Nadine Kam photos
Allison Chu works on her hair prior to a rehearsal for “West Side Story” on Feb. 24. The musical’s public performances begin Feb. 29 with ’50s night at the KHS Auditorium.

Students from the Kaimuki Performing Arts Center bring back the look of the ’50s when “West Side Story” opens, and for a bunch of 21st century teens, it wasn’t easy to recreate the labor-intensive look that 1950s teens simply took for granted. It meant a whole lot of makeup, hair rollers, corsets for girls and tucked-in shirts and pants starting at the waist instead of the hips for boys.

Nadine Kam photos
Students warm up before a dress rehearsal, with instruction from Broadway actor and dancer Ramon del Barrio and musical director Nanilisa Pascua on piano.The boys were scolded for lapsing into 2008-style casual, but some enjoyed the ’50s formality, saying that it made them feel classy, even though they were playing street punks! (more…)

If you like gofugyourself.com, maybe you want to cuddle up with the book, just released for $19.95.

In the season of awards, one timely arrival is “The Fug Awards,” a book from Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan, the creators of gofugyourself.com, that regularly digs at what our favorite celebrities are wearing.

Yes, it’s catty, but most of the time, you can’t help but agree with the pair, like when they say of this photo of Scarlett Johanssen, “That is not sexy, provocative cleavage; that is what happens when a stray ostrich wanders over and gives birth to twins in your bodice.”

There are the easy targets of course: Britney, Lindsay, Victoria Beckham, Paula Abdul and Bai Ling. But no one is spared, not even those most women generally like, such as Jennifer Aniston, chided for her boring column dresses; Gwen Stefani (“deranged showgirl”); and the generally classy and lovely Cate Blanchett.

Then there are the moments when I feel vindicated and glad I have found someone to agree with me on the matter of Chloe Sevigny. Heather wrote, “It’s well-documented that we here at GFY HQ find it perplexing that so many people and publications laud Sevigny as blessed with unerring and fascinating taste. We think she’s brutal.”

Examples of Chloe Sevigny’s “unerring style.” (more…)