About the Boutique

The Last Resort features cotton apparel for the islands...and beyond.  Its founders, Paul and Kathleen Twelker, are well aware that people must dress for the climate.  From their experience as owners of two boutiques in Sisters, Oregon, located in the High Desert just east of the Cascade Mountains, they found that both residents and visitors looked for the right fit, the right style, and the right colors that fit into the areas climatic extremes.  Months before choosing the inventory for The Last Resort, they took years of informal surveys of the kinds of clothes locals and visitors were looking for.  In response to the question, "What keeps you comfortable in Maui?", the answer usually centered on cotton and natural fibers.

Several years of “island” research revealed that consumers on Maui have three challenges:

• First, they have a hard time finding the right sizes.  Manufacturers are not too consistent in sizing merchandise and they often size it too small.  A decision was made early on to carry "fluffy" sizes even when discouraged by manufacturer's representatives.  Feedback from the boutique's customers verify the decision.   Two manufacturers, at our urging, have added more plus sizes to their inventory.

• Second, they have a difficult time purchasing cotton apparel suitable for tropical climates.  Maui residents and guests want to keep cool!  And cotton is one of a few fabrics that breath.   As planning progressed, it became clear that Maui needed a store that specialized in cotton. 

• Third, they yearned for domestic products--they were frankly tired of the big box stores that imported 99 percent of their products from foreign countries.  Several major lines are manufactured in the United States and Canada.  The remaining lines are manufactured in Mexico and Morocco.      

Since its opening in December, 2004, The Last Resort has experienced extremely rapid growth.  Locals are finding the shop in increasing numbers and they are returning time after time, often with friends and relatives.  Visitors to Maui are also discovering the boutique and returning to it time and again for their casual clothing needs.  The boutique's crammed quarters ignites the "treasure hunt" mentality in many customers, and some have suggested that The Last Resort offers one of the best "hunting" experiences on Maui.   Recently, the shop's web page has experienced good growth and apparel is sent regularly to the mainland.

Whether you are from the the ponderosa pine forests of Central Oregon, the hot, dry desert of the Southwest, the rolling green hills of Iowa, or the wind-swept seashore of Maine, what keeps you comfortable in Maui will keep you comfortable at home. 

We feel grateful to be able to serve you.

Aloha

Paul and Kathleen Twelker

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