By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
It rained confetti and streamers yesterday at a ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of Ala Moana Center’s opening. The Brothers Cazimero did the honor of singing Happy Birthday and a cake was wheeled on stage, and the streamers fell after representatives from 11 original remaining stores in the center blew out candles on the cake.

Ala Moana Center marked its 50th anniversary yesterday with ceremonies at CenterStage and a private reception to mark the opening of the celebratory exhibition, “Fifty Years of Fashion in Hawai’i.”

Anyone who doesn’t believe fashion can exist in Hawaii need only walk through the doors to step into a colorful past when Hawaii was on top of the resortwear world. The Golden Era for Hawaii’s manufacturers was from the mid-1930s through 1970s, when the rest of the world caught up to what we were doing and took casual and resort style corporate and global, making competition tougher.

The exhibition is a good reminder of what came before and what to strive for. It features more than 50 garments from the historic Costume Collection at University of Hawaii-Manoa, presented by Hawaii Fashion Incubator (Hifi).

Some of the creations are so stunning, they begged to be touched. Signs tell visitors not to touch the fragile pieces, of course, but shopaholics are so accustomed to browsing racks that one fashionista confessed, “Oops, I touched one of them!”

The opening-night fashion crowd were wowed by this gown.

HiFi co-founder Melissa May White was there and asked which was my favorite piece, which was hard to determine. They were all so wonderful in their own way. But we all agreed that this gown was one of the most fabulous in the exhibition, looking totally 2009 red-carpet ready. I also liked a blue 1950s swimsuit with pockets, picture further down this post, as well as a casual 1980s dress by Geoffrey Beene, also pictured later. I almost missed the Beene dress because it looks so contemporary, but I liked that look of ease and comfort suggested in use of lightweight, body-skimming nylon knit.

Some of the center’s luxury retailers also got involved, contributing pieces for the exhibition, including classic Gucci purses, a Dior saddlebag design, and Louis Vuitton’s Hawaii Regional VP Dale Ruff was there for a peek at a window showcasing satin sandals with orchid detail, created by Marc Jacobs exclusively for the Hawaii market in 2007.

Pieces by Alfred Shaheen in front of a colorful newspaper advertisement from McInerny. The white room, formerly home to a Japan-based jewelry boutique, was perfect for the display and I thought if would be a great idea if the center could make room for a permanent museum for a rotating display of garments from the UH collection. Fifty is not nearly enough to include a true picture of who’s who in Hawaii fashion. I may be wrong, but I didn’t see anything from Crazy Shirts, for example, which probably had the biggest impact on the way we dress today—not just in Hawaii.

The school’s 20,000-plus piece collection is certainly the most extensive archive of Polynesian-Hawaiian style, and Melissa mentioned that having a permanent home would encourage more people to donate pieces if they know they will be cared for, displayed and enjoyed.

A museum might also be able to charge a small admission that could be divided by the center and the school, toward better maintenance and cataloging.

From the center’s stance, General Growth is not doing so hot these days, so they need the site to pay for itself and there is already a tenant coming into the space, but the idea has been noted, and a person with the center said it might be possible to stage an annual exhibition, should a space come available.

For now, it’s a very nice addition and you can see the exhibition through Aug. 31 on the third level of the Nordstrom Wing, in a storefront between Express and Nordstrom.

Love these vintage swimsuits, especially the one on the left, which has pockets!

HiFi co-founder Melissa May White, who helped make the exhibition possible, stands at one of the displays. To the right of her is a 1950s piece by Ethel Shiraki de Saussure, who I wrote about in the Star-Bulletin here. You’ll see a photo of the designer wearing one of the tiny brocade dresses in the exhibition.

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By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photo
Freida Hulse shows a portrait of her done by one of her fans.

This time Freida Hulse, who’s been trying to leave Hawaii for New York for about 18 years, is really leaving. She closed her Urban Nomad shop’s doors on May 30, but will be hosting one last sale on First Friday, tonight.

She’s cried “wolf” many times in the past, hosting closing sales many times since 2006. By this time, few believe she’s actually leaving, and she said many people ignored her when she said she would be closing the boutique on the 30th.

She may end up being in town through September, but if you don’t want to take chances and want to say goodbye, head to 1023 Smith St.

Maybe you’ll finally convince her to part with one of her vintage or designer treasures. I’m a terrible actor but usually have to muster the limited ability I have to buy things from her. A typical early exchange would go like this, until I learned to feign lack of interest:

Me (with eager expression, eyeing a size 2 dress): “Ooh, how much is this?”

Freida (with wary expression, at size 6): “Let me look at that.” (Long pause to study object.) “Oh, you like this … hmmm. I’m thinking maybe I should keep it. I can wear it in New York.”

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ShopBlaineAshley.com is offering a one-day sale promotion, expiring Sunday, with details below:

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
One of the Harari designs on the runway at the 39th annual fashion show.

The Sheraton Waikiki ballroom was packed Sunday for the Hui Makaala annual fashion show. It was a good day for lunch and the show indoors because outside it was gray and rainy, meaning fall has finally arrived after a very long, hot summer.

Designs on view were by Hawaii’s Tapestries by Hauoli, and the L.A. based collections of Ryan Roberts and Harari. Because Hui Makaala is an Okinawan scholarship organization, the opening entertainment included the Paranku Club of Hawaii, and Jon Itomura and Eric Nitta performing a Shishimai (lion-dog) dance, completely believable as one giant, friendly, tail-wagging dog. They both must have hit the ground pretty hard when rolling over as two halves of the dog, but the furry costume must have had something to do with breaking the fall!

On the video you’ll see a little bit of Ryan Roberts’ feminine daywear, as well as designs by Harari. I missed the beginning because of technical difficulties with the camera. Someone had changed the ISO setting to 1600, which caused whiteout, just one of the many problems with shared equipment. I need a camera sponsor.

After the show, I rushed over to the Blaisdell for the one-day Wikiwiki Vintage Collectibles & Hawaiiana Show. Picked up some costume jewelry, a Ming’s silver-and-pearl brooch and looked at some pocket watches for the b.f. This one was nice, with a gold filagree face, but he’s super fussy so he needs to see it himself. The next show’s in February and promises to be two days instead of just one. Sometimes we need the extra day to think about a purchase.

These days it takes a lot of commitment to doing vintage shopping the old-fashioned physical way. It’s one more biz that has changed due to Internet shopping, which makes it easy to shop very specifically, no leg work necessary. I try to shop local as much as possible and it’s more important than ever to support our neighbors, because in the long run, their fortunes determine the rest of ours. We’re all on this rock together and it doesn’t look as if tourism will be picking up any time soon.

By Nadine Kam

This is a detail of a hand-carved, vintage African elephant ivory and sterling silver mermaid brooch, circa 1950’s, created for Ming’s by Hawaii artist Isami Doi. The mermaid is holding a pearl against a sterling seaweed background. Below, a Ming’s peony brooch.

I haven’t gone to the Hawaii All-Collectors Show for a while, mainly because it’s a dangerous place for me to be. I like vintage things a lot because I absorb from them the essence of another time and place.

That makes it seem like this time and place isn’t good enough, but I don’t think that’s the case. I just naturally gravitate to what’s different, which is also what propels me to simultaneously seek out the next new thing, the next trend. It’s like restless hunter-gatherer energy. I don’t understand people who can be still and content.

This time I might have to go to the show because Linda Lee will be there to conduct her free Ming’s jewelry identification and appraisals session. I wrote a story about her a while back, and ever since, a lot of people nationwide have been interested in getting in touch with her. So many people have pieces of Ming’s jewelry that have been passed on to them and they just want to know more about the individual pieces, as well as the company and its founder Wook Moon. Linda will be available during show hours in the display area. Here’s are links to a couple of my stories about Ming’s (sorry I can’t link you, the Wordpress feature is still not working):

http://starbulletin.com/2007/07/19/features/story01.html

http://starbulletin.com/2007/07/19/features/story02.html

Show hours will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Friday, July 18; and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 19. General admission is $4, with $2 entry for children 7 to 11. If you MUST be first in line, you can enter early on Friday for $15 admission. You can download a $1 off coupon at www.ukulele.com/collect.html

Other highlights:

>> Hawaiiana dealer Don Medcalf, of Hawaiian Islands Stamp & Coin, will be giving free informal verbal appraisals of early Hawaiiana from 7 to 8 p.m. Friday and 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday in booths 321 and 322.

Robyn Buntin wares

>> Robyn Buntin of Honolulu reports its storage warehouse is overflowing with decorative objects, books, magazines, knick-knacks, furniture, and other collectibles and will be offering up bargains during the event.

>> Oahu Anime Explorer & United Anime will have members on hand to display some of their favorite cosplay costumes, anime models, posters, and other collectible items in booths 205 and 206.