February 2009

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Lei Chic’s guide to the weekend’s best events.

Turning Japanese
What: Taste the new Echigo Stout beer, plus other Japanese brews like Sapporo, Kirin Light, Orion, and Echigo Koshihikari. Both Echigos are just $5 a bottle, or pick any three to make a tasting sampler for $5.
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The spring forecast for fashion: buckle up for a long season of belt tightening.

So you’ll be wearing your closet’s current dresses a few months longer – and needing some way to make your old favorites feel new.

The new spring line from local leather accessories label Cirque is just the ticket.

 Designer Alfonsina Ladogana’s collection of sash belts has expanded to include sandal styles this season, like a lace-up... Read more »

You used to know all the ways to tell if he was just not that into you.

And a couple giveaways that he was.

First clue: he made you a mix tape.

It was the ultimate love letter. Ten or 20 songs, and each one meant something, or said something. It took time (hours!) to compile the songs, edit the space between tracks, and hand-letter the label.

There’s something a lot less romantic about a playlist.

For old-fashioned romantics, there’s the Mix Tape USB Drive.... Read more »

Things you love to catch a whiff of: the neighbor’s plumeria tree in full bloom, fluffy towels fresh out of the dryer, cupcakes in the oven.

Things you don’t: department store spritzers armed with Eau de Britney Spears or Paris Hilton.

Teresa Blackwell at the Four Season Lana‘i Manele Bay takes that all into consideration during the new custom fragrance blending sessions at the hotel.

It starts with a three-page questionnaire about your favorite seasons, flowers and fruits, as well as the type of music you like and your astrological... Read more »

You’ve been there before. Two hours shopping, and still nothing you like. The dresses are too long (or short), the fabric isn’t soft, the color washes you out.

If only you could just make exactly what you wanted.

That’s what 21-year-old Cassandra Rull did. She had always altered her clothes to better fit her own style, but a little more than a year ago she began making pieces from scratch. Proud of her DIY creations, she posted pictures of her clothes – fun, casual cotton jersey dresses that mixed colors, fabrics and patterns... Read more »

Lei Chic’s guide to the weekend’s best events.

A Sweetheart Eel
What: The first look at Fighting Eel’s new spring collection at a one-time trunk show. Check out the Warhol-inspired banana print, plus other pieces from the collection designers Lan Chung and Rona Bennett describe as “Pop Art meets Spring Goddess.” Buy any of the items you like on the spot.
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 Are you what you eat?

Better hope not.

That would leave you pale, soft and puffy from all those malassadas.

Clean up your act and head over to Hale, the brand new organic, vegan, macrobiotic restaurant that just... Read more »

A rose is a rose is a rose.

Except when it isn’t.

And the thorn in most bouquets of a dozen long-stemmed red ones is that they don’t last more than a week in a vase.

So much for symbolizing everlasting love.

But the blooms from Bella Rosa on Kalakaua Avenue are a different breed. Grown in the mountain highlands of Ecuador, the higher altitude near the equator gives the flowers thicker stems and makes them especially long-lasting.

Bella Rosa’s flowers arrive at the store within 24 hours of being cut. The shop has dozens of colors, from... Read more »

You aced the holiday gift test – found that perfect, thoughtful, useful, fun gift for your sweetie. And now, you’re fresh out of original gift ideas for V Day.

So stick with the old stand-by: chocolate. It’s easy. And these unique chocolates will give your Valentine something to choc about.

Hawai‘i Chocolate
Everything tastes better when it... Read more »