Nadine Kam photos From left, going for the long look, were Spa Hawai’i Magazine & Directory editor Kapua Inglis, Modern Pacific Weddings and Events Regan Schultz, and SHMD creative director Tiare Friedman. Kapua and Tiare wear Maui designer Tamara Catz designs from Persimmon on the Big Island. Schultz is in Nicole Miller, which she carries at her 3620 Waialae Ave. showroom.
A little much-needed rain didn’t spoil the July 3 premiere party for Spa Hawai’i Magazine & Directory. It’s one of those great ideas, where, considering all the spas that have sprung up in the last decade, you go, why didn’t I think of that?
The party on the lawn of the fabulous Moana was presented by Regan Schultz’s Modern Pacific Events, an extension of her Modern Pacific Weddings for those who want a party without that nuptial component.
Roxanne Vogelgesang and Bo Alexander. Roxanne said she likes the long look, but says the extra fabric does make it harder to walk.
When I arrived, I couldn’t help but notice the fashion statement being made. If there was any doubt before that the maxi, or currently, patio dress is back, it seems that women are indeed willing to go long. I wanted to take photos of lots of them, but at about 7 p.m. it started to get dark really fast. When the rain started, the party simply scooted over a couple yards indoors and under cover of the lanai.
While there, spa specialists were also introduced to products and services offered by Makana Esthetics Wellness Academy, Malie Organics from Kauai, the online beauty and skincare company Artistry, and a sneak preview of soon-to-launch Pure & True Organic Beauty. (more…)
A few months ago I put a notice of a toilet-paper wedding gown contest in the paper and it’s paying off for finalist Ann Kagawa Lee, who already won a trip to New York for final judging of her creation at the Ripley’s Believe it or Not! museum.
That’s so great! It was an oddball kind of item, but having been inspired by a T-paper gown game at The Wedding Cafe and The Bridal Boutique at the time, I figured that creating toilet-paper wedding gowns is just one more of our citizenry’s many talents.
Putting things in the paper involves some guesswork as to what people will want to read/what they should read, but it’s worthwhile if an item does get the right person to respond.
Go Ann!
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Russell Tanoue is putting out the call to vote for dancer Mark Kanemura.
Speaking of talent, a more traditional kind involves the Fox reality competition, “So You Think You Can Dance?” Photographer Russell Tanoue has launched the campaign to vote for local dancer Mark Kanemura, who’s made it into the top 18 so far.
The program airs at 7 p.m. today, the 18th, with the voting period following the show, and elimination tomorrow at 8 p.m. It’s one of my favorite shows because the dancers are so talented and the choreography is amazing.
The girls have taken a back seat to the guys in past years, but look really strong this year. The guys are more technically trained than ever, but better watch out!
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…)
One of my favorite outfits in the “Sex and the City” movie was Carrie’s floral coat that looked like this, though with a stronger line and touch of chartreuse and purple. I liked this outfit, too, which she wore to go apartment hunting with Big.
Went to see “Sex and the City” Sunday morning and again last night to help Crystal Pancipanci and her fashionable friends celebrate her SATC victory.
The woman is on a roll having also won a Theory-sponsored drawing for a Theory bag last week. This time around, she won a pair of exclusive crystal-studded — how appropriate is that? — Manolo Blahniks valued at nearly $800.
I showed up late to the Skyy Vodka “Sex And The City ” private screening and cocktail party so didn’t get a pink feather boa like the other girls, but I did get to see her sparkling sandals before the lights went out. I wanted to take a photo but had left my camera on my desk at work, so borrowed Julie Ann Aragaki’s crystal-studded iPhone. Standing between those two I might have been blinded if the lights weren’t going down!
There was some drama queen action in the crowd after a group of friends didn’t appreciate comments made by a woman, and cast a drink at her. I was in between the two rows and hoped no more drinks were coming flew through the air while I tried to watch the previews. After much posturing, various parties left or moved seats after threats of removal by security.
I was going to write something after seeing it the first time, but felt emotionally drained by the experience. That was surprising considering I had a “Yeah, yeah, been there” attitude about the whole thing. I was never a rabid SATC fan and just from watching previews of the movie I had the whole story arc plotted out, so there were no surprises for me, but I thought the heartbreak scenes were realistic and painful to watch.
Carrie in Vivienne Westwood. The bridesmaids wore Zac Posen.
Of course the clothes were pure eye candy. I tried to count up the 81 outfits Carrie allegedly wore in the film (the story takes place over 6 months, which means she could wear each outfit two times, or double that if you count nights), but only counted 65. I didn’t count times when she just threw a fur or coat over something, and I may have missed a couple of wedding gowns, just because I was enthralled. I think I forgot to breathe between the Christian Lacroix and the Lanvin.
My favorite outfits were a trapeze floral coat Carrie wore with trousers and a blue jacket while shopping for furniture with Charlotte, and a blue tunic she wore with over-the-knee socks while strolling in a park with Miranda. Dunno who made those, but you can bet every piece of clothing in the movie cost plenty. I imagine it only bothers fashion followers that a real-life Carrie — a freelance writer not backed by a trust fund or sugar daddy — would never be able to afford such a wardrobe. And it was rather unrealistic that Carrie wore a string of pearls to bed several times, though of course, they weren’t going for an Academy Award here. Just a good-lookin’ reunion.
The only thing missing was subtitles for the fashion. Only the wedding gowns were accompanied by a recitation of the designer’s names: Vera Wang, Carolina Herrera, Lacroix, Lanvin, Dior and Vivienne Westwood.
Timed to the “Lost” season finale, Benny and Rafi Fine have posted the finale for their parody of the series as well, this time with a guest appearance by Indiana Jones. You can see it on YouTube, where the series has drawn 3.5 million views over the season.
YouTube has made it OK for any boy to play with dolls! … even if they still insist on calling them “action figures.”
Diorshow Artist Thuy Pham, who visited Hawaii twice during spring to show Dior’s latest makeup tips, tricks and trends, is featured in the June issue of Elle magazine, demonstrating how to “indulge your inner diva” with Diorshow products.
Of interest to beauty junkies is Dior’s, Elle’s and Macy’s invitation to be an Artist in Action, featured in the January 2009 issue of the magazine.
Give it a try by grabbing a friend and digital camera and heading to a Macy’s Dior counter. Make over your friend using Dior products and snap a photo of your work. Email the photo to ArtistinAction@Elle.com. The deadline to enter is Sept. 15, 2008. You’re limited to one entry per person or email address. Full details are available at Elle.com/Promotions/ArtistinAction
Set your fashion, friend, skate, surf photos — anything you can think of — to music on video. I tried Animoto with some travel photos.
If you have a handful of photos, no video editing skills whatsoever and about an hour, Animoto.com can create an instant video clip for you. Tried the service yesterday as soon as I read about it in the Sunday NY Times. Sounded like something fun and easy.
I uploaded 30 photos of a trip I took to Vancouver, B.C., Canada in 2006, which took some time because I had to downsize them to upload quickly. As it happens, instead of shuffling them around, Animoto simply uses them in the order that you enter the photos. After you upload them, you can shuffle them around yourself.
Being something of a control freak, it was difficult for me to accept what they do, and I wanted it to end on a particular photo. You never know exactly how many photos are going to be used, but for a 30-second free video clip, it’s about 6 or 8. (Thirty seconds is really short, but afterward, you have to start paying somehow.) I ended up mashing it up about 10 times, and I don’t 100 percent love the final result, but it’s certainly easier than doing all that work of setting your photos to music (you choose from a handful of their clips), provided you even have all the video-editing tools available to these guys.
Afterward, it’s easy to post to YouTube or FaceBook, which are linked to Animoto.
Try it now that you have a day off to play. Use my referral code — ejqnplmd — to get $5 off an all-access pass and help me get free access :)!
Jay McCarroll with his illustrations for “Transport,” his Spring 2007 collection, based on the work of Archigram, a group of 1960s architects who envisioned living spaces full of hot-air balloons, flying cars and moving streets and other contemporary cityscapes.
“Eleven Minutes”
Part of the HGLCF Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival
Screening 2 p.m. Saturday, May 24 at the Doris Duke Theatre at Honolulu Academy of Arts.
Admission is $12
If you get a chance to see “Eleven Minutes,” part of the Honolulu Gay and Lesbian Cultural Foundation’s Rainbow Film Festival Saturday, go.
The documentary film by Michael Selditch and Rob Tate tracks Jay McCarroll’s journey from “reality to real-life designer” as he tries to live up to the “Project Runway” premise of becoming the “next great American designer.” The tone of the piece is bittersweet as he scoffs at the title, yet it’s made so clear he has bought into the idea. Considering the amount of wit, confidence and bravado he presented on the show, he’s only human and the criticism he received after the show in failing to become an overnight sensation, takes its toll on his psyche.
Considering his desire to parlay his 15 minutes of fame into a career, they could have called it “15 Minutes,” but I believe the title, reflecting the length of a fashion show that takes six months to a year to plan, might have been inspired by “Onze Minutos, “a 2003 novel by Paulo Coelho based on a young Brazilian prostitute who seeks a better life in Switzerland, only to find that reality is harsher than expected.
For anyone in the creative arts, it is mesmerizing to watch, but in the end rather depressing to see so little payoff, in spite of McCarroll’s very real talent. It’s tragic, to me, when celebs lacking any fashion cred can suddenly call themselves “designers” by capitalizing on the work of hundreds of people like McCarroll, who don’t have the finances to break out of their sweat-shop roles.
Images of hot-air balloons cover this outfit.
My feeling is that McCarroll has been the most talented and original of the parade of designers in all four seasons of the Bravo series. But, as the first season winner, he was the one most closely scrutinized and reviled after failing to produce. He famously rejected the program’s prize of $100,000, reporting that acceptance would have meant 10 percent of his brand would be forever owned by the Weinstein Co.
He’s grateful for the opportunity that “Project Runway” presented, saying, “I can’t imagine having no notoriety and trying to do what I’m doing,” but faces the realization that talent is 10 percent of the success equation. What’s also needed is business acumen, good advice, sweat equity, luck and money. It’s the reason stars with no design skills, taste or originality whatsovever are able to produce and market their own lines, while many individuals like McCarroll, who can design, make a pattern and sew, are forced to toil behind the scenes, with no recognition of their own.
Although people assumed he had help from the show’s producers, that is not their focus. Their job is to entertain. Period. If anything, they tend to exploit talent to increase their own market share. After the show stopped airing, like McCarroll says, “The cord was cut and it was done. Ten percent of it is opportunity, 90 percent was mt hard work and that was unnoticed, until now.”
The feeling conveyed is that this runway show and documentary are his last hope of making it on his own.
He won “Project Runway” in Feb. 2004 and filming started in February 2006 in advance of preparation for a Sept. 2006 New York Fashion Week presentation for the Spring 2007 season. In his view, it was his last shot at being recognized for his talent. “I’ve been trying for … two seasons now to get this show on the road. I have a shelf life so if I don’t show this coming season, people aren’t going to care anymore … If I f*** this one up, I may have to reconsider some things.”
Nadine Kam photos From left are Chihana Onozeki, Maria Garrido Gabaldon — who some scene observers like to call Hawaii’s Penelope Cruz — and Susanne Sjodin.
mixmix celebrated the opening of store No. 2 at 1440 Kapiolani Boulevard across from the Ala Moana Center branch of Bank of Hawaii Wednesday night with champagne, chocolates and a peek at designs by Diane Von Furstenberg, Dries Van Noten, McQ, and more for women, and Veronique Branquinho, Kris Van Assche and Super Fine for men.The Bethel and Pauahi street original remains open, although there are plans to branch out into other directions, so keep your eyes open.
Unlike the white party that marked last fall’s opening, there was no dress code this time.
Maria and Tomoya Tsuruhara.
From left, stylist Crystal Pancipanci, N. Trisha Lagaso Goldberg and Lesa Griffith. Crystal will be in tonight’s episode of “Lost,” as one of the paparazzi/reporters participating in an international press conference. (Just so’s she doesn’t get into trouble, I found out about it from other sources before I saw her.)
ABC photo
Crystal’s not alone with her TV closeup. Honolulu Nightlife Diarist Christa Wittmier — complete with apparently non-working camera (pictured behind Cheech Marin) — will also be in the episode, as well as Shana Peete. Wish I could watch in real time but I’ll have to catch up later online. I hate that because I find the resolution distracting. I can see the makeup tricks and think, “Hey that’s not dirt; that’s Guerlain Terra Cotta or Stila Sun.”
Goodwill Industries Metallic denim dress created by Ricky Lizalde on auction to benefit Goodwill Industries.
There are a handful of Hawaii designers trying to get onto “Project Runway.” The good thing about a show like that is, even if you lose, the name-recognition factor will continue to open doors long after the last episode airs.
Of course, Christian Siriano was bound to be a star. But if you thought you’d seen the last of Ricky “Crybaby” Lizalde, think again.
The California designer has created a collection in celebration of Levi’s “501 Day” and in support of Goodwill Industries. Sales from the auction of the Ricky Lizalde pieces will help fund Goodwill job training programs that benefit hundreds of thousands of people each year. The auctions end May 19 and May 20, and include the metallic denim dress (size 2-4) and the denim engineer cap. Last time I checked, the prices were $248 and $68, respectively. Go to www.shopgoodwill.com.
As much as I hated the hat during the season, it’s such a signature of his that he probably would be able to market them in any color and material forever.
