Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Fab time at First Fashion Friday

After a long and stressful workweek, my business partner Lissa and I were really looking forward to Aloha Tower Marketplace’s First Fashion Friday. There were four main reasons we were going:

1. To check out amazing fashions, of course,

2. To support our gal pal and fellow Honolulu Advertiser blogger Melissa Chang, who spearheaded the event as Aloha Tower’s marketing manager,

3. To scope out the joint, as I’m going to be one of the speakers at next month’s First Fashion Friday,

4. And I hadn’t had Gordon Biersch’s garlic fries in a long time.

After we’d had our fill of garlicky fries and mojitos (it was happy hour!) we took our seats in the center atrium. Right behind us was Jason Soeda of arthousemonster.com, a dedicated shutterbug who was great enough to provide these photos (the good ones, anyway—the ones that are a little dark are from Lissa’s camera). (Note: SORRY! I will post these tomorrow, I promise!)

The show was a real treat and I got a lot out of it. The theme was Transitions, easy tips to go from a day look to an evening look, and the panelists were Wendy Robin of Studio W of Honolulu, Hugette Montesinos of DISfunksion magazine, and Nadine Kam from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

Each panelist did her own segment, with models showing transitions ranging from makeup to clothing and accessories. What I thought was really cool was how they explained the concept of layering colors, accessories and makeup to take you from office and work wear to a glam evening out on the town.


As I was watching, I thought of how this pertains to home decorating. Really, the same rules apply. If you have a space that needs a makeover, it’s very easy to layer colors and textures for drama and effect. So instead of black eyeliner and high heels, how about some black picture frames, statement cushions, an accent wall, metallic mirrors? Touches like these can help take your room from drab to fab, just like in fashion.

Hugette really showed some thinking outside the box: she brought out models showing how a peasant skirt could be turned into a tube dress or a belted top with jeans and jacket. What about in the home? You could turn a really cool plate into a fun piece of artwork on the wall. Fashion items like scarves can become table runners. I’ve seen people create amazing looks by draping muslin around plastic planters and tying them with raffia.

It’s about being creative, thinking outside the box, and layering. Being fearless doesn’t hurt, either!

After the show was over, I couldn’t resist the urge. I got up onstage with models Aureana and Rachel and had to strike a pose—after all, I can be a diva too, you know!


Phew, that was work! After my trip down the catwalk, it was time to go home. It was a fun night, Melissa and her crew did an awesome job, and I’m looking forward to Aloha Tower’s next First Fashion Friday on October 3rd!

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