Fashion treasure hunt

A designer remakes vintage cast-offs into one-of-a-kind clothing

IF THERE'S A GENE for junking, it's been passed down through generations of the Oaks clan to artist and fashion designer Roberta Oaks Power.

"When I was growing up, my family would go antiquing. We'd go cruising around the state (Missouri), go to estate sales and auctions, hunt for arrowheads. We liked to bring old things home," said Power. "We just like junk. Trash is treasure. My sisters are the same way.

OAKS HAWAII TRUNK SHOW Place: Details Gallery, 1142 Bethel St. Hours: 5 to 9 p.m. tomorrow during First Friday, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday Admission: Free Call: 546-8001

"Luckily for me, I've finally learned how to use my pack-rat habits."

The "how" is through fashion, specifically ultra-fem hand-dyed and embellished slip dresses and tops fashioned from vintage slips and camisoles, playful go-anywhere gypsy or hippie skirts stitched from vintage scarves, and most recently, silk-screened T-shirts bearing her artistry.

Power will present a trunk show of her Spring 2006 collection at Details Gallery as part of the First Friday festivities tomorrow night. Her garments will also be available for viewing and purchase at the gallery on Saturday, with prices running from $42 for T-shirts and tank tops to about $180 for her multipaneled skirts.

Power's eco-chic is informed by her past as rescuer of overlooked, unappreciated treasures.

"When I was 16 I went to an antique shop and pulled out of the Dumpster a huge box of 1920s slips and old ties, and I thought, 'This is treasure!' I still have them, but I haven't done anything with them yet."

Working out of a two-bedroom cottage in Aina Haina, she said, "I sew everything. It's all recycled materials, except for the T-shirts, which are new.

"My other clothes are hand-dyed with eco-friendly dyes. They're one of a kind, handmade," she said. "In L.A. they're going crazy for handmade (clothing), but it's fake handmade. When I go to trade shows, everything's made in China. I wish people would ask more questions about how things are made and where they come from."

She's picked up a handful of retail accounts in the year and a half since she started her business. Not bad, considering her status as an accidental fashion designer.

Power had no such aspiration when she arrived in Hawaii in 2003. She had done a lot of traveling through Europe while in school at the University of Missouri in Kansas City and Kingston University in London, and after graduating a semester early, decided to take a break to see the rest of the world. She was on her way back to Missouri after an eight-month stay in New Zealand when she stopped to visit an archaeologist sister (there's that family digging thing again) in Hawaii.

"She went home; I'm still here," Power said.

IN NEED of a place to live, Power took a job as a domestic aide for an elderly woman in exchange for room and board. In her downtime she started fiddling with a 30-year-old Pfaff sewing machine she'd found at a garage sale and turned out her first batch of embellished slip dresses, which she showed alongside her collages during an art exhibition at the ARTS at Marks Garage.

"People didn't go for the artwork, they went for the clothes, so I said, 'Hmm, maybe I'll do this for a while.'"

Since then she's had ups and downs, including getting ripped off by someone posing as a clothing rep last summer, but her belief in her line and the eco-philosophy behind it keeps her on track.

"When I first started, I was really attached to my pieces. People would try to buy them, and I'd kind of choke on it and think, 'Oh no!' But now I can let go. Clothes come and go. I just try to take pictures of everything.

"It's fun to look back at the old stuff because it reinforces the feeling that I'm moving forward," she said. "When I first arrived, companies were geared toward surfwear or super-high-end commercialized lines. There's been a lot of boutiques opening recently, so it's been interesting."

Power continues to scavenge for materials whenever she goes back to Missouri, and around Honolulu as well.

"People say there's no old stuff in Hawaii, but there is," she says with a conspiratorial smile. "They just don't know where to look."

In her stash are old crochet, lace and nylon pieces, plus contemporary lace and findings that she uses to trim her creations, though she laments, "They don't make it like they used to."

SHE ACKNOWLEDGES that as her business grows, she will have additional eco-concerns that are not a consideration for other clothing manufacturers.

"I think when it's time for me to do it full on, I will at least make sure I'm being socially responsible. Whether I choose to manufacture in the United States or abroad, I will be certain that whomever is sewing my line is getting fair pay and working in good conditions.

"I'll continue to use eco-friendly dyes," she said, adding, "I've been trying to source organic cottons, but they're hard to find."

She hasn't been able to travel much since starting her business, and is starting to get restless. "I have a major itch to go to South America and the Czech Republic. I think the textiles there are going to be amazing!"

For now her travels are a little less exotic. This month, she's heading to the Kokua Festival on Maui April 19 and at the Waikiki Shell April 22, where she'll have a booth featuring her line.

So far, Power has been able to keep up with all her sewing, but her work area, once confined to one bedroom, has overflowed into the living room, where her Pfaff has become a fixture sitting side by side with her new serger.

"I got it a few months ago, and it changed my life," she said. "It's like hiring someone, except it doesn't talk and doesn't get in my way."

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