Michael Phelps’ Olympic accomplishment was phenomenal and the press follow-ups begin, but this S.I. poster makes me wonder, what were they thinking?

At first glance, the arrangement of the gold medals looks like a belly dancer’s halter top. I mean, I’m all for men being in touch with their feminine side, but this seems disrespectful to me because any visual designer would have known what the impact would be.

Yahoo photo

Ahh, one of the great mysteries of the Olympics has been solved by opening the Yahoo home page this morning.

I guess a lot of people had the same question I had when looking at Kerri Walsh, which is, what is that black stuff she’s wearing on her shoulder? Many thought it was a tattoo, but it was raised and looked velvety to me. Turns out to be medical tape.

A lot of feature stories are born this way, out of those hundreds of trivial things that make you go huh? in the course of a day.

Check out the feature here.

Nadine Kam photos
Rose Bernardo tries on Betsey Johnson’s 30th anniversary exclusive cardigan. It’s $200.

Guests fueled up on pink cupcakes, pink champagne and pink M&Ms at last Thursday’s party at the Betsey Johnson Ala Moana Center boutique, marking the designer’s 30th anniversary in the biz. How time flies!

No, Betsey couldn’t be here for the celebration, but boutique manager Marilee Mattson said that at a celebration in NYC, women showed up in vintage Betsey and the designer started buying back the clothes off their back. When she was here for the store opening, I wore a Betsey I had picked up in the mid-90s, a pink (natch) princess line dress that came with a black crochet corset-laced bra worn over it. I picked it up in Seattle.

I picked up other things as well, and remember traipsing around the city in a red-and-white cropped top with a black corset over it, and my hair in pigtails. In Seattle, no one bats an eye at such a sight. But, I hate to be stared at so here in Hawaii, I try to disappear into the crowd.

Jeni Heath serves pink cupcakes.

(more…)

I get a lot of very formal invitations in the mail, so what does it take to stand out? The 30th anniversary at Betsey Johnson postcard caught my eye because of its girly, hand-done touch, although I was a bit confused at first because I actually know someone named Betsy and immediately thought, “Oh, Betsy’s having a birthday party at Betsey Johnson,” which is just the sort of thing she’d do.

Turns out, it was 1978 when Betsey Johnson and her business partner and CEO Chantal Bacon officially launched the Betsey Johnson brand on her birthday, Aug. 10 (making her a feisty, dynamic Leo—which even explains her red mane!), and the Ala Moana Center boutique will be marking the occasion with a party from 4 to 7 p.m. tomorrow, Aug. 7. RSVP to attend at 949-3500.

 The Betsey Johnson 30th anniversary exclusive sunglasses with faux pearls is $95.

Betsey is offering several birthday exclusives as well, including jewelry, T-shirts, a skull cardigan, and handbag. The items will be available from the time the boutique opens tomorrow. Only a limited number of pieces will be available. Prices range from a $18 thong to $225 for a satin and tulle stiletto shoe with faux pearls, rhinestones, heart-shaped clasp and glitter sole as befitting the designer known for equal parts edginess and girlishness. Looking forward to the next 30!

Dussault Apparel photo
Criss Angel and Jason Dussault, founder and head designer of Dussault Apparel, are about to launch Criss Angel clothing lines.

If every singer and celebutante can have his/her own clothing line, surely a man of magic and illusions like Criss Angel can conjure up something for adoring fans to wear. Next time you’re in Vegas, you’ll be able to check out Criss Angel Believe and MF13 merch, in ever-popular gothic/rock ‘n’ roll style.

Dussault Apparel will design and produce, with Criss Angel, the MF13 line of apparel including jeans, T-shirts and accessories to be sold exclusively at the Criss Angel Mindfreak store in the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas and online through his Web site, www.crissangel.com.

Dussault will also design and produce a collection of T-shirts for the new illusion-based “Criss Angel Believe,” the Criss Angel-Cirque du Soleil production opening at the Luxor on Oct. 10. The Criss Angel Believe merchandise will  be sold exclusively at the Luxor’s Cirque du Soleil store.

Photos by Nadine Kam
Heidi Ribeiro, left, and Giselle Pineda, right, helped Joseph Miao and Valerie Ragaza-Miao celebrate the grand opening of the new Valerie Joseph boutique at Ala Moana Center. It was Valerie’s idea to pose with mysterious beauty icon Mona Lisa.

Some in the Twitter universe were worried when they saw the closed doors at the Valerie Joseph McCully boutique. No worries. The boutique has a new home at Ala Moana Center on the ground level fronting Kona Street on the Diamond Head side heading toward Macy’s.

Valerie Ragaza-Miao and Joseph Miao celebrated with a grand opening party Friday night after a marathon 10-day session involving breaking down a wall, glitzing up the interior and moving the last of the Ward location’s — opened just last fall — merchandise over. No doubt Valerie’s interior design skills came in handy, and having long wanted to be in the mall, Joseph is looking forward to staying in place for a while.

Honolulu magazine managing ed. Kathryn Drury Wagner with filmmaker hubby Brett, were among the party guests, as were Brie Thalman, left, and Marylea Conrad, below.

Store employees all wore black, including Chelsie Castillo, left, and Christina Say. They also wore a necklace with a pink rhinestone shoe pendant, a gift from Valerie.

It was a big night for fashion with First Fashion Friday taking place at Aloha Tower Marketplace and a fashion show at Pearl. Giselle Pineda had to leave the party early to get ready for that fashion show. Others had to leave earlier than usual for the grand opening of Elizabeth Watanabe’s Harbor Court Bistro as well which turned out to be so wall-to-wall with people I gave up trying to make my way through the crowd. I’ll go back when it’s a little saner.

Christian Siriano’s black plaid taffeta “London Guard” ruffle jacket (foreground) is priced at $480 on Bluefly. The black metallic wool “Dinner at 8″ jacket is $520 at the site.

Yes, another season of “Project Runway” is underway, and though the results have been lackluster thus far, snarky blogs have been declaring Christian Siriano so over.

His exclusive capsule collection for Bluefly might prove them wrong. It’s pretty much what we expect from him and appears to be well-executed. Price points are right up there with Phillip Lim which will deter the casual fan from wearing his stuff, but I’d wear his designs any day. He stands to be the only actual “next great American designer” the show has actually produced.

Watch Christian’s video here.

>>>><<<<

Meanwhile, the fierce one is also collaborating on a promotion with Brickfish.com and TRESemmé, asking the question, “How “Fierce” is Your Hair?”

Those 21 and older at the time of entry have until Aug. 25 to enter your fiercest hairstyle by submitting your photo and 100-word-or-less description to Brickfish.com. The winner will receive a two-night, all-expenses paid trip for two to New York City to meet with the TRESemmé “Project Runway” styling team who will give you an equally fierce hairstyle to match a haute new outfit designed for you by Christian.

In addition, 10 winners, selected by TRESemmé, from the top 150 most viral entries will win a year’s supply of lead stylist Jeanie Syfu’s four favorite TRESemmé products.

And one winner who signs up in the campaign highlights section will be randomly selected weekly to win six products from the TRESemmé Thermal Creations collection.

Get to it. From what I’ve seen so far, they have not begun to see how fierce we can be!

Nadine Kam photos
Emma Wo walks the bar at the Pearl dressed in Alexander McQueen during a pageant preview.

I’ve never been a fan of the pageant gown. In the right hands, they can be beautiful, but given the showtime quality of the beauty pageant, it’s no coincidence they often look one step removed from ice skaters’ ensembles. Two recent cases: Miss Universe 2008’s Miss Mexico and Miss Dominican Republic gowns, the latter looking like a cracked disco mirror ball.

It’s about time we see real fashion on the pageant runway, though from their perspective, they probably don’t want to distract audiences with a fashion show. Nevertheless, Emma Wo will be wearing Alexander McQueen when she hits the stage for the Miss Teen USA 2008 pageant taking place on Paradise Island in the Bahamas on Aug. 16.

Kristian Lei, with her husband Gavin Vinta, was one of the performers for the evening.
When she’s not singing, she’s preparing for October’s Women’s World Festival.

She gave well-wishers a glimpse of what she’ll be wearing during her send-off party at Pearl Sunday night. Designers Takeo and Eric Eugene Kamakahai’ai Chandler found the McQueen ready-to-wear gown at the Wynn in Las Vegas. Considering the pageant’s locale, they thought the combination of color, lightness and flow would be perfect. I agree. Bahamas weather is a lot like Hawaii’s and one would need to wear color to stand out amidst similar tropical foliage and pristine ocean. (more…)

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…)

Nadine Kam photos
At So Good Jewelry, from left, are Alen Kaneshiro, Reid Higashi, Kris Muranaka, Christopher Otto, Kristin Imose and Jonah Nakaza-Koizumi. Kris and Kristin wear jewelry off the racks.

So Good Jewelry celebrated its one-year anniversary June 27 with a friends and family party at its Waikiki Trade Center location. Guests were greeted with champagne and strawberries, and all the girls received Alen Kaneshiro and Christopher Otto’s version of the lei, clear necklaces to match what they were wearing! I went home with a lovely clear heart on a long gold-tone chain.

Their costume jewelry, in every style imaginable, is affordably priced and makes sense for those who want to accessorize without paying the high price of gold, and these days, even silver.

They’ve done well in Waikiki, where the concept also makes sense for visitors who can’t bring all the right jewelry with them. They can easily pick up something at the store if it helps them feel more complete.

Happy 1st b-day!

Check it out at 2255 Kuhio Ave., ground floor. Call 926-9588.

Maggie Li and Julie Ann Aragaki try on matching rhinestone headbands. Both wear the necklaces given to them at the door.

The headbands are not only for women, Jerrell Kaeo tries one as a hatband.

Kalie Hoang kept busy ringing up sales.