Posted on: Friday, May 13, 2005

Kukui nuts hot item for summer

By Blaine Ashley Hite
Special to The Advertiser

On the hunt for tribal chic? One of the biggest trends in jewelry this summer are strands and strands of kukui nuts. Mixing them up with various colors and lengths are the best way to wear 'em with your ethnic inspired tunic, sheer caftan, or embellished sandals.

What better place to find them on the cheap than here in the Islands?

Kukui strands can be found at L.A.'s trendy shop Intuition for a steep $125.

And what luck for us locals — Longs Drugs delivers an assortment of colors, shapes and sizes for a mere $4 to $10. Many lei stands or florist's shops will also stock them.

In addition to the traditional dark-chocolate hue, dyed nuts also can be found in butter, caramel, and pistachio hues.

In a fun, unique fashion twist, local jewelry designer Ginger 13 (www.ginger13.com) paints her kukui nuts hot pink, purple, and tangerine, combining them with charms and trinkets. These sell for about $45.

There's simply no reason that all Hawai'i fashionistas shouldn't jump on this ethnic trend and snatch up these must-haves at modest prices found so easily here at home in Hawai'i.

Honolulu stylist Blaine Ashley Hite dresses and accessorizes models and celebrities for photo shoots, fashion shows and public appearances.

She did the styling for Josh Holloway (Sawyer on "Lost") for a recent issue of People magazine, which featured Holloway as one of the world's 50 most beautiful people.