By Nadine Kam

Anteprima/Wirebag
The “Fiori Kitty” square-shape bag is $343. A version in black is $312.

Anteprima Wirebags last Hellow Kitty collection proved to be so popular that the company is back with round two. The new Antemprima x Hello Kitty collection is back and available in limited quantities at the Ala Moana and Royal Hawaiian Center stores.

The new collection of wirebags are priced from $312 to $581, with mini pouches priced from $228 to $252, and six styles of purse charms ranging from $44 to $144.

The charm of these purses is that they are waterproof so can go straight from beach to a dressy evening out for that prized mix of the practical and stylish.

The basket shape “Fiori Kitty” is a Hawaii exclusive. This one is $470. A silver-pink version is $521.

This charm comes in purple, orange, pink, mustard, green.

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
Nadine Benton, Western Field Sales Manager for Piaget with company president Larry Boland, show their Piagets. He’s wearing the new Piaget Polo FortyFive, the company’s first combining titanium and stainless steel. Between them, Justine Miguel models jewelry from Piaget’s Paris-New York collection, and Piaget’s Miss Protocale Classic watch, at $146,000. Her necklace is $350,000.
Today’s the last day to catch a showing of Piaget’s Red Carpet Collection of diamond jewelry and watches at Neiman Marcus.

It may be one of your only opportunities to try on a diamond watch valued at the cost of a small condo, like I did when a piece from the Limelight Creative Design collection was draped over my wrist. It was heavy. I guesstimate that it probably weighs more than a pound, but it had a smooth finish top and bottom, designed to avoid catching on fine clothing. The amount of sparkle was amazing, real fire power with flickers of brilliant reds, oranges, yellows, blues and greens. At $220,000, I had to give it back.

I tend to be more funky than glam anyway, so the Eiffel Tower peridot ring from the Paris-New York collection is more likely something I’d wear … if I had $37,500 to spare.

Of course there were plenty of time pieces for men. This Altiplano Double Jeu piece with alligator strap has two faces, one on top of the other in two separate cases connected by a hinge. Even with the double cases, it remains relatively thin.

Here’s a larger view of the pieces on Justine, who wears a Teri Jon gown. The Miss Protocale Classic watch also comes with a black patent band that can be switched out. Both black and diamond bands can be worn as bracelets when not used with the watch face. Sharene Boulos plays harp in the background.

By Nadine Kam

Donna Kato at home in her Colorado studio with some of her polymer clay creations.

If you want to tone up, just try working with polymer clay. I was in Donna Kato’s weekend workshop at the Linekona Art Center, presented by the Hawaii Stitchery and Fibre Arts Guild. Kato is a nationally known artist, author and teacher, who works in the polymer clay medium, i.e. Fimo, Sculpy and her own branded Kato Polyclay, a collaboration with Van Aken International.

What I was doing there I don’t know. I’m not particularly good with my hands, having been put on earth to appreciate artists of all stripes, from fashion and jewelry designers to visual artists. I always liked working with clay, though, both handbuilding and on a pottery wheel, so I thought it might be fun to explore a variation of the medium. I was also told that it helps to master polymer clay skills before tackling silver clay.

Sending white sheets of polymer clay through the pasta machine left me with a desire to make my own pasta.

During my interview with Donna, she kept referring to her pasta machine as key to working with her clay, and once I started working with it, I could see why. There’s no other way to pound it into submission. You have to flex, knead and roll it to get it into a thin enough sheet to fit through the pasta machine, and my abs and arms felt pretty toned after two days of working the clay. It was pretty slow going because we had to do a lot of conditioning of the clay, to get it into a factory-fresh pliable consistency, before even dreaming of shaping it into jewelry and other pieces.

At top are pieces made by Donna that would comprise the pin at top left. The pieces started with toner transfers from Xeroxed clip art. Above, once the pieces were cured once, the impressions left by the toner created images that could be inked over. Ele Clere applies ink to her pieces with her fingertips. Coincidentally, the colors and patterns she chose matched what she was wearing!

It’s an interesting medium because you can use several techniques to get it to mimic such raw materials as ceramic ware, bone, stone, ebony, ivory, glass and more.

Borrowing the glasswork idea of creating canes to replicate patterns, we created striped canes that would embellish bangle bracelets we were making. Once you start working with the polymer clay, you start seeing so many possibilities, but it probably does require a workspace that allows you to set up a pasta machine and dedicated toaster oven for curing small pieces.

My bracelet’s border cane. Layering the various colors of clay was like making maki sushi.

Here’s the way the cane looks when sliced thin and molded to black and giraffe-colored bangles, sitting on my Fighting Eel dress.

It’s pretty embarrassing to compare my bangles to hers, but hey, it’s years of experience vs. a two-day amateur. We only had time to make one bangle on the second day, but I noticed a woman wearing glasses that had a giraffe pattern on the arms, and I liked the color combinations, so hastily created that bracelet. Only, I didn’t have enough yellow clay after I finished making an orange-and-red cane, so my second batch of orange turned out more salmon color, which didn’t have enough contrast to make the brown giraffe spots stand out.

One of Donna Kato’s Art Nouveau pendants.

On my initial black bangle, I had a tribal pattern affixed in class but didn’t have time to let it bake. Once I got home, I decided I liked the plain, glossy black, which reminded me of the glosssy black-on-black work of the Martinez clan of New Mexico. So I removed the pattern and let it stand.

I love traveling in New Mexico and have quite a bit of the various pueblos’ pottery. I also love the red, shimmery mica clay there, and I guess those preferences and influences stay with a person, because the orange bracelet, with a touch of gold polymer clay, turned out to look a lot like the clay of Taos Pueblo.

Kato’s music pins, which we tried duplicating on Day One.

Only afterward, I noticed that the bangles were also perfect match for one of my Fighting Eel dresses, and the pattern on the black bangle would have matched the dress perfectly if I had left it in place. Oh well! I could add it back, but somehow, without the camaraderie of a class, it seems a much more daunting a task.

To find out more about the Hawaii Stitchery and Fibre Arts Guild, that doesn’t limit itself to fiber arts, write P.O. Box 235673 / Honolulu, HI 96822.

By Nadine Kam

Above, Justine Miguel shows the animal print trend. She was a standout in our photo shoot for the University of Hawaii senior fashion show earlier this year.

Here’s a brief video to go along with the Neiman Marcus Fall Fashion Preview that appeared in Thursday’s paper. You can check out the copy here:

Shown during the presentation were designs by Donna Karan, See by Chloe, Robert Rodriguez, up-and-coming Leifsdottir, Stella McCartney, and Elizabeth and James.

I thought the models’ makeup was really beautiful, so chic and glamorous. Women who complained before about fashion being oriented only toward the young will appreciate the new sophistication on the horizon.

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photo
What came first, the accessory or the wardrobe?

I contributed to the economic slowdown when, for a couple of months earlier this year, I failed to shop. There comes a point when the closets and dresser drawers are full, and before bringing home anything, one starts asking, “Do I really need another black dress?” Or jacket, or purse, etc.

We probably all have much more than we need (want is another story), so after a while I stopped looking. Then, I was working on this HI Luxury men’s June/July fashion spread, centered on one of summer’s best accessories, the Panama hat.

Accessories are so big now that more people are wise to the ways of stylists and how they can change up and personalize a basic wardrobe with scarves, jewelry and layering.

I can’t afford a Montecristi, but I did buy a summery straw hat (I know, I know, they don’t offer sun protection), and with the hat as inspiration, I picked up the pieces above to wear with it. All of a sudden, I was cured of shopper’s block. It was the first time — outside of print — that I tried building a wardrobe around an accessory. Usually, I fall in love with a top, skirt or dress first, and the accessories are icing. I think this economy is forcing everyone to shop and think differently. These are interesting times.

Leah Ball photo for HI Luxury
Kahi Kapololu in a Newt at the Royal fedora, $650.

Here’s a link to my long-ago opus about the Panama hat as it appears on the Web site of Hawaii’s Montecristi go-to guy, Brent Black. I’m glad he picked it up because I can’t find it on the Star-Bulletin site anymore.

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
Hula figurines graced one of the windows at the new Kate Spade store on the mall level of Ala Moana Center, across from Bebe. The opposite window was full of yellow cabs representing the company’s origin. Kate Spade’s natural-colored Hula Ida bag looks like the skirts on the dancers. An orange version of the bag is pictured further below.

I don’t know about men, but women as consumers are pretty easy to figure out. We’re attracted to color. I could be wrong, but I think Apple was one of the first companies outside of fashion to recognize this and deliver color in objects not traditionally known for color. Before the Apple revolution, computers were gray or beige.

Kate Spade’s opening at Ala Moana Center this morning was marked by color, such that I didn’t know what to do. Talk to people or shop? It was pretty much like being in a candy store, with so many delectable looking baubles in shiny, happy yellows, oranges, magentas, pinks and blues.

The store was to look like the Waikiki store, but I was told plans changed four days ago, and the effect now is much for playful, appointed in living room furnishings and decor that add casual warmth to the room.

Although it would have been nice to think the summer collection was inspired by Hawaii, it was actually inspired by cities of Mexico and the Southwest. But the warm colors and casual, sophisticated style travel well. To capture that sentiment, the store is offering a limited-edition exclusive tot, “Hawaii Paradise Found,” for $155. It lists the distance from Hawaii to such major cities as Tokyo, L.A., and Sydney.

“Hawaii Paradise Found” exclusive bag.

A shopper wearing a preppy argyle design watch browses a tabletop covered with small wares and Kate Spade’s Hula Ida bag.

Maiko Nakano settles into a sunny yellow sofa at the front of the store which will allow tired shoppers to rest for a while, while continuing to check out small leather goods and jewelry.

Manikins show Kate Spade summer dresses and accessories.

I love the shop’s many retro living room details. Like the Waikiki store, it’s full of shelf-top sculptures, like the owl at left, and hardcover books. I bought the metallic blue version of the gold purse.

(more…)

By Nadine Kam

Kate Spade graphic

Kate Spade is opening at Ala Moana Center June 17, and to mark the occasion, the company is giving away a trip to Hawaii. You can also check out the store’s hula bags, made of raffia, when the store opens:

For readers outside our islands, enter at www.katespade.com by June 12.

Here’s what the prize entails:

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
From left, Alexandrina Cambra and Zandrina Cambra, with Elizabeth Kampher, picked pieces of jewelry, including a small tiara.

So Good Jewelry owners Alen Kaneshiro and Christopher Otto celebrated the store’s second anniversary in Hawaii at Waikiki Trade Center May 29 with an ’80s-themed party that included generous discounts on its accessories and costume jewelry in every style imaginable.

The amount of the discounts was a mystery unveiled at the cash registers, when shoppers drew pieces of Starburst candy for discounts of anything from 40 to 75 percent off. A pink wrapper was worth a 50 percent discount to me, which I used on a batch of headbands I need for hair control. (It’s summer, it’s growing out.)

With the discounts, it was like a shopping spree as guests loaded up their trays with pieces for themselves and gifts for friends.

Happy anniversary!

From left, Camia Frank, Jeremy Banta and Kasey Stephensonpino in colorful ’80s mode, though Jeremy says those are his normal clothes; he wears color all the time. A brave man.

Owners Christopher Otto and Alen Kaneshiro welcomed Alan Urie, left, Raylynn Mendes and Dean Park, right.

Reiko Tokushige Rogers and Shiho Komura show floral and star pieces they like. For those who like drama, there were plenty of playful statement rings available.

These cell-phone leashes are $12.99.

The Mother Lode of feathered headbands.

By Nadine Kam

Photo courtesy Phillip and Susan Lauer
From left, Blue, Bono and Roxy model parkas with decorative buckles stitched up by Susan Lauer of Pupstar Sonoma. The photo won the family third place in a contest at www.valentinomovie.com

As far as some dog owners are concerned, Valentino’s pugs stole the show in the film “Valentino: The Last Emperor,” still playing at Kahala Theatres.

Winners were recently named in the movie Web sit’s Pug-o-Vision contest, and the third place finishers happen to have Hawaii ties. Susan and Phillip Lauer started a small clothing company for dogs, Pupstar Sonoma, after Susan’s designs got the attention of other dog owners in Northern California. Before they moved to Hawaii, Phillip worked at Crazy Shirts, and Susan, a University of Hawaii fashion graduate worked throughout in the fashion industry, continuing to do pattern making and grading for a local company after the move.

Here’s my story in today’s print edition: http://www.hsblinks.com/a2

Also, today, some tips from the book “How Not to Look Old.” http://www.hsblinks.com/a3

By Nadine Kam

Every tribe has its markers, and those addicted to the garrulous universe of Twitter.com can show their affiliation with T-shirts from Aiea designer Valentino Valdez (@valdezign) and acrylic jewelry from London-based Twitterer @CouchObjects.

This twitterati nameplate, $20, is available through @CouchObject’s Etsy site. Below, prototypes for a nameplate bearing my blog and Twitter name.

I don’t often wear words or logos because they can be bloated with unintended meaning and would make me feel like a walking advertisement, but I’ll make an exception for my own Twitter name fashiontribe. The @ in front allows other tweeps to direct their comments straight at you so you can bypass the thousands of messages that flood the site every minute.

OK, geeky I know, but I think everyone on Twitter is proud to be part of the international geekdom.

If you want to learn more about Twitter, you might want to check out the HI Twestival coming up Feb. 12 at Oceans 808 at Restaurant Row, one of 160 events being held in cities all around the globe that night, allowing the Twitter/social media community to come together to benefit Charity:Water, a non-profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations.

Tickets are $20 for a pupu buffet, two drinks (plus $3 drink specials), a night of music and a chance to win prizes through a charity raffle. A $5 raffle ticket could get you:
>> A two-night stay at Wyland Waikiki
>> One of two 30-minute Ocean Massages from Spa Pure at The Wyland Waikiki
>> One of two two-night stays at any hotel from the Aqua Boutique Collection from Aqua Resorts
>> A 23-piece round tray from Happy Hearts Mochi
>> One complimentary tuition to Hawaii Bartending Academy
>> Admission for four to the Waikiki Aquarium
>> $500 closing cost credit on a loan from Innovative Mortgage Solutions

Plus more to come!

BTW, feel free to: