Puttin' on the Ritz, Island Style

Photo by TGI

Saturday night on Kauai is not complete without an international fashion show. Has the tiny island become the Paris of the Pacific? You tell me. I was as surprised as anyone, perhaps most of all because I attended the happy event in the first place, as the default guest of my lovely fashion-conscious wife in the Grand Ballroom of the elegant Marriott Hotel in Lihue, the finale of the Fifth Annual Kauai Fashion Week.

I was instructed to wear long pants, clean white shirt and Alihi beads. Right. She said dress was formal. What does that mean for Kauai? For me it meant the finest from my closet: my cleanest aloha shirt and shorts and a pair of very attractive "locals" flip-flops (aka slippahs), which I had scored at Long's last year for $3.99.

Barbara, of course, threw together an outfit to die for, sleek tropically-flowered dress and enhancing appointments that only women know about.

We arrived at the very very impressive porte-cochere entrance of the hotel in our understated white island cruiser '03 Sentra topped with soft racks and tinted nicely with the famed red dirt. We actually giggled when the valet asked if we were going to the fashion show. How did he guess? The Sentra was driven away quickly by the valet and I wondered if I would ever see it again. Most guests were arriving in late model SUVs producing, if nothing else, a fashion statement of contrast.

To my delight, I was not the only male in attendance, although I would put the ratio at 1-25. Guests were certainly dressed above the level of  beach wear. There was a palpable buzz of anticipation among the throng as though they knew something that I, for sure, did not. Music was in the air and moving from the lush gardens into Grand Ballroom was breath-taking -- the blast of air-conditioning stole mine, anyway.

The fashion show itself was like watching an exotic movie that you somehow missed the first time around and just happened to be present for this gala screening. We found seats about six rows back from the elevated runway, which stretched out into the middle of the ballroom and back.

The show began with well-dressed ladies of Kauai, one after another. smiling and waving and receiving generous applause from the crowd. A string of men in suits followed the ladies, obviously locals, based on the hoots and hollers they received, especially when they would turn toward the audience and throw double shakas with their hands. This was only the warm up.

The evening proceeded with fashion and entertainment, the latter of which featured wonderful dancing including  individual hulas performed by a young man and a young woman. Each of the two youngsters were by far the most compelling hula dancers I have ever witnessed, head-to-toe. Their facial joy was enough to make your heart sing.

The parading of fashion by eight designers, including from the Philippines and Lebanon, was the central focus of the show. At one point Barbara looked at me and asked how I liked it. "Watching beautiful women in alluring and exotic clothing marching back and forth in front of me is nice," I replied, attempting to understate the obvious.

The evening of fashion simply rolled out in front of my mesmerized eyes that would normally have been closed by this time of night.

I commented later to my wife, "I saw fashion tonight."

She said it was the best presentation of fashion  that she had ever seen.  The Pacific Rim influence and island local color made it a night to remember.