Island Style
A style of two cities

By Paula Rath
Advertiser Staff Writer

When a buyer or store owner goes to market to buy clothes to sell, there are inherent challenges and a multitude of choices. Which trend will fly out the door in a given locale? What sizes, and how many of each? What colors will customers want? Is it too conservative? Too sexy? Too trendy or too old-fashioned? Too hot? Too bare?

Sarah Tumacder models, at left, the Island look from Ohelo Road and, at right, the L.A. look from the same boutique. Owner Pam Ross says that while her Kahala customer base looks for a wide range of clothing there, from work to party wear, clientele at the L.A. store consider it strictly a casual wear outlet. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

In search of insight, Island Style talked to several business owners who compared buying for their Honolulu stores with buying for their Los Angeles stores. We chose L.A. because the climate and people seem to be more simpatico than, say, those in Chicago or New York.

Pam Ross, owner of Ohelo Road and Following Sea, buys for distinctly different customers: the suburbanite who shops at Kahala Mall and the trendy West L.A. fashion maven who shops at Century City.

How does she do it? With her characteristic customers clearly in mind. She treats her purchases almost as if she owns a couple of mom-and-pop neighborhood stores.

Ross' Kahala customer base is broader than her L.A. one.

Here she sees tutu coming in with their daughters and granddaughters. They may be shopping for a prom dress or something to wear to work or a party.

Her L.A. customers, on the other hand, think of Following Sea only for casual, knock-about clothes. They wouldn't shop there for evening or career wear.

Ross finds style in the two cities differs considerably.

"Women in Hawai'i are quietly sophisticated, reserved and conservative; and in L.A. they're the opposite — they're sophisticated but 'out there' and driven to have the next trend," Ross said.

In L.A., she added, they will wear whatever they see on television, in the movies or in fashion magazines.

Terri Seidenburg, owner of the Le Lotus Bleu stores in Ward Warehouse, used to have a boutique in Santa Monica. She also cited customer differences: "In L.A. they stick to what they read in the magazines. In Hawai'i they buy what they like and are not so trend-driven."

Another major difference, Seidenburg said, is that the Santa Monica woman buys designer things from big names like Armani and Gucci, whereas here the customers want to look fashionable without the expense. So she limits her buys to lower-priced copies of designer items.

Dan Goodman, CEO of Beyond the Beach, with four O'ahu stores and more than 30 on the Mainland, said the primary difference between buying for his Hawai'i stores versus his Mainland stores is seasonality. Seasons? We don't have 'em, at least not in the traditional sense.

Beyond the Beach sells action- and ocean-oriented clothing for the younger crowd. Brands include Quiksilver, Billabong and Roxy. On the Mainland, their core business is skating clothes; Hawai'i is surf-driven.

Goodman said certain trendy things don't sell as quickly in Hawai'i because "you're not quite as quick in Hawai'i. But there's not an enormous difference."

He did say, however, that "If you can't sell your surf-oriented brands in Hawai'i, then you can't be in the business."

Goodman said sizing for his Hawai'i stores can be problematic: "We adjust sizes downward for Hawai'i."

Ross buys different sizes for her Island and Mainland stores. She said XS, or size 0, is standard in Hawai'i, and she tends to sell those and sizes L and XL the fastest. She doesn't order any size 0 for L.A., where her smallest size is 2 and 4, and 6 sells fastest. "We're talking about the silicone capital of the world," she said. In other words, the skinny starlets need larger sizes to fit their surgically enhanced busts.

For Ross, trend spotting is simple. She watches who walks in her door at Following Sea in Century City. Her customers include A-list stars and trend-setters such as Catherine Zeta-Jones, Kate Blanchett, Jodie Foster, Halle Berry, Geena Davis and Callista Flockhart.

She also works with some of the costume people on Hollywood television shows such as "Ally McBeal" and "Frazier." "I know once the costume person buys it, I better have it in the store in multiples," Ross said.

In general, Ross' L.A. customers prefer a sexier silhouette than Island women. Their idea of sexy is to show lots of midriff and decolletage. They love low-slung jeans with 4-inch zippers and belts with big buckles paired with a tiny T-shirt.

While T-shirts sell well in both markets, the classic Michael Stars cotton T-shirt, especially the boat neck, tie-back style, does better in Kahala, while the tighter, shinier styles blow out of the store in L.A. (The exception is Jodie Foster, who buys basic white Michael Stars T-shirts to wear with her "uniform," jeans.)

Blues and greens sell well in Kahala, whereas hot pinks and bright primary colors do better in L.A.

Tropical prints are popular in both locales, but in L.A. they wear them strictly as lounge wear. In the Islands we wear them out and about to many places.

On the other hand, the sarong Meg Ryan wore in the movie "Proof of Life" (she accessorized it with a big belt and boots) blew out of Following Sea at Century City and went on sale at Ohelo Road.

Another L.A. trend that never "took" here was the look of raw edges on garments that was a hit last year.

"People here thought it was a mistake, that the garment was unfinished," Ross said.

Ross' summation of the differences between L.A. and Honolulu styles: "We're much more conservative here. In L.A. they'll try anything."