bring on the bliss

accordian + mini guitar

if you're a girl who covets very trendy, very expensive handbags (you know who you are) then it's high time you checked out punahou grad bliss lau's collection. bliss went to parsons (yep, that parsons, project runway fans) in nyc and has a devoted fashionista following (lucky, wwd, elle & so on). her lambskin leather bags  are handcrafted and have a cool, organic profile inspired by the shape of musical instruments.

alas, it doesn't seem like any shops in hawaii carry her line but, then again, if you're a handbag junkie your pocketbook might be better off if you join bag borrow or steal instead.

jersey love

 

i always pack a mix of clothing when i go home yet it seems like i always fall back on the ubiqitous shorts/capris & tank top/tee combo. these modern jersey styles from up & coming island designers fighting eel would certainly add a bit more ooh la la to the old wardrobe.

wouldn't the dress drop (above left) look super cute with jeans? lucky for me & you, fighting eel can be found at a number of boutiques across the states and online. rafael hawaii and active endeavors seem to have the best selection of the online boutiques, however some of fighting eel's more popular designs seem to be selling out since receiving some high profile ink in lucky and the new york times as well as the honolulu advertiser.

just say om

some days (okay, most days) it can be really difficult to get motivated to exercise and there's nothing worse than catching yourself in the mirror and looking like one of the poor souls on what not to wear. enter local designer & devoted yoga practitioner laurie momi chee and her comfy, cute & colorful clothing line lily lotus hawaii.

my favorites are the "buddha is my om boy" tee and the lotus logo fidel cap (a good cap is very hard to find). lily lotus designs everything from tanks & tees to hoodies & capris. it's not sold online yet but you can find the line at a number of yoga studios & boutiques in the islands as well as a handful of shops on the mainland.

aloha rag

 

one of hawaii's most stylish boutiques has got to be aloha rag (as seen in lucky & vogue) which caters to the fashionistas on the island. you'll find everything from chloe and balenciega to loomstate organic denim and l.a.m.b. (the only place in town to score gwen stefani's designs). i'm particularly fond of this tee from martin margiela.

if you can't get to the shop on kapiolani blvd. (street level in that brown & glass building by ala moana. you know the one.), you can shop online (don't forget to check out the sale section . . . shhh!).

north shore soap factory

a few years ago, we headed up to the north shore to check out the goodies at the country market. one of the vendors had a table filled with soap and since the fella needed to stock up we spent a good 10 minutes sniffing each bar and trying to decide which ones to bring back to the mainland with us.

the soap maker was really friendly and explained the benefits of all the ingredients. this was back in the day when we thought all soap was made the same (we know better now). it was some seriously good soap and even though we've been home quite a few times since then we never had a chance to get back to the north shore on market day.

imagine my delight when i discovered that the north shore soap factory is now online. they have outgrown their original soap shack and now call the historic waialua sugar mill home. their product line has expanded to more bath goodies and now you can stop by their soap factory for a visit when you're on the north shore.