The Luau Beverly Hills 1953 Vintage Women’s T-Shirt

Stephen Crane (a.k.a. Steve Crane, Steven Crane) started out as a bit actor in Hollywood in the ’30s and became better known for being one of Lana Turner’s ex-husbands than for any of his roles. Realizing his limited acting skills, Steve Crane turned his charm and energies to the restaurant business and in 1953 bought out ‘The Tropics’ in Beverly Hills. Taking his cue from Trader Vic’s and Don the Beachcomber, Steve created his own Polynesian themed restaurant ‘The Luau’. The restaurant quickly became a hit and a ‘must-see’ Hollywood celebrity hot spot. Eventually, Steve Crane would be approached by Sheraton to create a Polynesian themed restaurant for the hotels to compete with Hilton and their association with Trader Vic’s. His company, ‘Steve Crane and Associates’ soon opened up the Kon-Tiki restaurants in Montreal, Portland, Cleveland, Boston, Waikiki, and ‘Ports O’ Call’ in Dallas. The Luau is considered by many to be one of the great original Tiki palaces from the height of the Polynesian Pop era. Featuring an exotic tropical interior and a menu to match with over 70 tropical drinks. Florian Gabriel in association with Architect George Nakashima designed the stunning interior filled with intricate Tikis, square grown bamboo, and even featured a small waterfall. Stephen Crane’s own exotic contribution was a revolving cast of attractive young ladies who may or may not have been available for hire. The Luau is also known for having one of the most stunning lines of Tiki mugs and bowls. Attributed to Florian Gabriel, they are known for their intricate design and construction. As the Polynesian Pop fad faded, so did the success of the Luau. After 26 years, the restaurant closed it doors for good and the site was demolished in 1979.

Like all our designs, this one is treated with our signature ‘relic-ing’ process which includes our own secret recipe of hand-painted chipping, cracking, fading, and just the right touch of yellowing to ensure that it looks the part of a true vintage imprint.** We lay these works of art down on premium Next Level 3900 Premium Women’s tees, aka ‘the boyfriend tee, one of the softest, best-wearing women’s t-shirts available today. We utilize state of the art direct to garment (DTG) printing which allows us to create a vintage effect that simply can’t be accomplished with other printing methods. In short, these shirts are everything you’ve dreamed of and more – it feels soft and lightweight with just the right amount of stretch making it both comfortable and flattering while the feminine fit and shorter sleeves add a special touch to this classic missy cut tee.

Not sure what size is your best fit? We recommend taking one of your current t-shirts, laying it flat and measuring it. The measurements in the chart below are taken with the shirt laying on a flat surface. To get the length, measure from the high shoulder point down to the bottom of the shirt. To get the width, measure approximately 1-inch below the armhole, across the chest, from seam to seam. The Next Level 3900 is a fitted women’s t-shirt, so if you are looking for a roomier fit, we suggest going up a size or with the unisex Bella + Canvas 3001 we print our men’s t-shirts on as they are the same super soft ring-spun cotton that feels like an old favorite. While our tees are all made using premium, pre-shrunk, ring-spun cotton, there can be some shrinkage depending on your personal wash and dry cycles. With that said, if you’re on the fence, we always suggest going up a size.

*Heather colors are 90% ring-spun cotton and 10% poly. **Due to the nature of the printing process and different sizes of shirts offered, imprint position and scale may vary slightly from the product images, but we do our best to be as accurate as possible.