Plato’s Closet – Honolulu

So I went and checked out Plato’s Closet so that I could do a review for the University Newspaper. This is the first Plato’s Closet and buy/sell vintage/consignment/brand store in this neck of the woods and I loved it!

Here is the information for the location:

Plato’s Closet

1161 S. Beretania
Honolulu, HI 96814

Hours: Mon-Sat 10 am-8 pm & Sun 12 pm – 5 pm

Telephone #: (808) 523-8885

Credit Cards: Yes

Parking: Private Lot

Here is what I wrote for the draft. They’ll edit it before it goes in the paper but I say what I wrote is good enough for my blog!

Being from Los Angeles I love thrift stores and consignment shops so I knew that I had to give this place a visit. Very much like Crossroads and Buffalo Exchange, Plato’s Closet offers a variety of name brand clothing at more than reasonable pricing. It was like every college girl’s dream! Tons of outfits to choose from, all in either new or slightly used condition, with more than affordable prices. I would say shopping at Plato’s Closet is a lot cheaper than shopping at Forever 21 with a better selection of styles for both men and women. Plato’s Closet has done very well in the states and it was about time that they opened one in Honolulu. All the employees were more than helpful and very friendly as well. And for those of you who are worried about parking they have a private lot right in front of the store and for those students without cars it’s only about a 1.7 mile walk from campus.

The store itself is packed wall to wall with clothing and accessories. And the atmosphere is very welcoming as every customer is greeted as they walk through the door. Whether you are looking for shoes for a friend’s wedding or a clubbing outfit for the weekends, this is definitely the place to go. I saw plenty of clothes with the tags still attached selling for a mere fraction of what the original retail price was. I saw Women’s Air Jordan’s from $12-$21, a new Bebe dress for $18 and even Betsey Johnson purses for half what they would charge at Ross. And of course I couldn’t leave the store without picking up a few things for myself.

The only downside to Plato’s Closet would be to potential sellers. I have read reviews as well as asked people what their experience has been with selling their items to Plato’s Closet and more people have been disappointed with the amount of product that the store chooses to buy and for how much. Because the store sells their merchandise for such a low price it is hard for sellers to get what they think is fair for their new or gently used items. If you just want to get rid of some clothes or need quick cash then it might not hurt giving Plato’s Closet a try but most people have just found it easier to donate their unwanted items to Goodwill. I am sure that as they get more business they will be open to buying more from customers as times go on but I’ve heard that they have been pretty picky about what they choose to purchase from customers.

But overall, I had a great experience at Plato’s Closet and I can’t wait to go back soon to see what new things have come in. It’s refreshing to see a store that is affordable to the general public and to college students like myself.

And here’s what I got this time around. I picked out two dresses that I KNOW that I did NOT need to try on because I just had to have them!

I didn’t look at all the clothes or go through each rack because I knew this trip was more for school work than for pleasure but I’m sure I’ll be back there soon enough. There were sneakers and bags that I wanted but I knew that I had to pace myself.

I just need to keep reminding myself…I NEED TO SAVE FOR LAW SCHOOL!

It hasn’t been working TOO well but I’m trying. Slowly but surely. (Don’t call me Shirley!)

But anyways…

The first dress I fell in love with at first glance! And it’s by one of my favorite designers in LA!

The store on Melrose is called Voom and this lady makes all her clothes by hand! And they’re usually WAY too expensive for me to even consider buying anything. Her store MIGHT have closed down because of it. But I’m psyched to get a hold on this dress because I didn’t even know she had designs LIKE this.

Excuse all the wrinkles.

But isn’t it just adorable?! When I saw the old school hand stitched puppies on there I KNEW this was for me!

I used to LOVE embroidery and stitch work so whenever I see dish towels or clothing with it, I can’t help but love it even more!

Paid $14 for a $100-$200 dress!!!

The next dress fits amazingly on me and the back is to die for!

And guess what ladies?

It’s a Wet Seal dress! …I know right?

And it only cost me $8!

I’m so happy with both dresses that I got and hopefully they’ll like my review too!

Yay for thrift store finds! Woo hoo!

And there is a god!

Anyone else as happy as I am about the Clippers FINALLY losing 2 games in a row?

And it was to the Nuggets and the Warriors…

Sweet Sweet Victory.

The Clippers shooting percentages were pretty horrendous for both games. It seems a miracle that this same team could win 17 games in a row.

It was only a one time deal Clipper fans, don’t get used to it. Seriously.

I don’t know if it was the Denver altitude or what but the Clippers were missing any kind of goal attempt left and right!

I think Urban Dictionary said it best, “They suck major shit, no talent on the team. Disgrace to Los Angeles and the lakers. Should just stop playing basketball and the NBA should make them a d league team.”

I almost lost my shit when I saw Blake Griffin making his free throws but I don’t need to worry about that anymore. Phew~

And here’s Blake Griffin driving a…Mercedes?

The next game for the Clippers is the Lakers on the 4th. I know the Lakers have got this!!

 

Thunder vs Mavericks

Boy has this been an intense game!

Darren Collison got off that 3 point shot, even after Russell Westbrook fouled him, at the buzzer.

And this is NOT his first buzzer beater.

After a so-so season, Collison is having a stellar game tonight against the Thunder!

This game is intense!

Collison had 32 points and Kevin Durant had 40 points tonight.

Pretty crazy game.

And now hopefully the Clippers will NOT win their 15th game in a row.

Although they are leading 21 to 6 right now…

I think it’s time I start going to church…or doing SOMETHING!

Why did you have to leave us?

So I was like, “Why are the Charlotte Bobcats doing so well?”

Answer? Two words.

Ramon Sessions.

And what are with all the jersey changes this year?

Just because the end of the world is coming this year DOESN’T MEAN that we can just let go of our understanding of stylishness and fashion.

Really? All it says is just “CATS”?

What, are they all going to come out and preform a number from the musical cats? Can you imagine Ramon Sessions and Brendan Haywood singing Allegorical Cats? Really guys? It’s gotten just plain silly now. The Lakers might as well have a big lake on their jerseys if this is how we’re looking at things now.

The Lakers should have kept Ramon Sessions…we’d be doing a lot better than we are now. That’s for sure.

But I’m happy that he is at least on a winning team. He at least deserves that much.

The Raptor Strikes Again!

My man Chris Bosh is single-handedly smoking the Nuggets right now!
(Well, we’re only 1 point ahead at this point, but still).

32 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 assist with 27 minutes played!

But the Nuggets are all contributing point wise so the Heat will have to stay on their toes to win this one but I know we can do it!

We just let New York win because we felt bad…too soon? … Maybe.

I’m glad Iguodala gets to shine on the Nuggets though. It’s going to be an interesting season for the Nuggets this year.

Sad News?

The Bobcats are doing better than the Lakers.

Worse opening tip off in 45 year history for the Lakers? Mark says things will get better and that when Steve Nash comes back that the Lakers will be a good team but somehow I highly doubt that. To lose against the Clippers was a low blow, especially for me since the Clippers are the #2 team for LA. Psh. Clippers suck. If Blake Griffin gets most improved player of the year…I don’t know what I’m going to do with my life. But, that’s never going to happen so I have nothing to worry about.

And here’s what I was talking about earlier with Rasheed. Glad to see him back.

Stupid NBA TV/League Pass bullshit. Just let me watch some games on my TV! I’ve had enough college football for today.

Bizarre Foods America – My Episode!

Hey you guys! Guess what? My episode of Bizarre Foods America will air tomorrow on Monday August 6th so don’t forget to check it out! I haven’t seen it yet either so you guys will be watching it right with me!

I worked a pop up event at Royal T where Andrew Zimmern was cooking the customers some bizarre food of his own. The episode takes place in “Los Angeles” so look out for it on the Travel Channel!

Lakers welcome Antawn Jamison!

And not Dwight Howard! Woo Hoo!

Yes there are still rumors going around that the DH trade is still possible but I hope to god it isn’t. Like I keep saying, I rather have a younger Bynum who is only getting better with time than Howard who just seems to whine more as the days go by.

Aw yeah! We won’t have the worst bench in the league anymore! Awesome. I’ve been counting down the days…

Jamison is the man when it comes to point scoring AND rebounds. He can be the Sixth Man on the Lakers ANY day. Yes please.

Cool fact about Jamison: He is the only player next to Dirk Nowitzki in NBA history to accumulate over the length of his career at least 1,000 three-pointers, 7,000 rebounds and a whopping 19,000 points.

That’s pretty amazing if you ask me.

Welcome to the Dream Team! Oh Yeah!

The King of trade bullshit rises again

Who else could I be talking about but the Master of Flip Flop, Mr. Dwight Howard himself.

Everyone is talking about how the Lakers would regret it if we didn’t trade Andrew Bynum for Dwight Howard but is this really the deal that LA has to make? Sure DH may be a tad bit better offensively Bynum is still young and only getting better year after year. The Lakers need to keep their young star players instead of risking them for older washed out players like DH.

Yes Bynum has had his own injuries and problems in the past but nothing like Howard’s recent list of injuries which could affect his rate of play from here on out. Season ending injuries for older players can be career ending as well.

And besides, wasn’t DH supposed to go play bball with his BFF Deron in Jersey? Did I miss something? Although I’m surprised Deron is thinking of staying after all the fuss he made this past season. Sorry, Brooklyn not Jersey.

I’ve been watching a lot of Bridezillas on TV and Dwight is beginning to sound a lot like those crazy bitches who need to have everything THEIR way.

“There’s only one team on my list and if I don’t get traded there, I’ll play the season out and explore my free agency after that,” Howard told Yahoo! Sports.

And get this, he’s going to try to take “Legal Action” if the Magic doesn’t move him somewhere else since they “FAILED” to do what they had promised him. Who else isn’t annoyed by this big baby?

So let me get this straight. It’s a Catch-22 so try to stay with me here.

1. Dwight Howard wants to be moved and will only play for the Nets.
2. The Nets are trying to re-sign Deron Williams as well as Joe Johnson which leaves no money and no talent to offer the Magic for Howard.

I wouldn’t even trade a bag of peanuts for Dwight Howard.

And apparently the Rockets are in all the trade rumors now a days because they’re just trying to get their hands on anyone possible. But they’ve moved on from trying to get the big man since their Draft flop the other day AND they already signed Omer Asik to a 3 year contract worth $25 mil.

Why do the Lakers have to be the ones to get stuck with this dude? We don’t want his ass. I say we take another route to improve the team.

I really don’t want DH anywhere near LA unless he’s here for a pounding from my home team.

If I have to sing a song and put it on Youtube to KEEP Howard from coming to LA, I WILL DO IT! I SWEAR!

New article titles to describe DH, “Dwight Howard has out-LeBroned LeBron with free-agency gaffes.” It’ll always be slang for the times but people who REALLY know what happened and KNOW how much work and effort Lebron gave to Cleveland will know that people are misguided when they use the term.

And for Pau, poor guy has just been the basis of almost every Lakers trade rumor for the past year now. If he ends up being traded I will of course be sad but maybe it’ll give him and the Lakers another opportunity at seeing a possible Championship. Up in the air is 3 possible trades for Pau (that we know about) but I’m pretty sure the one with the Hawks was already rejected. I’d LOVE to have Josh Smith on the Lakers but the Lakers still want more. And I can see both points of the situation. We’d get a great forward that’s not only an amazing defensive player but also one of the most efficient players in the NBA but we’d lose a big man which is pretty important. The Hawks, and any team that took Pau, would be left with a heavy burden of a $38 million/2 year contract which would put a pretty big dent in their hopes of scouting out other players.

Mark’s hoping for Pau to be traded to the Twolves so he can have an all white starting lineup. Hahaha. Hey, it IS Minnesota. I’d pay to see that.

We had a debate to see if he could make a Championship winning team with just white players. Maybe we should start the whole Fantasy League thing. I still haven’t decided who would be on my “non-white” team though. Apparently I only want 3 Lebrons instead of 5 according to Mark. For now, I think I’ll just stick with 1 and build on it.

Maybe when I have some more time to think about it I can do an analysis of my “DREAM TEAM”.

Bleh. That was my two cents on this whole situation. I really thought I had heard the end of this bullshit back during the regular season but I have to hear about it during the off season too? Now THAT’s bull honkey.

RIP Ray Bradbury

I woke up to the news today that Ray Bradbury had died and to be honest, I was pretty devastated. I loved his books growing up and they made me want to keep reading and growing not only as a scholar but also as a more well rounded individual. He opened my eyes to the world and to the belief that one day I too could become a successful author. I remember he would speak at Book Fairs and school events and I would always be so excited to go hear him speak. This man was a revolutionary. Even without a college degree, by reading at the library voraciously he was able to take that knowledge and turn it into marvelous works of literary art on paper. Although upset by his passing I will take this day to continue to be inspired by such an amazing man. He will live forever in his texts that generations from here on out will still continue to enjoy.

Just like Ray said, “I know you’ve heard it a thousand times before. But it’s true – hard work pays off. If you want to be good, you have to practice, practice, practice. If you don’t love something, then don’t do it.”

I get to watch the Playoffs at work

How could anyone hate Chris Bosh when he is just so hilarious!

Everyone should love the Raptor!

RAWR!

Just watch him slowly dominate the screen while Lebron is having his little after game interview.

And I am so glad that the Pacers were able to massacre the Magic today.

Also surprised at how the Jazz just weren’t able to keep up with the Spurs today. Losing by 31 points IS pretty severe.

The Spurs had 7 players scoring in the double digits today which is pretty impressive. The Jazz just had an overall horrible shooting percentage today which just made it easier for the Spurs to clinch the win today.

And the Grizzlies need to keep up the lead through the 3rd till the end of the 4th to win it. This series might end up going all 7 games at the rate its at now.