There’s always a struggle to find what to wear on any day, and there could be lots of pressure when what you wear matters. From smart casual to business professional, how can a person know when to wear what. The Office of Student Activities and Leadership (OSAL) hosted an event to help students dress for success with a business wear fashion show. 

On Wednesday, in the Clarence T. C. Ching Conference Room, about 20 students, faculty, and staff gathered for a business fashion show consisting of about 10 Chaminade students, faculty, and staff models. The show had three categories: business formal, business casual, and casual. 

“I like to dress up, and I found a blazer back home [in Palau],” said Kobe Ngirailemesang, a fourth-year Environmental Science major and event chair. “I wanted to give myself and other students a reason to explore what they can wear and a reason to dress up.” 

All the outfits were bought from various stores, such as Nordstrom Rack, Macy’s, Uniqlo, and more. For Tyanna “Temika” Hemmings, a second-year Forensic Science major with minors in Chemistry and Performing Arts, most of her pieces were thrifted from local vendors or Goodwill. One of her outfits was even from her mother’s closet. 

Josephine “Fina” Iose, a Chaminade alumna and Office of Admissions staff, wore a unique one-shoulder red dress with a print designed by her mother. Iose’s American Samoan culture inspired the print. It was the first dress her mother designed before Iose came back to work for Chaminade. The dress can be worn as business casual, business formal, and casual. 

From an event flyer, business formal can include dark-colored suits, button-ups, pencil skirts, slacks, or dresses. Shoes should be heels, dress shoes, or loafers.  

Unlike the students, the faculty and staff models were wearing everyday looks. Brother Edward Brink, also known as Brother Ed, walked out in his usual outfit: an aloha shirt, slacks, and black shoes. To top it all off is the Marianist cross worn every day.

In the event flyer, business casual is toned down a notch. It can include wearing aloha shirts, khakis, sweaters/cardigans, and dresses. Shoes are the same as business formal. 

Nicole Sagapolutele, an academic advisor for Chaminade’s School of Business and Communication and School of Arts, Humanities and Design, modeled for two categories: casual and business casual. Ngirailemesang personally asked Sagapolutele to join this fashion show since they co-teach a CUH 100 course. 

“I have a lot of clothes that I could show off for this event,” Sagapolutele said. “I really wanted to show students what to wear and what not to wear at work or anywhere.” 

For many of the models, it was a nerve-racking experience to strut on the catwalk. Some models had several outfits to showcase. Alexander Hernandez, a third-year Psychology major, wore outfits for business formal and business casual. 

The other student models include Andrew Ancheta, Andrew Nishitomi, and Ngirailemesang. The other faculty/staff models included Ariz Sanchez, Pono Riddle, and Julieann Tupuola. 

The OSAL has hosted a fashion show before, but this will be the first show based on business wear.

“It was nervous walking out at first, but seeing my friends calmed my nerves,” Hernandez said. “It was fun to walk down, and I am glad I could step out of my comfort zone.”