Old Vegas keeps popping up in the most unusual places.
Pop artist Paul Frank, the 37-year-old genius behind the ever-popular Julius Monkey who just opened his 14th signature store at the Fashion Show Mall, had parents who used to drag him along for all their Vegas adventures.
"When I was little, I always made my parents take me Downtown to see Vegas Vic," designer Frank says of the famous neon cowboy that welcomed all to Fremont Street. "I loved that guy. I used to have everything Vegas Vic: a big key chain, shot glasses and toy guns, everything."
The original was retired and replaced with a smaller version to make way for the Fremont Street Experience.
In fact, Vic and other Vegas souvenirs of old had such a profound influence over Frank that his original Julius Monkey vinyl snap wallet, the one that put his work on the map in 1995, was modeled after a cheap wallet he carried as a child.
Las Vegas' latest shopping gem is beneath The Cloud, the 60,000-square-foot screen hovering 10 stories above Las Vegas Boulevard at the front of the Fashion Show Mall. The enormous screen usually provides advertising and entertainment to hordes of Strip cruisers. But on the evening of August 31, Frank's image was broadcast on the screen as he arrived in a cab for his store's grand opening—an event he can only describe as "weird."
The store carries everything Paul Frank, including items with his funky Julius Monkey, Scurvy skull and Clancy, the world's smallest giraffe.
Look for the Julius wallet—of course—along with a slew of T-shirts, sleepware, hoodies, Small Paul children's wear, pocket folders, cork boards, swimwear for him and her and even beach- cruiser bicycles. The store also carries the more contemporary line, Her House.
Paul Frank Store, Fashion Show Mall. 369-2010.
Paul Frank Industries has teamed up with none other than the king of rock 'n' roll himself, via Elvis Presley Enterprises, to create Elvis Julius. The Elvis Julius, limited-edition, Juke Box, snap-front wallet with its faux jukebox front retails for $78.
Anne Kellogg is a native Las Vegan with a thing for purchasing stuff. E-mail her at
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