ISLAND STYLE
Add sparkle to evening classic with accessories

By Paula Rath
Advertiser Staff Writer

If you haven't yet bought your dress for the season's big event, not to worry. Worn it before? So what?

Entertainer Willow Chang changes the look of this simple evening gown with a shawl, embroidered 1920s jacket or a white fox-fur stole. Here she wears it with Indian jewelry and a vintage minaudière.

Margaret Murchie, of Coldwell Banker real estate in Kahala, pairs this bustier with plain black pants or a skirt. She also wears the skirt with a black sweater or organza jacket. Photos by Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

We talked to island women who attend several elegant events throughout the year, and not a single one said she would not wear the same dress twice.

There are, however, some caveats.

Mindy Tucker of Makiki Heights, a mother of two young sons who helps organize fund-raisers for Diamond Head Theatre and the Hawaii Theatre, said "It's fun to wear something new, but it's not always in the budget."

Tucker will wear the same dress after a year if it's a different crowd, or wait three years to wear it again with the same crowd.

She buys classic styles and often uses her hairstyle to change the look. Since she has long hair, she can wear it "up with a gardenia or down without a flower." She also appreciates the magic a velvet or chiffon scarf can make.

She sums it up this way: "Accessorizing changes the outfit, or at least my attitude toward it."

Jojo Watumull, owner of American T-Shirt Co., follows a rule she learned from Susan Fusuma, a personal shopper at Neiman Marcus. She wears a dress once, then puts it away for a year.

Vicky Cayetano, the former governor's wife and president of United Laundry, laughed when asked the question. "Does anyone wear anything just once? I never have. If I did, I would think it was a mistake — something I should not have bought." She likes to accessorize her evening clothes with a wrap. Take a strapless gown, for example. She may wear it to one event with a solid shawl and to a second event with a patterned shawl. A necklace can also change the look of a simple gown.

Karen Sumner, vice president of individual and corporate gifts for the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, attends about eight formal events a year. She swears by separates. "I bought a slim black ball skirt at Neiman Marcus that I've worn twice in the last month i to the Opera Ball with a beaded spaghetti-strap top and a shawl and to the Honu event (a fund-raiser celebrating the opening of luxury shops at 2100 Kalakaua) with a wrap sweater with fur cuffs. No one could tell it was the same skirt."

Margaret Murchie, an agent with Coldwell Banker real estate in Kahala who attends formal fund-raisers regularly, said "I wear all my clothes until they stop making me feel 'special.' Then they either go to co-workers or my sisters. I recycle. I really don't care if someone notices that I am wearing my stuff more than once. I am just happy that I still fit into it."

As an entertainer, Willow Chang needs to dress up two to six times a month. "My budget doesn't allow a new outfit for everything I do," she said, "So I use the Holly Golightly formula, changing the dress with accessories."

While I usually design and sew my evening outfits, it's still impossible to own as many as I would have to in order to wear each just once. My solution is to rotate five black pieces: evening pants that have two layers and are slit up the sides; a long black skirt with side front slit and silk knit tank top from Neiman Marcus, a long sheath dress I made and a slim boatneck tunic with an asymmetrical hemline which I've owned for 15 years and have worn countless times.

With these five pieces, and a plethora of accessories, I am covered. Among my favorite transforming accessories are a vintage mesh embroidered jacket my grandmother bought in Shanghai in 1948, a bold acrylic necklace that looks like giant gold and silver ice cubes, a vintage piano shawl I found on eBay, a dupioni silk shawl that changes colors in different lights, a black handbag from Riches Kahala with red silk flowers blooming out the top and a pair of two-inch lacy Stuart Weitzman sling backs with tiny rhinestones to give them a bit of glitz.

If you sew, it's easy to make handbags, wraps and kimono jackets out of gorgeous fabrics. I have used Vogue pattern No. 7351 to make jackets in several lengths in silk, brocade, and cut velvet with contrasting lapels. Let your imagination run wild with a handbag such as the ones in Vogue pattern No. 7531. They work in any fabric, and can be embellished with lace, trims, gold braid or silk flowers.

Like Chang, I choose one accessory to be my focal point. A rule of thumb: When in doubt, remove one accessory. Less is more, especially when you're going for glamour.

One thing to watch out for when getting dressed: Opaque hose are out, out, out. If you're planning to wear black hose, try lace, a pattern or even fishnets.

Don't ignore shoes and handbags. Nothing spoils a look faster than a daytime leather handbag with an evening tuxedo, or clunky shoes with an evening gown.