acacia swimwear: belle nomad collection

tribal

more often than not, a find that delights on screen tends to underwhelm when you meet in person. not so acacia swimwear which i finally had a chance to preview during an impromptu shop scout while home over the winter. i am happy to report that the gorgeous fabrics feel fancy and luxurious in real life while the pretty linings which charmed me from afar proved even more striking during our in-store introduction.

all those little details add up to a lot of love for the two-year-old label with devoted fans around the globe and a moment in this year's sports illustrated swimsuit issue. naomi and lyndie, the designers behind the homegrown line, debuted their belle nomad collection just before the holidays mixing vibrant patterns (zig zags! ikat!) with breathtaking bohemian details for their becoming bikini beauties.

my wishlist fell in love with so many pieces before realizing that the 2012 lineup is welcoming effortless coverups crafted of silk and tencel . . . simple but oh so pretty and quite well-timed considering my preference for more sustainable textiles.

more to adore after the jump!

cantik * choctaw

capri

hanalei * goa

are you swooning too?

happy news if, like me, you shied away from the very flirty bottoms and resigned yourself to adoring acacia from the sidelines. requests for a more demure bottom have been heeded so peek the newest silhouettes (hossegor & vienna) if you have been coveting a tad more coverage.

alas, no official online shop at the moment but island & mainland stockists abound while vida serene offers online ordering for the entire belle nomad collection.

happy hale*days 2011: budget edition

a freelance deadline kept me unexpectedly away this week, but i am delighted to be back to prove that gifting can still be pretty even on a budget!

let's have a peek at 2011's most fabulous presents under $40 . . .

1 - every girl will want to make a date with gypsy's newest underpinning. {$34; save 20% off sitewide with secret code gypsylovesyou. offer ends mon, dec 19th.}

2 - malie organics' roll-on perfumes will delight eco lovelies with scents reminiscent of paradise. {$29; spend $200 and receive a complimentary scent and free shipping with your order. offer ends sat, dec 17th.}

3 - bikini loving beach goddesses will adore a kini pouch by acacia which is sewn of the same gorgeous fabric that lines their flirty collection. {$30; find in-store at i heart hanalei.}

more possibilities for your gift list after the jump!

4 - office mates can count the days to their next holiday on emi ink's desktop calendar. {$13; find at the wedding café at ward warehouse & menehune mac's windward mall holiday pop-up.}

5 - handpoured hawaiian lip balms by maoli perfumes (created by mama coco's keiki) will keep lips kissable with xmas cheer. {$5; first 50 orders receive 50% off with secret code hapahale. offer good sitewide and ends when the 50th order is placed or on fri, dec 24th.}

6 - remind time-crunched friends to live in the moment with little hand, watch faces remade with vintage embroidery by machinemachine. {$36}

back soon with the aloha friday scoop!

isle style: sea by gypsy

despite my absence on the beach this year, hawaii is all about the endless summer and i could not say goodbye to the season without sharing a peek of gypsy's newest love. with island lovelies coveting the north shore line's pretty underpinnings, it was only a matter of time before designer kate ruggiero turned her attention to transferring those fetching patterns to seaworthy textiles.

sea by gypsy debuted with a single yet becoming handsewn silhouette composed of a flirty bottom paired with a bandeau in either a slip-on or tie-on style. while there are only two colorways to tempt you, will you sigh over the vivid violet reminiscent of sunset slipping beneath the horizon or swoon for the splashy mint awaiting a dip in the pacific?

more peeks of the dreamy lineup after the jump!

luckily, procrastination has a silver lining since both hues have just arrived in the sale section which will save you 25% off on all mix-and-match pieces!

kate mentioned that the sale will go on until the last bikini finds a devoted owner so hele over to the online shop to peek, click and order.

{photo credit: daeja fallas . . . gorgeous as always!}

hello honi honi!

while watching the oprah show finale yesterday, i had an a-ha moment about today's post during lady o's message of finding your calling. readers who have been following the wings hawaii story know how the line started in the mid-aughties with just a handful of screenprinted goods sold at first friday and the occasional craft fair. handmade jewelry soon followed and, after a move from honolulu to maui, their flagship boutique eventually relocated from its upcountry outpost to the buzzy boho charm of paia town.

the stars always have a way of aligning if you are lucky enough to discover and step down the path meant just for you, and it certainly seems like the universe is smiling upon becky, melody and sam with every little expansion of their indie empire. with the ocean only a few blocks from their shop, a swimwear collection seemed to be patiently waiting for a silhouette to be refined and given the wings stamp of approval. lo and behold, sam found a way to combine the effortless prettiness the label is known for while allowing ladies to hit the waves without hesitation.

while the first glimpses of honi honi arrived last year, the mix and match lineup recently welcomed new styles to celebrate its online debut this spring. handmade for mermaids who appreciate playful patterns and the versatility of reversability, racerback and criss cross tops joined the original bandeau offering which coordinate with bottoms cut to flatter yet leave just enough to the imagination . . . happy news if super flirty brazilian styles make you blush.

join me in the cabana for a peek, won't you?

polka dots * houndstooth

riviera * scales

it is so delightful to see three friends start with a small idea, embrace all the possibilities, and find success and lots of goodness along the way!

while you can expect patterns to change with the seasons, honi honi's bikinis and maillots are designed to fit lovelies of many sizes including curvier physiques. (sam noted that a large will fit up to a size 13 or a small d cup.)

meet your favorite swim look in the online shop or say hello to the wings 'ohana at their indie storefront:

• where: 71 baldwin avenue, paia
• shop hours: mon to fri, 9a to 4p & sat/sun, 9a to 1p

are you inspired to listen to those little whispers and say hello to a new adventure?

p.s. in addition to their design and shop duties, the wings 'ohana also publish inspire, a new-ish quarterly read covering local loveliness. find a copy at the shop or click over to facebook to peek pages from the latest issue.

letarte 2011 collection

bermuda sands

as my facebook and twitter friends know, hautelook is in the midst of a letarte flash sale which served up a welcome reminder that a peek at the maui label's 2011 collection was long overdue. with the official lookbook by my side, the task of narrowing down my favorite offerings proved to be a challenge, but a hint of paia town was found in unexpected tropical camoflage, bohemian beadwork, and a blush of rainbow tiers echoing the colors that dance across the hawaiian sky.

aztec paisley

hawaiiana

hawaii five-o

hawaiiana rainbow

bermuda sands tunic

maui lovelies know the way to letarte's flagship boutique, but mainlanders who summer back east will be delighted that the nantucket pop-up just reopened its doors and is filled with island style from hawaii's shores.

• where: 24 baldwin avenue, paia
• shop hours: mon to sat, 9a to 6p & sun, 10a to 6p

p.s. you still have a few hours to hele over to hautelook and save 60% off last season's looks (including the aloha guitar print and feathers pattern featured last year) before the sale ends tomorrow morning.