By Nadine Kam

Rhea Lana photos
Shop for back-to-school threads at Rhea Lana Children’s Consignment Event this week and next.

For parents, it’s back-to-school shopping time, and the budget crunch isn’t helping. But this weekend, Rhea Lana Children’s Consignment Event aims to make it easier to dress young ones.

The event takes place July 25 and 26 at The Nimitz Business Center, 1130 N. Nimitz Highway, on the second level above New Eagle Cafe. It repeats as a half-price sale Aug. 1 and 2.

Rhea Lana’s Children Consignments Events is a community event that allows families to unload clothing, baby equipment, maternity and junior clothing, toys and household furniture, while purchasing others’ quality, unwanted items. On offer will be more than 5,000 items listed by more than 100 Hawaii consignors. Admission is free.

The event aims to do good on so many levels, by helping consignors to make money from their unwanted items, recycling, and helping others pick up affordable clothing and home goods. Check out www.rhealana.com

Hours are noon to 9 p.m. on the 25th, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the 26th.

Admission to a pre-sale event for consignors is 8 to 11 a.m. Aug. 1, with public invited in from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and final day hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Rhea Lana Children’s Consignment Event was started in 1997 by Rhea Lana
Riner in Conway, Arkansas. It has spread to eight states and has become the one-
stop shopping spot for moms, grandmothers, and moms-to-be for the best bargains on
children’s merchandise. For more information about this or future events, email
Terrence Iwamoto at terrence@rhealana.com.

If you missed out on the consigning this time around, the group aims to host three events annually in Honolulu.

Baby carriers, strollers and bouncers will be available to moms to be.

Parents can shop for clothes that other kids have outgrown.

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
Chiho Comono shows one of her examples of furoshiki wrapping using two furoshiki.

The Japanese Women’s Society Foundation held its annual membership meeting on Sunday, followed by bento lunch and a furoshiki workshop conducted by Chiho Comono of Kyoto, who received a grant to come to Hawaii to share her expertise and help materialists among us become more eco smart.

According to Wikipedia, furoshiki thrived in Japan until the post-war rise of the plastic shopping bag. Now that more people are waking up to the real costs of cheap goods, we’re starting to appreciate the more traditional, more beautiful and earth-friendly practices of our elders.

The idea is that a simple easy-to-pack fabric square has the potential to become a makeshift bag when you’re running errands or out shopping, eliminating the need to pick up another throwaway paper or plastic bag as you pick up things throughout the day.

With a single furoshiki and a few quick folds, she showed how to make a slouchy hobo totes and bigger sling bag, as well as how to dress a gift of wine in kimono-style wrapping. Adding a second folded furoshiki for straps turned a tote into a backpack.

Each member who attended received a furoshiki courtesy of Yoshiyuki Hosokawa of Kyoto’s Daiko Sangyo Co. for practice and to take home.

I went home and started practicing on my Fendi and vintage scarves. I tend to be a purse fiend but now that I can turn any piece of fabric into a purse, I may be able to wait longer periods between new purses. It’s also difficult to find cute evening bags big enough to hold camera, video camera and other essentials and the furoshiki may be a solution I’ll have to try.

Examples of furoshiki wrapping, in which the furoshiki itself is a gift that can be reused.

JWSF members receive instructions on wrapping a wine bottle. If you’re trying this at home, remember a rubber band around the neck of the bottle is your friend in helping to hold the wrapping in place.

A gift of fruit is wrapped to look like a rabbit.

Knotting the four corners of the furoshiki turns it into a cap. Tuck the knots under to make a beret.

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

Photos by Cheyne Gallarde

If you don’t mind being nearly nekkid and swapping the clothes off your back for others’ threads, then tomorrow’s Swap and Bop is for you.

The second event begins at 9 p.m. May 30 at the Mercury Bar in Chaplain Lane downtown. Some simple rules apply:

1. Don’t wear anything you can’t part with.
2. When the siren sounds you MUST swap clothes with the closest person next to you! Except those with Voyeur bracelet who just want to see the clothes fly.
3. All items of clothing must be clean and in good condition.
4. No nakedness or fighting over clothes is allowed.
5. Have fun, and don’t forget to pose for the paparazzi in your new getups.
6. You must be 21.

General admission is $5, though participants can get in free with a clothing donation at the door. Voyeur bracelets granting you immunity from the swap are $10.

Clothing donations and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Next Step Kakaako (H-5 Charities). H-5 is a grassroots organization dedicated to ending homelessness through innovative approaches that build confidence and accountability while empowering individuals to become self sufficient.

The Next Step Project is the first homeless shelter created by Gov. Linda Lingle in response to the after-dark closure of Ala Moana Beach Park in May, 2006. This project is entering into its third year as a provider of shelter in urban Honolulu.

For more information on all Swap and Bop events, go to www.myspace.com/swapandbop

Also, if you’re looking for a way to beat the heat, Shasa Emporium’s got a weekend sale for you:

By Nadine Kam

Forever 21 photos
Courtney Arndt models F21 bikinis.

I don’t usually wander into Forever 21 because of a bad experience a couple of years ago.

A friend who is long past F21 age but keeps insisting on dressing like a teen, dragged me in there and I was so excited by the low prices that I bought a ton of clothes for about $100. The excitement wore off when I got home and took a closer look at the cheap details and flimsy fabric of the sort that doesn’t survive many washings. I wore a couple of pieces once and felt so yucky in them I sent them off to Savers. Only the very young and/or very thin can make flimsy fabrics work. The rest of us need a little more body and structure.

Lesson learned. Today, I rather have one carefully chosen dress or jacket than 100 pieces of throwaway clothing.

But a little birdie (thanks Allie!) told me to check out the F21 Web site, where former local model Courtney Arndt can be spotted modeling swimwear, in time for spring pool and beach time once we clear the recent spate of windy, cool weather conditions.

No longer in the market for a bikini, having just bought one for destressing in the Moana spa’s Jacuzzi (heaven!), I was more interested in the little pink heart in the left corner of the main page, pointing me toward the Shibuya Mon Amour collection. The cute, slouchy collection is described as being “inspired by the cool kids of Tokyo and Paris” with a girly + street style, cleaned up and priced to go at about $14 to $18 per piece.

I just might have to check out the store again. A T-shirt you can live in and style in many ways would be worth that price, which is just right for the times.

Fawn tee and Bunny tank.

Cloche Cat tee and Leopard Face tank.

By Nadine Kam

Associated Press photos
A rare bit of bright color on Milan’s runways, from Dolce & Gabbana.

The rich, warm, earthy colors filling the runway in Milan reflect an Italian autumn, but the pared down styles suggest a familiar American approach to design, focusing on comfort and wearability over the fantastic.

As if to reinforce that notion, Dsquared2 sent out models with coffee cups in their hand, sipping Starbucks commuter-style:

Dolce & Gabbana didn’t resist touches of dramatic color and images of 1950s stars like Marilyn Monroe in their collection, but that was more theatrical than most shows. Even the sexiest of them all, Versace, toned down to present evening gowns that, though bare, were more elegant than suggestive.

The mood is so dark all around the globe and the shows are reflecting that we’re all experiencing this period of uncertainty. At this point, comfort trumps creativity.

At home, I am curling up in cargo pants every day, which I never did before. If I were out of work, I would probably live in cargo pants. Before, I thought of them as being symbolic of giving up on appearance and giving into sloth. Now, I just find them cozy and reassuring.

Two looks from Prada in toasty brocade and strips of dark leather.

Restraint and a goddessy look at Versace.

Cocooning at Fendi.

A night at the opera in clack and white, from Dolce & Gabbana.

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
Nalani Ravelo, left, and Kate Schuette model prom dresses at Neiman Marcus.

Prom season is around the corner and Neiman Marcus is hosting a prom event today, along with their Beauty Event, continuing into March. I ran into Kate Schuette and Nalani Ravelo on the store floor yesterday when they were doing informal modeling pf prom dresses, including the ones pictured, by Sue Wong, at $390 for the gray, and $350 for the pink. Prom dresses weren’t as pretty when I was in school, or maybe they were but no one was carrying them.

With all of the spring colors available, it will be a pretty season. I’m just wondering how the economy will affect proms. In the past, retailers have told me parents spare no expenses on their children at prom time. We’ll see if that holds up this year as well.

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If you have time tomorrow, check out jewelry made by Rona Marie and friends at the Kim Chee & Jewelry Sale at 928 Wailupe Place, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, March 1.

I see more people opting to buy jewelry over clothing now. I guess the rationale is clothing wears out, but jewelry doesn’t, and even if you tire of a piece as is, stones and metal retain their value and can be reworked into updated styles.

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Lastly, here’s a random sighting on the street yesterday. If you have to wear a helmet, it might as well be a reflection of you:

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photo
Valerie Ragaza-Miao, who’ll be competing as Mrs. Honolulu in the Mrs. Hawaii USA pageant on May 23, draws numbers for dozens of prizes during an advance screening of “Confessions of a Shopaholic” last Thursday at the Consolidated Theatres, Ward Entertainment Center.

As expected, “Confessions of a Shopaholic” offered lots of eye candy, and I’m not just talking clothes. Actor Hugh Dancy was also great to look at, and after catching a preview with my friends we all agreed later that his character was the equivalent of the perfect man: smart, good looking, nice smile, ambitious, rich but not snobby, confident enough to ignore the notion of the obvious trophy girlfriend/wife, understands fashion but again, not snobby or obsessed about it.

Dream shopping from the movie.

Mr. Dancy

Sigh. If you fit the bill, I know at least a dozen women who would love to meet you! You don’t even have to be rich. Money is just the icing on top of all other fine traits.

The preview was also a party for friends and fans of Valerie Joseph’s Valerie Ragaza Miao, who, before the film began, offered dozens of door prizes for those who made Foodbank donations. Some, who didn’t know about the drive, wrote checks on the spot.

In spite of the frivolity at the film’s surface, it offers a starting point to talk about the intersection of desire and ability to pay. The National Endowment of Financial Education has a site Spendster.org that lets visitors confess their own shopaholic tendencies, believing the admissions actually do help people face their weaknesses.

You may have a problem if you have a tendency to:
>> Buy things you want without thinking about whether you can afford them at the moment.
>> Buy things often to cheer yourself up or reward yourself.
>> Struggle paying your bills because you always seem to be living on the financial edge.
>> Tend to keep buying more of your favorite things even if you don’t have a specific need for them.
>> Feel intensely deprived, angry or upset if you have to put off buying something you really want.
>> Turn excessively to credit cards to buy wanted items.

Here are some suggested cures from Spendster:

>> DO prioritize: Often, we fall prey to retailer’s persuasive displays and instead of buying only what we need, we end up with a cart full of all kinds of other stuff. Before you head out to the store, make a list and keep to it.
>> DON’T remove the tags: They’re itchy and scratchy and poke you in weird places, but resist the urge to rip off the tags until you’re sure you are going to keep the item.
>> DO wait 30 minutes before making a purchase. Sometimes if you leave it, you might not want to go back to buy it.
>> DON’T make it easy: Take only the cash you need for the day. Leave your credit cards at home and freeze them if you must. Tell a friend about your situation and empower him or her to tell you “no” when you feel the urge to spend needlessly.
>> DO return it: If it’s a recent offense, dig out your receipt (tip: keep all receipts in a designated pocket of your purse or checkbook for easy recovery) and head straight back to the store. If you feel that you’re unable to return to the “scene of the crime” without either spending more or exchanging for a lower-priced item, ask a spouse or friend to run the errand for you.
>> DON’T pretend it never happened. Denial is a powerful tool, but admitting your spending mistakes allows you the insight to not repeat them. Visit a Web site like Spendster.org for some cathartic reflection. While you’re there, learn from other people that have posted their splurges.
>> DO look to prevent future binges. Plenty of nonprofit organizations have been established to help consumers get a better grip of their finances and budgeting.

Get more advice at www.SmartAboutMoney.org with a search for “compulsive shopping.”

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

Touchstone Pictures
Isla Fisher, as shopaholic Rebecca Bloomwood, attempts to take charge of her closet. Click on the photo for the trailer.

I got a chance to interview Patricia Field yesterday in advance of the opening of “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” though we won’t be running the story until closer to the film’s opening in February.

Who can wait that long?

What was most interesting to me was that the boutique-owning stylist for “Sex and the City” and now, “Ugly Betty,” says she’s NOT a shopaholic. I mean, you’d assume a person who shops for a living might be, right? But the -holic part would suggest a form of mental illness, and she’s firmly in control of her finances and material desires.

While she loves clothing and accessories across the board, high and low, new and worn, she’s very practical about it all, saying that she probably owns less clothing than her fans would imagine, to the point where she says she basically wears the same thing over and over, changing things up with accessories. But that’s where her styling skills come into play and not everyone is so blessed.

Even so, her advice for shopaholics who want to gain control over their spending habits is to stop buying clothes because a T-shirt is a T-shirt is a T-shirt, and focus on learning how to accessorize those basic pieces to update your wardrobe for the most impact and least expenditure.

The film’s timing is good, balancing lots of eye candy with the idea that there is a bigger price to pay for overshopping than what’s on the price tag.

I sent a post off to Twitter about the interview, and fans of Field were quick to respond, including someone I know locally who asked, “OMG, did you die?”

Well, yeah. That happens sometimes when you get a chance to speak with some of the people you idolize. In fact, I’m just lucky she had a good sense of time because she wanted to give me the full 20 minutes allotted to individual journalists across the country in her marathon day of phone calls. Otherwise, I was like, “Hi, uh, um, OK, bye,” which doesn’t happen too often.

The other memorable time I was on nervous mode was talking with the film director Ang Lee, post “Brokeback Mountain” and in advance of “Lust, Caution.” When the man has time to speak, you have to take the call, and unfortunately, it happened on a day I had a five-hour photo shoot for HI Luxury magazine. The session was scheduled to end about 3 p.m., the same time he wanted to call after getting off a plane from LA to New York. With any luck, my shoot would end early and his plane would be delayed to give me time to return about $50,000 worth of clothing to boutiques and get back to my desk.

Didn’t happen. His agent called just as I left the Halekulani and I had to explain I was in my car and could we reschedule in about a half hour. They granted an extra 15 minutes, the point being that once the director arrived home, that was his sanctuary away from work. That gave me enough time to make it to Ala Moana Center and park. But while waiting in the car, I got impatient, and figured I could make a run with the bags to the shops. I had just dropped off the last bags when he called, and there I was with cell phone, trying to balance my notepad on a planter outside Dior, trying to sound intelligent and stress-free.

I don’t think I fooled him, but he is the nicest man.