Living Las Vegas

You don’t need to make the five-hour trek through the Mojave to sample some of the decadent delights of Las Vegas.

A bit of Sin City can be found in Orange County, where descendants of Dino and the gang sport flashy Vegas-inspired fashions and horse-shoe rings.

Guys with slicked-back hair and lucky ladies in ‘50s dresses are tooling around in hot rods decked out with flames and fuzzy dice. They’re decorating their homes with the kind of kitschy knickknacks found at curios shops on the Strip, including velvet Elvises, leopard-spotted throw rugs and snow globes.

It’s the campy Vegas without the casinos.

At NA*NA in the Lab mall in Costa Mesa, Vegas trinkets of dubious taste abound.

Elvis’ icon is here, along with an assortment of Sin City souvenirs--casino ashtrays, key chains and snow globes with showgirls.

There’s also a line of shoes that the Rat Pack might have worn, from two-tone loafers to flashy wingtips.

The walls are decorated with massive 5-feet-by-5-feet dice and green-felt gaming tables. Flames, dice, hot rods, leopard prints--anything that recalls a gambling road trip--have become motifs for fashion and decor.

“Everyone likes the Sin City lifestyle,” says Brian Gerard, who works at NA*NA and co-owns Paper Doll, a Costa Mesa-based clothing line that has casino-inspired dresses and accessories decorated with dice.

Vegas has special significance for Brian. He almost married his wife, Mya, Paper Doll’s designer and co-owner, at the Elvis Drive-Thru Chapel.

“We’re kids at heart. We like Circus Circus,” Brian says. Mya began turning out dicey styles four years ago after she purchased a huge supply of black-and-white dice fabric. It proved a smart gamble.

“The collection just took off,” she says.

Mya recently created little cube-shaped dice purses and a black jack bag--an A-shaped purse with the jack of spades on one side and ace of hearts on the other. She’s also done flashy stretch velvet and glitter tank tops for a night on the Strip.

“They kind of look like disco balls. It’s real ‘70s glam,” Brian says.

Another local clothing line that has caught Vegas fever: Johnny Suede. The Costa Mesa-based company prides itself on flashy fashions that look like they’re designed for high-stakes rollers. Buttons with dice and playing cards adorn snazzy shirts and jackets in its Casino Collection.

Tuxedo pants have stripes embroidered with gold playing cards on the legs. Woven shirts come in loud playing card and dice prints.

“We use dice buttons on everything. They’ve become kind of a signature,” says John Lucero, owner and designer of Johnny Suede.

Johnny Suede’s flash-and-cash styles include tuxedo pants with leopard piping and satin shirts embroidered with flames, a “Big Money” satin shirt with dollar signs on the buttons and a women’s pink jacket with leopard piping. People wear them to local clubs or weekend jaunts to Vegas.

“We see people roaming around casinos with them on,” Lucero says.

The collection is carried at 150 stores, including House of Flys in Costa Mesa, Electric Chair in Huntington Beach and Fred Segal on Melrose in Los Angeles.

Bodybagz in Santa Ana offers bowling shirts printed with big red dice on a black background and pinstripe gangster suits inspired by those who frequented the strip in the ‘50s.

“People want to revisit those times,” says Tracy Edwards, owner of Bodybagz. “We’re packing up our limo and going to Vegas this weekend.”

George Esquivel, owner of Joe’s Garb clothing line in Anaheim, has turned out creeper-style shoes with the heart-spade-diamond-club motif, and shirts with the four suits have been sported by members of No Doubt and other rock bands.

“It’s the whole rock and rockabilly influence. Vegas is where all the music greats are from,” Esquivel says.

Local designers are paying homage not to the slick attractions of Vegas in the ‘90s but to the swinging, gaudy, rat-pack style of the ‘50s. They’re recalling the days when Sinatra and the gang owned the town.

“It’s about Vegas way back when Vegas was neat--the night life, the Sinatra thing, the lights,” says Michelle Ponce, owner of Ladies Lounge, a Costa Mesa-based boutique that has sold dresses festooned with dice, Paper Doll’s dice purses, Lady Luck T-shirts and flagrantly fake rhinestone dice rings.

Ponce also favors old compacts, cigarette cases and other accessories that a woman might have toted around a casino in the ‘50s.

“It’s kind of cheesy but cool,” says Ponce, who has been dressing actors in flashy garb complete with flames and dice for an upcoming motocross movie called “Fresno.” She put actors in Johnny Suede and Bodybagz for a Vegas scene.

“A lot of our guys take road trips out to Vegas,” Lucero says. “They drive hot rods and slick back their hair. It’s part of the whole ‘50s styling. It’s a clean-cut look. The whole grunge thing is done.”