Outstanding stock, and everything--the smartly curated selection of urban West Coast, hip-Pacific/-Oceanic, and professional women's fashion; the photos of clothes and accessories for sale on Instagram and the store's regular site/blog; the styling of the mannequins in the store's two window displays; the staff's advice and insights--is a level up from other locally owned boutiques on the island. There's a clear grasp of store brand identity and of a specific market niche at work here--some smart business sense operating. We're not talking a Cookies, Mahina, Bamboo Sky, Eden In Love, Fighting Eel, 33 Butterflies, kind of local girls' and women's clothing boutique. This one is not only about buying blouses and belts and jewelry, though you can definitely purchase lovely ones here...so much as learning to style oneself to be noticed and stand apart from the crowd.
Dara is highly intelligent, style-literate, and fashion-savvy; if this boutique manages to succeed, it'll mean Hawai'i ladies are finally moving away from the generic, late-twentieth-century sartorial choices of cute-surfer-girl beachwear (see most of the above boutiques mentioned; the overly safe/femme, post-Cinnamon Girl look); statehood-era-nostalgic, modernist, Polynesian-ish outfits (Mamo Howell blanderized and RIXified into flatness); and DOE-schoolteacher-ish, Asian-influenced, shift dresses with large Orientalist prints (hello, Anne Namba)...and towards something more post-postmodern, cosmopolitan, and edgy. Check it--
https://instagram.com/mikinola/?hl=en
http://www.shopmikinola.com/
The difference: Attention paid to brands/materials that display structure and corner the finer details of design. You will pay more for clothes here than in the abovementioned boutiques, probably. Yes, a few hundred bucks for a maxi dress that's not even silk or other luxe fabrics, seems like a lot. But do you really want something that your average career woman shuffling around the designer collection racks of Ross's is wearing? Another appropriately dressed, professional-looking, female clone? Or to be clothed in a fresh and imaginative and fierce way that emphasizes your individuality? For relatively inexpensive business, casual, and resort wear, the outfits sold here are of high quality...look at the list of brands commonly carried (see the above websites or other reviewers'--who are far more fashion-hip than me--write-ups).
There is passion, precision, and most of all, knowledge of fashion globally and nationally, at work here. Honestly, I sometimes pass by the store several times in a half hour, just to make note of the styling in the display windows, which can serve as a "now" summary statement of current trends and their creative variations (which is probably why the store regularly posts photos of the windows, on its websites). My guess is the styling/wardrobe-building service (soon to be offered? already available? not clear) is quite good and well worth the $, too.
Interested to see how long this place lasts, and whether it can sustain itself enough to take the next step and expand/diversify/enrich the brand. read more