Araceli Gonzalez was at a crossroads in life looking for a new start when she went to a concert and saw a group of women dressed in vintage clothing from the 1940s and ’50s.
“I said, ‘I want to try that style,’” she said. “And so I tried it and I fell in love with it. And ever since I’ve been doing it.”
Gonzalez developed her own vintage style, and has involved herself in the rockabilly subculture, which favors classic cars, as well as ’50s-era clothes and music.
And at the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend, which ran April 24-27, she took home the top prize as Queen of the Car Show for her pink pachuco zoot suit.
There, she saw dozens of contestants from around the world, sporting clothes from the 1930s all the way up the ’70s, who variously participated in a fashion show, a pool party and the classic car show.
“Everyone looked so good, from the shoes to the hair,” she said.
Gonzalez’s path to that moment began in 2022, when she was one of the first students to enroll at Watsonville Aptos Santa Cruz Adult School’s new cosmetology program, and one of its first graduates.
Gonzalez now has her own business, traveling to help clients prepare for such events as weddings.
She said that she and her friends do volunteer work, including handing out water and snacks at the annual Peace and Unity march, and the Relay for Life. They also do a toy drive for kids in foster care every year.
“It feels like a sisterhood,” she said of her group of like-minded friends. “I love doing what I do, empowering women, and I get to share what I do with my style.”
