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Blue Hawaii Surf: From shore to the street
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Ben Horton Tee exclusively for Blue Hawaii Surf
Girls who shop at Blue Hawaii Surf can find trendy street looks by mixing graphic tees, zipper-legged jeans, fedoras and a variety of affordable fashionable pieces.
Jennifer, the women's merchandiser of BHS, walked me through its fall collection: two walls and shelves of trendy wears and accessories. I am surprised by how far its merchandises go from its "surf" domain to the street styles.
Trends
"Five years ago, the trends (in Hawaii) were too off. People got the trends a year later," said Jennifer. Now Blue Hawaii Surf offers trendy wears in sync with the fashion captials. Thanks to Jennifer, here goes the list of for current trends.
Bohemian rocker look
The trend was started by Gucci in the Fall 2008 collection, which seemed at the time (February 2008) to come from nowhere. Then it caught on with a force that practically put every fashion model in a hippie hair band. BHS presents the look by pairing Hurley embroided peasant dress with Element faux leather jacket. (Check out the slideshow for the look). I cringed at the idea of wearing leather jacket on the island, but one can definitely wear it in heavily air-conditioned rooms. The store even carries crochet purses to go with the look.
Acid washes
Jeans don't have to be the bland basic. It can be the statement piece with intriguingly textured acid wash or studs and rips strategically placed on the better attention zones. For an acid wash example, click the slideshow.
Zippers
Zippers bump up the ladder of trimmings from the functional nobody-care closure to the status of the new decoration star. The metal tone and rhythmic teeth give zipper a rocker edge. Thus, the once humble zippers find their new lives on the jeans legs, the shorts sides, or the center back of a sweatshirt.
Perky plaid
A recurring fall pattern, plaid goes wild this year. Instead of a simple two color combo with one color usually being black, plaid gets colorful and comes in different sizes and angels. You can find plaid on jackets, dresses, shirts, shorts and what not.
Burnouts
Tees reinvent itself by a new textured look. Still being graphical with more and more creative and visually stimulating prints, tees come up with new looks texture-wise. Burnout is the perfect finish that gives a breezy summer look, because the fabric gets thinner at the burn-off parts. BHS has the best priced burnout tee that I can find in town so far, at $47. You can wear it out but stay not seeing through.
Fedoras
Since the Kennedy times, Americans haven't worn much of a hat. Now it's big for women to wear fedoras. Actually, I remember I saw fedoras as halloween costumes in Waikiki in 2007. It just moves from a one-day costume to everyday must-have. For holidays, BHS will carry the flapper look hat.
Mix and match
Hurley, Obey, Insight, Element, brands that have a Southern California vibe, can be coordinated for a fresh look. "Now the surf brands are trying to be trendier," Jennifer informed me. Natually, one can find trendy pieces in a classical surf store like BHS.
What BHS does is to offer "affordable price point with upscale trends". Most items sell under $100. Different from fast fashion stores, BHS carries products that are made in better quality and with finer details. For example, the tees (oh, BHS has so many eye-popping graffiti Obey tees) feel softer and drapier. And on a zippered top, three button bridges cross the zipper. The buttons turn out to be magnet snaps. Easy to button on and off, but it gives a biker look.
Location
3rd Floor at Ala Moana Shopping Center, the Macy's side
While the store at Ala Moana is trendier, BHS Waikele is more about surf and Hawaiian wear. Next time, I should cover its men's and surf wear. Stay tuned.
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