Not to over-post, but I came across something really fun in a moment that I wasn’t even intending to do research!
I visited a couple of different museums today, and one of them is called the Peranakan Museum. Peranakan means “mixed race,” in Malay, and basically refers to the descendants of traders in the ancient world who traveled to Java, Sumatra, and the Malay Peninsula and married local wives. There are Jawi Peranakans, descending from Indian Muslims, Chitty Melakans, descending from Hindu traders, the Baba community, descending from the Chinese, and more. This museum is mostly focused on the Baba community.
So, basically, there are a lot of beautiful artifacts and beadwork on display from the 19th and 20th centuries showcasing Peranakan culture. One such item was these beaded slippers from the 1930s:
Yes – a Peranakan woman actually wore these hand-beaded Betty Boop/Mickey Mouse slippers in the 1930s. Not quite the Hollywood stars I’m researching, but it fun to see that LA influence regardless! And Betty Boop was Paramount Pictures. Needless to say my tour group was perplexed by my fixated photography of this item…