Lulu Frost Orchid Earingshttp://www.lulufrost.com/item/orchid-earring-3

The other day, I downloaded LMAFO ‘Sexy and I know it’. Shortly after that recommendations for Ke$sha, Far East Movement, and Jennifer Lopez were popping up in my iTunes Recommendations For You box. Gone was ‘Gold Lion’ by the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s replaced  by ‘Moves like Mick Jagger’ by that reality host of The Voice. My face got hot, I began to sweat, and I wanted to write someone and explain I only did it because I’m getting back in shape and I thought it was ironic? Ok, and a little catchy. What if Spotify suddenly picked it up and told all my Facebook friends? The shame!? Uggh. A quick impulse has now forever tainted my on-line profile.

With smart search engines (which my friend Robin insists is something we want), I feel as if technology is turning me into a parody of myself. Has my unique fashion sense become a formula ? When I see a cute pair of shoes suddenly advertised on my google page is this evidence of my own predictability?  Are those shoes that perfectly match the dress that I bought on-line last week an unlikely coincidence? The truth is, a complex logarithm, not a pretty shop girl, nailed those shoes based on information collected about me.  And, if I buy those shoes to wear with that dress, will I show up at a party and see a women in my dress (that she too bought on line) with those exact shoes? Likely. And instead of hiding from her, will have to become friends based on how much we obviously have in common ? Probably (yup, there’s an App for that to).

So my first stop on my recent trip to New York City was the showroom at Lulu Frost. Discovered many years ago here, luckily for me, they haven’t been in Hawaii. Their antique and vintage pieces, reworked in a modern way are incredibly exceptional. As I lounged about, reveling in the beauty of her spectacularly chic one-of-a-kind 100 year pieces, I found something that must have been made just for me.  A row of earrings created with silk flower orchids fastened to plated brass fin shapes.  I swooned, “ These are so Saffron ! “ To which everyone agreed. Then I tried them on. If possible–prettier. I found them, but I won’t do you the injustice of telling you what I’ll wear them with (preserve your own style!). Earrings this unique will no doubt look original on anybody. I skipped out of there with my new earrings feeling satisfied that, this time, I found them all by myself.

Most kids at some point have a blankey, a woobie, and in my brothers case a piece of sheepskin called ‘kitty kitty’, that my mother referred to as (still quoting the baby-boomers-bible Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child ) a “transitional object”. A soft, silky textile that brings children comfort and security.  Well, after kitty-kitty ended up inside the stomach of our German Shepard Max and the vet bills, temper tantrums and  ruined danish sofa that followed– my mother decided I would “transition” without one.

So of course, it is her fault that I developed an obsession with scarves. Anything soft and cozy that I can wrap around my body, curl up with on a plane, or hang around my neck. When pashminas came into fashion it was as if gospel choirs everywhere burst spontaneously into song. I bought one in every color and began walking around, for all intensive purposes, with my blanket.

When I returned to Hawaii the pashminas took to a top shelf in the closet. Replaced by thin soft cotton pareus that are worn as cover-ups: wrapped like a skirt, tied as a dress, thrown over the shoulders at the beach. When a good friend Lauren from Pua Jewelry started making them (featured on the model above), I quickly amassed an impressive collection.

So it is safe to say the last possible thing I needed was another scarf, yet, that’s the first thing I bought on my recent trip. During my requisite visit to my favorite boutique, Heist in Venice Beach, the second I touched it–I knew I had to have it. Made by the Faliero Sarti, the revered Italian textile company, the unique blend of modal and silk gives this scarf a luxurious softness that needs to be experienced. The texture of the weave is so thin (almost transparent) it’s perfectly capable of transitioning from winter to summer, even scarf to shawl. When I get back to Hawaii I might even give it a test run as pareu.

Tiare Teiti in Ward Center

The first time I saw Tahiti I was besotted. Often mislabeled as ‘Hawaii thirty years’ the truth is the islands are more like sisters. There are many similarities in their beauty and history but they are decidedly different. For me, the beauty of Tahiti is only magnified in all the subtleties of comparison.

When I saw the new store Tiare Teiti in Ward Center I didn’t run in the door–I skipped. It had all my favorite things: bright Tahitian pareos, colorful board shorts and bikinis, and the most amazing monoi oils and coconut soaps that I’ve come across. After a chat with the owner Ida Teiti (a beautiful Tahitian women with a her  trade marked tiare flower behind her ear) I was so inspired I went straight home and began plotting my return.