Until now.

Enter Janine Robin, a French swim and lingerie house known for great fit and construction. The company has just introduced a new technique for lingerie. It looks like lace but is an exclusive, proprietary 3-D printing method that enables a body-sculpting T-shirt bra or panty to look like lace, yet remain completely smooth.

The new Janine Robin line has just arrived in Hawaii and is sold exclusively at Princesse Tam-Tam at the Royal Hawaiian Center. It’s called “Collection Paris.” Here’s what Janine Robin says about it:

“Run your hand across this bra. It is completely smooth. The lace is an illusion, the result of our exclusive 3-D ink jet technology. We believe Janine Robin will take the appeal of the body sculpting T-shirt bra to a whole new era: sexy and simply irresistible.”

Find Princesse Tam-Tam on Level 3 of Building A of the Royal Hawaiian Center. It’s open  from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. They offer validated parking with any purchase.

- Paula Rath

If you happen to be one of the lucky ones who owns a lovely Samantha Lockwood pendant from Riches Kahala, you might want to click on this link to Hydrogen and learn lots more about the artist, actress, yoga teacher, model and designer. There’s a lot to this L.A. lass!

http://hydrogen-mag.com/archives/913

- Paula Rath

The illustrated talk examines the designs and decorative motifs unique to textiles produced during Iran’s Safavid dynasty (1501 – 1732), a period regarded by historians as a golden age of Persian arts and crafts. Under protection from Safavid rulers, skilled craftsmen of the era produced elegant and luxurious textiles characterized by intricate patterns and motifs derived from manuscript paintings.

Davood Koshniyat is a textile artist and research expert at the Advanced Research Institute of Arts, Iranian Academy of Arts, Tehran. With sponsorship from the Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute he recently completed a fellowship in the East-West Center’s Asia Pacific Leadership Program and an internship in the Department of Islamic Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Open House: 1:30 – 2 p.m.

Lecture: 2 – 3 p.m.

Refreshments: 3 – 3:30 p.m.

Seating is limited and reservations are required. For reservations, go to shangrilaevents@ddcf.org. Deadline: February 24, 2012 but it will most likely fill up sooner.

Parking: Please note there is no parking at Shangri La or in the surrounding neighborhood. Access to Shangri La is by shuttle van only. Van service to Shangri La will begin at 1:15 p.m. from the Kapiolani Community College, parking lot B.

- Paula Rath

Several avid readers of paularath.com have asked me to write a Fashion Glossary for this blog. I love the idea and will commit to writing occasional fashion glossaries, along with illustrations.

My first Fashion Glossary entry: PEPLUM.

By definition, a peplum is a short over skirt attached at the waistline of the bodice of a jacket, blouse or dress. Prior to the 20th century, a peplum was known as a basque. It is pleated or gathered onto the hem of a bodice.

The peplum according to (left to right): Jason Wu, Vera Wang, Marc Jacobs.

I chose the peplum because it’s a hugely hot trend for spring 2012. It’s also a trend that looks fresh and new because it hasn’t cycled for several decades. The last time I remember peplums having their moment was in the ’80s, when they were always seen with rather prominent shoulder pads.

Since shoulders are also returning to designers’ sketch pads and collections this spring, it’s a natural progression. It is, of course, all about proportion. (Isn’t just about everything?) If you’re going to have all that fabric at the waist and hips, it must be balanced by broader shoulders.

The peplum is not for everyone. It requires a little waist and narrow hips to pull it off. It’s a very figure-conscious look. Think January Jones in “Mad Men.”

Dries van Noten interprets the peplum.

A fun way to get the feel of a peplum without the bulk might be to wear a gorgeous silk scarf wrapped around the waist and hips over a pair of skinny jeans. It’s also an economical way of shopping in your closet. We all need to find more uses for our scarves!

Or you could do what style maven Nalani Holliday of Red Pineapple does: She wears a cute apron over her jeans and skirts. It’s so sassy!

- Paula Rath

Celine rocks the monochromatic look with a peplum.

Color blocking a peplum at Dries van Noten.

There are a lot of creative people in Honolulu who work at a job (or two or three), wishing they could be spending at least some of their time developing their passion for fashion. Well, now there’s an opportunity to do just that. Goodwill Industries of Hawaii, in cooperation with Hifi (Hawaii Fashion Incubator) and Hawaii Pacific Entertainment is holding a “Call for Talent.” They need volunteers in all disciplines of fashion for their inaugural Goodwill Goes GLAM (GGG)! Talent showcase and Treasure Marketplace.

The Call for Talent was created to:

• Identify talent
• Match the individual’s skills to the event or segment of GGG
• Offer an opportunity for valuable fashion experience

Working with a cadre of professionals will give new talent and aspiring industry professionals experience in their field, as well as mentors and networking opportunities, helping contribute to their job readiness.  For students, it may also contribute to fulfillment of community service or class curriculum hours.

GGG will take place August 23-26, 2012. It’s a talent showcase and marketplace that begins with a high fashion kickoff, including a gala dinner, fashion show and exclusive pre-sale access. The event will set the stage for an unprecedented marketplace of more than 20,000 square feet of glamour and vintage items donated by retail partners and collected from Goodwill stores to support the nonprofit’s mission.

Goodwill is looking for seasoned fashion professionals and new talent to volunteer in the following areas:

• Retail support: stocking, inventory, sorting, pricing, quality control
• Visual merchandising, interior design
• Video production
• Marketing support
• Social media
• Writers/bloggers
• Stylists
• Models
• Hair and makeup artists
• Fashion show production
• Stage production, sound and lighting
• Security
• Administrative and ticket sales support
• Construction teams
• Event docents and booth support

Is there a place for you to hone your skills at GGG? The Call for Talent is taking place Saturday, February 25, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Ward Warehouse on the second floor in the Hifi Coop and in the Ward Warehouse conference rooms. Walk-ins are welcome, but those who register by February 20 will receive priority line placement. To register online go to www.higoodwill.org and click on Call for Talent Volunteer.

Be sure to bring your portfolio for review and placement by a team of industry professionals.

- Paula Rath

Rockabella Jewels of Maui on her fingers and around her neck.

Kristel Bandisch of Makawao, Maui, designer of RockaBella Jewels, is glowing today, as her jewelry is prominently featured in the prestigious Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. She reports that the magazine’s stylists selected her Stacked Rings for a number of pages, as well as three of her necklaces.

RockaBella's Stacked Rings appeared on many of the models.

Success seldom comes overnight and persistence can pay off. Kristel sent jewelry to the magazine for five years before it caught on for the 2012 issue. Check it out at www.rockabellajewels.com.

- Paula Rath

The Etsis wall in the Everything Moves showroom.

There’s a segment of the fashion world that is often overlooked. It’s a group of hard working individuals who operate between the creative fashion and accessories designers and the business-oriented retail buyers, a place that can often feel like  a lonely no man’s land. These professionals are called Sales Representatives.

Sales Representatives specialize in particular arenas of fashion. For example, women’s workout wear, hair accessories, lingerie, swimwear, prom dresses, hats and handbags, men’s casual wear and so on. Larger companies hire their own sales staffs but smaller companies may hire an independent Sales Rep to take their products to buyers. Some Sales Reps work with just one company or design firm, while others may work with several. My sister, Roberta Cullen, is executive director for the Hawaii Golf Representatives Association, whose market is primarily golf pro shops and spas. So they act as the liaison between golf clothing designers, golf club companies, golf ball manufacturers, etc. and the pro shop buyers.

One of Honolulu’s well known Sales Representatives, Richard Jacobs, has been in the business for 25 years. Until very recently he operated out of a tiny, depressing office.  Now, however, he occupies a lovely, well-lit, spacious showroom on Ward Avenue. He calls his business “Everything Moves,” and I’m sure this pleasant showroom will help him move out all that merchandise.

Jacobs represents Dorfman-Pacific, a company specializing in hats, bags and sandals. The new showroom displays 1,500 of the 2,000 styles in his sales arena. Among the lines under his umbrella  are Callanan, DPC, Scala, Capelli StraWorld and Sanuk.

Just one wall of the showroom's hat selection.

Among Jacobs’ newest clients is Etsis hats, owned by Devra Wathen of Kahala. (Etsis stands for Escape the Sun in Style. www.etsishats.com) Devra gave me a tour of the showroom and helped me learn more about this business. Of course it’s always nice when the buyers can come to the showroom, but it’s not always workable. If the buyer is in Guam or Maui,  for instance, Jacobs may have to pack up some very large cases and take ‘em there to show the buyers.

Sales Reps usually do a great deal of traveling. They go to trade shows such as the big Daddy of ‘em all, MAGIC in Las Vegas. There they set up a booth that must catch the buyers’ eyes in a massive sea of merchandise. That requires some clever visual merchandising.

When I went to MAGIC a few years ago, I was really impressed with the booths set up by some of our local companies. For example, Tori Richard’s booths looked like a mini Tori Richard store, complete with family antiques. Surf Line‘s booths were a blast of color and Hawaiian music and, well, just plain fun. Honey Girl Waterwear and Tiare Teiti took a laid back, local girl approach, letting the bold colors of their clothes do the talking.

Devra loves this hat and she can have the snaps for her sun protection panels put in it.

Oh, by the way. Devra tells me that you can take any hat (an old fave or a new one) to Etsis and they can add the snaps to your hat so you can have the patent pending Etsis panels help you be sun safe. While hats do help, those Etsis panels really make us more safe in the sun. Contact Etsis at: info@etsishats.com.

- Paula Rath

All ages are welcome to learn to stencil.

As part of the GirlFest festivities, Sierra Dew and 808 Urban will present a FREE stenciling workshop:

Saturday, February 18

10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

St. Andrews Priory, 224 Queen Emma Street

Bring your own T-shirt, pillowcase, tea towel, tote or jeans to print on. Sierra will have a wide choice of stencils to choose from. If you don’t have a blank to bring, T-shirts will available for sale for $10 (to benefit GirlFest, which helps prevent violence against women).

This event was so popular last year that it drew 40 participants!

- Paula Rath

Katrina's skirts are made with upcylced scarves.

Honolulu is not an easy place to launch a fashion design business. That has been proven time and time again as emerging designers struggle to make it here, only to close up their studio or head for more forgiving economies.

That’s why designers such as Katrina Langford sometimes need a helping hand to get off the ground.

Katrina has been designing since her days in the U.H.-Manoa fashion program but only recently decided to rebrand and make a push to grow from her original little home-based company, HI State of Mind, to Katrina Langford Designs.

Katrina is continuing her commitment to the environment, creating her garments from reused and upcycled vintage silk, cotton and polyester scarves, which she lovingly hand washes and line dries.  But the rebranding and growth require funding which she simply doesn’t have – funding for labels, hang tags, catalogs, stickers and, of course, seamstresses. (I can tell you from experience that all of these are far more expensive here in Hawaii.)

Katrina's stickers with her new logo.

She is reaching out for help through Kickstarter. If she does not receive $7,000 in pledges by February 26, all of her donations will go away. That’s how Kickstarter works. Check it out here and if you can help, please do. Maybe this is a way you can get involved in the local design industry without painful repercussions.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/katrinalangford/sustainble-luxury-apparel

- Paula Rath

Those who donate $90 or more will receive a Mai Tai necklace by Katrina, like the one shown.