JUST MY STYLE
Secretary spices up her wardrobe with show-stopping accessories

By Paula Rath
Advertiser Staff Writer

Utsumi found her jacket in Osaka, Japan, and her necklace in Singapore. Her shoes are a find from Raleigh, N.C., and come complete with four wheels and windshield wipers. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

Name: Flo Utsumi.

Age: 58.

Occupation: Secretary.

What I'm dying to buy right now: A handbag with an outside pocket for travel documents.

The best bargain I ever found was: Going to the New York designers' sale — 7th on Sale for AIDS support. I found two Paloma Picasso handbags and an Adrienne Vittadini dress at incredible bargain prices.

I'm willing to pay more for top quality when it comes to: Shoes. It's comfort first. If my shoes are uncomfortable, I can't think.

I can never get enough: Accessories! I love colorful ones i printed nylons, necklaces, pins, earrings, scarves.

My favorite designers are: Nake'u Awai.

My must-have staples are: A little black dress.

Three men/women who inspire my look are: My late sister, Myrtle; Nake'u Awai, who has refined my attitude toward fashion; Barbara Haji's classic look.

My biggest fashion faux pas was: I wore two different shoes — one navy and one black, and they were different heights and styles and everything. Then there was the time when I attended a power wedding in Washington, D.C., and my skirt was way too long, with no time to have it shortened. So I pulled it up over my chest — but it kept slipping down, so I was tugging at it all day.