By Nadine Kam

Photos by Cheyne Gallarde

If you don’t mind being nearly nekkid and swapping the clothes off your back for others’ threads, then tomorrow’s Swap and Bop is for you.

The second event begins at 9 p.m. May 30 at the Mercury Bar in Chaplain Lane downtown. Some simple rules apply:

1. Don’t wear anything you can’t part with.
2. When the siren sounds you MUST swap clothes with the closest person next to you! Except those with Voyeur bracelet who just want to see the clothes fly.
3. All items of clothing must be clean and in good condition.
4. No nakedness or fighting over clothes is allowed.
5. Have fun, and don’t forget to pose for the paparazzi in your new getups.
6. You must be 21.

General admission is $5, though participants can get in free with a clothing donation at the door. Voyeur bracelets granting you immunity from the swap are $10.

Clothing donations and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Next Step Kakaako (H-5 Charities). H-5 is a grassroots organization dedicated to ending homelessness through innovative approaches that build confidence and accountability while empowering individuals to become self sufficient.

The Next Step Project is the first homeless shelter created by Gov. Linda Lingle in response to the after-dark closure of Ala Moana Beach Park in May, 2006. This project is entering into its third year as a provider of shelter in urban Honolulu.

For more information on all Swap and Bop events, go to www.myspace.com/swapandbop

Also, if you’re looking for a way to beat the heat, Shasa Emporium’s got a weekend sale for you:

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
Models in Mamo Howell designs were featured during the Hawai’i Food & Wine Paradise Hana Hou brunch at Halekulani. Fighting Eel also presented a fashion show during one of the foodie events at Ko Olina.

I try not to let my other food life cross over to this blog, but it couldn’t be helped when D. Keola Lloyd, chairman of the Hawai’i Food & Wine Paradise decided to add a fashion element to the annual foodie showcase.

The luxury destination event took place May 21 to 24, and was sponsored by American Express Publishing, which puts out such familiar magazine titles as Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine, Departures and Executive Travel.

For such a group, the menu had to be superb and Halekulani Vikram Garg did a great job on the five-course brunch that started with:

Lomi lomi salmon with Hau’ula tomato, sea asparagus, Maui onion and kukui nut.

Seared abalone with Waialua asparagus, shaved hearts of palm and calamansi chili vinaigrette.

Onaga and Kahalu’u pork with raw papaya relish and chimichurri sauce.

Loco Moco featuring grass-fed veal loin, braised short rib, egg, Hamakua mushrooms and rice. My vegetarian tablemates had lovely veggie risotto with Hamakua mushrooms for this course.

And North Shore chocolate sorbet in coconut foam with candy sculpture.

As one of the newest chefs to our islands, Garg brings to a clarity to his dishes that I haven’t seen in a long time locally. It demonstrates (on his part) and allows for full appreciation (on diners’ part) of local ingredients. I think that’s gotten lost over the past decade as newer chefs hoping to emulate the HRC originals have tended to throw every ingredient available to them into dishes, resulting more often than not in muddled messes.

I would like to erase the past decade in food and press restart. In a way, that’s already happening because of the economy. New startups seem to be coming from a smaller, humbler place with more focus on good food than themes or empire building. That’s a good place to start.

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photo
The Miss Hawaii organization’s little princesses received their crowns Saturday.

The Miss Hawaii organization hosted a luncheon to introduce and crown its Little Princesses, while helping to promote its Outstanding Teen pageant June 13 at the Leeward Community College Theatre, and Miss Hawaii pageant at the convention center June 27.

Current Outstanding Teen Halialani Perish, of Kapolei, and former Miss Hawaii Pilialoha Gaison were there to help crown the Little Princesses, who put their learned poise on display during a runway show of little girls’ Hawaiian dresses by Hawaiian Moon.

The Princess Program for girls 5 to 12 aims to school girls in social graces, etiquette and posture, with a former or current Miss Hawaii as mentor.

They sure start young these days. I was in high school before my friends and I signed ourselves up for finishing school at $500. To this day, I don’t remember how I got the money! Must have been a combination of my lucrative Zippy’s paycheck and babysitting money.

I showed some of the princess video clips to a friend and she asked if I thought these programs work because she had never been through one.

I dunno, to me it depends on the girl; you either feel confident or you don’t. You either possess a sense of self-worth or you seek it from external feedback. But as for the technical aspects, yes I’m glad I can deal with a restaurant table setting, and I know how to gracefully enter a car, when required, which is hardly ever. Most days I just plop down (low sportscar) with a loud “Ugh.”

If they had caught me before I became my own person (at 11), I might be less rebellious and more proper lady today. Or not.

Seriously though, the world might be a nicer place if more kids were taught etiquette.

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
Celebrating the opening of Aéropostale were, from left, store manager Claire Rathburn, district manager Joyce Stabbert, vice-president of visual merchandising Michael Cavallero, Chief Store Officer Mary Jo Pile, and regional vice president Judy Boyea. Michael and Mary Jo are in from New York for the back-to-back store openings at Ala Moana and Windward Mall.

Aéropostale opened at Ala Moana Center this morning, on the third level (ewa side), near American Eagle, Forever 21 and Spiral Girl. That area has become home to young shoppers, with clothing at Aéropostale aimed at the 13 to 19 set, or those who just want comfy kick-around clothes for summer.

Hawaii’s summer uniform: Bikinis, rubber slippers and shorts, all abundant at Aéropostale.

Sample prices: Graphic tees are two for $25; guys $34.50 polo shirts come with a buy-one-get-one-free offer; tote bags start at $9.99; and dresses are $24.99. The most expensive item I found, at $44.50, were a pair of the cropped jeans with ready-made pukas, which Morgen Chang tried on with other pieces, below. So cute for summer!

Morgen Chang steps out of the dressing room in Aéropostale.

Morgen attended the opening with her aunt Melissa Chang aka @Melissa808. Little did she know when she agreed to go that we would recruit her as a model for some of the clothes, in exchange for breakfast.

If you live on the Windward side, don’t worry about not being able to make the tunnel crossing right away. Aéropostale will open at Windward Mall on the 29th.

At the registers, a sign advertises a free Aéropostale drawstring beach bag offered with purchase during the grand opening.

Shoppers from Japan appear to find an armload of pieces affordable.

Afterward I checked out the BCBG sale, with some 50 percent off items offered at an additional 30 percent off over the Memorial Day weekend, a big one for sales. Better check in with your favorite boutiques.

I didn’t buy anything at the sale. I wanted to pick up one piece that would look best if I sliced it in half to wear as a separate top and skirt, but those “projects” often have a way of never being completed. At those moments I try to tell myself, don’t settle for anything less than perfect, something easier said than done.

By Nadine Kam

Roberta Oaks photo
Roberta Oaks Summer 2009 version of the Quaint dress.

Two summers ago, when packing for New York, I made sure to include one of my Roberta Oaks Quaint dresses in green and leopard print, the thinking being that no one there would have anything as stand-out original. And, I was right. Her dresses get a lot of attention, even here, where we’re surrounded by color and print.

But, the secret’s out now that WWD has included Roberta’s plum Quaint dress in its Fall Trend Report online. It falls under the heading “Animal Planet,” featuring items in a mix of grays, blacks and purples, and including dark animal prints.

You’ll have to wait to get the dress. It ships to boutiques Aug. 15.

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By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photo
Marietta Siangco scoops moisturizing cream containing macadamia and kukui nut oils into individual use containers for guests to use in creating their custom spa product.

It’s not every day a person can go behind the scenes to see the process of products being made, so I was excited about the Oils of Aloha open house that took place May 15 and 16, where guests watched macadamia nuts go through the expeller press to eventually arrive at the cooking oil produced by the company, or mixed with kukui nut oil to create the company’s patented SOLaleur formula.

Studies of SOLaleur, supported by the Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service, U.S.D.A., have proven that the formula increases healing of dry, cracked skin, UV-exposed skin, as well as radiation burns caused by chemo-related damage.

With all those benefits, it’s no wonder guests were happy about having the opportunity to create their custom moisturizer by adding essential oil to one of Oils of Aloha’s skin creams, as well as create an exfoliator using macadamia powders.

Oils of aloha photo
Ready for summer: Oils of Aloha’s Kukui Essential AfterSun cream, lotion and oil, individually priced at about $11 to $13 at Longs and ABC stores.

It turns out to be a green process, as the company also uses husks to create the right consistency to go into the presses. The large coconut shell-like pieces that come off the press as the oil is being removed, are the pressed remnants of husks and nuts. These don’t go to waste, but are used as charcoal, as well as pig feed, putting 20 percent more protein into their diets, as well as fiber.

It was hard for some to understand the notion that they could also wash their face with an aromatic kukui-mac nut oil cleanser. In this country, we go through adolescence thinking oily skin is not only unsightly but the source of all acne (it’s mostly hormones), so when we get to the age our skin actually needs oil’s moisture-retention properties, the avoidance mentality continues to kick in.

I’d already been using Shu Uemura cleansing oil (Marilyn Monroe used it, too) when I heard about the Oils of Aloha product, so I encouraged some leery souls to give it a try. It’s not only light, but it smells yummy too!

Owners Dana and Barbara Gray were gracious hosts, also serving a lovely lunch spread that included turkey deep-fried in macadamia nut oil, salmon smoked with macadamia chips, salads dressed in the flavored oils, pastries baked with mac-nut oil, and even a strawberry smoothie that included the oil. Every bite was delicious.

I’d already known Barbara as a food stylist for many years. We met when I was a manager for a commercial photographer. When she was styling food, it looked great, but none of it was edible in the end because it was sitting for hours or stabilized with non-food ingredients. Then there were the imposters, like mashed potatoes stirred with food coloring to represent ice cream. It was always fun to watch her work her studio magic, but on this day, I was glad she switched over to food we could actually eat.

By Nadine Kam

Fox photos
Adam Lambert, left, meets his unlikely match, Kris Allen, in a few hours on “American Idol.”

“American Idol” is not just a contest of vocal ability, but also of musical style which this season went hand in hand with dress style as well.

Adam Lambert was a shoo-in from the beginning, winning over screaming adolescents and the judges, which made me think Simon really should retire after this season. After a couple of weeks, I expected the other judges to continue gushing over Adam, while waiting for Simon to provide the voice of reason. I expected him to tell song butcher Adam — like every other contestant who did the same — not to mistake screaming for singing, but he didn’t. It seemed that he had caved to the inevitable, that Adam was going to make it to the finals, no matter how hard he taunted those with pitch-perfect hearing with his over-the-top wailing.

His style — a caricature combo of punk, Goth, glam, rock and Hot Topic chic — likely speaks to those who either missed the ’80s, or want to relive the ’80s.

On the other hand, you have the very laidback troubadour Kris Allen, so low-key in denim and T-shirts, that most viewers regarded him as an invisible man all season.

I thought he was good, but others like Matt Giraud had better stage savvy, and Allison Iraheta, had stronger vocals. It wasn’t until he sang “Falling Slowly” that I really started hoping he made it into the finals. Listen up here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0LISmz8WVc

It was a longshot, but he’s actually there! Fans on YouTube are banking on Danny Gokey fans being so anti-Adam that they’ll give Kris their vote, which got my hopes up again, but they could drop out of voting altogether. Then, you have to remember the battle of the Davids last year. It looked like David Archuleta was the shoo-in there.

So we’ll see, but there could not be two more polar opposites left standing in the end.

By Nadine Kam

Among items up for grabs at the Dream Sequins blog is a Garfield artist-designed tote from Stand Up Comedy and LucyJ chic shopper.

I can imagine kids wondering how any of us survived in the pre-Internet age. It is especially wonderful for those of us on these isolated rocks, allowing us to feel connected to the bigger world out there.

It was otherwise an alienating feeling growing up in Waipahu with an interest in fashion, but no one around who shared similar interest. What I got from it was that I was a weird kid surrounded by palaka (Arakawa’s) and swimwear, who shopped with friends at Sera’s and H.I.C., but preferred solo sojourns to admire the vintage 1920s and ’40s clothing at Bailey’s, when it was in Waikiki, and enjoyed disappearing into the racks at Carol & Mary at Ala Moana. I enjoyed the way the clothes provided a window into other times, other lives and even into others’ heads as a reflection of how they viewed themselves.

I don’t remember specific garments, but I thought the room, in addition to being very pink, felt very cozy, like sitting in a giant jewelry box. Its centerpiece was a plush round bench settee and its salespeople, thankfully, left me alone with my studies. The “old lady” clothes I couldn’t afford were intriguing, and though I had no intention of wearing them, I understood, through sewing, a little bit about fabrication and construction, and recognized that they were better than what anyone my age was wearing.

All this is a long way of saying, now, through blogs and Twitter, I meet like-spirited people all the time, and sharing a passion for fashion is no longer geographically exclusive.

One of my Tweeps, Deanne aka @DreamSequins, who I “met” while in a quandary pondering the cost vs. value of a Balenciaga City bag (she was the enabler who, from 5,000 miles away, finally convinced me to get it), is marking her 100th post with a giveaway on her blog, and you can check out her blog and her list of prizes and rules here: http://tinyurl.com/pfy7yv

Good luck!

By Nadine Kam

Just passing this on for fans of Custo Barcelona, at Ala Moana Center. Call 941-5655:

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
This is where I ended up Friday night, admiring the photographs of Harold Julian at Honolulu Design Center, the setting for the launch of the GroundUP Agency’s Model Division. Also exhibiting photos were Willy Branland, Aaron Yoshino, John Hook and Aaron Rideout.

Friday was the live equivalent of a variety show, that started at the Halekulani, followed by Dave & Buster’s, then the Honolulu Design Center.

The ballroom of Halekulani was packed with guests celebrating the 25th anniversary since the hotel’s 1984 renovation and reopening. (Halekulani’s legacy actually dates to 1917, when the hotel comprised a few modest bungalows on Gray’s Beach.) Coincidentally, Halekulani Corp. announced a new partnership alliance with Japan’s luxury Imperial Hotel group, adding another reason to celebrate, with Imperial president Tetsuya Kobayashi also in town for the occasion.

The room was so full that it was hard to back up for photos. One person back for the event, from Las Vegas, was the hotel’s former head of public relations, Joyce Matsumoto, who said she would not have missed it for the world. Nobu had not opened when she left, so she planted herself in front of the chef’s station to enjoy his sushi. Guests also raved about the shrimp ravioli with mushroom sauce and the foie gras paté at other stations.

Matt Catingub and his musical friends entertained guests at Halekulani’s 25th anniversary celebration May 8.

Amity Street introduced their CD with a performance in the Dave & Buster’s Showroom. From left are Jason Everett, Eli Oguma, Jhon Lynch and John Gonzalez Del Solar.

After Halekulani, I made a stop to check out Amity Street in Dave & Buster’s Showroom. I heard them playing live on KTUH one night and was compelled to check out the band in person. You can hear them on their MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/amitystreet or check out my video here to listen to them perform “Chameleon.”

Then it was on to Honolulu Design Center where GroundUP artists were busy with a couple of live paintings in the Cupola Theatre.

The event was held to launch the GroundUP Agency’s new model division, bringing a fashion element to the agency’s growing arts and entertainment empire. Models stepped onto the runway in basic white tank tops, jeans, black attire and bikinis to demonstrate their walk for event planners, stylists, photographers and young designers in the crowd.

GroundUP crew members take a break from their work to strike a pose with Boss Noa Laporga (front, second from right).

The event introduced models from the GroundUP Agency’s new model division.

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