california theme party tomorrow - would this work?

What is California theme?

No...

If the underlying theme is "California douchebag," then just stop into your local Tommy Bahama and pick up a shirt and some blousy bermuda shorts. Then get a nasty fat cigar and highlight your (preferably receding) hair. You'll be good to go, at least if you want to look like a lot of the middle-aged clowns around where I live. It also helps if you have a substantial beer gut.

Where would you keep the coke in that outfit? In the shorts pocket? Seems a little conspicuous to me. You don't want your friends bogarting that shit all night.

Wear a baja hoodie and some baggy swim trunks.

Wear a cheesy Hollywood sign shirt from the LAX airport. Every hipster douche in LA wears one now, myself included.

Bring lots of weed.

I'm not sure how what you described is beachy, but it's fairly stylish if ordinary everyday wear both in new york and down south...

Clearly you're from a place where they do California theme parties--which is to say, someplace far from California. If you just want to goof off, wear whatever your imagination tells you. But if you actually want to look like a (southern) Californian, it's CARGO shorts, UNtucked T-shirt (with a nasty slogan) or polo shirt (with a logo from a software company), boat or running shoes with *black socks* (gah, there I said it) if you're still on the young side of 30 and gray socks with sandals if you're over 50, and *no* belt or else a very unremarkable one. Sunglasses should be Wayfarer-style (again, under 30) or police/commando wraparound (for over 50). Ballcap optional. And NO beer gut. People around here aren't nearly so fat as in most parts east of us. However, a little band-aid to signify recent removal of a patch of sun-induced skin cancer would be quite appropriate. All set? No charge. EDIT: Actually, I think you really need that band-aid. Otherwise it's just a generic American costume, isn't it?

That's a Northern Californian look, not Southern. Generally speaking, you don't see Tech Geek Chic happening anywhere south of the Bay Area. If you live in SoCal, and the people with whom you associate are dressed as described above, you're doing it wrong. Find a better part of SoCal in which to live. For instance, I live in a very swanky and upscale part of LA because I am pretty awesome.

Yeah that's true but with a butcher stripe shirt and khaki shorts I was picturing early publicity shots of the Beach Boys.

You're welcome to your awesomeness, but don't tell a Northern Californian that the Bay Area is theirs. They don't share the sentiment.

OK, so my description was maybe more locality-specific than I thought. But we do have plenty of tech geeks in Orange County.