OK, so even if the company founder has bizarre sexual proclivities, gotta be happy that American Apparel is coming to Waikiki. We have been buying their clothes for years on my trips to NYC. They are clean, fresh, increasingly organic, and made in the U.S. with no sweatshop labor (as in, made in L.A.). They fit all body types and you end up paying roughly what you would pay for sweatshop wares from most designer labels. This points to the creeping diversification of Waikiki shopping, a much needed antidote to the Gucci-mania (read: Asian shoppers) that have effectively made the resort district a completely bifurcated retail landscape of either shock (as in shockingly expensive) or shlock. Lucky Jeans is another "affordable" luxury brand that opened in Waikiki recently. A few local stores have also been able to pick up on this trend -- Honolulu Surf Company, Cinnamon Girl, and Nohea Gallereries, among others. I hope this turns into a flood of interesting mid-range shops that could make Waikiki a place where fashion-forward locals will want to shop. Bring in Triple Five Soul, Calypso, Brooklyn Industries, Steve Allen and some more of that ilk and then you've got an actual shopping scene!

—Alex, 01/07/08