A piece of Hawaii at Olympic games

Photo courtesy Surf Line Hawaii/Jams World
The U.S. Virgin Islands Olympics team donned Jams World's Blutapa retro men's shirts to march in the games opening ceremonies July 27.

In analyzing the national costumes worn during the Parade of Athletes segment of the opening ceremonies of the Olympic games, The Bleacher Report assigned the U.S. Virgin Islands team an A, writing:

"The Virgin Islands went with the sweet Hawaiian shirt that you can't pull off outside of of a tropical island. Although, apparently you can pull it off on the British Isles as well! The Virgin Islands were one of the final nations to walk the parade and really ended it with a bang."

It turns out that "sweet Hawaiian shirt" is really a Hawaiian shirt from Jams World.

Says Surf Line Hawaii/Jams World's Pua Rochlen, "An account we sell (to) in the Virgin Islands contacted us. They said the team asked if they could get a bunch of shirts for their team. They notified us and we shipped it out last month."

This is the second time the team has entered the games wearing Jams World, which was also seen by viewers of the Beijing Games.

The Blutapa men's retro shirt is $98 at www.jamsworldshop.com.

In comparison, the U.S. team outfits designed by Ralph Lauren received a C+ from the site, which said, "These uniforms are just not that bad—although not terribly creative."

U.S.A.! U.S.A.!

Dallas Nagata White photos

As divided as this country may be in the political arena, there's nothing like backing a winning team in the sports arena to unite left and right in reminding us we all have a stake in a strong U.S.A.

These red, white and blue fashion shots were taken by photographer Dallas Nagata White for the relaunch of her blog/website DallasNagataWhite.com, with styling by Tyson Joines of Wilhelmina Hawaii, for the Fourth of July, but they still seem timely in light of the Olympics and sense of national pride instilled by the games.

Dallas has been in the news lately since her "Lava Kiss" photo, entered in the National Geographic Traveler photography contest, caught the eye of Gizmodo, the Huffington Post and Glamour, among other sites, who deemed her kiss with her husband Ed the "hottest kiss ever!"

You can see more photos at her site.

Don't forget red, white and blue makeup, on Calli Wagner, is an option. Makeup by Zairrah Gee.

A stunning shot of Wagner with fireworks show as backdrop.

Go for the gold!

With the drama of Olympic athletes taking their place on the medal podiums in London, everyone wants to show their team spirit. But you don’t have to limit your patriotism to donning red, white and blue.

Take a cue from the games’ gold, silver and bronze medalists and look like a winner by adding a glimmer of metallics to your vanity. You won’t need a podium to stand out from the crowd.

This beautiful oversize compact by Guerlain Terracotta is rich with iridescence that illuminates face, shoulders, neck and décolletage. Perfect to accompany a summer tan; $69 at Neiman Marcus.

Butter London has come up with a commemorative Olympic Heavy Medal Collection of nail enamels dubbed, in eccentric Brit style, “The Old Bill” (bronze), “Diamond Geezer” (silver) and “The Full Monty” (gold). The trio is $36 at Nordstrom.

Oro gold 24K Vitamin C Booster Facial Serum: This 24K Vitamin C Booster Serum is flecked with 24K gold pieces said to help illuminate and brighten skin while diminishing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It's $298 at OroGold.com.

Yves Saint Laurent Golden Gloss: High-shine shimmer comes in 32 colors ("Golden Ambre" is pictured), each containing a formula featuring 0.2 percent sparkling 24 carat gold flecks for a glamorous mirrorlike effect. Another plus, nourishing oils to protect and hydrate; $30.

Sephora by OPI 18K gold top coat: For special occasions, this exclusive limited-edition clear top coat contains 18K gold flakes; $30.

bareMinerals "True Gold" eyecolor: Use it wet or dry to give your wink a dazzling, light-catching shine; $14.

Meet Q-pot designer Sunday for peek at Jake ukulele design

Nadine Kam photos
Q-pot's Peace of Chocolate Ukulele Necklace is $140. The Peace of Chocolate Ukulele Brooch is $95.

In a fund-raising collaboration, Q-pot's Japan-based designer Tadaaki Wakamatsu teamed up with Honolulu musician Jake Shimabukuro in coming up with a Ukulele design for the 6th annual Toro-ri Ribbon Project.

The two creative artists met during the Toro-ri Ribbon Project Vol. 3, in early 2011. In an interview this morning in Waikiki, Wakamatsu said he and Shimabukuro formed an instant friendship.

He said it's not difficult to see why his countrymen are infatuated with Jake. "Even though he doesn't speak much Japanese, his voice, his spirit, his music is how he communicates. It's like a universal language.

"Jake has the same love for art, peace and love, and music is how he spreads that message. There's something special about his music."

Wakamatsu bought a ukulele from Shimabukuro's brother Bruce at the Sheraton Waikiki, and Jake taught him how to play a few notes on the ukulele. Wakamatsu's only other musical experience was playing the flute in school.

They reunited later that summer when Shimabukuro performed in Japan after the earthquake and tsunami there, and came up with the idea of the “Ukulele player Jake Shimabukuro × Q-pot" collaboration accessory. They both share a love of chocolate and music, so it was natural for them to take the ukulele (Jake's symbol) with chocolate (Q-pot's signature, and meld them together. The ukulele jewelry is designed to look like chocolate, with wood from the Tohoku region, which bore the brunt of the natural disasters.

Q-pot designer Tadaaki Wakamatsu wears the line's “Ukulele player Jake Shimabukuro × Q-pot" collaboration brooch. Fans of the brand can meet the designer when he appears at the Ala Moana Center store from 1:30 to 3 p.m. July 29.

A portion of the sales from the collection will be donated to the Rainbow for Japan Kids Project, a charity program launched by Hawaii volunteers, through the Miyagi Bikki Organization’s Bikki Children’s Fund. Donations will be fund two-week educational and cultural exploration trips to Hawaii for child victims of the 2011 Japan Earthquake, who lost friends and family.

Ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro.

Sales in Japan will start from Aug. 9 in Q-pot's online shop and on Jake's Japan online shop. Sales in Japan stores will launch in Q-pot's Harajuku flagship shop starting from Sept. 15. Pieces will also be available at each venue on Jake's Japan Tour 2012, starting Sept. 15.

Q-Pot fans can meet the designer when he appears at the Ala Moana Center store from 1:30 to 3 p.m. July 29. He'll be bringing 15 pieces each of two exclusive items, a Very Berry Cupcake cell-phone strap ordinarily only available online in Japan, and a Petit Strawberry Cake strap only available at the Harajuku store. (Purchases are limited to one per style, per person.) Customers who make a purchase of $80 or more that day will receive a Tranoi tote bag from the "Tranoi" fashion exhibit in Paris, while supplies last. (Limited to one per person.)

While talking to Wakamatsu, I also got a sneak peek at his fall collection which people might consider the opposite of his dessert creations. I'm not at liberty to show you the photos right now, but I can say he revisits the table, with some items that would not be out of place on Thanksgiving Day. All I can tell you is that it is delightful, as usual, and would also not be out of place on my other blog, Take a Bite.

Shop Stella & Dot with Mrs. America

Stella & Dot photo
Sales of the Stella & Dot Tribute Bracelet, $36, will help raise funds for ovarian cancer research.

Hawaii's Mrs. America 2011 Lara Leimana Fonoimoana is inviting all to join her in "A Tribute for a Cure," an online Stella & Dot trunk show today through July 29, to raise funds for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.

In addition to shopping the line of affordable fashion jewelry, all proceeds from sales of a Tribute Bracelet ($36)—a rose gold pave bar anchoring a band of faceted hematite beads, with adjustable cord—will go to the fund.

Mrs. America 2011 Lara Lleimana Fonoimoana.

You can now shop at www.stelladot.com/sites/mrsamerica2011 and clicking on "Ovarian Fundraiser" as your trunk show.

Click on Tribute Bracelet in the search column and add to cart. You will be asked to create an account which will be for checkout purposes and will take no more than 2 minutes.

The tribute bracelet raised more than $128,000 last October and Lara's goal is to sell 100 bracelets for the cause.

While browsing, you can also shop for other pieces, such as this La Folie necklace ($49) with semi-precious smoky quartz and amethyst stones on a gold-plated brass chain with a textured teardrop gold-plated brass pendant. ...

... Or the Gitane tassel necklace, $69, a timeless rosary-style gold-plated brass necklace with faceted metallic glass beads. For versatility, the tassel is removeable, and the necklace can be worn long or doubled.

Doesn't everyone need a little pink dress?

Nadine Kam photo
Another object of desire.

I'm in stores and looking at clothes all the time, so sometimes I feel really jaded and meh about what I see, but this RED Valentino dress at Neiman Marcus stopped me in my tracks and made me gasp, even though pink's not my color.

Light silk chiffon floating over crinoline for volume. I believe it's belted above the natural waistline. Sales person came and shook it around just as I was taking the photo. I don't like to be bothered when shopping so I ran away but noted: Must. Try. On.

Balenciaga due at Ala Moana Center

Coming soon to Ala Moana Center: Looking forward to the October opening.

Kat Reeder debuts at LeSportsac

Nadine Kam photos
Artist Kat Reeder, center, made her LeSportsac debut this month. She's with LeSportsac's Edna Hechtman, left, and Cindy Eastman. Meet the artist from 6 to 9 p.m. July 27 at LeSportsac at Royal Hawaiian Center.

LeSportsac held a press reception on July 20 to introduce its latest collection featuring Kat Reeder's exclusive Hawaiian print "Moana Ahe."

Her fusion of pin-up art and 1960s Tropicalia seems tailor-made for Hawaii, hitting all the nostalgic notes that resonate with many a kama'aina and visitor's image of the islands, with a warm palette and imagery of island girls, ocean and landscapes.

The Peruvian-American illustrator had been working as a graphic artist in Miami and fell in love with Hawaii on vacation, vowing to return to live one day.

"It's a very visual city, with so much color. Miami is very similar but Hawaii is much more romantic. When I came here, I just felt it was home."

Here, she felt confident to quit working for others and work for herself, developing her own style. She had grown up drawing Disney characters and later developed a passion for anime.

Reeder said she'd visited LeSportsac many times, and appreciated their prints, never imagining she would see her own work on their bags one day.

"I wondered how artists got to create these wonderful prints and just kind of hoped and dreamed that maybe one day it would be me, and when they called me I couldn't believe it."

The 2009 Women's Triple Crown poster that caught the attention of LeSportsac.

LeSportsac buyer Edna Hechtman said she had seen Reeder's work on the Women's Triple Crown poster in 2009, then while working with Raiatea on last fall's "Mele" print, realized Reeder also had worked on Raiatea's CD cover, and it cemented the company's decision to seek her out.

Regional sales director Cindy Eastman announced that night, "We've already hit record sales with this print," while explaining that "print" does not entail a single design. "It's not just drawn on one piece of paper. There are a lot of rules involved in putting the pieces together."

Because of the way the bags are constructed, imagery has to be legible in many nooks, and the bag really comprises artwork from four large paintings and two small paintings, all on display that evening.

"It was a lot of effort," Reeder said. "All the parts were drawn independently. There's a lot of texture in my work so I was concerned how it would look, but it turned out fabulous. It looks just like the image, true to life."

Meet the artist from 6 to 9 p.m. July 27 at LeSportsac at Royal Hawaiian Center. At that time, you may win pieces from the Moana Ahe Collection, including a first prize travel set, second prize handbag, and third prize cosmetic accessory. Entries are being accepted now through that evening. Call 971-2920 for more information.

The Moana Ahe collection, comprising six of Kat Reeder's paintings, some of which are shown below.

In a sneak preview, LeSportsac also showed Kat Reeder's design, launching in October 2012, "Paradise Bloom."

'Love, Loss, and What I Wore' at MVT

Courtesy images
Norah and Delia Ephron's "Love, Loss, and What I Wore," based on the 1995 book by Ilene Beckerman, is playing at Manoa Valley Theatre and will be entertaining to anyone who loves fashion.

If you have the time, you might want to check out Manoa Valley Theatre's production of "Love, Loss, and What I Wore," a series of 28 monologues about the way clothes weave their way through our lives, presented by a cast of five women.

Each one of them related easily to the testy relationships between parents and daughters due to clothing choices, romances starting with a certain dress, and clothing that marked loss, as when main character Gingy relates how her father took her clothes shopping upon her 13th birthday, her first after her mom's death. Because she couldn't choose one of the two dresses she liked, her father compensated for their shared grief and loss by getting her both.

Showtime is 7:30 p.m. July 23, 24 and 25. Visit www.manoavalleytheatre.com.

Projected illustrations during the production accompany main character Gingy's storytelling.

Actresses Victoria Gail-White, Bree Bumatai, Stacy Rae, Lauren Murata and Lisa Barnes couldn't help but share their own stories with each other, and filled me in on some of their favorite pieces of clothing:

Bree Bumatai's favorite accessory, an attention-getting two-toned faux leopard hat.

Lauren Murata lived in this gray hoodie until she wore it out, but below, the "Phantom of the Opera" ensemble she put together as a 5-year-old—incorporating her mother Anne's hat and boots—should have been a big clue to her future on stage.

Victoria Gail-White shows the silk robe she created after her mother's death, with the idea that she could wear it in heaven. It bears a hand-marbled tree of life design.

Lisa Barnes favorite piece of clothing was the perfect black wool sweater that she said made her look amazing and went with everything. For her, it was better to look good than feel good, because she was itchy and miserable every time she wore it. Maybe to pretend otherwise was good practice for an actress!

Stacy Rae was a 7-year-old Beatnik in a black cowl sweater that made her feel sophisticated when she wasn't quite sure what a Beatnik was. She only knew her parents didn't like them. She wasn't allowed to have long hair, so a fake ponytail added another element of the forbidden to this snapshot.

Director David C. Farmer's interest in fashion led him to the production. A Poiret boutonnière finishes his ensemble.

Save for concert T-shirts, I don't link articles of clothing to specific events. I go out all the time so it's not like there's this one big party or occasion that involves going out and buying something special.

I'm also not particularly big on the concert T-shirt because I don't like wearing words and logos (too literal) and I don't like wearing advertising (even if it is for my favorite bands). I figure I've bought five band tees in my life: U2 "War" tour; INXS black, purple gray tie-dye tank because it was really nice; Sacred Rite because Mark Kaleiwahea was my guitar teacher and set me on a metal streak; Dead Milkmen because cows and milk were cool before tokidoki; and most recently ... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, which I bought direct from frontman Conrad Keely when I saw them in New York's Webster Hall. He's also an amazing artist who also did the artwork himself.

My Trail of Dead T-shirt. I was soooo happy to see my favorite band in New York because, even though they have roots in Hawaii, they'll probably never play here. This is not the place for their kind of music.

My favorite clothes are often the ones that get away, like this Dior starfish dress from John Galliano's last official collection. I saw it at a trunk show here last spring, and couldn't stop thinking about it, though the $11,000 or $12,000 price tag put it out of reach. Then I found it marked down to $5,000 in fall at Woodbury Common, but didn't get it. My husband said he would buy it for me but I couldn't see spending that much on a dress. I still think about it, but honestly, when and where would I ever wear this?

Among my favorite clothes now are three silk chemises exactly like this, but in a different print, from Swedish brand Odd Molly. I like the granny touches they bring to their garment. This piece has tiny bow details, embroidered seams, embroidered monogram, and each one comes with its own lace and ribbon storage envelope. So comfy and pretty to lounge around the house.

This was also among my favorite pieces from the Fighting Eel spring 2009 collection. I love the banana print. So fun. Fashion should, above all, be fun.

This is another of my favorite dresses, Rodarte for Target. I have it in this black, and peach. The peach is very princessy, girly and again, fun.

Bikini time at Lujuria

Nadine Kam photos
From left, Jessica Andrian of San Lorenzo, Chris Akin, Laura Grace D'Angeli, Michelle Van Veenendaal of LBDB and Lujuria—The Fashion Experience producer Jose Santamaria posed for photos after the "Wet the Bikini" pool party edition fashion show July 15 at The Modern.

Sunday was hot, hot, hot, the perfect weather for Jose Santamaria's "Wet the Bikini" pool party edition of Lujuria—The Fashion Experience, at the Modern, complete with a bikini and resort fashion show, heavy on the bikini part.

In one of the biggest shows of its kind, event host and producer Jose Santamaria, of JS Enterprises, sent more than 100 looks down the runway, including swimwear, coverups and casual wear from LBDB at Kahala Mall, and San Lorenzo Bikinis, and hats from Straw Garden.

Sitting with photographer Rae Huo while taking pictures of the runway, she asked me, "Would you wear one of those? Did you ever have a body like that?"

"Yeah, maybe when I was 16 through 22. It was all downhill from there."

Or, I used to say that when I was 22; the real downhill, I learned, was after 33.

At any rate, I'm more in the market for coverups, not bikinis!


Non-flash video link

Artist Colin Andrew Wood, who was working on this board on the spot, took time out to pose with models, from left, Katherine Laethem, Crystal Douglas and Kaitlin "Goose" Hamilton.

Laura Grace D'Angeli walks the show.

This was one of the biggest pool and resort shows I've seen here, with 100 looks shown.

Catherine Martin showed up appropriately dressed in a colorful duckie inner tube.

Photographer Marc Orbito had his turn in front of the lens, with Lauren Victoria, center, and Kayla Nowack.

Only artists would be fully clothed in black at a pool party! Photographer/visual artist duo Zakka and Rae Huo.

 Among those watching were Stephen Matadobra and Leigh Kroeger.

Echo Gu with drink, cell phone and the perfect cover-up.

Kelly Joseph with Chris Akin, founder of the BASE Project, creating bracelets like the ones he's wearing, from re-purposed PVC pipes from Namibia, Africa. Also, see previous Hifi post for a closer look.

Jose with Jaime Perez of Straw Garden, who provided the Panama hats, handmade in Ecuador, for the show. His shop is at 159 Kaiulani, Suite 110, in Waikiki.