Family Jewels

When you were little, you used to love raiding your mom’s closet and jewelry box to play dress up. No matter that her sunglasses, purses and shoes were comically oversized – when you walked past the mirror all you saw was high glamour.

For little girls today, Hawaii-born jewelry designer Asia Leong has created a line of necklaces made especially for mothers and daughters to share. Her recently launched Adoré Hawaii collection was inspired by the jewelry she designed for her own young daughter.

Strung on delicate gold and silver chains, the necklaces feature miniature two-tone silver charms or dainty ebony hearts engraved with words of protection, such as love, blessed, aloha, and amour. The clean designs are light and easy to wear for girls who want to romp in the sand and surf and dress up like princesses — and elegant enough for mom to wear a matching one too.

Leong is known for the sophisticated and elegant Hawaii-inspired jewelry she’s been designing for a decade – for years she worked out of showrooms in both Paris and New York and had celebrity clients from Gwyneth Paltrow to Madonna – and her new Adoré Hawaii line carries both European and island influences. Even the name hints at the intersection of both in her life. 

But it is the crossing of family and fashion that has given Adoré Hawaii its true appeal – every daughter wants mom’s stuff in her own size.

Call it the mother of all dress-up games.

Adoré Hawaii is available at  Misfortune at Ward Centre, 808.597.1556, and at Cake in Kilauea, Kauai , 808.828.6412. More info at www.adorehawaii.com