A piece about architectural reminders of old Liberty House triggered a flood of stories about other LH memorabilia.

Many have a stash of dearly held Liberty House shopping bags or jewelry boxes. Some may have old Liberty House charge cards tucked away in a safe spot. But few among us have collections that approach museum quality.

Upstairs in one of those Waikiki walk-ups that you can pass every day and never really notice is a tropical oasis that serves as a repository for Liberty House ephemera.

Joe Lapinski was the last director of visual merchandising at Liberty House Ala Moana.

“There’s still so much love out there for Liberty House,” Lapinski said. “I tell people I used to work there and they get so excited.”

Among his collection is a flower pin worn by sales clerks in the 1930s and an original aloha shirt that was worn by employees. The “LH” is tastefully worked into the flower print design. He has things like Liberty House executive stationery, Mele Bear memorabilia and the last Liberty House Christmas shopping bag before the stores were acquired by Macy’s in 2001.

Lapinski’s collection is carefully preserved and stored in his studio apartment, which is decorated with Disney-like attention to detail, like it could be a secret executive suite in the Enchanted Tiki Room. Lapinski grew up in Chicago but would spend summers with his Aunt Fran in Anaheim, Calif. Aunt Fran had tropical decor in her house and lived near Disneyland. This would shape his design aesthetic throughout his life.

At Liberty House, Lapinski was known for fun, dramatic displays on the sales floor and in the store windows. He keeps a photo album of the tableaus he created.

“We wanted inspiration to be part of the shopper’s experience, for people to be entertained as they walked through the store, not just have them walk in, grab something and leave,” he said.

DeSoto Brown, author, historian and collections manager at Bishop Museum archives, also has a personal collection of Liberty House ephemera that would make fans of the store swoon.

Brown has charge cards from a time when the store’s name was actually The Liberty House. The oldest of these is an embossed metal charge plate that came with a little leatherette holder. He also has vintage boxes that show the Liberty House logo over the years, and a collection of clothing labels from lines that were made exclusively for the store.

“It’s no wonder that people who are old enough will remember Liberty House,” Brown said. “It’s from a time when local department stores were extremely influential in their communities, and they were very familiar due to a great deal of advertising, especially in newspapers.”

For Lapinski, Liberty House represented a tangible part of the feeling of Hawaii. It offered more than the basics – it was a place for aspiration, where young men bought their first dress slacks and young women took their first steps in high heels. The clothing was upscale but wearable. The atmosphere was refined but relaxed. And the whole store smelled like that plumeria-scented tissue paper that came in the gift boxes.

After Liberty House closed, Lapinski moved to Long Beach, Calif., for a time, where he had a boutique that sold tropical clothing, vintage furniture and shipped in flower lei from Hawaii. He named his shop Golden Hibiscus in honor of the Liberty House logo; but after a time, he got homesick for Hawaii and came back.

Lapinski wishes for some sort of exhibit where people can come, look at these things that were once so common but are now rich with memories, and share stories about working at, shopping in or just walking through and admiring Hawaii’s department store. “If I won Publishers Clearinghouse …” he begins, and then he laughs. “I just don’t want people to forget the wonder of Liberty House.”

Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.