By Nadine Kam

Too little, too lame, too tired for Paris.

It was a sad day for fashion on Sept. 9, when it was announced that Lindsay Lohan had been named artistic advisor for the house of Ungaro. Conspicuosly timed to the start of New York Fashion Week, the news was not well received and generated a negative buzz among editors and those working in the field. For any designer who has studied and worked to get where they are, and those who have not yet made it, it was a slap in the face.

Granted, there have been celebs with their own vision and creative instincts, who have made their mark in fashion. Think Olsen twins and Gwen Stefani, for a start. There have also been numerous collaborations that have worked our well for brands and celebs, but this was different. It was throwing a plum job to a washed up actress with no discernable fashion point of view beyond Hollywood trashy. That might have even worked in a boom economy, but on the Paris runways last week the new collection came off ticky-tacky and frivolous for these sober times and lacked the artistry associated with designers who have already proven they belong in Paris.

A bright spot was offered up by the Sydney Morning Herald, suggesting that Lindsay’s “insult” to fashion could result in companies seeking less input from celebrities. But that’s wishful thinking. Celebrities still seem to have the power to move brands. But I hope the brand owners can simply be honest and call these moves collaborations and give credit to the real designers who too often go nameless.

Due to the Lindsay association, though, we’ll probably all remember designer Estrella Archs name and I’m already wondering what she’ll do for the next Ungaro collection, hopefully without Lindsay.

Check out more opinions here:

LA Times

The First Post

New York magazine

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In happier news, Hilary Duff’s Femme collaboration with DKNY Jeans reflects her style while being on trend and perfectly suited to its young demographic, with each piece wearable, easy to mix and match and integrate with pieces every girl has, and coming in at less than $100 per piece.

Check it out: www.dkny.com

By Nadine Kam

In last Thursday’s print edition of the paper, I wrote about cleaning out your closet and the idea of shopping your closet to make a list of needs before you go shopping and come home with a bag of wants.

Found a blog that addresses this recessionista tactic http://shopinyourcloset.blogspot.com/ though the resulting finds weren’t what I had in mind. They’re the kind of things that should have been tossed long ago.

You’re welcome to contribute to the blog and so many of the items shown are so thugly that at the least, they’ll make you feel better about what you have in your closet.

If you can top the toe socks posted recently on the shopinyourcloset blog, do tell!

By Nadine Kam

eLuxury.com photo
I now have the adult version of this 3.1 Phillip Lim children’s clipped feather swing skirt. (It’s not actually feathers, but fabric.)

It was with great sadness that I discovered a 3.1 Phillip Lim skirt for $250 on eLuxury, after I had paid more than $300 on sale. I was relieved to find it was a children’s skirt I was looking at, though if I had known there was a children’s size available, I definitely would have tried to squeeze into the 9/10 or so.

Maybe the sales gods just haven’t been with me, because I had eyed a black See by Chloe top at Nordstrom when it opened. It was more than $400, and now, it was gone. All the See by Chloe and Phillip Lim stuff were gone. I was kind of mad that my boyfriend had told me earlier not to get it, not because of the price, but because it had a rather large bow in front and he hates extraneous, fussy, frilly things — which I guess makes me wonder why he likes me.

It’s not like he runs my wardrobe or anything, but if he speaks I must listen because when it comes to clothes, he’s generally right. A guy with a good eye can be your best shopping ally because he’s less likely to indulge your fantasy life and dress the real, often dumpier you.
It’s a fact that in a dressing room I’m another person, so I come out with some choices that are good for someone else, and pretty bad for me. It helps that I’ve sought the opinion of one of our photographers here, Craig Kojima, who was pretty brutal. So now when I try things on, I always hear his voice saying, “That does nothing for you.”

If you’re about to make a mistake, just say those words and see if they’re true or false. Something worth buying will make your body look better than it really is. The no’s will be obvious. Something marginal will be just OK, neither excellent or bad on you. It’s the marginal things that pose the greatest problem, because they could be easily be yesses. But if you can say, “It does nothing for me,” and walk away, you could end up saving a lot of money, though it still doesn’t stop me from falling in love with individual pieces, rather than the way they look on me.

I wish I could be one of those with classic, appropriate adult style day in and day out, but I have a feeling I’d be bored.

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
Clinton Kelly, of TV’s “What Not to Wear,” received a warm welcome from petites and non-petites alike at Macy’s.

Petite women had a lot of their style questions answered by Clinton Kelly at Macy’s Ala Moana June 7 when the co-host of TLC’s “What Not to Wear” presented a brief fashion show and style workshop.

Poor thing, he’s from New York City where walking 20 to 40 blocks is no big deal and quite pleasurable given all the sights and wonderful places to stop along the way, whether you want to shop or eat. So he thought he could walk from Waikiki to the mall. Well, he didn’t count on Hawaii’s intense sun and lack of shady, inviting sidewalks. So he was hot and exhausted when he got there, but did his showman’s best in entertaining the crowd, just like the show!

Kelly asked for volunteers to be critiqued. So he asked this woman why she would come to see him in athletic shoes, when they so obviously bring her ensemble down. He recommended she try ballet flats instead. He said her skirt also could have been narrower.

Questions from the audience were pretty basic, like “do you have to match a black bag with black shoes.” I believe the last time that was done may have been in the 1940s/50s. Do these women who want advice not notice the explosion of color and pattern featured in every newspaper, magazine and TV show? Kelly said that combining color, pattern, texture and shine is what creates interest in an outfit.

Empire seaming just under boobs and above the natural waistline creates the illusion of length, camouflaging a thick waist, bottom-heavy figure, and making legs appear longer.

Like learning any skill, from swimming to playing poker, dressing well takes paying attention and practice. Kelly reiterated that it takes WORK and trying on A LOT of clothes, and not just whining after trying on one item and complaining manufacturers don’t make anything that fits. (more…)

By Nadine Kam

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…)

By Nadine Kam

Every now and then, you see a look that makes you go, “Huh?” and when I spied Judy’s hair in a sundry store, I had to ask, “What’s up?”

The former New Yorker said her Flora-Dec’d braids reflect Hawaii’s flowers, while the orange feather represents her part-Cherokee heritage.

“My husband doesn’t like it; he says I look like a clown, but I like it,” she said.

Well, everyone needs a vehicle for self-expression. Some paint, some blog, some make films, some dress.

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Meanwhile, now’s the time to pick up end-of-2007 bargains. Almost every garment retailer has a “Sale” sign in their window with the last of the season’s markdowns.

Mimi & Coco’s Web V dress.

>> Shasa Emporium at Kahala Mall is offering 25 percent off Mimi & Coco dresses through Jan. 13.

>> Nordstrom Rack is offering up to 75 percent its original prices, clearing the racks before new merch arrives Jan. 15, when doors open at 10:30 a.m.

>> Neiman Marcus is giving you the opportunity to shop its Last Call pre-sale this weekend, with up to 65 percent off its original prices. What this means is you pay for it now and pick it up when the sale begins Jan. 16, continuing through Jan. 22.

I always consider this sale something of a trap because I get distracted by what’s on the racks for the incoming season and end up paying full price for a couple of new pieces. But this time I scored a Robert Rodriguez purple shift for $114, marked down from $319. YES! He also had a pale sequin top I LOVED, but only from the front. The armholes were cut really deeply and strangely — it was a size 2, and the dress was a 0, so I guess it was a size too big and might fit someone else really well. It hurt to put it back because the front was so, so beautiful, but I don’t have enough space to house a clothing museum, so one of my 2008 mantras is to be hyper-critical of the way things look on me. I always make the mistake of falling in love with the piece, probably by imagining how it looks on the perfect body. Don’t we all? If we didn’t, you wouldn’t see as many belly button piercings attached to flab.

Other than that, there are still great pieces left from Alice + Olivia, Chloe, Marni, See by Chloe, Diane Von Furstenberg, Tory Burch and 3.1 Phillip Lim.

By Nadine Kam

One of Rico Leffanta’s photos from the F.A.C.E. of Nuuanu fashion show in October.

The day after new year. I think I’ll try to have less stress in my life and let some of you do some of my work for me.

>> No. 1: After seeing my story on the year in fashion in Hawaii in the Dec. 27 Star-Bulletin, reader Rico said he was hoping I could direct others to his event photos at paparico.multiply.com, where you can see about 44 great portraits of the models. Would be especially great for the models to see them. I know I hate it when people snap my photos at events and I never know where they go or how they’re used. So Rico, consider it done!

>> No. 2: Another reader has a fashion dilemma requiring your assistance. It seems she has one of those separated-at-birth friendships where she and a friend have similar tastes. They can go to the mall on different dates and go home with the same handbag or shoes.

Anyway, she has this one pair of Betsey Johnson stiletto heels that she absolutely loves and would wear more often … if it wasn’t for said friend who has, natch, the same pair of shoes.

So she wanted to know if it was OK to wear them at the same time. At first I told her it’s OK to go out in groups — distraction in numbers sort of thing — plus it’s kind of cute in a Romy and Michele sort of way.

Then she was like, what if she was only with this friend. So I said that might be a little weird. What do you think?

It might help to know that the friend had the shoes first. (When you have all the details it sort of changes things, right?)

>> No. 3: Were you watching the devastating UH game New Year’s Day? I’m not much of a sports fan at all, and knowing that, the sports ed. is always making fun of my lack of sports knowledge, grilling me on names and events I just don’t know, except through osmosis. To me, Superbowl day is a great holiday because no one’s crowding my favorite restaurants.

But this time even I was alternating between yelling “DOH!” “NO!” and “OW!” while watching the game, mostly because I was spending New Year’s at my brother’s and so had to while everyone else was glued to the big screen.

That was quite painful, stressful and depressing to watch. You Tube newbie pojiboy helped dull the pain with the following video of pre-game (we were so happy then) warring helmets, that was waiting in my inbox the day after. Thanks pojiboy!

By Nadine Kam

Oh happy day, the fourth season of our favorite TV series “Project Runway” starts up again Wednesday, Nov. 14. It’s been so long!

You can get a peek at the contestants ahead of time at http://www.bravotv.com/Project_Runway/season/4/bios/index.php

Project Runway
Early favorite, Christian of Annapolis, Md. Gotta love a guy who is a fan of the Brits, McQueen and Westwood.

I looked at a handful of videos and can’t wait to see what Christian comes up with. I think I was standing behind him to get into one of the Bryant Park shows. Even in NY, not too many guys look or dress like him. Hope he’s not a jerk.

What I don’t get are some of the comments posted to the site, like they keep asking if so and so is gay. Why does that even matter?

One woman had the audacity to post: “just like to say that I love the show and am looking forward to this season, but are there any everyday people on this show? Everyone seems to be gay, eccsentric, tattooed or full of themselves. Just my opinion. Hope the show changes my mind.”

Like, how can this woman even say she loves the show? What has she been watching in the past, since there were gay, eccentric, tattooed and “full of themselves” personalities from the very first season? If she wants to see everyday people she should turn off her TV and go for a walk in her neighborhood.

Just goes to show you how bigotry of all types continues to thrive, though most people like to pretend it doesn’t exist until something like “Dog’s” rant surfaces.

It’s sad that no matter how brilliant or creative a designer can be, to some people they will only be recognized as “gay” or “tattooed.”

By Nadine Kam

Security personnel at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas were looking for a bomb in my carry-on, only to find …

What’s up with me and bombs anyway. If they aren’t exploding around me, as during my New York adventure, then security is always looking out for me.

The latest was getting stopped at McCarran International Airport en route home and seeing everyone in back of me giving me the stink eye for holding them up. Sorry! I was late too, but instead of just pulling my bag, the employees seem to have so little going on in their lives that they have to invent excitement by making a big show of calling the supervisor, making all kinds of comments like, “What does this look like to you? I don’t like this. I don’t like this one bit. Looks pretty bad,” and leaving everyone waiting. This took about 20 minutes when I had 10 to get to my plane.

Of course the first thing they pulled out from my bag was the box for my bra “petals,” which I had to buy because I had bought a top requiring a strapless bra, and had left my Nu Bra at home. So that was kind of embarrassing to see two old guys hovering, trying to figure out what this silicone substance was!

As it turns out, the real culprit was a batch of thick, dense fudge I brought back as omiyage. That, combined with all the cords for my computer, digital camera and cell phone made it look like I was planning to build a bomb of plastic explosives.

So now you know. If you’re bringing fudge home, pack it in your check-in luggage. I only travel with one carry-on, so next time I’d ship it home.

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photo
Valerie Ragaza-Miao put her design skills to good use in creating the interior of her second Valerie Joseph boutique at Ward Entertainment Center. Yasmin Dar models clothing and accessories from the boutique. Many more photos are taken than we have space to run in the newspaper.

Valerie Ragaza-Miao celebrated the opening of her second Valerie Joseph boutique Saturday night, but photographer Jamm Aquino and I were in the store on Tuesday taking photos that ran in the paper on Thursday.

Valerie is noted for service and getting to know her customers, so after the story ran, a friend emailed one of her recollections of working with Valerie. Apparently, my friend had been trying on clothes and she stepped out of the dressing room, hoping for approval as everyone does.

“So Valerie was staring at me, and … nothing,” my friend said.

Now, Valerie is fairly talkative, so that was hard to believe. And finally, she spoke. (more…)