Legacy Costumes

Ok, so I had a better look at the costumes this morning, if you are on dial up it will take forever for the photos to load with the flash html that they used to view photos. I know flash html is used so that bandwith cannot be "stolen" when people link to the photos. However in some cases the flash works and others it just slows down your computer! Island People's flash works fine with dial up, however Legacy's photos have a hard time loading so have some paitence.

I am not seeing the orange costume with the large headpiece that I like on the website which leads me to believe it might be a special section, anyone with inside information please let me know. From the costumes that are on the site right now I really like Laughing Water. I think it fits the theme the best, the headpiece looks good as well as the rest of the costume has that Native American feel to it.



The other costume I like is Cherokee Trail, the headpiece is quite appealing though the gold and silver combination still has to grow on me.



I am also liking Comanche Warriors , it is third on my list behind the first two only because I do not like the "regular" headpiece, I think the War Bonnet for this costume is well done however,especially compared to other similar headpieces that seem to be lacking the fullnes of the feathers.



The weird thing, to me is the fact that some of the costumes, like Apache Fire and Indian Summer have really nice beads to the front of the belt with regular round beads to the back, why the use of two different beads, it ruins the look of the costume since it appears that they ran out of beads for the back.

Pawnee Star is just a bit too much for me, especially with the type of beads they used which looks like a lot of Las Vegas and nothing like Native American. Shaman Dream and Indian Summer look nothing like they have anything to do with the theme at all, they look like any costume in any band. The model for Gitchee Gu'mee is really selling that costume, she looks great in the colours and even makes the funny headpiece look alluring.

I cannot understand the concept of the headpiece for Praire Town and something went wrong with the "bustle" for Pow Wow, they used white feathers tipped with orange for the bustle when the costume is mainly orange and yellow. Soca Warriors and Soiux Ghost Dancers have failed to inspire a comment.

Rainbow Warriors has incited the same feelings in me that I had towards Island People's Rainbow costume this year, I do not like it at all, but I was momentarily stunned when the first photo that popped up was the MALE costume:



Generally I think the male costumes are pretty decent, though I am thinking most guys would prefer short pants. Laughing Waters male is my favourite and I also like the male Indian Summer costume.

Though I was expecting greater authenticity to the Indian theme, with more than just an Indian headpiece with the same bikini and beads combination, overall the costumes are not bad. At least it offers potential masqueraders still undecided about a band or costume more options and to give kudos to Legacy they seem to have their act together up till now which is more than I can say for some of the other bands out there.

The Keyboard is Mightier than the Sword

Sources have indicated that I, as well as a previous article I wrote on my blog, was the topic of discussion at a meeting held yesterday evening by a Carnival band making its debut in 2007.

To their credit, the band leader did send me an email after I wrote my article, informing me of certain issues I had highlighted with an explanation to refute the points I had made. An invitation was extended for me to revisit the mas camp where I would see for myself what changes had been made since my initial visit. Though I did have it on my agenda to do, it is my personal belief that you only get one chance to make a first impression and unfortunately for this band, my first impression was already formed.

However, I want to emphatically state that in no way was I “directed” to write the article by anyone, if the persons involved with that band read my blog daily they would have come to the conclusion that no one escapes my ire. The fact is that I write about all the bands, whether it is something positive or negative or a criticism, each one is given the same treatment since at the end of the day I am not employed by any of them and hold no allegiances! Although it might be flattering to think I took a special interest in this particular band, sorry to say that is not the reality. Maybe a thorough read of my archives would be proof enough of the fact that, to date, I have made a visit to as many mas camps that are opened for viewing as I possibly could. The few that I am yet to visit have recently opened their doors or are not opened for public viewing as yet.

So, I was quite bemused to learn that I even merited a topic of conversation at their meeting. I am just one woman with an opinion and an outlet to express it, surely what I say cannot affect the thousands of potential masqueraders who do not even know that this forum exists. Since I was not there yesterday to answer the accusations as to my agenda, let this be my response to the powers that be at the aforementioned mas camp.

“This blog is merely MY personal opinion; whatever impressions or opinions I have formed and expressed about certain Carnival bands is solely mine and I am not a mouthpiece for any person or organization. My inspiration to write daily comes from my love of Carnival; I am not loyal to any of the players involved, only to the game. This is a non profitable forum of articulation, at the end of the day I do not get paid by anyone; my only satisfaction is sharing this “addiction” that I have for Carnival with others of the same affliction. Thanks for stroking my ego though, I feel quite special to have been given an honorable mention at this meeting.

Love
Saucy.”