Nadine Kam photos
Island Slipper owner John Carpenter is surrounded by some of his employees, next to Dorothy Kohashi in mu'umu'u. She is the daughter of Island Slipper founders Takizo and Misao Motonaga .

May 10 was a holiday for employees of Island Slipper, whose only obligation to the company that day was to show up in time for a bus ride to the grand opening of the company's new store at the Royal Hawaiian Center, before heading to lunch courtesy of boss John Carpenter, at Tsukiji Fish Market and Restaurant at Ala Moana Center.

The new store was designed in the nostalgic spirit of the beach homes that existed before the concrete and hotels that now line Waikiki. Located on the center's second floor, the shop's exterior stands out in its seafoam color, with warm wood interior.

Where most slipper shops are crammed into a small footprint, with wares simply lined wall to wall, Island Slipper has the luxury of 2,000 square feet, with lots of open space and retro displays paying homage to the company's 67-year history.

"We had to bring our game up because Waikiki is a different market," Carpenter said, adding, "Our desire was to create a fun place to shop where our customers feel at home."

Showcased are Island Slipper's signature floral-designed footwear, as well as women's designs incorporating beads, raffia and pyramid studs, and men's designs in leather and suede.

I was a little late to the opening, and walked in to find a surprise waiting for me. In 2011, I'd attended the grand reopening of Island Slipper's Ward Warehouse store and was impressed enough to write a feature story about the company. I happen to have Cinderella size feet, so the slippers didn't fit me. So I suggested to John that he add children's styles so I might be able to fit. He explained it wasn't that simple, so I figured the time wasn't right.

Children's slippers have yet to materialize, but in the meantime, he searched the globe for a smaller women's last and created a prototype size 4 for li'l ole me me, and, it fit! Oh happy day, it is so hard to find size 4s, much less my actual size, a 3! So I will be wearing my new white floral slippers around, and definitely will be kicking around New York streets in my Island Slippers in a few weeks!

——————
Island Slipper stores are at Ward Warehouse (593-8229) and Royal Hawaiian Center Buiding A, Level 2 (923-2222).
Online: www.islandslipper.com

The exterior of Island Slipper recreates the ambience of a beach house.

A pune'e adds to the beach house feel.

Vintage Island Slippers on display.

Featured from left are recent collaboration designs created for J. Crew,  Japan fashion designer Tsumori Chisato, and Barney's New York.

Additional accessories capture Island Slippers island style.

One of many posters inviting shoppers to consider their sense of island lifestyle.

The Male'ana collection of honeymooner slippers, with examples above and below, allow couples to match without being matchy-matchy.

As company owner, John Carpenter can do what he wants and created the only existing pair of studded white "Elvis" slippers just for himself. (more...)

Nadine Kam photos
Jewelry designer Sheryl Lowe dropped into Neiman Marcus for a Mother's Day trunk show.

For all the gem lovers who turned up at Neiman Marcus May 4, jewelry from Sheryl Lowe Designs was just one of the main attractions for Mother's Day shopping. The other was the chance opportunity of also meeting Sheryl's husband, actor Rob Lowe.

Sheryl was slated to be on the jewelry floor from noon, though Rob was flying in that day and wasn't due at the store until about 2 p.m. I didn't arrive until about 2:30 because I was working on a feature on Gatsby-style hair to coincide with the opening of Baz Luhrmann's "The Greaty Gatsby," and creating the look is not a quick process.

By then, the Lowes had headed to lunch, which meant I had some time to check out Sheryl's designs before they were due back.

Sheryl has been a Hollywood makeup artist for more than 20 years, and married to Rob just as long.

Sheryl's multi-colored, multi-textured collections are versatile enough to be mixed, matched, worn singly or stacked.

In 2007, inspired by her world travels—and years of acquiring treasures from the Seychelles, North Africa, India and the Middle East—she created jewelry for a small group of friends. Due to the enthusiastic response and advice from longtime friend Maria Shriver, she formalized her jewelry line, Sheryl Lowe Designs, donating a portion of sales to women's and children's charities.

On her return from her lunch break, Sheryl said she loves the idea of mixing metals with earth, "the texturing, the layering, the mixing of color with metal. I just love the mix."

There is such a wide range of materials incorporated into her designs, that at first, it's overwhelming to see an array of Yemen black coral beads, next to displays of rose-cut diamonds from India, sandalwood beads, baroque pearls, and even bracelets and necklaces strung with discs of upcycled, colored vinyl records.

And yet, as a busy woman herself, she said the pieces are designed to be versatile and stackable, so a woman can buy one piece this year, add a totally different piece next year, wear them day or evening, together or separately, and have them mesh well.

In person, Kami Jennings, one of Sheryl's assistants dressed in her jewelry, is a ringer for Jennifer Lawrence, which she hears all the time.

"It's all one story," she said, though for her, the story is more involved.

"The jewelry remind me of where I went, of the topography of the land, the colors and what women wore. When I think of Sardinia, I think of the blues, the corals and greens. In London, gray, and in Paris, the golds."

Prior to starting her business, the beads sat at home in bowls around the house, and Sheryl said it was never a problem because Rob also appreciated them. Among her collections is a men's line simply called Rob. All her collections are named after her friends.

"He loves that I'm passionate about creating. He wears my designs all the time and he has a great eye. He especially loves the sandalwood and Yemen coral."

Although Rob didn't go back to the jewelry counter, some people insisted I go and stalk him in the men's department, where he was doing some shopping. As it happened, he was coming down the escalator while I was going up, so he graciously agreed to a photo. He's holding a batch of his wife's jewelry, from the Rob collection created for men, but just as easily worn by women.

Antique Yemen black coral beads, studded with silver inlays, can pair with many a contemporary outfit.

These colorful bracelet discs are cut from old vinyl records.

Cameron Diaz owns one of Sheryl Lowe's ohm meditative necklaces.

One of Sheryl's collaborations is the Her collection of leather bracelets incorporating leather from Hermès.

Nadine Kam photos
Nordstrom shoppers were invited to "Mix and Mingle with Rebecca Minkoff" on March 26.

Rebecca Minkoff fans don't know how close they came to missing her work because the designer almost gave up on her design dream in 2005.

Minkoff was at Nordstrom Honolulu—one of only four stores she'd visit on this trip (the others are in California and Chicago)—on March 26 to introduce her Spring/Summer 2013 collection of clothing and handbag designs, and I had 10 minutes to get her to tell all.

She got her start designing clothing, but considering she's best known for her handbags, so I asked whether she was surprised to discover her affinity for designing bags and how quickly her career took off because of it.

"It shocked me, because I was about to give up when it caught on and I said, 'Omigod, there is a God,' " she said. "Really, I was trying to do everything by myself all the time, I had run out of money and didn't know what to do next. To me it was a sign to keep going."

The “Morning After Bag,” or the “M.A.B.” ignited Rebecca’s career in 2005 and inspired the “downtown romantic” designs that now define her work.

From left, Nordstrom's Maria Bernardo, Rebecca Minkoff and stylist Crystal Pancipanci.

Although she said she tries to keep her own needs in mind when designing bags, she really thinks about her clients and has created a niche by thinking about life's firsts, from a girl's first date, to first love, her first job and first experience with motherhood.

I see her Craig Camera crossbody bag ($195) in my future after spotting it on the Nordstrom floor, with cool lines and the depth of a hard leather vintage camera case. She explained the crossbody came about from her observation of bloggers and how they're constantly fumbling with cameras in their hands and notetaking. "I thought I'd give them a place to put their camera, that's also stylish."

Nordstrom.com
Rebecca Minkoff's Craig crossbody camera bag.

After four years of designing statement-making handbags and accessories with her trademark leathers, studs and edgy hardware, Rebecca returned to her roots and introduced her first ready-to-wear collection in 2009.

Nordstrom is carrying her Spring 2013 collection, inspired by the photographer Slim Aarons, known for his glamorous and iconic 1960s and '70s photographs of socialites, jet-setters and celebrities as they lounged poolside.

Minkoff’s latest collection that evokes that same carefree, beach-like spirit, and looking at the ombre floral print of Minkoff's silk jumpsuit or Couric top, it's easy to imagine a bit of Hawaii in the ease of wear and color combinations,

It turns out that Rebecca has fond childhood memories of vacationing in Kona since she was 2 years old, when her father brought the family to the islands to stay while he competed in Ironman triathlons.

Hawaii remains a special place to her family. Her brother got married in Kailua in 2005. She had considered marrying here as well, but said, "When your brother does something, you have to do something different." So she held her wedding in Italy in 2009.

Although she said she always loved fashion and received her first Vogue subscription at 8 years old, because she grew up in an athletic family, wearing her brother's hand-me-down clothing, she still considers herself a tomboy and defines her style as "sexy tomboy," which resonates with the attitude and active lifestyles of women today.

Fans wait in line to meet Rebecca Minkoff, near a display of her classic M.A.C. shoulder bags and M.A.B. leather totes.

Minkoff in her own Spring 2013 silk floral print jumpsuit, with Ki-ele jewelry designer Marylea Conrad.

Minkoff eyewear on display.

Savannah Tatreau tries on a pair of the designer's new Carmine sunglasses with blonde tortoise finish, $220.

Near the store's cosmetic department entrance, a display of Minkoff apparel and handbags.

Nadine Kam photos
DVF Spring-Summer 2013 designs on the pink carpet at Ala Moana Center's Shop A Le'a event.

Diane Von Furstenberg designs were shown on the pink carpet at Ala Moana Center's Shop A Le'a event March 23, sandwiched between shows by White House / Black Market and Caché.

With Center Stage in the process of being renovated, the pink carpet stretching the length of the mall was a novel way to present the season's collections. It made the runway the longest in America, at more than half a mile long, according to mall officials. Considering the models walked all three shows during the day, that amounted to trekking a mile-and-a-half ... in heels! The footwear was from one of the newest mall tenants, the Japan-based shoe company Flag-J.

I wasn't sure where to watch the show, so headed for the Macy's end, where it was slated to begin near Shirokiya. There was only one other photographer in sight, so I wondered where everyone else was. After the models' first pass, I headed down to the center of the mall, figuring I could outrun them, but it was really difficult to move through the crowd, most so oblivious that security had to clear a path for the models.

Then after catching them near the central clock, it was another jog to Sephora, where I could catch them again circling back from the Sears side of the mall. Then, it was another dash back to Macy's to catch them as they returned to the starting point. It was quite a workout, and other photographers who were doing the same to get every vantage, were breaking a sweat but were commited to catching all the day's shows. One was enough for me.

Here's the lineup for tomorrow, March 24:
>> Noon: Juicy Couture
>> 2 p.m.: Macy’s
>> 4 p.m.: Valerie Joseph

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Roycen Dehmer led the way in Diesel.

Nadine Kam photos
Dylan Lauren was in town with Chocolate the Easter Bunny, in a timely visit to share post-Lent treats.

Dylan Lauren, founder of Dylan's Candy Bar was in town at Neiman Marcus, sharing Easter treats with fans who came to visit with her and Chocolate the bunny on March 23.

The daughter of designer Ralph Lauren grew up different and sensitive, so much so that while the other kids nibbled on chocolate bunny ears, legs and tails on Easter morning, she felt sorry for the bunnies and refused to eat them. Instead, she collected them to admire their beauty.

Well, we've all heard how resisting temptation pays off, and all those years about thinking different about candy resulted in big business.

And, she's living proof that perhaps candy makes a person sweeter. It's hard to believe how upbeat and cheerful she can be in strained situations. During my phone interview with her about a week ago, she had been on a train from D.C. to New York, and we had a hard time connecting en route, so were texting back and forth about what time she might arrive at the station, and I figured I could pick up food while waiting, but would have to do the interview from my car (parked). Even so, she had a hard time hearing me, while dealing with collecting her bags and hailing a cab, but was cheerful throughout and so apologetic about the time snafus. And it all worked out.

The NM third-floor Epicure department is now host to a Dylan's Candy Bar store-within-a-store, stocked with Easter goodies for now, and other seasonal edibles later. It's a colorful sight to behold, and people seem elated by the sight of all the colorful sweets.

Dylan's giant lollipops.

Dylan was signing copies of her book, "Dylan's Candy Bar: Unwrap Your Sweet Life."

Stuffed bunnies in Dylan's logo T-shirts.

Among the treats, candy packed into rubbah slippah tins, for $18.