Monday Wear for SouthBeach/Dubai

Monday Wear - South Beach/Dubai by CarnivalBaby featuring a bikini swimwear

Early bird? Possibly. But I do not want to end up like I did last year. I ordered my Monday Wear at the very last minute and wasted $70 on a gold bikini that looked more Charlotte street quality than anything else. Also ordered my boots at the last minute only to realise that they were suede and not leather/pleather (how could i overlook that?!) and I didnt have time to get the spray paint for suede before I left for Trini. For the record NEVER use regular spray paint on suede, talk about a hot mess!
This year I promised myself that I will be better prepared and that I'll have all my stuff in order by December...we'll see how that goes~

Of course I will not be chippin anywhere in heels, those will probably be replaced by gold wedge heeled boots. AND all this is still dependent on if I end up in TRIBE or not... What with all this time on my hands and Polyvore being my new toy I can see myself doing more of these little creations, especially as I just realised I can clip my own pictures so persons will be able to find the actual source for the item.

Peer Pressure

South Beach Individual

After Saturday's launch I was adamant that I did not want play with TRIBE next year. I felt a little pressured to buy frontline as their backline costumes look kinda blah and under-decorated. Quite frankly the only backline I like is Santorini and I played in Amazon last year so that's out. Even when it comes to the frontline costumes the only one I couldsee myself in is South Beach, and I think part of that is because I missed Carnival the year that Charmeuse was an option. Also, I am not a fan of how crowded TRIBE felt last year and was willing to give BLISS' alleged intimate vibe a try.

Fast forward to today. The same friend who said she got our link lined up and BLISS was a surety goes,

"I'm not sure I want the intimate experience, I'm checking with
our TRIBE link to see if we can pre-register"

*blank stare*

I am the only non-TRIBE loyalist in my group of mas playing friends and it didn't click that this could be a deciding factor until today. I would much rather go with BLISS or YUMA but thats not going to work unless I have company. So for now I have to keep my fingers crossed that BLISS' costumes blow TRIBE's out of the water otherwise I just may end up with them again next year. Le sigh!

Dear TRIBE: I am NOT Impressed

I do believe that I may get some flack from TRIBE loyalists for this post, but I have to be honest with myself here. TRIBE disappointed me this year. I don't think that asking for some creativity or something 'out of the box' is too much. Last year TRIBE delivered everything I wanted and more and actually stayed true to their warrior theme. Silly me believed that this year would be similar.

My first issue is with staying true to the theme. Honestly those costumes are so run of the mill that they could be from any section in any band and for any theme. So the majority of the costumes look more or less like versions of each other in different colors, except for South Beach and Dubai which are the same colors in different designs -_- . Let me explain that statement. Its not that I am saying the costumes are exactly alike, but because they all have the same bikini, beads, feathers basis other than the colors there's little else to tell them apart. I also saw some repetition and similarities with 2011 presentations, See below for Exhibit A.

Gabrielle's Costume

This basically looks like YUMA's Scorpio version 2.0. Its like they took his leg and arm pieces...

and then the rest from this costume

tweaked it a lil and voila!

Now to all those who are saying TRIBE copied YUMA. Please recall that as I pointed out previously the designers who did Scorpio also did the very similar Spangled Cotinga, so if you want to go that way TRIBE copied YUMA who copied TRIBE :S

-----

South Beach looks a little Charmeuse meets Amazon/Amazonia.

South Beach pictured below

When I first saw this costume I was drawn to the wire bra, because its really well decorated. Then I realized it looks just like Amazonia's frontline bra. Strangely enough I cannot find a pic of anywhere on the web, hence the use of Amazon's frontline pic. The bottom is also essentially the same as Amazon's down to the triangle it forms on the back, however I was unable to get a back view to show you guys. May I take a guess that Lana Nobrega designed this costume?

Even Sandra Hordatt's Cyprus is bringing back memories. Take a look at YUMA's Leo frontline. See the uber naked back view. This post will be updated as soon as i can locate a back view of Cyprus, but again....very similar

This costume reminds me of TRIBE 2009 when it appeared that either a shipment of embellishments was lost or they were trying to cut costs with under decorated costumes. And of course the colors remind me of Osage.

Fiji is pretty but hypothetically speaking if I were to get this costume I would probably get my own backpack made, as for some reason this costume looks kinda naked. Maybe its that I'm not a fan of these mohawk headpieces, I prefer the more full ones that cover the entire head.

I wasn't interested in any of the other costumes other than Santorini and I couldn't find a pic of that on the web as yet.

Mention must be made of the lack of backline costumes. Firstly if the backline costumes are scaled down versions of what I saw last night then I am not looking forward to seeing them lol. there's barely anything to scale back! Secondly, how on earth do you have a band launch sans backline when the majority of you customers will be playing backline??? Don't get it at all.

Overall I do agree that that the costumes are pretty but they just don't get me excited like Way of the Warrior did. There's nothing there that looks 100% original and never before seen and I guess I had TRIBE up on a pedestal as it pertains to costume design. As I told a friend last night, next year just may meet me jumping up in an Angry Birds costume :P

Happy Blogversary to me!

One year ago, in the midst of preparation for Cropover and hype over TRIBE's teaser vid I decided to start a blog to express my views and opinions re: Carnival. IMO there was a lack of blogs/info on International Carnivals and I wanted to document my Cropover experience. I NEVER thought I would still be at it one year later, as I usually lose interest in things really quickly. I've found that I love blogging ...well maybe i just love hearing myself go on about stuff lol. I also like that I can give the layman's version/experience seeing as thus far my blog has remained anonymous :). So here's to hoping i keep this up!

Love this song!

SIDENOTE:
My friends dubbed me Carnival Baby years ago. One J'Ouvert morning in the Southland, around 11am, my crew was bun and ready to go home. I gave them my house keys and stayed with the band BY MYSELF and chipped/jumped/waved from Library Corner to Cocoyea which had been the band's starting point. I didn't get home til 3pm and this was after heading out at 5am. They couldn't believe I had been on the road all that time and still wasn't tired when i got home lol. That was when they learned that I don't play when it comes to mas, Go hard or Go home! Aiming to get back to that endurance level this year, no more draggin the flag come Tuesday evening lol.

Now THAT'S What We Talkin 'Bout!

Much betterrrrrr!

Woi Mas Teasers

Darren Cheewah is doing a great job with all these hints and teasers he keeps letting out. A new Facebook group has been created, titled 'X2012', with teaser pics of Woi Mas' 2012 presentation. I 'borrowed' a couple pics to give you guys a sample..I'm very intrigued, especially by the first costume depicted below, can you say frontline?!. It will be interesting to see how they make these designs come to life, assuming that they aren't going to literally put folks in black catsuits with colored ribbons dangling from them lol.

Modern Day Torture

Yes TRIBE, give us a teaser...thats 80% black and white and grey...and a tad blurred/out of focus at times lol. I feel like I'm practically salivating..chomping at the bit. I WANT MORE!

OMG tho did you guys see those HUGE white wings on that costume. I think that's one of Sandra Hordatt's sections. . Knowing her penchant for uber sexy costumes this year she could quite possibly present a front line costume with a C string or a tapasexo. For the 5th? time I am really looking foward to Saturday, I can't wait to see the rest of the designs!

SIDENOTE:
Are TRIBE models required to sign confidentiality agreements? So many of them are on my bbm, facebook etc and not one peep from them on the theme and designs..

Also I think i caught a glimpse of the alleged animal print costume...between that and the pink its going to be a close call for me!

O well, 3 days to Take Off!

What I want Pt 2

Customer Service and all that.

Customer service is right up there with costume design in terms of what I look at when choosing a mas band. I dont care how nice the costume is, it could be all blinged out with feathers comin out the wazoo but if a band is not organized I will pass on it.

Ideally I would like an easy registration process,as in just pick a costume, log on to the website on the day of registration and register for the section of your choice. A process thats probably going to become totally obsolete for people in my age group as more and more bands move towards committee registration and loyalty systems. In this area YUMA is most likely going to be the winner as BLISS and TRIBE's registration process is pretty much a 'who yuh know' scene if you don't have a TLC card. I am keeping in mind that YUMA said they do not want to increase the size of their band, meaning that if a lot of their loyalists..and they have A LOT of them as it is, register with them for next year it's going to really limit the no of new masqueraders that can get into the band.

Last year my costume cost exactly $638.00 US
Now when I spend that kind of money I expect a certain standard of customer service, which I got. I don't want to eat lunch late, or feel like I have to rush to the eating spot after crossing the stage to make sure I get food before it runs out. I also definitely want a guarantee that my band will be crossing the savannah stage on both days. Costume pickup should also be smooth, and if something goes wrong, cuz sh*t happens, I want to be able to rest assured that my band will find a good solution. Case in point last year when my headpiece went mysteriously m.i.a. at the mas camp. After confirming that it could not be found I was given a large headpiece at no additional charge and profuse apologies.

I want drink runners! And no I am not being a Miss Priss and demanding that people run back and forth in the hot sun all day supplying us. I want drink runners for that long wait to cross the savannah. Think about it, wouldn't that make sense? The drinks trucks always have to turn off at that point, so why not get people to walk thru the band with bottled water and shots down the hatch Scorch style. I know the bandleaders don't have much of a choice in terms of whether to have the drinks truck stay or turn off BUT they can look past that and fix the situation they do have. Last year my friend and I had to beg a piece of ice off somebody on the dj truck, no bueno. That combination of hot sun and alcohol is no joke ting!

Vibez
Now my friends and I can have fun anywhere, BUT a good overall hyped vibe is still needed on the road for carnival, especially when you're lazy and unfit like me, cuz I get tired fast! lol That said I was satisfied with TRIBE's vibe last year. I keep hearing about how great YUMA's vibe was but I have also heard about the food and stage crossing issues. I will give jack his jacket, I have never heard a band get so many positive reviews in terms of hype and vibes and 'omg i had so much fun'.

My other important issues are security and music/dj's
Needless to say I was a tad upset that Private Ryan played for BLISS and not TRIBE :( but we had some good dj's so that wasn't too much of an issue. Shout out to the 96.7 truck.

Security-wise PLEASE cut back on the stormers, I mean whats the point of having a rope if you're still letting random people jump in the band? After we crossed the stage on Tuesday I swear the band doubled in size! It was totally ridic and not to mention irritating as these stormers were very aggressive when it came to gettin a wine. I am also very paranoid about crime so something like that is a definite buzz kill not to mention NOT SAFE! I really hope that ALL the bands step up their security for next year.


So that's my 2 cents...well maybe more like a dollar lol

Cropover Soca

Just a post to share some of my fave cropover tunes thus far. Some or most of these names will not familiar. Most people only know about Lil Rick, Stabby, Skinny Fabulous, Alison Hinds, Krosfyah etc...Well there's also Hypa Dog, Hypa Kids, Blood and Mikey to name a few. Will never forget this year watching Intl Soca Monarch and when Blood came on I jumped up and start singing along and doing the dance for the song. *cue side eye from all my friends* Not one of them knew the song or who he was and this man beat Lil Rick for the road march. So get familiar!

Yes I included 'd sheep song'. I couldnt resist, its so silly I crack up everytime I hear it!

BONUS TRACK

The song everyone loves to hate

Straight from the Horse's Mouth

Earlier today TRIBE replied to my tweet and confirmed that BLISS will in fact have a separate band launch from TRIBE. As it is presumably more hassling to have two public launches I am now wondering if BLISS may have a smaller maybe invitation only launch? Also concerned about how this bodes for my C2K12 band selection. My intention and I'm sure the intention of many other prospective masqueraders, was to decide which band to play in based on their costumes. If BLISS launches at a later date I may have to make a decision on whether or not to forgo TRIBE without even seeing BLISS' costumes. I'm going to cross my fingers that BLISS launches prior to TLC registration for TRIBE, otherwise is pressure!

P.S. kudos to TRIBE on their swift reply, I must say I wasn't really expecting to get a reply this soon.

What I Want. Pt 1

In the midst of all these band launches and with more options than ever to choose from, I find myself contemplating what I really want from my costume and band next year, and what are possible deal breakers. I decided to use a couple blog posts to compile my Carnival wants and needs, especially as one of my three possible bands will be launching in a little over a week (TRIBE). At the moment the bands I am considering are TRIBE, BLISS and YUMA. Todays post will be the first installment and all about costumes, then I'll do another one later in the week on Customer Service, Vibes etc.


COSTUMES
I want it 'out there', I will not be satisfied by just a pretty costume with beads and feathers (yes Spice I'm talking about you! lol). If I do end up in feathers again I want a backpack/wings, or a collar (or both) but my costume must be 'POW in your face!' with how fab AND TRUE TO THEME it is. And yes for this reason I am considering playing frontline next year. I am also willing to step out of my comfort zone and play in something different. I will admit that I played it safe with Amazon last year. If I had to choose again I would definitely have done Masai Warriors or Mongol Fighters.

I want a belt and NOT a decorated bikini bottom. I may be slim but I still want whatever coverage that belt affords, no matter how little it may be. Plus the belt is way more forgiving of belly fat lol.

Quality-wise I definitely want a costume that lasts. Last year the speed at which my costume fell apart was absolutely ridic. Magnatac is readily available, dearest designers and mas camp workers utilize that instead of the cheap glue alyuh had las year nuh! Plz and thnx.

Now that I know TRIBE's theme is "Take Me To" and I assume that Bliss' theme will be similar as well, I am willing to forgo the feathers for an 'out of the box' maybe solely made of fabric costume. I can usually trust Solange Shaw-Gopaul and Lana Nobrega to bring me something I'll like, but this year Peter Elias is also going to be on my list of designers to look out for.
I think that this is where YUMA may fall short, as the only costumes I liked from their 2010 presentation were Scorpio frontline and Taurus frontline and backline and only Scorpio was 'POW' imo. I will still be on the lookout for the section designed by Richard and Anthony. One of YUMA's teaser pics was designed by them and they also did Taurus last year, so very soon I'll see if I was too hasty in dismissing the costume based on that preview. I do not know who designed Scorpio but I am tempted to think it was also them based on the similarities between TRIBE's Spangled Cotinga of 2009 and YUMA's Scorpio.





















SYNOPSIS
I would like a pretty yet original costume, not the typical beads, bikini, impy skimpy business. A costume that is durable and doesn't have gems dropping off the headpiece while in transit from the mas camp to my house. (TRIBE that's you, better than that). Costume of choice is 50% of my decision making process when selecting my band so for the right get-up I would leave the comfort zone of TRIBE and play with a different band.


Tomorrow's blog post: Customer Service and all that.

Woi Mas Trini Carnival 2K12

If I were to guess, this is a hint on Woi Mas' theme for Carnival 2k12. The only thing that comes to mind at the moment is 'X marks the spot' but a Pirate theme would be too easy...and a tad played out. Strangely enough I was really tempted to play in Skullduggery last year. Now don't get me wrong, I love my bikinis, feathers and bling, but I was weirdly attracted to their theme and just how different it was. If its one band I think will bring an original presentation that really sticks to the theme its this one, i hope they don't disappoint!





EDIT 07/12/2011
Just swiped this off a Woi Mas affiliate's page....seems as though the 'X' theme is mathematical. I can't even begin to guess at how they would portray this, also 'X' is usually an unknown factor which brings another slant to this theme....."Curioser and curioser!"

Oh and one of the powers that be at this mas camp needs to update their website info...or pay the website hosting bill. Shouldn't have www.skullduggery.com listed as the website on the fan page and its a dead link :S

Woi Mas for Miami Carnival 2011

It seems that Skullduggery will be making its international debut at Miami carnival this year. According to a new event listing they are having the band launch this weekend. Looking forward to seeing them on the road!



P.S. I wonder if any other bands will follow suit??

St. Lucia Carnival

I may not be going but that doesnt mean I cant share what my choices would have been with you guys. OR my fave St Lucian '11 soca.

I mentioned before that my band of choice is Red Unlimited, and its also the band that all my Lucian friends jump with. The costumes below were my top two picks for this yr.

Red Light District would have set me back between $850 to $900 ECD depending on when I registered. This was a women only section and also VIP. I love this costume, I wouldn't mind getting this as an option for Trinidad carnival as i think its right on par with some of our costumes in the more popular bands.

Redemption had an early bird price of $675 and then went up to $725. This was my second choice. I really like white and gold costumes and since I didn't get a chance to play with Titans this was the next best thing for me.

Glo Ko Ko! What's funny is that months ago I told my friend I liked it and he gave me a iffy response, fast forward to now and he loves it, has it all up on his bb status and what not lol. Its apparently been picking up steam in St. Lucia and is quite possibly a road march contender. Although it sounds more groovy than power I learnt that anything is possible after Guh Down placed a very close second for Road March in BIM last year. Although popular it was def not what I would call power soca, yet it very nearly beat Blood's Foot on Fire.

I really wish I could have made it this year but can't fret up too much. i just know to start planning for next year instead and live vicariously through my friends in the meantime.

"Take Me To"

So its official(ish) that TRIBE's theme for 2K12 is "Take Me to", Saucy was right as always!

Dear TRIBE:
Take me to Rio or Dubai or Vegas baby!!!! *Ready for mas again!*

TRIBE is playing with my emotions

No seriously lol. Just few minutes ago I tweeted about TRIBE not having any leaks or hints or anything this year. I mean everyone else is putting out teasers and they were staying mum. Its been driving me crazy!!!.

I guess they read my mind because a few minutes later up pops the flyer for their band launch on my facebook feed.



Now my mind is racing! My friend jokingly suggested TRIBE was about to have us chipping in flight attendant costumes lol. I doubt. I'm more thinking 'destinations' but didn't they sort of do that already with their 'Secret of Silk' in 2010? I don't know what else it could be...but they definitely have my mind in overdrive!

**Edit**. I knew I was missing out on someone's destination type presentation. I just remembered TRIBE's first band was 'Tribal Fantasy' in 2005. That was also the first time they had an Amazon/Amazonia section. If they really do destinations for 2012 it will be interesting to compare the two presentations. I also hope they avoid the Moroccan, Egyptian, Saharan etc costumes and styles that we've seen so many times over the years, from not just TRIBE but other bands like Island People, and really step out of the box and showcase other cultures/destinations. Of course all this is based on a big IF I am right about their theme!

Indigo: The Review

I've been stalling on this review simply because I don't quite know how to express just how flippin good this party was.
And yes, I know I was adamant that I was NOT paying $70 for any party without a performer but peer pressure is a biatch and I caved :S.

In previous years the party was held at Decatur House in downtown D.C., but this year the promoters decided to be fancy and have it in Fort Washington. This venue was roughly an hr away from D.C. at someone's nice upscale lakeside house. As soon as you entered there was the bar (and my first stop) to the left, a dancefloor to the right, and the food was set up to the right of the dancefloor. All of this was flanked by a lovely view of the water. *gorgeous*

Its funny that I thought that they couldn't improve on this party, because they definitely did. It was like Beachouse meets Scorch meets D.C. Everyone clearly came out with the intention to get chocolate wasted, have a great time and managed to keep it classy while doing that. I personally had a ball!!! I wasn't even that tipsy seeing as food ran out b4 I got there (insert angry face), so I couldn't really drink. But the vibe was jus sooooooo good you didn't even need alcho to free up and enjoy yourself. I didn't want the party to end and was happy when they let us go til 6pm instead of 5. P.S. Hey Gresham, maybe you guys should look into 7pm next year..just a thought :) Oh and shout out to Barry, who did a great job on the turntables.

Now there were some cons, food ran out by 3 and for an expensive all inclusive that started at 12 and finished at 6 this was unnacceptable. The bar was understaffed and a couple friends of the promoters had to step in and assist at one point to speed up the drinks process, also not cool. The vibe and ambience of the party was THAT good that these things didnt bother me that much, although I did have to make a Mickey D's stop between Indigo and the Appreciation Party.

Overall Indigo gets an A+ and anyone thinking of doing DC Carnival needs to experience this party at least once. Trust me, you will not be disappointed!

YUMA Sneak Peek

So YUMA has graciously given all us rabid carnival fans a little peek into what their 2012 presentation has to offer via their Facebook page!

Bling with white looks promising, Bling with color not so much. I am excited to see the finished product tho! Carnival fever is starting again :D

'Bling with white'

'Bling with colour'

Check out the comments on their fanpage here

Weighing in on the DC Carnival Parade 2011

NY Caribbean Vibes' take on the DC 2011 Parade

I.C.E. Carnival's Opinion

Shortmus Production's Opinion

I don't need to say anymore about the D.C. Parade, they've said it all. Its almost one week later and I'm still disturbed by how everything played out. From my research I do understand a little more how things ended up that way but still.....its just sad. Again I hope that the DCCC and DCPD can work together to being the DC Carnival back to its former glory, and in time for 2012!