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‘Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun’ so the ditty goes. Written by Noel Coward and performed in his play Words and Music (1932) it became demanded fare in his repertoire. In the 40′s, even Winston Churchill recommended that he go out and sing it ‘when the guns were firing’ after Coward inquired as to how he should best make a national contribution for the war effort.

Ever the quintessential English dandy, Coward jibed the Englishman’s penchant for broiling one’s flesh like a lobster, when even the so-called natives eschewed the ‘violet rays’:

Mad Dogs & Englishmen
Go out in the midday sun.
The Japanese don’t care to,
The Chinese wouldn’t dare to,
Hindus and Argentines
Sleep firmly from twelve to one,
But Englishmen
Detest a
Siesta.
In the Philippines
They have lovely screens
To protect you from the glare.
In the Malay states
There are hats like plates
Which the Britishers won’t wear.
At twelve noon
The natives swoon,
And no further work is done,
But mad dogs and Englishmen
Go out in the midday sun! (N. Coward)

Ah, the deadly, killer rays of high noon. We have since had benefit of decades of solar damage research beyond Coward’s post-modern understanding of the sun’s glare. Back then, Coco Chanel practically invented the suntan as a fashion statement when she accidentally got sunburned on the French Riviera.

We are now well aware of melanoma, sunspots, heat stroke and freckling, not to mention those crow’s feet. Despite the fact that most of us all look ‘healthier’ with a little color, we know it is harmful and carcinogenic and dries us out like old boots.

Avoidance is of course best from 10 to 2, and sun-block in the extreme SPF range is now a matter of course in everything from lotions to clothing. Apparently, the Australians who know all there is to know about UVA’s and UVB’s, even have a pill with SPF, for goodness sakes!

Gone are the days of shaking bottles of baby oil mixed with drops of iodine to deepen the tan. The silver-foiled handheld face screen is also a no-go these days. Tanning beds are likened to death traps–you might as well sleep in a coffin.

Now, its all fake bake, day glow, airbrush or bronzer, accessorized with a wide brimmed hat, sunnies and a generous beach brolly.

But still we are drawn to those tingly, sizzling white heat days of summer, with some of us seeking the sun like hothouse orchids, gurning our faces towards it on auto-pilot. We secretly encourage our tan lines, and hate to see them fade by summer’s end.

Maybe we are all just a little mad, or, English!

Gearing up for celebrating this week on 21 August for the 50th anniversary of statehood for Hawaii as the 50th state, Kiki is researching tropical cocktails fit for the festivities.

With a nod to the Mai Tai, believed by most to be the state’s signature drink, it is now a classic bevvie, enshrined by law. Victor Bergeron otherwise known as Trader Vic won a court battle in 1944 to defend his ‘authorship’ of this killer cocktail, known to put a few under the table.

Vic said he ‘took down a bottle of 17 year old rum – J. Wray Nephew from Jamaica, golden in color, and medium bodied’, to which he added the juice of ‘a fresh lime, some orange curacao from Holland, a dash of Rock Candy Syrup, and a dollop of French Orgeat, for its subtle almond flavor. A generous amount of shaved ice and vigorous shaking by hand produced the marriage I was after. Half the lime shell went in for color … I stuck in a branch of fresh mint and gave two of them to Ham and Carrie Guild, friends from Tahiti, who were there that night. Carrie took one sip and said, “Mai Tai – Roa Ae”. In Tahitian this means “Out of This World – The Best”. Well, that was that. I named the drink “Mai Tai”.’

Eventually in 1953 the Mai Tai was introduced by Vic to the Hawaiian Islands, when he was asked by the Matson Steamship Lines to formalize 10 new drinks for the bars at their Royal Hawaiian, Moana and Surfrider Hotels. Islanders adopted the drink like water, and soon forgot the other nine.

Locals later claimed Vic admitted that Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt, called Donn Beach or usually referred to as ‘Don The Beachcomber’ invented the drink in 1933!

But no matter its provenance, and despite popular misconceptions and urban myths, there is no pineapple, no umbrella and no grenadine in a real Mai Tai. The only fruit juice is lime.

And lastly, it must be served with a sprig of mint at its edge and half of the squeezed lime shell inside a double-old fashioned glass.

An authentic Mai Tai contains:

1oz dark rum (such as Jamaican rum like Appleton Estate)
1oz light rum (such as Martinique rum like Rhum St. James)
1/2 oz orange curacao (clear, not blue!)
1/4 oz Orgeat syrup (only substitute creme de almond if not available)
1/4 oz sugar syrup (Vic was known to add a little vanilla in his)
the juice of one small lime (3/4 oz approx.)

Shake with crushed ice and garnish with mint and lime.

It’s guaranteed to be out of this world!

It’s Beach O’clock on a sunny Sunday morning, and Kikidoll is recovering on her matching sofa in one of her signature Hawaiian print bikinis, surrounded by her silky soft bikini-print cushions in spandex!

Exhilarated and exhausted after showing her first-ever collection of bikinis and beachwear at the world’s largest and most prestigious swimwear trade show in Miami, Swim Show 2010, she show-cased her flirty designs in a traditional bamboo and lauhala-mat beach hut amongst over 300 international top-end designers. Buyers, vendors, models, and press from all over the world attended a week long South Beach fest that fused fashion and partying at events sponsored by Mercedes Benz and the Swimwear Association of Florida.

Shells, tropical leaves, seahorses, hibiscus flowers and bamboo are featured in Kikidoll’s unique textiles as vibrant and pastel shades of aqua, lime, turquoise, pink, coral, peach and orchid compete for attention. For added depth she uses khaki, midnight and black in her luxury fabrics, with superb construction and clever styling. Girly detailing like ruffles and frills combined with the use of natural seaside elements for embellishment like bamboo, coconut shell, mother of pearl and coral are the hallmarks of Kikidoll’s vibe on beach and swimwear. Each bikini is fully lined and has removable straps for added comfort and support while tanning or surfing or fishing. Six prints and two solid bikinis have matching ruffled and lacey beach skirts and jewelled tees to swap and interchange as cover-ups.

Kikidoll is ready for that Mai Tai after a week of hard work and late hours. Gone to the beach…!

Some people think that this simple, humble shoe originated in Brazil, but the real ‘skinny’ on this beach slipper is that it derives its style from the Japanese traditional wooden sandal of a similar design with its thong separating the big toe from the rest of the little tootsies. Then, it was more clump-clump than flip-flop.
First came the ‘zori’, a woven-straw soled model with cloth straps rolled fat as cattails in velvets, brocades and luscious prints. Altering wood and straw to rubber was largely a post-war invention, and it was introduced gently (and cheaply) into the lexicon of beach shoes fit for sand and surf variously as a ‘thong’ (NOT the undies-version!), a ‘flip-flop’ due to the slapping sound the rubber made, and in Hawaii, where it is assumed to be the national shoe de choix, as a ‘slippah’. It is still common every day practice here in the islands to remove one’s slippahs before entering any house.
Dime-store varieties abounded long before Havaianas or Reefs latched on to this rubber treasure in the 80′s. The original version was almost always made with a white crinkly-waved top sole and a bright Crayon-colored edged bottom sole and divider found in colors like primary yellow, red, green or blue, and found encased in a crisp plastic bag with ‘Made in Taiwan’ stamped somewhere, for under a few bucks. They were disposable they were so cheap!
Lately, the flip-flop has gone all fashionista. They come in a rainbow of colors from palest pastel to darkest night; loads of up-beat street-styles, differing sole heights and can even be glammed up with rhinestones, flowers, logos and symbols. Even the straw version reappeared in a trimmer version and thinner straps. From South America to Australia, everyone and their cousin have a claim on its ‘discovery’. Gym, shower, yard, beach and pool are its native habitats, regardless of longitude and latitude.
Best of all, flip-flops are so versatile and transportable, they have now found their way off the beach into those urban girls’ club-sized hand bags. Nothing beats the treat for your feet after a night of clump-clump clubbing in those towering wooden heeled shoes like a pair of buttery soft well-worn flippies–and they fit so neatly in between the keys and lippie!