S.O.S Missing Costumes...

Last seen at a Band Launching and never to be seen again:

Disappeared:

DREAM TEAM:


TRIBE:


PULSE 8


Scrapped:

HARTS


PULSE 8


TRINI REVELLERS


Migrated:

DREAM TEAM

Dream Team's new Section

With the depature of the section "Exotic Rhythm" from Dream Team to Trini Revellers, Dream Team has revelaed a new section on their website. No prices are posted as yet, but the section is called "The Sway of the Lapiz Azul" and although it looks like a hodgepodge of costumes from Poison past, I think it is one of the better costumes in Dream Team's camp; I like it:

Are you a man or a manicou?

You hear it all the time, that saying that goes “Carnival is about woman!” which any spectator on Carnival Tuesday would be inclined to believe seeing as women outnumber men four to one in any section of any band. It is also quite apparent when you look at the costumes available to men; their female counterparts being elaborate, sexy and quite attractive while the majority of male costumes often look like an “afterthought”, something thrown together in the same colour scheme of the female costume. And in that light I often wonder how come some of the more ridiculous, and sometimes hideous, male costumes are sold out first? Then it dawned on me that for the most part, these men leave the choice of costumes up to their significant other , with only a few actually paying attention to the costumes at all, and thus they have no clue what their costume looks like, even though they might be bankrolling the costume for both them and their female cohort.

Now, I am not saying all men go blindly into Carnival not knowing what costume they have to wear, some men do put as much thought into the costume selection process as we women do. But for the most part you often hear men saying things like “real men don’t wear costumes” or “all I need is my short pants and wrist band” or “I want to be in the section with the most naked woman costume” so these men don’t really care if they wear just a plastic bag, as long as they are playing mas with enough scantily clad women around and they have an all-inclusive band they are quite happy.

So, as a woman charged with the costume selection process, do you think only about your costume and what you want to play in or do you take your men into consideration? I really want to know the answer to this because Dame Lorraine male was one of the first sections to sell out with TRIBE and this is what it looks like:


Lucky Charms anyone?

And, as the male who has to wear (and possibly pay for) such an “interesting” costume, do you care at all that your sweetheart chose something so atrocious , how do you feel opening your box/bag and laying eyes on that number for the first time?

I asked my hubby about that, wondering if he would leave me to choose his costume and his first question was why should we not choose a costume that we both liked even if it meant we were in different sections? Then, he said to me that he is sorry, but if all that was left in TRIBE was Pierrot Grenade male and I wanted him to play with me, it would have been a quarrel over that costume. Well, I have no desire to choose a costume for him, just as I would not want him to choose a costume for me. Maybe we are one of those “strange” couples who don’t need to be in matching costumes for Carnival to be together. I have all plans of jumping up with the hubby in his section, and vice versa, besides I also have other friends in my section that I can jump up when he needs to be in his section, like when/if we are crossing the stage.

I can understand couples wanting to play together if they don’t know anyone else in their section, first priority should be always safety and the man would want to protect his woman, not abandoning her to solitary enjoyment and play in another section. So, on behalf of the men who have no choice but to play mas in tandem with their better half, I appeal to the women with the choosing power to think about your men; do you really want them looking like a leprechaun or insulting their masculinity by swathing them in fuchsia pink and lime green ribbons? First rule about being a couple is “compromise” so try and pick a section where both costumes are attractive, a costume that will enhance his "maleness"; after all he is a man not a maincou!

And, for all the men forced to wear the following contraptions, I will be keeping a special eye out for you on Carnival Tuesday, looking to see which ones show up in the full kit and caboodle as I suspect that these “costumes” will be reduced to just a shorts and the wrist bands:


Pink and green fringe very meterosexual


What is up with pastel shades for men?


Male staute of liberty ?


err.. no coment!


Bows on the Knees!?