A COFFEE IN THE WOODS: Meet HARU

A COFFEE IN THE WOODS (A project by designer Edie Kahula Pereira) 

 Hello and Thank you for visiting Edie Kahula Pereira and ‘A Coffee in the Woods’, my passion-generated project platform. A Coffee in the Woods's first project is a collection of coats an idea incubated for 7 years until I met my development team (LADYSMYTH). Thank you CLYDE for the referral!

My first design is called HARU. The name HARU comes from a childhood memory of going with my mother to her weekly appointment at Haru’s Beauty Salon in Hilo, Hawaii (where I was raised). During the development of this silhouette, it became apparent my design inspiration was the Japanese house coats Haru would have her clients wear. Some were made in pale pink cotton, others in a tiny floral print fabric in pale blue. Lined up and seated (wearing their housecoats and rollers) under their hooded hair dryers I waited and looked through Vogue, LIFE, LOOK, an assortment of Japanese language magazines, and other titles of that time. I have this vision of my mother in her 1960s style hair teased high wearing a knee-length shift with low slingback sandals-- a short metal heel with a round metal disc at its point. What came from my Haru visits (besides being a design inspiration) is my love of magazines and fashion. I would sneak those metal-heeled sandals to high school where I proudly wore them with my Victorianesque fitted high ruffled neck and empire waist liberty print (knockoff) muumuu I made from a Butterick pattern.

HARU has a relaxed fit that feels like the coat drapes over your shoulders. HARU’s drape and two-button design has a vibe and a certain elegance. Wear HARU with cut-off denim shorts into the evening with how you define evening wear and all your in-between personal style ensembles. You and your style make HARU come alive!