Arm Candy boutique brings sweet, eco-friendly accessories

A child walking into a candy store can mean big trouble. They simply must have everything. It turns out an adult walking into a candy store can have the same effect. Arm Candy, the handbag store at Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood, is a hit with women looking for a sweet indulgence.

The store has the same bright colors popping out at you that make candy stores delicious to the eyes. Co-owner Zohar Lotem says that's just the initial draw.

"The visual brings them in," he says. "The product itself makes people stop and say, 'How cool is this?' "

Each bag is made of 100 percent recycled products, mostly candy wrappers. Bubble-Yum, Tootsie Pop, Twizzlers, Junior Mints -- they have all been folded down to little squares and pieced together to make an oversized tote, handle purse, clutch or wristlet. How cool is that?

Very cool, especially if the candy wrappers happen to spark nostalgia from your childhood days. Some of the wrappers, like Bazooka Bubble Gum, bring back memories for shoppers beyond their bubble gum blowing days. Some of them might also make you hit the vending machine. Others simply show the barcode of the wrapper to make the illusion of a graphic print.

Pricepoints range from $15 for headbands and coin purses to $49 for wristlets, $239 for totes and $800 for a Swarovski crystal-embellished bag lined with velvet. Each purse comes with an authenticity certificate, not to prove it's not a knockoff, but to prove it is Earth-friendly.

There's a conversation-starter in each and every handbag at Arm Candy, but the owners hope the green factor resonates beyond the cool factor.

"When you buy these bags there's a whole story behind it," says Lotem. "When you buy a Louis Vuitton, you have a brand name and it's nice, but aside from that, it's nothing special."

Here's what's so special about bags at Arm Candy. While the term recycle is normally used to describe any used materials made suitable for reuse, Lotem prefers the term upcycle. Recycling can drastically alter the form of the original product. Upcycling keeps the true state of the product and just finds another use for it.

Arm Candy has extended its upcycling practices beyond just candy wrapper handbags into the world of seat belt handbags, tire tube handbags, newsprint handbags and license plate handbags. They've even meandered from handbags to furniture, with chairs made of old seat belts.

The concept of making eco-friendly garments and accessories truly fashionable became a mainstream idea about five years ago. That's when major fashion brands and retail outlets caught onto the wave and started producing items that were just as trendy as they were friendly to the environment. Skeptics wondered if it would strictly be a passing fad. The masses would get bored with the whole "green thing" and move on, they said.

Lotem doesn't see it that way. "(Eco-friendly practices) are only going to get stronger," he says. "People are consuming more things and it's becoming a more pressing matter."

He and his partners, brother Eran Lotem and Tamir Eliyahoo and store buyer Rina Eli all cared about the Earth prior to Arm Candy, they just care a little more now.

"Opening the store gave us another aspect of how much you can contribute and do in a fashion way and a fun way," says Eli.

Arm Candy originated as a kiosk at Fashion Show mall. Kiosk staff usually use an aggressive approach in hopes of getting shoppers, on their way to and from their retail destinations, to stop and take a gander. Arm Candy didn't have to use that tactic. The products did it for them.

After a few months, it was clear the uber popular kiosk was ready to expand to store form. Now, the store is proving as much a hit as the kiosk.

On a recent weekday afternoon, the boutique was full of curious shoppers and young children, lured by the jars of licorice and bubble gum decorating the store. A man in a fanny pack and Harley-Davidson hat wandered in, just to see what all the buzz was about. Lotem called it a "slow day."

He and his partners hope to expand even further. For now, they're fine with indulging the sweet cravings of both the fashion-conscious and environment-conscious shopper.

Arm Candy is located at Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood, 260-3223.