Lindsey Reynolds and Cameron Cooper are modern women. They’re both graduates of UT’s prestigious Texas Creative program and are now full-time execs at two of the city’s thriving businesses — Razorfish and Bread & Butter PR. But if you spot them after hours, you might think you’re looking at two 1960s pin-ups, with impeccably lacquered red lips, high cinched waistlines and dainty strings of pearls.
Their preferred aesthetic might seem anachronistic at first glance, but they’re anything but out of the loop. In fact, the two Austinites moonlight as The Goodetime Gals, a full-service bartending and party planning service that specializes in classic cocktails with a distinctly modern twist.
The Gals shared similar influences growing up. Reynolds spent her childhood imagining that her life was being filmed in Technicolor, flitting in and out of her parent’s cocktail parties and fancy dress fetes like some sort of Sally Draper; Cooper’s adolescence was devoted to listening to Buddy Holly records and successfully persuading her parents to let her bid on her favorite mid-century pieces at antique auctions.
The Goodtime Gals' preferred aesthetic might seem anachronistic at first glance, but they’re anything but out of the loop.
Both spent more time worshiping Elizabeth Taylor than New Kids on the Block, and their love for that particular zeitgeist never quite faded. They had always known their shared passion was to revive the classic art of entertainment, despite their wildly varying personal tastes in drinks. (Cooper favors a strong glass of Scotch, while Reynolds can’t resist a classic champagne cocktail, like a Cur Royal. “It’s basically what '60s call girls drank,” she says.)
So, in conjunction with years in progressive universities and full-time jobs in modern day offices, Goodetime Gals was born. It was actually during an uninspired spell of boredom at their respective offices when Cooper sent Reynolds a link for a cheesy Craigslist ad soliciting a local bartender-for-hire and added her two cents: “We could totally do this.”
And what better time period to glorify through the art of entertainment than their own favorite golden era — the 1950s and '60s? “We always complain about how no one dresses up anymore,” Reynolds remarks about their unified disdain at seeing things like flip-flops and cut-off shorts in airports. “But in the '60s, people would dress up for dinner parties, serve canapés and champagne — and we missed that.”
Now, the Gals are using their two carefully curated wardrobes of vintage duds and expansive knowledge of creative libations, each tailored to the individual event's theme, location and guest requests, to inspire the city one party at a time.
The pair is careful not to employ fancy techniques or molecular gastronomy in their work. Though organic and local is their preferred canon, they don’t use impossibly exotic herbs or ingredients. Rather, the Gals want to demystify the highbrow nature of custom craft cocktails by combining the creativity of making homemade libations with modern day practicalities.
“They’re convenient craft cocktails,” Cooper says. “We’re just bringing back the classics with our own little twist. And we believe you should be able to make everything in your own kitchen.”
In fact, the Gals thrive on specialized themes and personal requests for their party services, whether it’s a raucous, fiesta-themed bachelorette party (like their first ever gig, when they dressed up as '50s housewives and served homemade sangria, Micheladas and watermelon-cilantro margaritas) or a black-tie Republican fundraising affair with a revolving door of Champagne and Sloe gin fizzes.
The Gals say the recent Mad Men craze has certainly helped popularize, or at least publicize, their burgeoning image, but they point out that their homes will still be filled with mid-century antiques and their hair will still echo Bridget Bardot long after AMC airs its last Hamm-filled episode.
Their energies are firmly focused on the future, where they hope to expand their for-hire services whether for office parties, weddings or themed citywide events, and eventually open their own bar in town. Could you imagine the deliciously chic possibilities?
Lindsey Reynolds and Cameron Cooper of Goodetime Gals, a full-service bartending and party planning operation, specialize in vintage-themed fêtes and classic cocktails with a modern, sophisticated twist.
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