Born in Iloilo City, Philippine Islands, Guadalupe Ledesma Bulatao (1918-1994) immigrated to Kaua‘i in 1930 in the company of her uncle, the Rev. Catalino Cortezan, then an associate pastor at Koloa Union Church, following a visit of his to his
Born in Iloilo City, Philippine Islands, Guadalupe Ledesma Bulatao (1918-1994) immigrated to Kaua‘i in 1930 in the company of her uncle, the Rev. Catalino Cortezan, then an associate pastor at Koloa Union Church, following a visit of his to his native Philippines.
At home in Cortezan’s Koloa household, Guadalupe’s precocious talent for creating hand-stitched clothing attracted the admiration of both her uncle and her aunt, Josefina Cortezan.
Accordingly, approximately a year after her arrival on Kaua‘i, Rev. Cortezan enrolled her in a clothing design class being taught locally by a visiting California fashion designer named Helen B. Stanley.
In 1934, not long after her marriage to Jose Bulatao (1906-1959), at that time a police officer with the Kaua‘i Police Department, Bulatao launched her first dress shop in Judge Henry Blake’s garage, across from Koloa School.
During WWII, Guadalupe opened “The Rendezvous Dress Shop” in Waimea, where her flair for fashionable attire went from head to toe, with her shop providing hats, accessories, jewelry and shoes for complete ensembles.
Among her clientele at that time were military officers stationed on Kaua‘i, who purchased her dresses for their wives on the Mainland.
Plantation socialites ordered dresses for the weekend parties of their circle, and her bridal gowns and evening wear were in demand throughout the Garden Island.
Celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Shirley Temple Black, the wives of Bing Crosby, John Wayne, Neil Armstrong, Rory Calhoun and the spouses of Governors Quinn and Ariyoshi were among her upscale customers.
To this day, former customers of Guadalupe still marvel at and have kept their “Originals by Guadalupe” as tributes to her impeccable workmanship and timeless design.
Guadalupe Bulatao, “Kauai’s First Lady of Fashion,” was adored by her children Millicent Wellington, Mabel Jean Odo, Jose Bulatao Jr. and Roselind Bulatao-Franklin.
