Yooey Kim, known simply as Yooey, decided to take a crack at DJing after 12 years of throwing parties and pouring drinks for the local nightlife crowd. You can find her spinning at some of Honolulu’s most popular clubs including Bar 35, Nextdoor, the Manifest, the Safehouse at the Republik, and the Sunset Pool at the Modern Honolulu.

She is also one of the promoters behind ChittyBang, the LGBT party held on the first Thursday of the month at the Safehouse, and has opened sold-out shows for national headliners such as Nervo and Morgan Page.

Musically, her roots lie in indie, dance and nu-disco house music (a throwback of sorts to ’70s and ’80s disco) and she has been known to weave in hip-hop, EDM (electronic dance music) and other genres to shape her eclectic signature sound.

Clearly the role of DJ is a good fit for the petite Kim – almost as good a fit as her signature bowler hat.

Describe your style: “Simple, modern, comfortable and a little androgynous. In the day I usually wear just T-shirts or collared shirts; nighttime, tank tops and collared shirts from shops like American Apparel. Just simple and a little dapper. Shoes are usually boots or cool printed Vans sneakers. I don’t mean to be but my friend says I’m a little edgy by default because of all the colors of my tattoos on my arms and back that act as my main accessory.”

Comfort vs. style on stage: “Always comfort. Usually I’m dancing or jumping around behind the decks and when the lights are on you it gets really hot. As much as I would love to keep 100 percent of my outfit on, like my jacket, etc., it’s not possible. Plus you want to be as comfortable as you can so you don’t worry about your outfit. I’d be mortified if I had a malfunctioning wardrobe, like JT (Justin Timberlake) and Janet (Jackson.)”

Go-to pieces: “Boots to give me a small lift because I’m so short, and depending on the venue, every centimeter counts. Long pants or jeans, and most likely a very loose cutoff tank top to show off my arm tattoos … . And, of course, my signature hat everyone knows me to wear. If anyone knows me, you know what hat I’m talking about. This outfit is pretty much my go-to outfit when I go out at night as well. It’s pretty casual but it’s comfortable and I need minimal accessories because the hat makes it into evening attire and going-out friendly.”

Rock ’n’ roll fashion influences: “When I was in high school, my main genres of music that I loved were punk rock and electronic dance music. I still only own mostly black pieces, and I have a nose piercing and gauged ears. Most of the time if the night calls for a jacket, I have a staple Diesel black leather jacket that I wear with a simple shirt/tank top.

Joan Jett was and actually still is one of my biggest musical idols. I guess I kind of copied her style and mixed it with the current trends. Living in Hawaii, my aesthetic is a little bit softer than hers and more hipsterish.”

Now about that hat: “I’m ridiculously small all around so finding sizes for any clothing is really, really hard, especially for my small noggin. You can’t alter hats either. Five years ago I walked into a Goorin Bros. Hat Shop in Chicago, totally not even going to try anything on because I knew nothing would fit me, but the shop lady greeted me and asked why I wasn’t trying anything on unlike all my friends. I told her nothing is going to fit my small head and, voila, she pulls out this black bowler hat that happened to be a petite size. It was perfect, too, because it had a small rim so it was small all around and didn’t look oversized. I bought one of each color and I still wear it. I wear it a lot mostly because I’m always running around busy or too lazy and don’t have time to actually style my hair.”

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By Erin Smith, special to the Star-Advertiser.

Island Lookbook is a weekly feature that spotlights local trendsetters. Contact features@staradvertiser.com