The Dreaded Wedding Invitation



The wedding invitation said for all guests to dress in “Aloha Attire” as the wedding will take place on the beach and the elderly couple who visited my store last Saturday begged for advice on what to wear. “Aloha Attire” simply means that the men should wear a Hawaiian shirt and the women should wear a Hawaiian muumuu dress! Nothing to panic about, but some people are really concerned that they dress to the occasion. The wedding was the next day and this couple had been all over San Diego County looking for something tropical to wear and found us after their granddaughter did a Google search.  

Now I do know a little something about casual beach and Hawaiian weddings. I have probably worked with about 25 brides in the last 4 years and have become accustom to helping the bride and groom dress those who are in the wedding ceremony including bridesmaids, groomsmen, ring bearers, father and mother of the bride and groom etc. These events are typically casual, but most of the brides want a color coordinated look so that the wedding pictures come out looking great instead of too crazy!

My female customer was in her 70’s and after trying on quite a lot of clothing decided on the blue Hawaiian mid-calf muumuu we stock here at the Wave Shoppe showroom located in downtown Escondido on Kalmia Street. She was about 5’1 so the mid-calf muumuu fit her perfectly ending well above the ankle, so she didn’t have to worry about tripping on the hem like she would have if she would have worn our traditional long muumuu. I asked her what shoes she was pairing with it and when she said heels I discouraged her from that choice and suggested a pair of sandals that she could easily slip off and get rid of the sand that a beach wedding surely would bring.

Now the husband had been sitting in a chair patiently waiting for his wife, but he was getting bored. I know that look as he started to look like my Charles right before he bolts out of a store. So I suggested our white/blue Hawaiian shirt and he tried it on and it looks good with the blue Hawaiian mid-calf muumuu as the colors are complimentary. So voila they bought those items and exited the store very excited that they would look like a couple, but not match exactly.

I really do enjoy helping customers find what looks best on them and if you come to the store and don’t know what to choose just ask me. Beware; I am brutally honest, but you will look your best in the clothing I help you find.  

 

Peggy

 

Friends of Aloha

Well my trip to Hearst Castle was quite interesting, sorry to disappoint but I am just way to busy to post any additional pictures. Actually I shouldn’t be blogging but what the heck. One thing I wanted to share with you was what happened while I was in nearby Morro Bay, which just so happens to be where my competitors Hawaiian store is located. Well in the name of making a long story short... I walked in and introduced myself, after Jim caught his breath he said “I admire you, because in a short timeframe you have managed to do what we have been trying to do for over 5 years”. Well that certainly caught me by surprise, not anything near what anyone would expect. All in all it was one of the most rewarding visits that I have made in a long time.

Probably more than once I wished that I took the route he did with Aloha Shirt Shop, which is re-selling fine Hawaiian apparel made by someone else, but ironically he countered by saying that he wished that he was able to get into manufacturing his own Hawaiian apparel like we do. What’s that saying about the grass always being greener on the other side of the fence?

So today production deadlines have slid terribly close to being critical. I could not help but wonder if Jim would be so willing to be in my shoes today, LOL probably not. But I am going to give Jim, owner of Aloha Shirt Shop, a lot of credit for what he has accomplished so far. The old store that used to be located down here in San Diego really never did his business justice, so I was pleased to see the new Hawaiian shirt store in Morro Bay; it is exactly what I hoped it would be!