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Alyssa Fung takes being a fashionista seriously.
“I think of my style as sexy-sophisticated, but at the same time, very playful,” she said. “I love things that are really colorful and bright.”
If clothing reflects personality, that’s an apt description for the bubbly 28-year-old Aiea High grad, who launched Fashionista’s Market, a seasonal sample sale with overstocked designer and local fashions selling below retail price.
The popularity of the event, which takes place at different locations and benefits various charities, led Fung last month to open Fashionista’s Market Store, a bright little boutique on Bethel Street.
“We want to make it a place for girls, no matter what size or what style they have,” said Fung, who owns the store with her friend Anita Clemente. “We want to focus on girls being excited about coming here to shop and have fun. Even if they don’t find anything, just to browse ... I’ll help them style themselves, give them suggestions, get them out of their normal comfort zone.”
Fung originally started Fashionista’s Market in 2005 with her sister, Emi Hart. Always on the prowl for new styles, they wanted to share their passion for fashion with others in Hawaii.
“We basically jumped on a plane (to Los Angeles), not knowing anything about the industry, and met people along the way who wanted to help us,” Fung said. “Maybe because we brought them chocolate macadamia nuts and coffee."
The first Fashionista’s Market sale was held at the old Oceans in Restaurant Row, and more than 1,000 people crowded the nightclub for a chance to buy designer clothes on the cheap.
Since then, Fashionista’s Market consistently draws crowds of fashion-conscious bargain hunters looking to buy such names as True Religion Brand Jeans, Frankie B. and Anthropologie, sometimes at wholesale cost. It also sponsors an annual charitable clothing exchange, where fashionistas across the island swap their brand-name fashions. This year, the Leeward Domestic Abuse Shelter received a portion of the proceeds, as well as dozens of bags of clothing that weren’t swapped.
If anything, the tough economic times have fueled the market’s popularity. “People are so much more aware of the bargains, and so used to wanting to save money, that we’ve got more of a niche,” Fung said.
Along with selling marked-down designer duds, Fung plans to host regular First Friday events at the store. She’ll also continue throwing big, themed parties, like the upcoming Nov. 21 showing of the second “Twilight” movie, “New Moon,” at Consolidated Ward 16 Theatres. It’s a girls-only event because girls really love this movie, Fung said. (Tickets for the event are sold out.)
“That’s our inspiration, to love being a girl, to have fun with life in general, whether it’s fashion or work, and to look good doing it,” she said.
Fashionista's Market Store
1183 Bethel St.
808-537-1115
See Metromix party pics from Fashionista's Market 3rd anniversary at Pearl
