LIHU‘E — Casie Riopta spent a few years living in Las Vegas working for Aloha Airlines. When the airline shut down operations, she went into a career in high-end retail. Her friends and family often commented on her personal style
LIHU‘E — Casie Riopta spent a few years living in Las Vegas working for Aloha Airlines. When the airline shut down operations, she went into a career in high-end retail. Her friends and family often commented on her personal style and said she should open a retail store here on Kaua‘i.
She finally took the opportunity and opened Island Love in Lihu‘e a few months ago, along with the help of her sisters, Brooke Aguinaldo and Amber Riopta.
Specializing in women’s clothes and accessories, Island Love has something for just about everyone, from petites to plus sizes.
“We carry local designs from Kaua‘i Girl, Live Laugh Aloha, among others,” Riopta said.
Additionally, Island Love carries local designs for men from Big Buggahs, which produces shirts with images of big boars. Riopta hopes to eventually carry an even wider selection of wares from local designers and invites them to get in touch with the store.
The sisters also decided to have a section of gently-worn clothes in a wide variety of sizes.
“We pay outright for clothes, in cash or store credit,” Riopta said.
Island Love also carries a wide variety of jewelry including personalized bracelets and puas for women’s hair.
The puas often lead to questions on how to properly wear the handcrafted foam flowers.
“If you wear them on the left, you are taken,” said Riopta, smiling. “Wear them on the right if you are single. If you wear a bun in your hair and wear the pua in the middle, you are confused.”
The store also carries a wide variety of gifts including Ocean Sports products including stand up paddle boards and paddles, sports memorabilia and Hello Kitty goods.
“We have a lot of gifts,” Riopta said.
Island Love is at 3-4221A Kuhio Hwy., in Lihu‘e. Visit www.Facebook.com/IslandLoveKauai or call 245-0033 for more information.
