Smart Style Fashion Blog

A Couple of Great Finds - January 2010

Recently added to the collection of Duane Jorde



There they were. A striking pair of birds, carved from dark cherry wood with painted beaks as long as each body, gracefully swimming across a glass shelf of the Beretania Store’s boutique cabinets. It was one of those “wow” moments for any seasoned Goodwill shopper, for sure. Minutes later while standing in line at the checkout counter with these “made in Korea” treasures I noticed something strange. While the bird bodies felt room temperature, the beaks felt cold. What I originally thought were painted beaks turned out to be solid brass!

Then the following week at the Goodwill Surplus Store I found three designer storage boxes for my office. We’re always looking for creative ways to store supplies, and these three matching graduated boxes do the trick.

Bargain Hunting at the Surplus Store, December 2009

From Amalia's office
The euphoria of walking out of a Goodwill store with bargains in hand is something worth sharing about; and keeps me wanting to come back for more. Our recent find was at the Goodwill Surplus store in Kalihi. This store offers a lot of what we call “items in their final stage in becoming useful to someone.”

Duane and I are always on the look out for stuff to replenish our office supplies and we were thrilled to find a couple of items. I found a box full of manila folders. And Duane found, wrapped in packing tape and cardboard, a paper cutter. Both in excellent useful condition and both were just a $1 each. It’s like finding a diamond in a rough!

First Friday Fashion Hunt, October 2009

From the closet of Shannon Yadon
It’s fall. Time for school, shorter days and warmer clothes…. Wait… back that up- we’re in Hawaii! It’s fall, time to bring a sophisticated flair to going out clothes- time to transition away from slippers and cut offs and into some new hot looks.

Susan & I took a self-imposed challenge: find easy to wear outfits that make going from beach to downtown on a Saturday night a snap. Armed with a sense of adventure and a camera, we hit the Kaimuki Goodwill Store on a time limit: 1 hour to find ourselves an outfit for the next First Fridays block party in Chinatown.

Our strategy was similar to a game-show prize spree: rolling through every women’s aisle, we plucked any item deemed ‘cute’ regardless of size, price or brand. Soon (like 20 minutes soon!) our cart was brimming with options and we hadn’t even gotten to jeans and pants yet!

Shopping like there is no budget is rather liberating. In a high end retailer this strategy leaves me with my stomach in knots debating whether to buy the t-shirt or the purse- but I usually can’t afford both. When prices are less than $6.99 per piece though, I can afford to buy the whole outfit (and still have a martini afterwards!)

What we found that works:

Form fitting and stretchy is always in style, but only when it properly fits. Susan’s black asymmetrical dress (from Charlotte Russe) has a ruching detail running up the side of it- a clever way to keep the spandex from hugging too tightly across the midsection. The material is wrinkle resistant and is perfect for balling up into a beach bag for the day and then is a quick change to go out at night.

The price? $6.99. Check! A no-brainer purchase.

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