KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Macy's helped give Wera Panow-Loui the soft, though work-ready look she wanted.
Macy's personal shopper service
can do the rack-searching to dress
mom in a new, flattering light
Sure, mom will have her day on Sunday, but any other day of the year, she'd probably admit motherhood doesn't usually put her in a party kind of mood. Let's face it, the other 364 days of the year are spent taking care of the 2.5 kids, the man of the house and whatever menagerie the children happen to bring home. When not playing caretaker, she's at work, running errands, playing chauffeur and, if the kiddies happen to be of dating age, worrying. This I gather, not being a mom myself, from the stress in the ozone.
An entire industry has sprung up to knead those in need into a state of relaxation, but beyond shipping mom off to a spa, there is another way you can pamper the old gal -- how about booking her on a date with a personal shopper?
KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM
All moms are familiar with the baggy T-shirt uniform as worn by Wera Panow-Loui, shown with daughter Sabrina Kristianna.
If mom's feeling just a wee bit, dare we say, frumpy, a couple of new outfits just may be the cure for the blahs. It worked for Wera Panow-Loui, retail sales promotional director at Aloha Petroleum and a mom going on five months, having given birth to Sabrina Kristianna on Dec. 25. She returned to work a couple of months ago but felt her wardrobe, in limbo since her pregnancy began, needed a lift.
"Part of me wanted something new to reflect this new phase in my life," she said, "I usually wear a wardrobe of basic black, a lot of structured suits. I wanted to add color, in clothing that would fit in professionally at work but that felt comfortable. Something that looked put together but casual."
This was the description Macy's West-Ala Moana special-services manager Lisa George had to work with as she set about pulling items off the racks before Panow-Loui came in for a fitting. As head of the retailer's personal shopper service, Macy's by Appointment, she and her staff help lighten the shopping burden by eliminating the hours spent searching the racks.
The service is free, and those calling for an appointment should be prepared to state their sizes, favored colors, budget and the type of look they are aiming for, along with an idea of whether the garments are geared for work, play or special occasion such as a wedding or luau. The personal shoppers do a lot of work with mainland clientele planning Hawaiian-themed weddings.
Answering the personal shoppers' questions is no problem if the client is a woman, but sometimes it's a man -- 25 percent of those seeking assistance -- aiming to simplify his search for a gift for his wife or girlfriend. In these cases, a little espionage is sometimes in order.
"Most of the time their wives or significant others are already clients," George said. "If not, I have to rely on his description, but I give him a little homework, sending him to her closet to look at the label and sizes she wears," said George, who worked for Liberty House for 24 years before its purchase by Macy's. "Most men are very generous. They'll spend whatever they need to get a really nice outfit for their significant other.
"Then I might pull a few outfits, send them photos by e-mail and have them choose. Sometimes they'll tell me, 'That's OK, just box it and I'll pick it up.' But I say no, because I don't want them to be as surprised as she is when she opens it."
BY THE TIME Panow-Loui comes in a day after speaking to George by phone, the personal shopper has pulled four outfits in soft pastels. Panow-Loui hones in on a pink twin sweater set and flowing pink-and-white floral skirt, and having settled on the outfit, George runs out to bring back a pair of darling soft pink kitty heels and rounds up a makeup artist to provide a look to match.
KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Lisa George , left, special services manager at Macy's West - Ala Moana pre-selected garments for new mom Wera Panow-Loui to try on. The Macy's By Appointment service liberates those who prefer not to spend their free time searching through clothing racks for one suitable item. In Panow-Loui's case, less shopping means more time to spend with her newborn daughter.
It is just what Panow-Loui was looking for.
"Maybe I chose pink because I have a little girl," she said, adding that it's not likely she would have found the outfit on her own. "I'm so used to looking for the same things. If I were shopping for myself, I might have gone for the same dark colors, but when I saw this, I said, 'Wow! Let's try this.'
"I think the softness of the color had a lot to do with my choice. After becoming a mom you realize there's more to life than work, that balance is important. Mentally, I wanted to reflect that. Being a mom changes your perspective in many ways."
The same went for the soft pastel look of the makeup applied by Sharon Lennon, finished with a shimmery pink lip gloss by Estee Lauder dubbed Vinyl Iris, that Panow-Loui ultimately decided to purchase.
"Usually I only wear Chapstick. I would have looked at that color and said, 'Oh that's not for me, too young,' but wearing color makes you feel fresher; it perks you up.
"They told me I already look nice when I came in, but I didn't feel that way. When you come home from work, you can't just sit in front of the TV; you want to spend time with your baby. She went from waking up every two hours to every four hours, and even though she's sleeping longer, you never feel caught up. It's nonstop now. I feel like it's 24 hours of go, go, go.
"I felt tired, drained. Then you put on the same clothes ... Putting on something new is very uplifting. It's a treat."
THERE'S NO PRESSURE to purchase the items offered by the personal shoppers, but Panow-Loui decided to get the sweater set at $29.99 for the tank and $39.99 for the sweater. The Tommy Bahama skirt, at $118, was above her price range, as were the $145 Charles David shoes, but she left asking George if she could look for a matching skirt in the same range as the sweater set, saying she appreciated the elastic band that made allowance for a few extra pounds around her waist.
"The first visit is the most awkward," George said. "But after they come in, they realize how easy it is."
Nevertheless, the job has its challenges.
George said the most difficult customers are those who are adamant that a larger size is not the size they're supposed to be. "They absolutely do not want to go into such a size, yet my job is to make sure they leave here with something that's going to be complimentary."
In these cases, elastic is her best defense. "It may allow a size 10 to say she's a smaller size," she said. After all, the customer is still always right.
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