Mar 9, 2010 | Fashion, Life
(Sauce tee, Bebe cardigan, Forever21 mirrored ribbon necklace and studded bangle bracelet, Hue footless tights, Rock & Republic destroyed denim shorts, Steve Madden flats, unknown skull-studded bag from Pineapple County)
Last day in Hawaii. I met up with some old friends and had a blast! It’s so wonderful to reconnect and find the odd little ways your lives have paralleled, even after years apart. If you have an old friend who you haven’t heard from lately, definitely drop her/him a line and say hi! New friends are dear, but old friends are dearest!
Edit: I just noticed that weird kid in the background grinning. He seems a lot more thrilled than I look to be photographed, he he.
I liked the design of this Sauce shirt and bought it with a gift card to Saks Fifth Avenue. The shirt is so cheaply constructed, though! Worse than the worst of Forever21.
Edit: I was actually taxiing down the runway to take off on the plane back to Portland as I was typing the above. I didn’t think I would actually get done with this post before they forced me to turn off my electronic device LOL! But I managed to bang out the above…and decided later to add some more info. The shirt’s side seams are overlocked with a simple double-needle; hems are raw. Collar, instead of being made with ribbing, is done with self-fabric, turned, and finished with twin-needle overlock, so it stretches out the more you wear it. The fabric is super-thin and 100% cotton – it feels and looks utterly cheap to the touch. (Unlike my beloved Kain label tee – which is a blend of silk – and truly feels luxurious.) This shirt feels like it will disintegrate in sunlight…or in the washing machine! Ugh. So not worth $70! (The only rationalization I can make for its price is that the oversized screenprint (thus requiring non-standard sizded screens) necessitates a higher screenprinting fee?? But I think this is one example of the consumer paying the jacked-up price of label luxury – i.e., the brand of the shirt is its cache, not the quality.) I think it’s funny how the skeleton’s pelvis is quite higher than the wearer’s. Hub calls it my “midget skeleton” shirt. In my mind it’s also an ironic commentary on the current INness of skinniness in the fashion industry…could this be the current ideal of the female body?? hehehe. It kind of reminds me of those shirts they sell at Spencer’s Gifts or in raunchy catalogs as beach cover-ups with an airbrushed hot chick’s bikini body on them….in sizes XL – XXXL only…except this is the other extreme.;-)
I haven’t been in the habit of wearing black tights under my shorts, but here in Hawaii after the earthquake in Chile it’s been super-, super-windy. Almost hurricane weather. Of course I didn’t anticipate this and didn’t bring any warm clothes or long pants; so I tried layering these tights under my shorts, doing the whole Japanese-tourist-in-Hawaii-outfit. If you’ve ever been to Honolulu, you’ve probably noticed that all the young Japanese girls are layering black leggings or tights under their jean minis or shorts. For warmth? To hide the non-tanned state of their legs? To hide other leg imperfections? To be more modest even in a tropical climate that almost necessitates the showing of skin? I suppose one will never know…it’s a sort of a micro-trend here on the islands amongst the tourists from Asian countries. And me haha!
Hope you guys all had a great weekend!
xoxox
Carly
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Mar 2, 2010 | Fashion, Life
I know, right? Again????
Full disclosure: I am in Hawaii now and desperately trying to catch up on posting all my New York Fashion Week coverage from my laptop that I was silly enough to bring with me.
Hub’s best friend had his wedding February 12. His brother has his wedding March 6. Both decided to have their weddings in Hawaii.
So what does one do? Decide to only go for one of the weddings? (You’d have to go to your brother’s, obviously.) Go for the first one, stay in Hawaii 4 weeks, go for the second one, then go home? Or go to Hawaii for the first wedding, fly back, the go back to Hawaii a few weeks later?
Well, that’s kind of how it worked out for us (except for me going to New York Fashion Week in-between). It turned out the roundtrip plane tickets for all of us were way cheaper than the cost of daily meals, hotel, pets’ boarding fees, missed school for Lil Tot, etc., so we decided to fly back to Portland in-between.
Basically we had a week in-between our flights. I’m a little tired of living out of a suitcase by now!
(H&M DIY’ed destroyed sweater, Old Navy lame-knit tanktop, unknown brand bag from Pineapple County, Forever21 rhinestone bracelets and double-wrap belt, Norma Kamali for Spiegel convertible minidress worn as a skirt, Wet Seal gold chain flats)
Bought the H&M sweater while in New York and because it had a small hole in it I was able to get it at a whole 10% off discount the original $26 price. [wooo. Not.] So I unraveled ladders in it a bit more, ended up with it looking really cool and Raquel Allegra‘d…and then snagged it moments after this photo was taken on my bracelets, thus altering it from an intentionally-destroyed sweater…to a sweater that just looked like I’d pulled it out of the trash. Not good.
I finally figured out what these skull studs are a knockoff of – Thomas Wylde‘s designs! It was bugging the hell out of me. I found this bag for $40 at Pineapple County last…last week when I was in Honolulu, and today when I was browsing in the store the salesgirl asked me if she could start wrapping up my bag for purchase. Problem with stores that sell affordable, cute merchandise: sales staff is usually clueless LOL.
I’ll be leaving…on a jet plane soon. Again. Arrrgh!
Day after the “tsunami” and everything is fine here – just a little windy.
xoxox
Carly
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Feb 13, 2010 | Fashion, Life
It’s funny how much and how little of the geography here we recall. How to get from here to there is still a source of contention as Hub refused the map at the rentacar place, insisting he knew Honolulu. But as we pass street after street, things start coming back.
Both yesterday and today were full of visiting the airport. Yesterday, twice to the airport to pick up the inlaws, then to the Children’s Discovery Center where we further psychologically-scarred Lil Tot with the exploding organs doll (an 8-ft tall stuffed doll that’s probably been there since the 60’s, kind of resembling Raggedy Andy with blue hair, with a large zipper in his chest. When you pull open the zipper, the doll’s stuffed organs projectile vomit at you. Nice for little kids.)
Then to Mariposa for lunch, a delicious pan-island restaurant atop the Neiman Marcus at the Ala Moana Shopping Center. (We always get full on the starters that the waiters bring: hot popovers with strawberry butter [used to be papaya butter which I thought was better], and a cup of light consomme soup.) I had a salad with island greens, goat cheese, wasabi-crusted pecans, broiled salmon, and papaya vinaigrette, one of my favorites. I shared the cheesecake with Hub – a whipped cheescake with blood orange gelee, manadarin slices, raspberry coulis, and a coffee crunch crust: I’m not really a cheesecake person but this was pure heaven. They also have a location in Bellevue, WA if you are ever in that neighborhood.
Today we woke up early to got to the wedding that was our primary reason for coming to Hawaii this time.
Hub’s best friend from high school was getting married – and get this, exactly one week before today the travel agent they booked the entire trip and wedding with went bankrupt – and stole their money – $20,000+ of it! (This is a travel agent based in Japan.) Since all their friends and family had given the couple money for their travel accommodations, the couple then felt obligated to pay for everyone’s plane and stay that all had to be rebooked last week. The travel agent had cancelled the wedding plans and reservations and everything – and Hub’s best friend had to rebook everything himself at the last minute. What an awful start to their life together! 🙁
Anyway, the wedding was held on the North Shore where Hub and I got married (his best friend was in attendance then and liked the ceremony so much he decided to get married at the same place now, 5 years later). It was pouring with rain on the way up so the ground was soaked, but everyone put on a happy face and tried to make the best of it. The bride was beautiful, and the groom got all choked up during his speech at the reception where he mentioned the difficulties they’d had in getting to today and all the inconvenience they had caused everyone. They even presented Lil Tot a toy: a Darth Vader with removable helmet and megalomaniac computerized seat hutch (you’ll have to forgive my lack of words; I’m really, really tired at this point) – which I’m sure Hub will place in the location of honor on his Star Wars shelf at home. (Don’t ask.)
(handmade dress, handmade necklace, Target rayon scarf, ring from Pineapple County, Deena & Ozzy bag, Steve Madden shoes)
I ripped chiffon strips to make this dress – would have added more had I had the time – and was even tacking them down to the bubble hem in the car on the way to the wedding. (I bought the dress below off-the-shelf and added a layer of ripped chiffon to make it look more unique.) Hub calls it my “jellyfish” dress.
The necklace is kind of reminiscent of the $700 Michael Kors Rhodium Bead Necklace from his S/S 2010 collection…just better. (And cheaper.)
Anyway, after a long drive back to the hotel, I got ready to leave, and am now sitting in the airport about to board the redeye flight to New York City in order to cover Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.
I’m super-nervous about the plane breaking apart in midair and being engulfed in flames (or being knocked unconscious by a wayward headrest), so if that happens, I told ya so! 😉
See you on the other side (of the country) ~
xo
Carly
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Feb 11, 2010 | Fashion
Today proved a fruitful day. (It’s funny how much stuff you can actually see and places you can go when you’re like “I only have 30 minutes til I need to be somewhere!” You cram in everything and end up being particularly efficient.)
In the morning we headed over to our favorite spot on the West side of the island.
Through Pearl City, where the Two Towers are… (that’s not really what they’re called; just when we first moved to Hawaii The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers had just come to theatres and Hub and I always joked about Saruman standing atop one of them…okay, we’re total geeks)…
As the land turns to dry desert with cacti and the earth stains red… [yes, this is still Hawaii: the only state containing 11 of the 13 different climate zones in the world!]
As the craggy foliage-covered mountains splay to the east and the west…
Past where they’re apparently building a Disney resort scheduled to open in 2011…
Konishiki’s house – he’s a local from this area originally.
Past Maili, where former yokozuna [sumo wrestling champion] Konishiki has his pad (and we’ve seen him driving his little golf cart around on occasion)….
Through Waianae, the most poverty-stricken area of the island, where crystal meth abuse and vandalism run rampant…
The army appears to be Up To Something.
Through designated Hawaiian Home Land [land leased to people who have a minimum of 50% native Hawaiian blood from the government] and land seized by the US Army for use for training exercises…[you can probably guess how the native Hawaiians feel about that]…
Past Beach People enclaves [homeless who have elected to live on the beach in tents and hollowed-out cars draped with tarps]….
On top of the mountain to the east is the Coast Guard Satellite Tracking Facility that we just call the Big-A** Golf Ball.
Secluded, rocky, dangerous waves, whales on the horizon, and fabulous, fabulous shells. There are a lot of drupes, tiny nerites, as well as abundant varieties of cone shells – my favorite is the Conus ebraeus with its graphic black-and-white pattern. Cowries that have bleached with time and calcium deposits – it’s almost impossible to find a whole, shiny cowrie out here due to the strength of the waves. And sea urchin skeletons and spines, pulverized. Since I don’t scuba-dive, I can’t collect specimen shells; just do my best at snorkeling depths. My dream is to find a whole Cypraea (Cribrarula) gaskoini someday…
Isn’t it beautiful? (img from marinelifephotography.com)
You can just hear the waves crashing, no?
So we played on the beach and I picked up lots of broken shells since the waves were too rough to dare the waters, and I ended up with a sunburn on my ankles and in an oval on my forearm where apparently I missed putting on my SPF.
Me, crackberrying on the beach. This is my normal Beach Attire.
Then we headed back to Waikiki, and I stopped in Island Sweetie for a look-see.
It’s a little hole-in-the-wall, but sometimes I can find some fun, trendy things in there. I hemmed and hawed over a cropped black cardigan with a skull-pattern, but the $59 pricetag finally decided things for me. I found tons of studded MMS Design bags (at least I’m pretty sure that’s what the label said, though I’m unfamiliar with the brand), flowing paisley and vintage-flower-print sundresses, a necklace with a cluster of gems like gumdrops, Swarovski-encrusted pens and business card holders, and the owner cutting up printed tees and re-tying the strips he’d just cut, pure 80’s style.
Then to Ward Centre and Warehouse, and while Hub was getting a hair cut (I write it like that because his hairstyle is pretty much unchanged from before going into the salon, hence, my theory is that he only a got a. hair. cut), I took Lil Tot around to some stores.
Yes, the door says “Misfortune.” It’s really hard to see.Misfortune always surprises me in that though they’re small and have comparatively little on the selling floor, I always find something I want.
At many stores in Hawaii you will find pages from Japanese magazines on display – showing the feature or write-up of their store to their Japanese customers. Many Japanese women collect magazine features on shops in Hawaii and visit – specifically to shop at said stores. What I’ve always found interesting is that rarely do U.S.-based magazines mention these stores or “hot” items they’re selling. 😉
This tee with all sorts of extra bits added onto it was especially nice; I’d probably have bought it if it was in a darker color and long-sleeved. Maybe I’ll make one.
I liked the studded bags on the wall, too.
Linea proved slightly interesting but definitely more urban- and club-wear than I could usually pull off.
Second Skin didn’t have much in the way of notable finds, though the graphic print tank in the window I liked (though I could have sworn I’ve seen it in a past issue of Lucky…)
After a dinner of Mizithra Cheese and Browned Butter spaghetti and watermelon-sorbet-honeydew-ice-cream-oreo-cookie-crust ice cream cake (yum!) at the Old Spaghetti Factory, we went back to Waikiki and I hit up Pineapple County, where I lingered a whole 25 minutes until Hub hustled me out of there, complaining he had to go to the bathroom.
Ah, Pineapple County. So many lovely things, affordable prices (think Zara on sale, not quite as cheap as Forever21)…
Beautiful dress with a see-through lace skirt.
Totally DIY-able with a grinder-attachment on your handheld drill.
Love this: a tank that has a foldover ruffle at the bustline with a lacy bra-top inset as straps.
I tried snapping more photos but my camera battery died halfway through.
I ended up with a similar skull-print cardi to the one I saw at Island Sweetie (except a heck of a lot cheaper at $10.99, and one size too small but I can easily fix that once I get to a sewing machine), with tiny little skulls like polka dots. Refined. And a white foldover skull-studded bag, and a sculptural hammered silver ring. I also would have gotten a “Pineapple County” printed tee, had I not been hustled out of there. I’ll def. make do with a free tote bag instead!
Tomorrow: the in-laws arrive, we visit the Hawaii Children’s Museum and further scar Lil Tot for life with the 8-ft tall doll with the exploding organs, and meet up with even more in-laws for lunch at Mariposa. Whew!
I hear New York is practically snowed in – for those of you there, how is it right now?
I’m a little worried my flight will be canceled.
xo
Carly
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Feb 10, 2010 | Fashion, Life
So we’ve arrived here in Hawaii and despite my forebodings the plane didn’t go down in a flaming ball of carnage.
However, about 2 hours into the flight my son had woken up from his nap and was lying with his head in my lap – and I noticed the guy sitting in front of me was shifting around a bit and suddenly, OUT OF NOWHERE this gigantic, cumbersome, heavy blue thing whizzed up in the air and landed in my lap 3 INCHES FROM MY SON’S FACE. I was staring at it blankly for a few moments, trying to figure out what the hell it was, and the guy in front of my turned around and was staring at me – and I realized that the thing in my lap was the headrest to his seat.
image from hobotraveler.com because I was too shaken to take a photo of the real thing when it happened.
Yup, that thing! He had tried to adjust the sides to the headrest forward, like in the photo above, and the whole thing had snapped off the seat, flown up into the air, and landed smack on my lap behind him. Apparently the whole headrest is secured to the seat with a 4″ steel pin, which had loosened from its bearing and the whole thing had come out. And so there I was, with an amazingly heavy (like 8+ lbs, heavier than my son’s head) headrest with a 4″ pin sticking out of it in my lap, just stunned. I handed it back to the guy, who murmured “sorry” but then I just realized that had my son not shifted a few minutes prior to it happening the headrest would have landed right on his face! (And likely broken a tooth or two.) Lil Tot wasn’t really upset or anything, just a little confused. It was a close call (plus the guy in front of me wasn’t particularly apologetic or concerned – which I thought was weird because if it had been my headrest that flew behind me into a woman with a child, I would have been almost in tears worried that either of them had been hurt) and I was so thankful that my son hadn’t been hit by the headrest.
So once we got over the Headrest Incident, landed, and got to the hotel, we went to
Ala Moana Shopping Center so I could check on my favorite shops.
It’s strange to be back – in some ways it feels like we never left. Hawaii is one of those places that stops in time; every day is the same, the weather is the same; the endless stream of tourists is unchanged; parts of Waikiki get knocked down and rebuilt; the radio stations are still playing what they were 2 years ago. It’s interesting to be back and look down at my side and see a little boy, because I keep feeling like I will see a baby (as my son was before we moved away).
Anyway, at the mall I was quite bummed that Miss Sixty is no longer at Ala Moana (replaced by Lucky Brand Jeans, it seems), so that puts my
Waikiki Shopping map out of date already. Aldo Accessories had some boot chains to be wrapped around the shaft of the boot, kind of like this:
photo from Nelliinen vaatehuone, one of my fave Finnish fashion bloggers
I was sorely tempted, but at $30 they weren’t a deal, and even the ones on sale for $16 were too much for my stinginess. Just buy a studded belt for $8 from Forever21 and wrap it around! (Though a solution will have to be devised to keep the darn thing up. Hmmm….)
Fendi’s cork wedges clocked in at $595 at the Fendi store (I claim no responsibility; mother-in-law wanted to know); Le Lotus Blue was jam-packed with so much Ed Hardy I felt like I was Jon Gosselin’s closet (ewwwww); and the store I had been dying to go to for months – Spiral Girl – was amazingly disappointing.
I only had my camera with me so the quality of my photos isn’t very good, but this is kind of an idea of what the store is like.
Trendy stuff straight from Japan. Usually my cup of tea, but the prices….
Last April the clothing ranged from $30 – $70 or so; with few items being over $100.
Now, most of the clothing started above $50 and ranged way into the $100’s. Even the on-sale shoes were $105 (remember my cone-heel pumps I got there on sale for $20 2 years ago???)
Well, the recession has also hit this store hard and certainly isn’t helped by the yen-dollar exchange rate. I found sequined tops, cropped leather jackets (for $155 ON SALE), drapey tees, and blouson dresses, all way out of what I would consider okay to spend on something that’s basically Forever21 quality.
Tights with super-large polka-dots…
I seriously contemplated this frilly blouson top decorated with tiny gold studs all over but at $79 I decided no.
They had a few different colors, though I was drawn to the green one. Aren’t the dots like starlight? Lovely.
But I picked up some DIY ideas, even if I wasn’t in the mood to buy…
Add lace to the back of a hoodie to girl it up a little…
Punch a variety of sizes of eyelets into a clutch bag…
Decorate a beret with studs. Oops! Done that already. Turned out pretty cute – have to take a photo to share with you guys.
I left the store somewhat let down, I have to say. 🙁
And then we went to this little Greek place called the
Greek Corner that we’ve been going to ever since we first came to Hawaii in 2004…best Greek food on the island! It’s like a little hole in the wall over on University Ave. that’s amazingly good, as far as island-based greek eateries go.;-) Yummy thick-cut oven fries with garlic-mayo dipping sauce, gyros with generous portions of lamb, and thick baklavas with layers of pistachios, oozing butter and honey. I wish I had had the presence of mind to take photos of the food before we ate, but we were so hungry I only realized mid-way through the meal that I hadn’t…and so I demurred, assuming none of you would like to see a half-chewn gyro.:-)
and some weird thing called “Sprunch” on the menu…I can only assume it is Sprite with punch…shall have to try sometime!
Tomorrow…a trip to the beach for the best shells on the island, and maybe a couple naps??
I know I need them!
xoxox
Carly
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I’m telling ya, 
