Blogs a dream for special interests
By Nadine Kam
Among items up for grabs at the Dream Sequins blog is a Garfield artist-designed tote from Stand Up Comedy and LucyJ chic shopper.
I can imagine kids wondering how any of us survived in the pre-Internet age. It is especially wonderful for those of us on these isolated rocks, allowing us to feel connected to the bigger world out there.
It was otherwise an alienating feeling growing up in Waipahu with an interest in fashion, but no one around who shared similar interest. What I got from it was that I was a weird kid surrounded by palaka (Arakawa’s) and swimwear, who shopped with friends at Sera’s and H.I.C., but preferred solo sojourns to admire the vintage 1920s and ’40s clothing at Bailey’s, when it was in Waikiki, and enjoyed disappearing into the racks at Carol & Mary at Ala Moana. I enjoyed the way the clothes provided a window into other times, other lives and even into others’ heads as a reflection of how they viewed themselves.
I don’t remember specific garments, but I thought the room, in addition to being very pink, felt very cozy, like sitting in a giant jewelry box. Its centerpiece was a plush round bench settee and its salespeople, thankfully, left me alone with my studies. The “old lady” clothes I couldn’t afford were intriguing, and though I had no intention of wearing them, I understood, through sewing, a little bit about fabrication and construction, and recognized that they were better than what anyone my age was wearing.
All this is a long way of saying, now, through blogs and Twitter, I meet like-spirited people all the time, and sharing a passion for fashion is no longer geographically exclusive.
One of my Tweeps, Deanne aka @DreamSequins, who I “met” while in a quandary pondering the cost vs. value of a Balenciaga City bag (she was the enabler who, from 5,000 miles away, finally convinced me to get it), is marking her 100th post with a giveaway on her blog, and you can check out her blog and her list of prizes and rules here: http://tinyurl.com/pfy7yv
Good luck!
May 19th, 2009 at 4:44 am
That was such a wonderful story. Thanks for sharing it. And thanks also for sharing the contest with your readers!
May 19th, 2009 at 9:30 am
great post !! I used to do the same thing at Carol and Mary !! I wonder if we were ever there together, and you’re right…the lovely sales people would leave this young haole girl, who came in with her sketch pad on her lunch break from Sato Clothiers, alone to sit and soak up the fashion atmosphere. Thanks for the memory Nadine !
May 19th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Hi Denise,
If we were there at the same time I wouldn’t have noticed. I was in my own world! I’m glad someone else was enjoying the clothes as art. It paid off well for you!
May 20th, 2009 at 10:19 am
Nadine, I’m glad you pulled the trigger on the City bag
And on a completely random note, I have one of Denise Tjarks’ bags that I bought in high school!