By Nadine Kam

Hawaiian Island Creations photos

Roxy’s now open at the Kailua Village Shops, in the strip between Starbucks and Teddy’s Bigger Burgers. They sent over some photos of their grand opening May 30.

They should do well. It’s how Kailua dresses. I know because I lived there for about a decade when I never had much excuse to wear more than a skimpy dress, shorts or a skirt hiked up over my boobs. I never left the beachy bedroom community on the weekends. Honolulu seemed too far away, though it is closer than Hawaii Kai. And the drive is shorter.

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
A detail of an Eli Baxter installation.

From time to time the way other people dress can inspire me to bust out my camera. So it was when I spent Friday afternoon at The Contemporary Museum during a walk-through of the TCM Biennial of Hawaii artists featuring site-specific installations of Eli Baxter, Vincent Goudreau, Javier Martinez, Yida Wang, Cade Roster, Wayne Zebzda and Meidor Hu.

I enjoyed walking around Wang’s exploration of breast cancer with an installation of hanging Latex breasts, Cade Roster’s series of manga-inspired Plush Gaiden, and Eli Baxter’s sculptures of recycled, polished bicycle tires, inner tubes and molded wax, somehow reminiscent of Alexander McQueen fashion designs.

While there, I ran into TCM’s PR officer Pualana Lemelle and took a photo of her in the museum shop next to the Art-O-Mat, which dispenses miniature pieces of art, whether jewelry, collage or a small sculpture for, last time I checked, $5.

Pualana Lemelle wears an Express wrap dress and gold Western boots from Catherine’s Closet in Manoa.

That reminded me I had a couple of photos of Neiman Marcus’ Contemporary Sportswear/Theory Specialist Alen Ajed. I’m in that department a lot, most of the time just looking, and he’s typically wearing designer, top to bottom, though in his own colorful style. I like that he’s not afraid to wear color and have fun with clothes.

Alen Ajed at the recent Hip Event wearing an Etro shirt with a watercolor-wash print, D&G jacket, Cicinnelli pink pant, Prada belt and Paul Smith tie. His favorite part of the ensemble are his Paul Smith floral design shoes.

On another occasion, I took Alen’s photo (below) with Donna Walden, who also caught my eye because she was wearing this season’s flora-, insect- and fantasy-inspired Prada shoe. Shoes that beautiful have to be uncomfortable, I thought, but Donna said they’re really comfortable.

Alen wears an Etro jacket over a heart-print Prada shirt with a Gianni Versace tie. I cut off the toe of Donna’s shoe, so below are details from Prada’s ad campaign.

When I highlight some of these pieces, I get emails or on Twitter, tweets along the lines of, “What is that supposed to mean?”

Well, to most people, nothing. I don’t want people to walk around looking like fashion clones or slaves. These are just the things I find particularly beautiful and enjoy seeing because they bring an element of beauty into daily existence. It serves the same function as a flower arrangement in an office or lobby, or, if so inclined, a Precious Moments figurine on your desktop. I don’t intend to encourage people to go out and consume, but I am inviting people to train their eyes to see more and to see the ordinary elevated through art.

By Nadine Kam

Second Style
Haver Cole’s interpretation of one of Christian Siriano’s “Project Runway” winning styles in the virtual Second Life magazine Second Style.

Back in earlier days of Second Life, I nosed around for a while but didn’t get that into it. I guess the problem was, my avatar looked just like me.

I could have made my avatar more beautiful, taller, curvier, a Glamazon among women, but I didn’t want to be one of THOSE people who tried to pass myself off as something I’m not.

But I guess I missed the point of having a Second Life, which is to somehow make it better, on every level, than the one you do have.

Ah, who was I trying to kid? I knew exactly which avatars were doubles for their real-life counterparts. I knew which were inauthentic because of their telltale impossibly thin figures and cartoonish beauty. And I shied away from the weirdos with spikes portruding from their bodies, odd hairdos, those that looked like Cartman. I couldn’t help but think that, far from showing humorous traits, they were the embodiment of personality disorders.

Now, a Stanford study tells how, just as in real life, looks matter in Second Life.

http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2008/03/stanford-study.html

By Nadine Kam

China Fashion Week provided some excitement. This is the work of Andy Ho.

Not enough people worried when the Hollywood writers went on strike. Save for late-night TV, so much of regular broadcast TV seems to be reality or garbage, that the overall vibe felt like “no loss.”

Well, it really hurts now that some major awards shows have been cancelled, huh? I say, pay the writers what they want. Writers are paid peanuts considering what others in the biz make. They want pennies while stars make millions of dollars, and a recent analysis of star salaries to box office income has already shown that people like Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt are paid far more than they’re worth in drawing power. They carry so much celebrity baggage it detracts from any film.

I don’t even go to their movies, and very few other actors would lure me on name alone. (Ones who do are Cillian Murphy, Johnny — how will he surprise us next — Depp, and Cate Blanchett.) I’m more likely to follow directors because they carry the vision of what a film should be. If studios want to know what works, here it is: a confluence of great script, great direction, great acting and — in my opinion — great costumes, which reflects superior art direction, attention to details, and all that entails: lighting, cinematography, etc.

There were gowns at China Fashion Week, like this one from William Tang’s fall/winter 2008-09 collection.

It was so quiet without the Golden Globes sideshow — the gowns, the jewelry, the tuxes, hits, misses and morning-after disses. Although those involved seemed to appreciate the relief from the stress of preparation, the losers seem to be the designers who lost a branding and marketing opportunity, and fashion magazines that now have to fill pages that may have been reserved for those red-carpet looks.

Oh well. Those in need of a fashion fix should be grateful the runway season has begun, and first up this week are Brazil Fashion Week, China Fashion Week, and the Men’s fall-winter 2008-09 collections from Milan. Here’s a peek at the latter from AP:

Layering and tattoo-inspired lapels at Dolce & Gabbana. (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

Interesting story in the New York Times last Sunday on fashion companies now employing meteorologists to help them track the weather.

They’re trying to stave off losses and get a better idea of how hot or cold winter is going to be each year, and doing things like buying weather insurance to deal with losses from uncooperative seasons.

Hawaii is just a tiny microcosm of the big fashion picture, but this was the first year I felt zero incentive to get out of summer threads because, until the recent spate of rain, it was just as hot in October and November as June.

When it did start raining last week, some people at work were amazed by the change in the casual office uniform, saying, “What’s going on? Everyone looks so nice.”

Nadine Kam photo
Ready for rain.

The rain makes the simplest tasks miserable here, but a lot of people did find an excuse to layer and put on a nice jacket. I could finally wear red plaid I picked up at one of my favorite boutiques — Seaplane — in Portland, Ore., on 23rd St. The sweater is also from a green boutique in the heart of downtown Portland, though its name escapes me.

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Here are a couple more weekend sales events that came in too late to get into yesterday’s paper:
>> Alliway holiday party: Takes place 4 to 9 p.m. tomorrow, Dec. 8, with 25 to 50 percent off Alliway jewelry and 10 to 30 percent off everything else in the store. A purchase of $40 or more will get you a coupon for $20 off Alliway jewelry in January. There will also be a raffle for items worth $100. Alliway is at Ward Warehouse. Call 589-1141.

Pacific fusion at Soleil.

>> Soleil holiday fashion bazaar: Takes place 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at 909 Kapahulu Ave. The event will feature a few local designers such as Roberta Oaks, Keaolpiko, STK Bikini, Cirque, and Lily Lotus, with 20 percent off the entire inventory. There will also be Christmas cookie decorating and a gift-wrap station.

By Nadine Kam

Organik Clothing owl design.

The eco-minded are welcome to preview Organik Clothing’s 2008 Collection of eco-friendly, hand-printed shirts tomorrow night, Dec. 4, at the Greendrinks event at E&O Trading, Ward Centre.

The shirts are made of 100 percent organic cotton, bamboo & recycled fabrics by a Kailua-Kona-based company. There’ll be pupu, drink specials and an op to meet and mingle with other people who care about the environment.

Let’s hope they have some healthy smoothies and teas in the mix. I’m recommending that anyone hosting events in coming weeks have healthful fruit juices to help shoppers stave off the sniffles and worse. I mean, just this little bug I caught put me out of commission for 2 weeks when I couldn’t shop, couldn’t go out, couldn’t eat, couldn’t look at stuff. Multiply that by couple thousand people on a weekly basis, and that’s not good for anyone’s business.

On top of that I’ve been having those work dreams again. I was so happy to have “found” a couple of stories in my dreams last night. In one dream I interviewed a Japanese artist who was printing his designs on T-shirts. Very cool. In the second dream I was having lunch with a friend at Pearlridge and happened onto a fashion show there. It seemed that French Connection (maybe because I unearthed a black dress I bought from their Vegas store a couple months ago) had opened and was staging an in-store show for men and women and it was really fun and I took pictures and all and found a lot of Xmas ideas there.

Then there were all these ambulance noises outside and the reality is they had come for one of our neighbors, so that woke me up and I realized the fashion show was just a dream. So no pictures to run in the paper Thursday, but I do remember mod styles with the subtle shimmer of square pailletes around the necklines, and very sunny colors of bright orange and yellow. I was still relieved that I at least had the other story about the Japanese artist, then realized that had been a dream too. Sad.

So, I decided to take a look at the FCUK Web site, and here are some styles that were in the spirit of the show in my dreams:

French Connection Dexy Dress, $198.

French Connection Rita top, $98, and night skirt, $138.

French Connection Janus shirt, $78; Silicon jumper, $88; Kingdom jacket, $168; Sonic trouser, $98; check tie, $48; Prince hat, $44; Arbuckle shoe, 178.

By Nadine Kam

Wish I could say I’ve been having fun but no, haven’t been posting, haven’t been toasting, haven’t been shopping, haven’t been holidaying, just been trying to recover from the flu after catching the bug from too much handshaking last weekend.

I am going to have to start an anti-handshake movement because it is a filthy biohazard of a practice that has no place in the era of the superbug. The handshake is said to have started in medieval Europe as a way for men to show they had no weapons in their hands. You’d think we would have invented a new greeting by now. I think the Japanese have it right, bowing, with no physical contact with potentially diseased people.

Entrenched as it is, it’s hard to avoid the handshake. I mean, what are you going to say? “I’m sorry, no touching please.”

I think Michael Jackson is onto something when he covers up with gloves and a kerchief over his nose and mouth. He’s no doubt learned something from a lifetime of proximity to masses.

I dug out a pair of polka-dot gloves I bought but never wore. Maybe now I can make use of them; I just have to get a dozen more pairs.

The only possibly good thing that came out of spending Turkey Day ill was avoiding the turkey weight gain that comes with the holiday. I could only nibble a few pieces of turkey, mash p, and slice of yam. Didn’t even get to have a piece of pumpkin pie.

This little setback also pushed me behind the holiday shopping curve. It’s just as well I stay home. Drivers are crazy this time of year.

By Nadine Kam

On “Project Runway,” what do you think? I think eight people could go home right now and we would not miss anything at all. Given the trouble they take to weed out designers, you have to wonder how so many of them got through.

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Disney
Rachel Weisz is Snow White in a photo by Annie Leibovitz.

Disney’s so pervasive. A while back I did a story on Disney wedding gowns for that fairy-tale wedding. In today’s paper is my interview with Mona May, who created the costumes for the fluffy family film “Enchanted,” that opens the day before Thanksgiving.

Now, I’m reading at Radaronline.com that Disneyland Paris has signed up Vivienne Westwood, Azzedine Alaia, and Luella Bartley, among others, to create updated dresses for the Disney princesses to celebrate the park’s 15th anniversary. Dresses will be auctioned off later this month to benefit UNICEF.

It’s so unbelievable to think how much power those fairy tales and their happy endings have shaped our world view as mostly positive-thinking Americans. At times I think those repeated happy endings do a disservice to children, setting them up for disappointment in life when they realize things happy endings are not written in the stars. Some of my friends still totally buy into the Prince Charming myth.

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The other fluffy family/girly film debuting the same day is “August Rush.” The premise is just as hokey as that of “Enchanted,” but “August Rush” is nicely told, and it doesn’t hurt that Jonathan Rhys-Meyers is perfectly good eye candy. It’s great that he can speak with his own Irish accent in the film. Thanks to the film, I have a new screen saver:

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.”