Hino and Malee, partners in marriage for 3 years and business for 10, had put their fashion design duties on hold recently as they concentrated on their newest effort: retailing. Last week they invited friends and fans to their new women`s shop at 50 E. Oak St., and it was akin to proud parents showing off their firstborn.
In the space formerly occupied by the POSH boutique, Hino and Malee created a spare, white-walled store whose decor is really the clothes, along with some urns of floating gardenias and burlap-covered clay pots of white orchids.
Black rods along the side walls, from the front to the rear, hold the clothes according to colors and fabrics. Up front are regal golden tunics with a crushed metallic texture; short silver taffeta jackets that unexpectedly tie at the waist with a bow; slithery black pants paired with unadorned tops in a fabric that looks exactly like luxurious silk charmeuse but which Malee happily announced is acetate-”that`s why we can keep the prices down.”
”Best buys,” pointed out Malee, are the wool knit separates from their II line-some solid, some bordered with stripes, some sprinkled with big dots- at $98 to $180.
Best sellers in the opening days included white wool crepe jackets, camisoles and pants, for example, at about $700 per ensemble; mohair-lined polyurethane-coated anoraks at $800. Undoubtedly the top customer was the one who made three shopping trips in as many days.
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What did she like?
”Everything,” Malee said with a smile.