Antique purses on view at SFO

Nadine Kam photos
These mesh purses are among the vintage and antique handbags on display in the "Essential Style: Vintage and Antique Purses" exhibition at San Francisco International Airport, courtesy of the SFO Museum.

Essential Style: Vintage and Antique Purses
On view at San Francisco International Airport through July 22, 2016

Waiting at airports can be a boring, mind-numbing experience, but at San Francisco International Airport, in-house SFO Museum exhibitions turn it into a culturally enriching one.

SFO Museum became the first cultural institution of its kind located in an international airport, in 1980. Displays are compact, varied and fun. Last time I passed through, there was an exhibition of Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett's monster-themed guitars. There are 20 exhibitions throughout the airport at this time, but I happened to be passing through the international terminal en route to Dubai, and chanced on the "Essential Style: Vintage and Antique Purses" exhibition. I love purses so of course I was thrilled. Many of the pieces are credited to the Antique Purse Collectors Society.

According to exhibition materials, purses date to the medieval period, but I'm pretty sure they have been around as long as men and women had to carry talismans and other personal items. They didn't remain utilitarian objects long as humans have always wanted to put their personal stamp on items. Purses quickly evolved into a sophisticated decorative art and fashion accessory, and bags have always showed the creativity and skills of their makers, from metal and leatherwork to weaving, embroidery, and knitting. That's why I like them so much. They are a form of portable, everyday art.

Metal mesh purses were popular in the 1920s, and the Mandalian Manufacturing Co., created beautiful painted designs. In the early days of eBay, I searched for these and feel lucky to own purses identical to the two on the right. I just don't get to use them because they don't hold much. Even a driver's license is too long and wide to fit through the bottom.

Historically, men and women wore purses attached to their belts or fabric bands that hung from the waist. After pockets were introduced to male clothing at the end of the 16th century, men's use of bags declined. But women's styles became increasingly sophisticated. A number of workshops in 18th century France began producing exquisite beaded purses employing up to 1,000 beads per square inch.

Purses continue to fascinate and tempt us. I just read that a trio of Hermès Birkins topped $100,000 each in an April 18 and 19  $2.5+ million Heritage Spring Luxury auction in New York. A rare limited edition Matte So Black Nilo Crocodile Birkin topped the trio with a final price of $125,000, while an Extraordinary Collection Matte Black Porosus Crocodile Birkin Bag with 18k White Gold Hardware went for $118,750, and a Matte White Himalayan Nilo Crocodile Birkin Bag finished at $100,000.

The exhibition opened on Jan. 22 and is on view in the International Terminal, Departures Level 3 through July 22, 2016. View more at: http://www.flysfo.com/museum/exhibitions/essential-style-vintage-and-antique-purses#sthash.AzKCyebj.dpuf

I was also a collector of Lucite purses of the 1940s until I learned the hard way that some of caramel-colored acetate ones are now leaching chemicals. I worked so hard to attain a beehive bag and another made of this material, only to see them collapse, which is why the collectors were getting rid of them.

To showcase their needlework skills, 19th century women often crafted their own beaded and embroidered bags. This is one homemade example.

 A few fun and highly impractical doggie-themed purses.

Long before raves, women had the dilemma of how to carry lipsticks and cigarettes. These dance purses from 1920s and '30s France comprise celluloid and silk cord. The lightweight purses were made to dangle from the wrist.

 Because of the time and effort to string beads that when knitted, would create intricate designs, knitted, beaded scenic bags commanded a high price in the early 20th century.

More beaded designs.

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Nadine Kam is Style Editor and staff restaurant critic at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser; her coverage is in print on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Contact her via email at nkam@staradvertiser.com and follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Rebel Mouse.

Oscar de la Renta remembered at de Young Museum

Nadine Kam photos
Oscar de la Renta's 2000-01 Spanish-influenced designs were the focal point of one of the tableau in a retrospective of his work at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. The exhibition continues through May 30.

"Oscar de la Renta: The Retrospective" on view at the de Young Museum of Fine Arts in San Fransisco, celebrates the work of the designer who was born in the Dominican Republic, trained in Spain, and made his career in the United States, until his death on Oct. 20, 2014, at the age of 82.

The world premiere exhibition, curated by André Leon Talley, former editor-at-large for Vogue magazine, includes 120 ensembles, curated from the best museums in the United States, and his friends, family and clients.

The designer was born Oscar Arístides Renta Fiallo in the Dominican Republic and trained with Spanish designers Cristóbal Balenciaga and Lanvin designer Antonio del Castillo.

Some of my favorite pieces in the Spanish section were pieces the designer created for Balmain, this summer dance dress and bolero were worn by De la Renta's wife Annette. It comprises silk, jet beads, passementerie and raffia.

After moving to the United States to create ready-to-wear fashion in the early 1960s, he made his name as by dressing First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. In addition to designing for his own eponymous brand, he designed the haute couture collection for Balmain between 1993 and 2002.

The exhibition covers five decades of de la Renta fashion, but instead of being organized chronologically, it is organized by themes, showing how Spanish influences in his life were consistently reflected in his work. Other galleries reflect a fascination with Asia, a love of gardens, and his popularity with New York society, celebrities and heads of state over decades. He dressed everyone from Audrey Hepburn and Liza Minnelli to Rihanna and Taylor Swift.

Beyond fashion, a video gallery screens mini docs about the designer, including his desire to give back to his home country, by opening schools and orphanages to help disadvantaged children.
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Tickets for the Oscar de la Renta exhibition at the de Young Museum in San Francisco start at $30 per person, including general admission. Discounts available for seniors, students and youth. Free for ages 5 and younger. Premium tickets are also available. The museum is in Golden Gate Park, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive. Open 9:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays, through May 30.

This spring 2005 flounced lace evening dress was designed especially for Annette and was the designer's favorite, comprising black tulle and black silk taffeta applique.

De la Renta enjoyed gardening and that was the theme of a Vogue photo shoot by Peter Lindbergh, published in October 1997. These mannequins in floral silk Balmain gowns were arranged to recreate one of the images.

Acknowledging the rise of the Asian model that coincided with China's and Korea's growing economic power, Vogue reimagined a 1948 Cecil Beaton photograph, with eight Asian models wearing Oscar de la Renta Spring 2011 ballgowns. The new photo was shot by Steven Meisel. This detail of the photo is displayed on a video screen, with mannequins in the dresses posed in similar fashion.

Detail of jeweled tassels gracing a jacket and skirt ensemble from one of de la Renta's Asia-inspired collections.

This 1998-99 Oscar de la Renta for Pierre Balmain evening dress is of green silk tafetta with beads, sequins and metallic thread embroidery. It was juxtaposed with Russian artist Konstantin Makovsky's 1884 painting, "Preparing for the Wedding."

More Spanish ruffles.

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Nadine Kam is Style Editor and staff restaurant critic at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser; her coverage is in print on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Contact her via email at nkam@staradvertiser.com and follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Rebel Mouse.

Furla introduces Fall-Winter 2016 bags at RHC

Photos courtesy Furla
Furla's Valentina Camouflage handbag is among the brand's recently launched Fall/Winter 2016 designs.

Furla hosted an exclusive preview of its Fall-Winter 2016 handbag collection April 21 at its Royal Hawaiian Center store. In town for the special event was the company's CEO Scott Link, to share some of the new design directions.

The new Furla bags are influenced by music, from the rebellion of from rock to fun of pop, reflected through laser cuts, kaleidoscopic patterns, golden studs, and fringe, starting with leathers smooth, supple and soft to the touch.

Bags such as the Furla Valentina and Furla Club also make a statement about our times, where constant exposure to stimuli and other cultures are prompting artists to create new aesthetic harmonies.

Furla's Club Bag.

Furla's Metropolitan Bolero.

I'm too sexy for Dubai

 Craig T. Kojima photo
I had to dig into my closets and drawers to come up with a handful of garments appropriate for travel to Dubai, which means covering shoulders and hemlines below the knees. This is one of the few dresses I have that isn't a shoulder-baring tank style.

Pretty much no one in Hawaii would use the words "too sexy" to describe me. I don't dress provocatively and don't strut around as if I think I'm God's gift to men. If I do bare arms almost every day, it's because our Western standards make it OK in a hot, beachy city, to walk the streets in tank tops. That's not sexy, that's normal.

Dressing for Dubai, where I'm traveling, is another matter. I hear it's a cosmopolitan city where people forgive Westerners their trespasses and tourists wear anything they want. But I think it's wise to respect one's hosts when traveling abroad and in Dubai, an Arab city, that means covering up as much skin as possible, from shoulders downward.

Problem was, I had to dig through my closets and drawers to find shirts and dresses with sleeves, that weren't too low cut, that didn't have cut-outs, and dresses and skirts that fell below my knees. And, came up pretty much empty-handed.

So, I went shopping. And, couldn't find anything.

It's because most Western dress that I would want to wear, is provocative in some way. Trends often reflect the shifting focus on different erogenous zones, selecting what is to be concealed and revealed to maximize the beauty of the female form.

Hydrating masks from TheFaceShop will be my skin's best friends in the desert. Alas, I forgot my sunscreen at home!


So, if I found a top with a high neckline, I'd turn it around and find a low-cut back. A lot of sleeves today have cut-outs to show more skin. Many tops are so long that shorter girls like me are wearing them as dresses that are about an inch or two away from impropriety.

All I found were a few cast-off long skirts—no doubt discarded for being unsexy—from Goodwill. I dug some more at home and cobbled together five days worth of garments that might pass muster when worn with scarves, and I also figured I could wear leggings under some tunic-style dresses.

There was one shirtdress I dug out of a suitcase, and I wondered why I never wore it. Was it too tight?

Nope. I tried it on and it fit in all the right places, but, it was too long by about four inches and I never got around to hemming it, so the length made it perfect for Dubai.

Only problem was, to my eye and sense of proportion, it was too long, so it stayed at home.

There's appropriateness in terms of cultural mores, and appropriateness by fashion's rules, and this time, fashion won. I'll see how it all works out.

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Nadine Kam is Style Editor and staff restaurant critic at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser; her coverage is in print on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Contact her via email at nkam@staradvertiser.com and follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Rebel Mouse.

Kini watch: Juges go bananas over genie pants

Lifetime photos
Kini Zamora's summer genie pant look him put in the top 2 this week.

'PROJECT RUNWAY' ALL STARS SEASON 5
Episode 10 recap: "Rebel With a Cause"

Business today is often about forming partnerships, and many fashion brands appeal to consumers through philanthropic contributions that allow them to feel like partners in giving back to their communities.

This week the designers are introduced to Yvonne Niami, founder of N:Philanthropy, a brand that gives 10 percent of its net sales toward fighting pediatric cancer. The designers are tasked with designing a "fashion-forward summer look that is sophisticated with a badass edge" for the N:Phil girl.

Hawaii designer Kini Zamora takes a risk by creating a genie pant that he knows judges will love or hate, but at midpoint in the competition, he doesn't want to risk playing it safe either.

His original plan also called for a cropped yellow tweed jacket, but mentor Zanna Roberts Rassi sees pant and jacket together and tells him she wants to see, "less disco banana, more sophisticated cool girl." He has the sense of humor to laugh at the critique, saying he doesn't want to create a disco banana either.

He decides to dip-dye the bottom half of his jacket black to tone down the yellow, but at the last minute he ditches the jacket and sends his model down the runway in the pant and a halter top. The judges like the "kookiness" and "ballsiness" of his design.

His risk-taking paid off and he is placed in the Top 2 along with Emily Payne, who is named the winner.

Emily Payne scored the win for her design, which started as a deconstructed power suit.

Ken Laurence struggled with creating a top to go with a white pair of pants. At the last minute, he gives up completely and drapes a piece of fabric as a halter top. It is so thrown together that I felt sure he was going home, but it's Dom Streater and Asha Daniels who end up in the bottom.

Both looks were too heavy looking for the challenge, but Dom's look was beautiful and it was obvious she and Asha both put a lot of work into their designs. Unfortunately, Asha ends up going home when it should have been Ken.

Asha Daniels was sent home for a design more severe than summery.

Kendall + Kylie only at NM

Neiman Marcus photos
A capsule collection of Kendall + Kylie designs is available, exclusive to Neiman Marcus.

An exclusive Kendall + Kylie capsule collection, a brand led by model celebs Kendall and Kylie Jenner, has launched as part of the Neiman Marcus #OnlyatNM program, highlighting the retailer’s exclusive merchandise.

The designs are inspired by the sisters' favorite vintage pieces and their current closets, with nine pieces—including a black silk jumpsuit and leather short—created to bring shoppers one step closer to their personal style. Prices range from $95 for a cropped poppy T-shirt to $995 for a white leather jacket.

To introduce the brand, shoppers who spend more than $500 of regular priced select women's apparel, accessories, shoes, and handbags will be given the choice between two exclusive Kendall + Kylie sunglasses. The promotion ends April 10.

Here's are a few of the pieces:

 A sexy LBD, V-neck dress, $495.

Kendall + Kylie cut-out dress, $575.

Striped low-V top, $245.

Kini watch: A win for 'All Stars' athleisure ensemble

Lifetime photos
Kini Zamora finally scored a win with his athleisure separates.

'PROJECT RUNWAY' ALL STARS SEASON 5
Episode 9 recap: "A Touch of Style"

The designers head out to Coney Island, ending up at Cyclone Stadium, where host Alyssa Milano introduces her Touch line of apparel, which she created a decade ago when she was at a game and couldn't find anything cute to wear from the gift shop.

The designers are given the task of coming with a garment befitting today's athleisure trend, smart leisure apparel inspired by athletic apparel. The idea is that the wearer should be able to take the look from stadium to a nice dinner afterward. The winning look will be modified and sold as part of the Touch line.

Shopping at Mood, many of the designers end up with the same types of fabric in blue. Hawaii designer Kini Zamora and Sam Donovan, whose specialty is said to be athleisure apparel, end up with the same mesh fabric, but come up with totally different looks.

Alyssa Milano in the KiniZamora X Touch by Alyssa Milano jacket, available for $99.99 at m.fanatics.com. The top was really cute too, with shoulder cut-outs that weren't shown during the episode.

Donovan comes up with a dress in blue neoprene with the mesh overlay. He has black lace in the back, which mentor Zanna Roberts Rassi criticizes for lack of cohesion. Save for the fabric, there is nothing about the design that suggests "athleisure." It is a cute dress that ends up merely embellished with lace at the waistline and used as cap sleeves. In judging, he ends up in the bottom three for not meeting the challenge, and Milano said his dress was like a slap in the face because he understands athleisure, yet chose to do what he wanted outside of the rules. In judging, he is nevertheless declared safe.

As usual, Dom Streater pulls together multiple types of fabric to piece together a convertible shift, with an illusion back and panel at the hem that can be snapped on and off depending on the weather or wearer's activities. So clever. She and Kini are placed on top.

Sam ignored the spirit of the challenge and merely came up with a dress in sporty fabric.

In the end, Kini is named the winner for separates of denim jeans and a simple red top and the piece de resistance, a long baseball-inspired jacket with a white mesh panel on one side for interest. For Milano, it's an easy sell for her line because fans of the game will understand the look, whereas only the most fashionable will get Dom's look.

During the competition, Ken Laurence lost time because he was frustrated by mistakes he'd made in construction, and in a fit, decided to go home. He returns the next day in a good mood, and finishes his hoodie, but Isaac said the look caters to the lowest common denominator, and Laurence ends up in the bottom with Layana Aguilar.

Layanna is also an athleisure specialist, and she puts in a lot of construction time creating a pant by piecing together 40 pieces of her textured blue fabric. It's quite a feat but the pant doesn't mesh well with her polished crop top, and after being in the bottom so many times, she is finally sent home.

The weird thing is, if she created pieces more like the ones she wears herself, she would probably have ended up in the top three.

Layana was sent home for separates that were interesting individually, but wrong together.

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Nadine Kam is Style Editor and staff restaurant critic at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser; her coverage is in print on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Contact her via email at nkam@staradvertiser.com and follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Rebel Mouse.

Goodwill Kaimuki shows new look

Nadine Kam photos
Models Bella Williams, left, and Kristylove, graced the windows of the Kaimuki Goodwill store during its grand reopening celebration.

Goodwill Kaimuki unveiled its new look March 31 after a makeover that is part of a rebranding campaign Goodwill Hawaii began in 2015.

Goodwill Hawaii worked with 50|50, a local creative agency, that incorporated elements like aloha shirts and other iconic Hawaii imagery into window displays, and introduced a brighter color palette. The new designs will also eventually be incorporated into all of Goodwill Hawaii’s program locations, donation centers, and stores on Oahu, Maui, the Big Island and Kauai.

Those shopping will find premium merchandise in a window at the front of the store, where manikin displays by Amanda Stevens and Rene Rodriguez often started fights for the pieces when they came off the manikins the first Sunday of the month. Now people simply cue up the morning after in hope of snagging one of the coveted pieces.

The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation was credited for providing much of the funding for the makeover.

To celebrate the store's new look, special offers, discounts and prize giveaways will be available to shoppers who visit the Kaimuki location through April 3.

Pastor Ron Arnold from Kaimuki Christian Church made the opening remarks at the unveiling, reminding everyone of Goodwill's history, started in 1902 by Boston Rev. Edgar J. Helms, a Methodist minister who turned out to be what we call today a social innovator.

Guests were treated to plenty of pupu and a performance by the Goodwill Signing Stars, comprising participants from the Hoolana Program for Adults with Disabilities.

He collected used items from the wealthy, repairing them for use by the less fortunate, then training those in need to mend and repair, resulting, Arnold said, with "not a hand-out, but a hand up."

With community support, Goodwill continues to help people who have barriers to employment. In addition to reclaiming and restoring goods, he said, "Men were reclaimed and restored as well."

It's an important message today as we contend with growing homeless populations and numbers of people in crisis.

From July 2014 through June 2015, Goodwill Hawaii assisted more than 11,000 people statewide with job training and placement programs.
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The Kaimuki Goodwill store and donation center is at 3638 Waialae Ave. Visit www.higoodwill.org for more information.

The store's fresh new look.

Special finds have a place in a window at the front of the store. I snagged this sequin skirt for about $16.

Even the windows got a makeover.

Manikins in the window are styled by Amanda Stevens and Rene Rodriguez. The display ties into the recent Pink Tie Ball, a fundraiser for the Susan G. Komen breast cancer nonprofit.

Bloomingdale's April Fool's prank ends with sweet surprise

Nadine Kam photo
The real deal, Forty Carrots plain yogurt with blueberries and strawberry sauce. So yummy!

Bloomingdale's teased patrons with ads for a new Forty Carrots fragrance line based on customers favorite frozen yogurt flavors, including Original Tart, Chocolate, Coffee and Peanut Butter.

Copy that read, "Get your favorite frozen yogurt 24/7 with our creamy new fragrances that smell like your favorite flavors," appeared on social media, Bloomingdales.com and in a New York Times ad as follows:

There are probably a lot of people out there who would want to wear these faux fragrances!

A lot of people would no doubt be interested in wearing those flavors, and to assuage any disappointment, the retailer is offering one free topping on your frozen yogurt when you visit any Forty Carrots restaurant, April 1 to 3, while supplies last. Just mention "April Fools."

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Nadine Kam is Style Editor and staff restaurant critic at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser; her coverage is in print on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Contact her via email at nkam@staradvertiser.com and follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Rebel Mouse.

Kini watch: No fairy tale ending this time

Lifetime photo
The designers receive their assignment on the latest episode of "Project Runway All Stars."

'PROJECT RUNWAY' ALL STARS SEASON 5
Episode 8 recap: "Once Upon a Runway"

At the Drama Book Shop, the designers meet up with host Alyssa Milano and Laura Michelle Kelly, star of the theater production, "Finding Neverland."

They are assigned to design for fictional heroines from classic children's stories, using the character's back story to bring her to life in a modern runway look.

Hawaii designer Kini Zamora said he's always wanted to design for a modern fairy tale, so he said hearing the challenge is like a dream come true. He's assigned "Alice in Wonderland" and opts to use denim, with a couture denim ruffle in back, a look fit for a fantasy tea party, and adorable in execution.

 Kini's contemporary "Alice in Wonderland" tea party look.

With a background in costume, Alexander Pope would seem to have an advantage in the competition. He's assigned one of the easiest characters to dress to impress, Cinderella. But instead of being creative, he comes up with what is essentially a boring bridesmaid dress.

Things heat up while the designers are in the lunchroom, when Ken Laurence points out there could be only six designers left instead of eight, because there have been two saves during the season.

It's a sore point with Kini because he created a top during the season's only team challenge, that kept Sam Donovan in the competition, and the two get into a tiff.

Sam's updated "Little Mermaid" look.

Sam is making a mesh crop top and pencil skirt for "The Little Mermaid," with applique patches of blue and shimmery sequins reflecting the sea. Alexander reminds Kini that it's the same sort of junior look that got Stella Zotis eliminated from the competition.

Sure enough, Kini ends up in the top three with Dom Streater and Asha Daniels, and Sam ends up on the bottom with Alexander and Layana Aguilar.

I'm certain the win will be between Kini and Dom. I love Dom's idea of a Tinker Bell straight off Carnaby Street. Hers is a garment I might not notice on a rack, but it looks fabulous on her model, with bold prints and cut-out negative space "wings."

I'm shocked when Asha wins. Her jumpsuit with tail design is borderline old lady, Eastern European tacky, on par with Alexander's gown.

As for the bottom, it's a toss-up. Layana's look reads more ready-to-wear than designer. Alexander's look is old, and Sam's is too simple. But I'm feeling the judges had to keep Sam, because the Kini-Sam rivalry is the only interesting storyline of the season.

Layana has been on the bottom several times, so she seems like the one to go home, but in the end, going too "old lady" is the worst offense for a designer, and Alexander is sent home.

 I didn't care for Asha's winning design, which looks old and tacky.

The old lady gown that got Alexander sent home.

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Nadine Kam is Style Editor and staff restaurant critic at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser; her coverage in print on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Contact her via email at nkam@staradvertiser.com and follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Rebel Mouse.