Malia Kai Brings Sexy Back, Affordably

By Léo Azambuja

Malia Kai Boutique owners Jamie Kai, left, and Maryanne Ornellas.

Do you want a new dress but you’re not willing to sell an arm and a leg for it? Perhaps some new lingerie to spice up things in the bedroom? What about some dressy shoes? A wig? Classy accessories? A designer bag?

Search no more. You can find all this and much more at Malia Kai Boutique, a high-end consignment and retail shop in Līhu‘e. And at very affordable prices.

“There’s no place like it,” said co-owner Maryanne Ornellas.

Her business partner, Jamie Kai, said the store is unique on Kaua‘i, “you can find stuff that you wouldn’t find in other stores.”

Most of the women’s clothing is sold on consignment. The clothes are either gently used or never even worn; some still have the tags attached to it. For as little as $3, you can go home with something from the bargain bin. But even if you shop for some fancy clothes, you probably won’t spend more than $100, the price of the most expensive dresses.

“Women like to shop, sometimes they leave it in the closet and don’t wear it, so they bring it here,” Ornellas said. “We make money, they make money. We’re helping them out, they’re helping us out.”

Women’s clothing is just part of the boutique’s inventory. They also carry all kinds of women’s accessories, a whole array of wigs, shoes, and some really spicy adult Halloween stuff. And if you dare to search in the corner of the store, you’ll find some adult toys that could easily rekindle most relationships.

Some of the most popular items right now in the store are the colored contact lenses. They’ll let you change your eyes’ color to different shades of blue, hazel, green and even amethyst purple.

Last Halloween, the store was a hit, so this year, they stocked up for it. Kai said they have just received a new shipment of full costumes and accessories for Halloween, including masks, vampire teeth, sexy dresses, police and firemen outfits, and others. Nothing for children, though; all outfits are for adults, and some of them are quite spicy.

“Halloween is the time of the year when women like to dress up,” Ornellas said. “You can be sexy, you can be witchy.”

Kai said the most popular outfit for women this Halloween will probably be Wonder Woman, and for the men, likely a clown.

Men also have their turn at Malia Kai Boutique, but they won’t find a vast inventory, at least not yet.

“We have some aloha shirts for men, so slowly we are bringing in a little stuff (for men) so that when there’s a guy who comes in here with his wife, he has something to look at,” said Ornellas, laughing.

Malia Kai also carries formal wear, and for the last Filipino Terno Ball, they had just the perfect male outfits.

If you’re throwing a large themed party, Ornellas and Kai can help with special orders. For bachelorette parties, they already have a lot of stuff.

Malia Kai is at 4353 Rice St. in Līhu‘e, next to City Liquor. They’re open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. During Halloween they may extend their hours to accommodate customers. You can reach them at 632-0797.