in the immortal words of thomas magnum: trust me

if you lived on oahu in the 80's i guarantee either you or someone you know has a story about a chance encounter with the production of magnum p.i. when i was a kid i remember seeing magnum's ferrari at the corner store in hawaii kai and meeting one of magnum's enemies (who was also an acquaintence of my mom) while shopping at the ala moana liberty house.

not only does shirts & ladders' tom selleck tee bring back all those oh-so-fond memories from the 80's but it's also the perfect thing to wear during your magnum marathon.

sneaker pimps

i have a feeling that the fella's favorite shop when we hit the islands this summer will be kicks/hi. this is the place to go if you love sneakers. and i'm not talking about your kids' keds but super cool kicks for sneaker aficionados looking to score limited edition, old school style sneakers.

they have even collaborated on limited edition sneaker designs like the aloha dunk with nike. the masterminds behind kicks hawaii are pchs grad ian ginoza & his friend eddy haus who opened up their first shop a few years ago and recently opened another location at the new ward gateway in town. online shopping isn't available yet so if you're not lucky enough to live in (or visit) hawaii hopefully you're near saint alfred, their sister shop in chicago. 

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.