Monte. Man, he looked like an ad for the best looking man in Hollywood, and boy was I ever impressed when he showed up in his new 1954 Buick. We really lived it up for that one night …and I really left him STONE BROKE. Well it’s too bad he had to spoil it all by being "on the make." #vivavilma #vintagelosangeles
✨Special Diary Excerpt Day! ✨How does Vilma, the Grand Master Chess Player of Dating & Relationships handle a bloviating puffed-up suitor who talks a good game to try impressing a girl??? Well let’s find out she’ll we?...... ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨ Tuesday May 4, 1954: ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨ Red called me on the telephone tonight (alias Gary) and he asked me to drive out to Hollywood to meet him. He says he planned two whole days for our evening and got it arranged that we were going to hit all the hot spots In Beverly Hills, and also meet some important friends of his. MY ANSWER: Cab service is a little out of my line —-“CLICK” ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨ Lesson learned: Vilma NEVER comes to Y-O-U.....you come to Vilma. 🎤 #micdrop #youarenotworthy #vivavilma
Oooooh Vilma in COLOR! How can her new Rock-a-Billy cutie-pie beau resist a Camera Girl in a fresh 🍋lemony🍋 yellow dress?? Not him with that big Cheshire smile grin !! #vivavilma #cliiftonscafeteria
Forget about the “most interesting MAN in the world”… cuz Vilma is the OG “most interesting CAMERA GIRL in the world” .. I always say I’d love to have been a fly clinging on that flowing waterfall rock grotto in the island paradise of the Pacific Seas secretly listening in to the charms of Vilma!! … #vivavilma !!
These two cutie parents!! Cheers & Pip to a bright, healthy positive New Year to all!! “Cheers” to letting go of the things that hold us back and to always looking forward...and “Pip” to the dreams of those who are planning to make the most of 2022!! #bouffantdreams #happynewyear #vivavilma
Happy New Year!! The clock on the wall says 12:05 AM as our Vilma is sending out perfect BOUFFANT hair wishes to all!! Especially to family, to old friends and to NEW ones forged through the sassy & saucy old Vintage Los Angeles story of our mother Vilma and her diaries! Words cannot accurately describe how grateful & blessed my sister Victoria and I are to have the wonderful opportunities we’ve had through this journey and to have met so many new friends..... #priceless Here’s to 2022 and all of the new surprises it will bring!! #bringiton #happynewyear #vivavilma #vintagela #cliftonscafeteria #oldhollywood #oldhollywoodglamour #bouffant #hairgoals
So did you REALLY think I was making up Vilma having a Sailor for each arm?? Hmmmmmm...how else would Vilma spend New Year's Eve in Los Angeles?? Below is one of my favorite diary excerpts where we get to re-live a New Years Eve in Downtown L.A. as only Vilma the famous Clifton’s Camera Girl can describe it: ***************************** Tuesday Jan 1, 1952: Oh man what a crazy time me and Billie Jean had last night! She met me in L.A. after I got off work at Clifton’s. Then we went to the Los Angeles Theater and saw some fine movies. We left the show at 12:00am and went down to the streets and they were packed!! We were having a GAY old time blowing our horns and throwing confetti. Man what a racket, it was crazy! Guys would gang up on us and kiss us and we got so many New Year’s Eve kisses. We picked up TWO sailors for EACH of us and they went around with us on the streets. Man we needed them to protect us, we were so popular we should have brought a club with us to beat the guys off of us! We didn’t get home till 3:15 am. #whatanight #vintagelosangeles #inspiration #heysailor #vivavilma #cliffordclinton #diary #losangelestheater #sailorstyle #cameragirls #1950sdress ****************************** P.S. don’t you just L-O-V-E all the layers of interest in this photo? We get to take a peek at each “level” from the Candy Shop on the bottom level, to the group of ladies on the upper level, the lone diners and a waiter “in waiting”... and just 👀 look 👀 at the diversity of the crowd outside of Cliftons on New Year’s Eve...incredible!! This is the spirit of its owner Clifford Clinton ....and Vilma too !!
#thismidcenturywallpaper is ✨magical✨sparkling✨shimmery✨divine🌟The magic of Christmas... The Magic of Vilma!! 🌟 Sparkling, winking stars abound in the heavens above. Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to all on this starry night of joy! Heartfelt thanks to all of you who are following on this journey through the secret diaries of Vilma, the Clifton's Camera Girl! More exciting things for 2022 will abound !! Stay #vivavilma tuned! #cliftonsla #vintagechristmas #vintagelosangeles #1950svintage
Has Vilma been NAUGHTY or NICE this Christmas? 🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋 If you've been following my diary blog, by this time you've probably noticed that my mother Vilma was a serial dater & notorious flirt in her single Camera Girl days. As I've sifted through hundreds of her pictures, I came across this little Christmastime jewel that I just couldn’t keep to myself! 💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄 Oh you may think this is an ordinary picture with Santa, but that just wouldn’t be Vilma’s style! What’s so special about this picture? I found THREE identical photos ....until I turned them over and read the “other side”.....Turning the first picture over, in her handwriting was the line: “Hi JACK, wish this was you impersonating Santa Claus. Love Vi”. But wait...not so fast… the second photo had a slight variation on the back: “Hi LARRY, wish this was you impersonating Santa Claus. Love Vi”. 🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋 Well Vilma must’ve grown so weary from keeping her catalogue of men organized... because the third photo I found and turned over had the very generic salutation “Hi DOLL, wish this was you impersonating Santa Claus. Love Vi”. 🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄 Pure genius level!! “DOLL” really covered it all didn’t it? And the best part? She could now mass produce them! “Doll” was still just as personalized, and the message: “Wish this was Y-O-U impersonating Santa Claus!” was flirtatious and downright adorable. 💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄 I just about fell off my chair in a bout of merry laughter, and could only imagine how many of these she gave away. Each of the fellas who were the recipient of this photo probably felt like the luckiest guy in the world..... but they were really just big ol’ SUCKERS in Vilma’s master class of dating!! #vivavilma #christmasvilmastyle #datenights #vintagesanta #tinseltown #vintagelosangeles
Christmas in Downtown Los Angeles’ once esteemed Broadway District. ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨ Close your eyes: Can you still feel the energy flowing in this 🎄Christmas 🎄scene? The hustle & bustle of the busy street, of the Salvation Army Bell clanging, voices mingling, car horns a ringing … now walk under the portico with the wonderfully over-tinseled tree.. ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨ …step inside … to a redwood forest dream, with a feeling of a warm fire in the hearth of the rock wall, home cooked comfort food, gaiety galore and a flirtatious smile from our favorite Camera Girl. #vivavilma ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨ Clifton’s Brookdale Cafeteria was the jewel of the west coast cafeteria’s & a main tourist destination. Free your mind of what today’s version of a “cafeteria” is .. this was a themed fantasy world inspired by the redwood forests of Northern California. This type of dining was once much, much more of an elegant affair!
Vilma just being Vilma! #vivavilma #cameragirlstyle #puffysleeves
I just love black and white photos, but it’s pleasing to see colorized photos from the 1950’s .. I have a handful of these richly pigmented hand-painted photos in my collection. The background art is the inside of one of the Souvenir photo sleeves, & I just love it. It’d make a cool vintage wallpaper!! And now I gotta ask.. how did this guy get so lucky to have the attention of not one, not two… but three of the loveliest Clifton’s Cafeteria Camera Girls ?? !! #vivavilma #cliftonscafeteria #cameragirls
Vilma’s glistening golden curls, man on her arm, perfectly printed tiki skirt… ahhhhhh take me back to the flowing waterfalls and neon palm trees of the glorious Clifton’s Pacific Seas !! #vivavilma #poleynesian #tikistyle
My mother’s high school yearbook photo, El Monte, California circa 1950. Only 15 years old and already looking like a chip off the Old Hollywood Glamour block. Vilma graduated high school at the ripe old age of 16 and began working when she was 17 years old, riding the Red Car Trolley into Downtown Los Angeles …and living her dream as a lowly payroll clerk!! (naturally she lied about her age and said she was already 18) For a vibrant young girl, she found the work monotonous and pure torture. So much so that she dubbed her work “The Salt Mines”.... going back a little further as a young girl of 12, Vilma and her best friend Billie Jean would ride together on the Trolley into LA on a regular basis. They would spend the day shopping at the five and dime stores and head to Clifton’s Cafeteria for lunch, where a young Vilma would’ve first encountered seeing the Clifton’s Camera Girls all dolled up taking souvenir photos… hmmmmmm me thinks this is the seed that was planted in Vilma’s curly blonde head & found her destiny shortly thereafter as a flamboyant Clifton’s Camera Girl! From the Salt Mines to Redwood Forests & the islands of the South Pacific fantasy world of Clifton’s!! #bestlifeever #vivavilma #cameragirls #vintagelosangeles #oldhollywoodglamour
Ahhhh…Wouldn’t it be a hoot if we could just be a fly on that rocky waterfall in the background and listen in to see what this conversation was all about? Well I got one better for ya… how about reading THE DIARY written by one of the Clifton’s Cafeteria Camera Girls! Read all about Vilma’s flirtatious fun and vivacious quirkiness as she traverses the neon~lit streets of Vintage Los Angeles in the 1950’s. She owned this town and all the sailors in it too….at least for a brief moment in time 👠👠 ******************************* at www.diaryofvilma.com (link in profile) #vintagelosangeles #1950s #vivavilma #cliftonscafeteria
When Vilma enters the room ….the whole mood changes… the neon lights are brighter, the rambling waterfalls flow faster , smiles get wider, & food tastes better too! #vivavilma #vintagelosangeles #cameragirl
Here is where Vilma the Camera Girl delightfully flirted with her English Sailors on holiday in the once bustling tourist town of the City of Angels. “Would you like to take a picture with a pretty girl my handsome Sailor’s? Let me give you a tickle under your chin to slightly distract you from stealing your hat away for the perfect photo op & prop…. With Love, Vilma” ************************* Look at the dining scene behind Vilma: The original 1930’s Clifton’s Cafeteria in the iconic Broadway District of downtown Los Angeles .. the first Disneyland (before Disney existed) a redwood forest in the heart of the city. A calming getaway within a city, where you can sit up on high in the forest among terraced dining levels within the pines. And what a character we see in the background… hmmm beige suit, smarmy dark sunglasses … an undercover man if I ever did see one !! LOL 😂 I’m glad we can still enjoy this history at the Broadway location, the dining terraces are still in fact intact to this day !! #cameragirlsrule #vivavilma #cliftonscafeteria #vintagelosangeles #heysailor
History comes to life !! With the living doll @sassystiletto (aka Margie the Camera Girl) At @tikioasis 2019 telling the history of LA’s first Polynesian themed Cafeteria along with the personal diary stories of Vilma the Camera Girl ...who stole the hearts of men while working at @cliftonsrepublic by day and being wined and dined at ALL the Hollywood nightclubs by night. Nooooooo sireeeeee...History doesn’t have to be boring when told by the first person account of Vilma’s writing !! What a combo!! #vivavilma
The Time: 1954 The Place: The Pike, Long Beach CA Any Time Any Place: Vilma with a Sailor for each arm!! Gee these two Swabi’s look like they’re left over extras straight out of a Bob Hope or Bing Crosby movie .. Hellooooooo Sailor!! #vivavilma #cameragirls #heysailor #longbeachpike
Vilma hams it up with her Italian Stallion boyfriend Sal Contino with the waterfalls & lava rock grottos of Clifton’s Pacific Seas as their backdrop.... & whatta classico italiano name Sal Contino is ! 💋 Mwah 💋 Sal with your sharp suit, captivating smile & sleek black-haired handsomeness!! Now are you gonna whisk Vilma off her feet for a grand night at the Cocoanut Grove ?? !! #luckyhim #blondeshavemorefun #pacificseas #vintagelosangeles #cameragirlsrule #vivavilma
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ #Repost @diaryofvilma with @get_repost ・・・ For part of my memorabilia display in the Clifton’s 3rd floor ballroom when we did a tour with @cliftons_tour at @cliftonsrepublic pre-COVID days... I had brought in my childhood red suitcase and carefully situated this beautiful vintage bamboo frame inside next to Vilma’s old Yashica Camera.....Oooooooh Let me tell you that I could not take my eyes off of the ethereal glow this display had on it all night. The room was slightly darkening because of dusk falling earlier, and every time I looked back at my display I’d catch my breath because of the strange light it had around it, the light was not around the room, but ONLY around my display ..... 😇 😇 😇things that make you go Hmmmmm ......Angels surround us when we don’t even realize it !! #vivavilma #goldenhour #vintagelosangeles #angelinheaven #vintagecamera
For part of my memorabilia display in the Clifton’s 3rd floor ballroom when we did a tour with @cliftons_tour at @cliftonsrepublic pre-COVID days... I had brought in my childhood red suitcase and carefully situated this beautiful vintage bamboo frame inside next to Vilma’s old Yashica Camera.....Oooooooh Let me tell you that I could not take my eyes off of the ethereal glow this display had on it all night. The room was slightly darkening because of dusk falling earlier, and every time I looked back at my display I’d catch my breath because of the strange light it had around it, the light was not around the room, but ONLY around my display ..... 😇 😇 😇things that make you go Hmmmmm ......Angels surround us when we don’t even realize it !! #vivavilma #goldenhour #vintagelosangeles #angelinheaven #vintagecamera
A smooth character right out of a classic Crime Noir movie makes a visit to Clifton’s Brookdale.....but even with that tough guy facade he can’t help but crack a golden smile while posing for his Souvenir picture with Vilma “The Star of Your Photo” Camera Girl extraordinaire !! #vivavilma #cameragirls #cliftonscafeteria #filmnoir #chinatown #vintagelosangeles #corsetsmakeeverythinglookbetter
Like mother like daughter ! #vivavilma #cameragirlsrule
Vilma the Clifton’s Camera Girl opening line to a young single fella: Question: “Would you like to take a picture with a pretty girl?” Fella: “Only if that pretty girl is YOU” $cha-ching$ picture SOLD !!! #vivavilma #geniuscameragirl
Remembering the sheer pleasure of collaborating with the mega-talented @christopherbonomo to create this “lost news reel” about the story of Vilma the Clifton’s Camera Girl. Needless to say it’s become quite the hit, and with ongoing rave reviews!! Here it is again for your viewing pleasure! Encore please.... • • ALOHA from Vilma and Clifton’s! A RARE newsreel find in Tiki treasure hunting with pal @christopherbonomo reveals a South Pacific Island Dream with beautiful Camera Girls at your service! ************************** • FOUND! A delicately rare vintage news reel just discovered in the vast basement archives of Clifton’s Cafeteria. In the depths of the 100 year-old L.A. building, hiding behind stacks of vintage cafeteria trays, there they were.... a decaying stack of film reels!! Hmmmmm, as I curiously picked up one of the tin reels, I closed my eyes and puckered my lips to blow off the layers of dust...and to the delight of my wondering eyes, one of the reels was labeled “Vilma: The Star of YOUR Souvenir Photo.” What could this be I pondered? Ever determined to discover just W-H-O this ravishing blonde named Vilma was and to uncover the mystery of this Vintage Los Angeles treasure, I reached out to the titillating talents of @christopherbonomo He took on the challenge and labored into the wee hours from dusk to dawn, meticulously restoring the tattered film reel! And finally at long last here it is ladies & gentlemen: The story of Clifton’s Pacific Seas & Vilma! Want to hear MORE of the story? visit www.diaryifvilma.com (link in profile) #charlesphoenix #cliftonscafeteria #tikioasis #tiki #southpacific #vintagela #vivavilma #1950s #polynesian #retro #midcenturymodern #aloha
CONFESSION: I lied 😌Please forgive me.....Vilma did NOT just go around with a Sailor on each arm......she went around with TWO Sailors on each arm.... #vivavilma #cameragirlsrule #blondeshavemorefun #heysailor
A Sailor for each arm?? Hmmmmmm...Why how else would Vilma spend New Year's Eve in Los Angeles?? Below is one of my favorite diary excerpts where we get to re-live a New Years Eve in Downtown L.A. as only Vilma the famous Clifton’s Camera Girl can describe it: ***************************** Tuesday Jan 1, 1952: Oh man what a crazy time me and Billie Jean had last night! She met me in L.A. after I got off work at Clifton’s. Then we went to the Los Angeles Theater and saw some fine movies. We left the show at 12:00am and went down to the streets and they were packed!! We were having a GAY old time blowing our horns and throwing confetti. Man what a racket, it was crazy! Guys would gang up on us and kiss us and we got so many New Year’s Eve kisses. We picked up TWO sailors for EACH of us and they went around with us on the streets. Man we needed them to protect us, we were so popular we should have brought a club with us to beat the guys off of us! We didn’t get home till 3:15 am. #whatanight #vintagelosangeles #inspiration #heysailor #vivavilma #cliffordclinton #diary #losangelestheater #sailorstyle #cameragirls #1950sdress ****************************** P.S. don’t you just L-O-V-E all the layers of interest in this photo? We get to take a peek at each “level” from the Candy Shop on the bottom level, to the group of ladies on the upper level, the lone diners and waiter in waiting... and just 👀 look 👀 at the diversity of the crowd outside of Cliftons on New Year’s Eve...incredible!! This is the spirit of its owner Clifford Clinton ....and Vilma !!
🌟The magic of Christmas... The Magic of Vilma!! 🌟 Sparkling, winking stars abound in the heavens above. Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to all on this starry night of joy! Heartfelt thanks to all of you who are following on this journey through the secret diaries of Vilma, the Clifton's camera girl! More exciting things for 2021 will abound !! Stay #vivavilma tuned! #cliftonsla #vintagechristmas #vintagelosangeles #1950svintage
Has Vilma been NAUGHTY or NICE this Christmas? 🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋 If you've been following my diary blog, by this time you've probably noticed that my mother Vilma was a serial dater & notorious flirt in her single Camera Girl days. As I've sifted through hundreds of her pictures, I came across this little Christmastime jewel that I just couldn’t keep to myself! 💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄 Oh you may think this is an ordinary picture with Santa, but that just wouldn’t be Vilma’s style! What’s so special about this picture? I found THREE identical photos ....until I turned them over and read the “other side”.....Turning the first picture over, in her handwriting was the line: “Hi JACK, wish this was you impersonating Santa Claus. Love Vi”. But wait...not so fast… the second photo had a slight variation on the back: “Hi LARRY, wish this was you impersonating Santa Claus. Love Vi”. 🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋 Well Vilma must’ve grown so weary from keeping her catalogue of men organized... because the third photo I found and turned over had the very generic salutation “Hi DOLL, wish this was you impersonating Santa Claus. Love Vi”. 🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄 Pure genius level!! “DOLL” really covered it all didn’t it? And the best part? She could now mass produce them! “Doll” was still just as personalized, and the message: “Wish this was Y-O-U impersonating Santa Claus!” was flirtatious and downright adorable. 💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄💋🎄 I just about fell off my chair in a bout of merry laughter, and could only imagine how many of these she gave away. Each of the fellas who were the recipient of this photo probably felt like the luckiest guy in the world..... but they were really just big ol’ SUCKERS in Vilma’s master class of dating!! #vivavilma #christmasvilmastyle #datenights #vintagesanta #tinseltown #vintagelosangeles
1950’s Movie Nights! What does a Clifton’s Camera Girl do for fun after she gets off work? Well just steps away are the flashing neon lights of LA’s elegant movie palaces on Broadway !! Here’s a fun entry from the Diary of Vilma, January 7, 1954: ************************* Johnny met me at Clifton’s & we went to the show tonight at the Los Angeles Theater after I got off work & saw “Walking My Baby Back Home” & “Glass Web”. He put a new fuel pump on my car today and even changed the oil for me. He also put a spark plug in my pipes so it’ll shoot 🔥flames 🔥 when going about 80 or 90 MPH. Margie the other Camera Girl was flirting with him today, only it didn’t break any ice with him. Gee I felt like spitting in her left eye!! ********************** #vivavilma 💋🔥💋 Vilma is hot hot hot! Ooooohh can you just imagine those blond curls racing down the street in her 1949 Aztec Yellow Mercury hot rod with flames shooting out the tailpipe??? Watch your back Margie !!!!!🔥💋🔥 Check out MORE 1950’s movie date nights on my blog for some sassy Vilma adventures & more diary entries ! (Link in profile) #vintagelosangeles #cliftonscafeteria
New adventures with historian friend @terryellsworth — true adventure seekers on the lookout for lost LA artifacts — here’s just one of them lost deep in the underbelly of the Broadway & 7th Street alleyway ! ***************************** Nestled between the twisted metal fire escapes of the old side entrance of this 100+ year old Clifton’s building —there it was: The long forgotten NEON blade sign. (Still in possession by Clifton’s). Looked to be in decent shape ... but just 👀 very closely now.. we must’ve hit the ☀️sun☀️ just right, because the way the sun beamed down on it deep in that alleyway it looks as if it was even 💡lighted!💡 ***Fun Vilma Story*** in one of her diary entries she writes about this very same side door: One of her boyfriends came in pestering her for a date that night and she didn’t want to go out with him... so she took the opportune moment & said she’d “be right back” but fooled him and escaped discreetly out the old side entrance leaving him “high & dry” !! Buh-bye SUCKERRRRRR #vivavilma #vintagelosangeles ****************************** See the next slides to orient where the placement of this old sign used to be, one picture is the original facade and the last picture is the later more “unfortunately modern” facade that was thankfully removed to reveal the old facade back again !
Repost from @diaryofvilma • Slide show!! This 🍁Thanksgiving🍁I wanted to do a special tribute to the Clifton’s Cafeteria of “old” where my mother worked her flirtatious magic as a Clifton’s Camera Girl! I wanted to bring you back to the best part about the place, their food (including the 365 Day Turkey Dinner) ambiance and atmosphere featuring some of my personal memorabilia including the rarely seen Cliftons Cafeteria TRAY!! And a special surprise Bonus: Clifton’s original cole slaw recipe....Your welcome 🙏 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁 I’ve got my Camera Girl puffy sleeves on and my Pacific Seas island inspired cooking apron on and I’ve laid out my scrumptious Turkey dinner with ALL the fixings today: Carved Turkey with cranberry sauce, herbed stuffing, mashed potatoes, peas & carrots medley, homemade cheesy Mac & Cheese, coleslaw ...and for desserts gingerbread creme cookies and spiced gingerbread cake. Simply pick up one of these trays from the giant stack and make your way down the cafeteria line to pick up your piping hot food! 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁 And while sipping your coffee, tea and dessert pick up one of the inspirational flyers at the tables “Food for Thot” in order to build your spiritual health and strengthen your soul for the journey of life. 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁 And let’s not forget to pose with Vilma for your memorable Souvenir Photo! Wishing you the Happiest of Thanksgivings to you all !! #vivavilma #vintagelosangeles #cliftonscafeteria #cafeteria
THANK YOU @diaryofvilma for recreating the best of all possible worlds!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️ #Repost @diaryofvilma with @get_repost ・・・ Slide show!! This 🍁Thanksgiving🍁I wanted to do a special tribute to the Clifton’s Cafeteria of “old” where my mother worked her flirtatious magic as a Clifton’s Camera Girl! I wanted to bring you back to the best part about the place, their food (including the 365 Day Turkey Dinner) ambiance and atmosphere featuring some of my personal memorabilia including the rarely seen Cliftons Cafeteria TRAY!! And a special surprise Bonus: Clifton’s original cole slaw recipe....Your welcome 🙏 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁 I’ve got my Camera Girl puffy sleeves on and my Pacific Seas island inspired cooking apron on and I’ve laid out my scrumptious Turkey dinner with ALL the fixings today: Carved Turkey with cranberry sauce, herbed stuffing, mashed potatoes, peas & carrots medley, homemade cheesy Mac & Cheese, coleslaw ...and for desserts gingerbread creme cookies and spiced gingerbread cake. Simply pick up one of these trays from the giant stack and make your way down the cafeteria line to pick up your piping hot food! 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁 And while sipping your coffee, tea and dessert pick up one of the inspirational flyers at the tables “Food for Thot” in order to build your spiritual health and strengthen your soul for the journey of life. 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁 And let’s not forget to pose with Vilma for your memorable Souvenir Photo! Wishing you the Happiest of Thanksgivings to you all !! #vivavilma #vintagelosangeles #cliftonscafeteria #cafeteria
Slide show!! This 🍁Thanksgiving🍁I wanted to do a special tribute to the Clifton’s Cafeteria of “old” where my mother worked her flirtatious magic as a Clifton’s Camera Girl! I wanted to bring you back to the best part about the place, their food (including the 365 Day Turkey Dinner) ambiance and atmosphere featuring some of my personal memorabilia including the rarely seen Cliftons Cafeteria TRAY!! And a special surprise Bonus: Clifton’s original cole slaw recipe....Your welcome 🙏 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁 I’ve got my Camera Girl puffy sleeves on and my Pacific Seas island inspired cooking apron on and I’ve laid out my scrumptious Turkey dinner with ALL the fixings today: Carved Turkey with cranberry sauce, herbed stuffing, mashed potatoes, peas & carrots medley, homemade cheesy Mac & Cheese, coleslaw ...and for desserts gingerbread creme cookies and spiced gingerbread cake. Simply pick up one of these trays from the giant stack and make your way down the cafeteria line to pick up your piping hot food! 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁 And while sipping your coffee, tea and dessert pick up one of the inspirational flyers at the tables “Food for Thot” in order to build your spiritual health and strengthen your soul for the journey of life. 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁 And let’s not forget to pose with Vilma for your memorable Souvenir Photo! Wishing you the Happiest of Thanksgivings to you all !! #vivavilma #vintagelosangeles #cliftonscafeteria #cafeteria
👠💋👠Diaries do tell!! A date for EVERY night of the week at ALL the Hollywood hot spots ?? Ooh La La yaaaassss !! #vivavilma ...The tell-all TRUE story of Vilma, The Clifton’s Camera Girl 👠💋👠 Escape to a time travel trip to the 1950’s and read my blog based upon the intimate hand-written diaries of a glamorous Camera Girl who became a popular Hollywood Socialite Extraordinaire 👠💋👠 (link in profile, follow me on Facebook, Insta and be SURe to sign up for my newsletter!! ) #hollywoodhistory #diaries #vintagelosangeles #cliftonscafeteria #cliftonsrepublic #cameragirl #vintagephotography #vintagecameraphotography
The tools of the Camera Girl’s trade. Vilma’s Vintage Hollywood nightlife calendar was booked solid with marvelous evening’s filled with dinner, dancing, big bands, champagne and a glamorous Las Vegas style show for an all inclusive price. But wait just a darn minute....when you’re “Vilma the Clifton’s Camera Girl” being wined and dined with a date for every night of the week.....well you’re not paying one red cent are you???? #vivavilma Your Souvenir Photo Awaits!!! 📸 click-click 📸 #goldenageofhollywood #vintagecameragirls #vintagelosangeles #1950s #1940s
#love @diaryofvilma !!!! #follow @diaryofvilma !!! #Repost @diaryofvilma with @get_repost ・・・ Oooooh how we L-O-V-E Camera Girl’s of One’s -Two’s - AND -Three’s !! But there’s only ONE Camera Girl to rule them all...VILMA !! #vintagelosangeles #cameragirls #vivavilma #goldenageofhollywood #cliftonscafeteria
Oooooh how we L-O-V-E Camera Girl’s of One’s -Two’s - AND -Three’s !! But there’s only ONE Camera Girl to rule them all...VILMA !! #vintagelosangeles #cameragirls #vivavilma #goldenageofhollywood #cliftonscafeteria
Saturday Night -Hep Cat- Fever!! Do we think this coolest of the cool hep cat can win over Vilma with his smooth moves & combo zebra-cheetah style ... ??? Hmmmm I imagine she may just say “Well he is strictly for the birds.... but I don’t think the birds will have him” #vivavilma #cameragirls #vintagelosangeleslakers
Fashion Icon Vilma through the decades: Sandwiched between two “average” sized women friends, no one can deny that Vilma’s Amazonian status clearly stands out in this photo!! I don’t even know where to begin: The red-checkered shirt dress, with matchy-matchy belt and stark white collar draws all attention up to Vilma’s biggest bouffant auburn hairpiece she owned, and it wouldn’t be the same without the best “pose for the camera” smile she could rally up. Black knee-high-lace-up boots and false eyelashes round out all of the 💋glamour💋. Later, Dad joins her at their table for a lush party atmosphere, where Vilma is (as usual) the star of the show... and by the smile on Dad’s face, he knows he’s already won the prettiest girl in the room 💋❤️💋 ooh la la 💋❤️💋 #1970s #1970sfashion #vivavilma #cameragirlcarmen
🎉Happy Birthday🎉 to my mama Vilma! Born on this day August 7th in 1934 on the tropical island of 🌴Bermuda🌴!! Don’t you think her birthplace is just so very fitting? Her dear parents led a charmed life working the tourism industry of the 1920’s on the popular island resort. Their tow-headed toddler spent her childhood days on cruise ships, splashing in the azure blue waters, playing among the craggy cliffs and running those baby toes through the famous pink sand beaches. It’s quite the journey from her childhood years in the Atlantic Ocean to her young womanhood years on the Pacific Coast when she took Los Angeles by storm as an independent 📸Camera Girl 📸working the robust tourism industry of the 1950’s. One of those places was the ever popular South Pacific paradise of Clifton’s Pacific Seas resort style Cafeteria in the heart of the city, it was a match made in heaven for this island girl .... and I just can’t help to think of all hundreds of hearts she broke along the way! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 Happy Birthday Vilma !! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 #vivavilma
📸Behind the scenes!📸 Normally we get to see Vilma in front of the Camera , but this is a super rare shot of Vilma behind the scenes in the photo studio office itself. Just 👀look 👀 She has herself busy writing out addresses on Souvenir Photo sleeves preparing them for mailing to her hundreds of satisfied clients (fans). Imagine the sheer delight when her Sailor men finally get their photo in the mail, tear open the envelope and see those golden blond curls and cinnamon brown eyes!! A true Vilma Keepsake!! #cameragirl #vintagelosangeles #vivavilma
Now that we’re in the midst of our hot summer days, I thought it would be fun for some Diary of Vilma summer reading!! **Click** the link in my profile for my very special DIARY blog post about Vilma’s beach days flirting around at 1950’s-Ville Surf City USA 🏝Huntington Beach 🏝 🏝🏝🏝🏝🏝🏝🏝🏝🏝🏝🏝 When not posing for her Camera Girl Souvenir Photos with Y-O-U.... her Summer of Love with her new beau Bill takes some wild turns.... but when asked to go “steady” Vilma says “Yes, but when I get the ring...and I don’t mean on the telephone!!” #classicvilma #vivavilma 🏝🏝🏝🏝🏝🏝🏝🏝🏝🏝🏝 #surfcityusa #summeroflove #huntingtonbeach
Life in the 1970's: Coffee, Tea or WHISKY???? In a groovy wood-paneled den a kindhearted neighbor offers Vilma a good stiff drink. Vilma and her already tipsy gal pal wholeheartedly reject those wholesome teacups and push them off to the side...and Mom is all too happy to oblige. It just wouldn't be neighborly otherwise! Hmmm, is that baby Miriam frolicking around in front? Yeah it sure is!!! 🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸 And it wouldn’t be a 1970’s wood-paneled den without that spectacular Coors Beer animated light up sign, that when plugged in lights up an entire Rocky Mountain waterfall showering down in flowing motion in order to remind you of the fresh Rocky Mountain water that Coors beer is made from....now would it??? #vivavilma #lifeisaboutbalance #1970s #whiskey #everythinginmoderation
The tools of the trade for a 1950’s Vintage Camera Girl! 📸✨📸 We often don’t think about when “selfies” did not exist and people did not have 5000 digital photos stored on their phones: 📸✨📸✨📸✨📸✨📸✨📸✨ During the Golden Age of Hollywood history, getting your souvenir photo taken by a Camera Girl was all the rage. These vivacious ladies would be all dressed up in outfits matching the theme of the venue, and often would be blond bombshells like our Vilma. Oftentimes folks could only afford a night out a few times a year, and during this time most folks didn’t own their own cameras. Dressing up for the special occasion in their Sunday best, these photos became a true “Keepsake” and would remind you of your elegant night out on the town. This was perhaps a true “Golden Age of Photography” too!! And if you got your photo taken by Vilma... watch out Sailors... she might jump in the shot with Y-O-U to become the ✨STAR✨ of your photo! Click-click- take my picture pleeeze! #vivavilma #cameragirls #heysailor #vintagelosangeles #blondeshavemorefun❤️❤️❤️
✨📸✨📸✨📸✨📸✨📸✨📸 Once a Camera Girl ...always a Camera Girl!! Photogenic Mama Vilma had a love affair with the camera her whole life... NEVER did she go anywhere without one. I’ve got the stacks of photo albums from our childhood, from babies to adults to prove it!! There are so many memories captured by her lens, including her infamous Clifton’s Cafeteria days as a young single independent woman flirting & flitting about in this 1950’s Vintage Los Angeles town. 📸 CLICK-CLICK 📸 the link in my profile to read more about her amazing diaries and how this vivacious blond bombshell managed to outwit & outsmart a multitude of potential suitors in the age of the madmen era. #vivavilma #vintagelosangeleskingssnapback
One of the rare color-tinted photos I have in my collection. The Clifton’s photo studio used black & white film, but meticulously hand colored selected customer photos for a most vivid result! I personally L-O-V-E that they selected to paint Vilma in vibrant yellow, and the flesh tones are really soft & beautiful. 🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴 She is shown here at the long lost Polynesian Paradise Clifton’s “Pacific Seas” with her pink lei and golden blond curls .... and of course a man for arm candy !! #vivavilma #paradise #blondshavemorefun #vintagelosangeles #cliftonscafeteria