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My Blog
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Rayne: Posted on Monday, March 12, 2012 7:19 PM
 After reviewing several of therunway shows I saw quite a few similarities, like lots of knitwear and not verymuch color. A lot of the looks were verysimplistic in some way too simple and just turned out very bland. Also everyone basically had mostly the same fabricchoices wool, fur, chiffon, lace, leather and silk and a lot of sheer flowingfabrics for gowns. I did notice a lotof mini dresses which seemed out of place for fall but were paired with heavysometimes fur trimmed coats and not so many accessories as well. Givenchy was one of my favorites from theshows I saw minus the see through tops. I think what appeals to me about this line is that it too was simple butthey were able to still play it up with patterns, a little color and texture. Louis Vuitton had a 50’shousewife theme with the style of dresses but still managed to give some sexappeal with the bust line. It had a verysimple elegance as well with especially with the hair style choice in a cleanpulled back ponytail. Some of theaccessories I notice were elbow length gloves, bags and a few belts. The colors like many were very neutral with alot of black and the combinations of half solid half pattern I thought wentwell with the theme and the fabrics, wool chiffon and some tweed. The evening gowns were very long and flowingwith some bunching. I really didn’t likeone of them, the skirt part was gorgeous but I didn’t get its pairing with aboxy paper bag looking brown top.  Valentino kept didn’t do muchthat I would call simple except the accessories, there were very few or none atall on a few models. It too was veryneutral in color mainly white, a tan, black and red and kept with the use ofchiffon, silk, leather, fur and quite a bit of sheer fabric. The pieces didn’t have a lot of patternsmostly solids with a lot of texture, every piece I saw had ruffles would havebeen nice to tone that down a little, it was way overdone and the ruffledleather just looked odd. Elie Saab was very minimal withcolor as well mainly only black and some deep burgundy, dark green and agrayish blue and also some of the same fabrics like lace, chiffon and fur. The accessories were kept minimal some smallclutches and bulky jewelry. He used someruffles like Valentino but very few not overdone. He mixed it up unlike others I saw with somedeep v necklines and conservative high neck lines as well as above the knee, atthe knee and floor lengths for the dresses. For the gowns he used some sheer fabrics and a few were covered withsequins which looked beautiful and glittery, very elegant and simple with a fewcutouts around the neckline for some added allure. Chloé was very bland lots ofvariations of brown (chocolate, camel, caramel, etc.) and some black andgrey. A very simple and classic designusing satin, fur, leather and wool which makes me agree with WWD that theyplayed it way too safe, everyone has went in the simplistic direction but thiswas just boring. Some of it seemedoversized and some added details were a little fringe to some pants and a coatand bows. They used very lustrousfabrics for blouses and good drape and a lot of high waist wide-leg pants. It had simple accessories some belts andbags. Zucca like Chloé was very blandwith the color choices mainly using browns and black but did use some patternsand animal print. The whole look wasvery focused on outerwear and geared toward colder climates with lots of heavycoats, jackets, leggings and turtlenecks. They too used some fur, nylon and some silk. There was a somewhat military feel in a fewpieces to me, especially with the men’s and a couple of the dresses looked likethe pieces and parts of a parachute. Ireally didn’t understand the fur “underwear” is what they looked like pairedwith a coat and top matching combo, knee high socks and boots, just looked verystrange to me.  Emanuel Ungaro used some silkand sheer fabrics and finally I saw some color reds, gold and greens and somebold prints and patterns and also some animal print. Some of the pieces seemed mismatched and thewhole show was kind of all over the place to me. The pink mini tube dress with all over pleatsis by far the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen especially paired with the blackpantyhose, I actually didn’t care for the black pantyhose with anything guessit’s just not my style. I did see thatsame dress design but it was black with white accents looked ok minus thepretty in pink purse, bracelet and shoes. Eww The only part of the show I really enjoys was near the end when theystarted to show the black mini dresses and a pant outfit I thought they wereadorable and somewhat opposite of the feel of the rest of the show. Givenchy was almost entirelyblack with a few splashes of color reminding me of Elie Saab, lots and lots ofblack and some bold patterns. Fabrics Isaw were leather, lace, velvet, satin and feathers and the accessories wereleather boots, simple solid black or red chokers, gloves and again with theblack pantyhose like Emanuel Ungaro. Ireally liked one of the outfits, it was all black with a hint of pattern of thetop half of the turtleneck, a very wide leather belt, a short sleeveless shrugand high waist pants that were half unzipped. Vivienne Westwood was the lastshow I watched and by far the oddest. She too actually used some color like Emanuel Ungaro but in a weird waywith very odd color and pattern combinations. She used very heavy looking fabrics and some fur, lace, leather andsatin. There were also some pieces withfringe like seen in the Chloé line. Thestrange parts were the skirt and long coat that looked literally like garbagebags, the make-up looked very creepy to me for how feminine some of the pieceswere and using men as models. Theaccessories I noticed, which there were a lot, were large fur hats, largeflower accents, suspenders, oversized bags, scarves and leather lace-up boots,very different from other shows. The hasto be the ugliest show I’ve seen yet and its odd because I love her weddinggowns especially the one in Sex and the City movie. |
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Rayne: Posted on Thursday, March 08, 2012 11:19 PM
Yes!... Its 2012 and I haven't even posted a blog yet. Lets just say procrastination and other unplanned resposibilities got in the way, but a lot has happened since my last blog, and I mean a lot. In a good way of course. I've gained a lot of knowledge on do's and dont's, and I won't mind sharing some of it with you. Earlier this year I was running an errand from one end of the island to the other and when I got to the Village of Utulei, a women who was crossing the street right before my vehicle came to a complete stop was sporting a red blouse with a bold 7inch belt around her waist, a black pencil skirt and heels to match her top. To me, she was gorgous and she was also fijian. She fit the description of that one song "Black Magic Woman". She was also plus size and the way she was strutting her stuff was like she was on the runway, and it makes me smile to know that fashion lives. That woman deserves an A+ for putting it out there. A couple of weeks after that I was on my way to the west side to pick up my sister and in the same village right across from DDW, I saw plus size women both middle age and college girls were sporting hot sandels and burmuda shorts. They actually look really good in it and I find that their fashion sense is finally evolving out of the basketball shorts and baggy t-shirts I usually always see. Our big women are dressing up more often and I absolutely love it. Hopefully in the future I could get photos of them to inspire the ones that haven't quite crawled out of their shell. Embrace the inner diva in you |
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ASVB: Posted on Thursday, February 02, 2012 1:02 PM
Cruise ships ahoy!Cruise ships calling into Pago Pago Harbor in the coming months are:
February
7th Aurora arrives from Samoa at 8.00am and departs for the Fiji Islands at 5.00pm
8th Costa Deliziosa arrives from Hawaii at 8.00am and departs for the Fiji Islands at 5.00pm
10th Pacific Princess arrives from Hawaii at 8.00am and departs for the Fiji Islands at 5.00pm
14th Queen Elizabeth arrives from Hawaii at 8.00am and departs for the Fiji Islands at 5.00pm
18th Amsterdam arrives from French Polynesia at 7.00am and departs for New Caledonia at 4.00pm
20th Seabourn Odyssey arrives from the Fiji Islands at 8.00am and departs for Kiribati at 1.00pm
March
5th Ocean Princess arrives from French Polynesia at 10.00am and departs for Samoa at 7.00pm
April
22nd Rhapsody of the Seas arrives from Fiji at 8.0am and departs for Samoa at 5.00pm
26th Sea Princess arrives from Fiji at 7.00am and departs for French Polynesia at 4.00pm
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Posted on Thursday, December 29, 2011 4:43 PM
Shopping Party Fashion Report December 24th 2011 8am rolled around and awakened me on the dot. It is Christmas Eve and I have already had my all-inclusive day planned out. The first thing I do when I get up, out and ready is to make breakfast for mom & dad. They always have the usual eggs,bacon and toast but since it’s a Saturday, they also get the prospect of over indulging on some sua esi, sua fa’i and vaisalo. The Samoan sweets are always obtainable at the market Friday nights and subsist to see Saturday mornings. Now that the parents have been taken cared of for that particular portion of the morning, my nephew and I start loading the truck with transportable shelves and merchandise. We also manage to take with us the necessary decor such as table cloths, cups and anything essential needed to hook up our first ever shopping party. The goal was to make the customer’s experience feel as if they were walking into a closet and shop for whatever suits their personality and wardrobe. The mood that we aimed for was “upbeat & classy”.  The floor was littered with red and green balloons to represent the holiday season, the kitchen had two boxes of cupcakes to refill any empty spot on the cupcake stand, along with two trays of freshly baked banana bread slices, on the kitchen counter we had cups for punch and cups for wine, the wine bottles were stuffed in a cooler of ice because they didn’t fit the mini fridge that came with the room. The beds were covered in the many style of shoes that we had available for our loyal customers. Then we had a rack for the dresses, Tops, T-shirts and pants. I can honestly tell you that this event was a great eye opener. It came with advantages and disadvantages, and I tell you I definitely learned a lot. Below are a few things I’ve learned that would definitely help in the future. 1. Everyone who attended the event shopped with us 2. Christmas Eve on the east side of the island is a terrible day for a shopping party because most of our customers are either at church or shopping on the west side where all the action is at. 3. If it’s a shopping party and you are the host, customers love it when you dress up and help pick something out for them. If they love what they see on you then of course their going to love what you pick out for them. 4. Planning out how well your party will be is a plus and never fails 5. Service with a smile is not only charity but genuine |
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Blaque Rayne: Posted on Friday, August 26, 2011 5:46 PM
I'm sure you've all heard of the saying "Passion For Fashion". Well not only is the saying so overly used by many companies that are into the fashion business. It still holds a bit of truth to the fashionistas and diva's running it like a runway show. Hold that thought! In the world of the true fashionistas it is in fact a runway show. I'm a fashion freak (no joke). I love everything and anything fashion deals with, and it doesn't just mean clothes and accessories. Fashion isn't limited, it is extended to things, people and places that change through time.
 "Change" is a product of fashion. Change is the government, the economy, the people, the places ect. Because of change, fashion never stays the same. As a Fashion Diva, my day is dedicated around the clock that tells the time. Because for every second I am living, something is always changing. I am dedicated to my schedules, my work and my research on how to slowly educate all the women in American Samoa in the field of fashion. I don't worry myself too much about the other islands, for now my focus is my own people.
On August 25th 2011, I shared a post on my facebook page with over 4,000 friends keeping them informed on the latest blogs and news on fashion. The one that seems to catch their attention and stood out as most interesting was about MTV coming out with a new reality show about a plus size diva trying to make it in the fashion world. I asked my 4,000 plus friends on what they thought about this. Although majority of them were in agreement. One of them stated this:"its a good idea, i just don't see why it should
be a show tho, they make it degrading on fat ppl; saying its hard for
fat ppl and not the average ppl. but if it make publicity and cash...i
guess it ok"
The young adult didn't really see our side of the story in agreement to this show being made and aired by MTV. It was already a well know fact that he never lived life as a plus size diva, but he had an idea of what we were aiming for when I sprinkled him with our point of view. I replied "I believe their doing it to help boost the spirit
of the woman who doesn't understand or know her worth. Some women here
are afraid to dress up and feel good about themselves because they live
by what other people think about them and their not as confident as they
should be under their own skin." I could rant on forever about it, but I felt that it was only common sense.
I've lived in American Samoa my whole life and our people just love to eat. Although I can not change the way we were raised and grew up. I'm sure I can at least help them take more better care of them selves, Through myself, my blogs, my research on fashion, health and lifestyle and my work.
♥ Rayne |
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Blaque Rayne: Posted on Sunday, July 24, 2011 12:05 AM
 As the show starts, the heavens part to make way for spring 2011. Mother nature brings forth leaves and flowers. “I live to be model thin, dress me I’m your mannequin” Oh yes, one of the many feelings you get when you watch the fabulous colors and bling executed by so many talented designers. The gods of fabric paint the runway with vibrant colors, candy coated themes, and models with an attitude striking a pose for each outfit that walks the earth. My oh my! What a fantasy. Nope! Wrong again. With designers such as Philosophy, Peter Som, Oscar De La Renta, Rachel Roy, Ralph Lauren, Joseph Altuzarra and many more these designers really do turn a runway show into a fantasy, now who would really want to wake up when September ends? Me? Not really. Prabal Gurung is one of the many interesting designers I’m admiring for this time, year and space. Majority of his designs were pencil like dresses with the use of different colors. The first few outfits for this collection channeled many elements with its big bold “look at me” colors. The baby blue fit’s the clear blue sky, the orange glaze and the scarlet red reminds me of the fall leaves slowly demising and making way for new leaves. White definitely reminds me of clouds and the foam of the waves. The shoes were gorgeous, it serves as a good reminder of what I need in my stash although I’m pretty sure mother would never agree. The make up used blended well with the attitude, bright eye shadow and nude lipstick sure does do the trick and the use of accessories of which I really don’t see much would probably take away from the design. Who are you wearing? Alice + Olivia? I wish, lets go have a tea party! Since after all everyone seems to be dressed for it, in an Alice and wonderland sort of way or maybe a Disney princess get together? Such bright colors could really paint ones imagination in that form I suppose. Alice + Olivia looks like a big fan of colors, colors and colors with this collection. I’ve never used a strand of feathers before, not even on a skirt. I guess its because it makes me look heavier than I already am. Oh well and that’s why only she can “The model with the paisley dress”. It falls just right on her with her red hair and her crimson lips. The only accessories I see in this collection are shoes, hats and a boa. I can’t help but notice but some of the models have their hair in a high bun resembling that chick from beetle juice or at least from my point of view it reminds me of her. But instead of being dressed in all black they’ve got some reds, blue, white, a hint of yellow, gray and a kick of green. From a distance one of the dresses remind me of that plastic bag that indicates its wonder bread. It has even got me singing the tune ♫ ♪ Oh I wonder wonder wonder wonder whats in the wonder bag♫ ♪. That probably wasn’t even what they were trying to portray but prancing in my head more then once, that’s actually what I kept thinking of. ♥ Rayne |
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Blaque Rayne: Posted on Saturday, July 23, 2011 4:46 PM
I tend to be perfect. That’s why when I make mistakes I am hard on myself. I love my beautiful island but its woeful to see that not everyone puts a hand into taking care of it. Our island is slow paced, relaxing and degenerate. We have families of ten, twelve, nineteen and so on and so fourth with only one or two incomes generating. We have our own people treating the other race poorly as well, which is overly embarrassing and undignified. I give credit to those who are working hard by the way and I tend to work a long side with them. They managed to figure out how to survive through these tough times. For me all I needed was dedication, motivation, happiness and love of self. With these four things installed into my everyday same cycle I’ve managed to get a lot done and you know what? I am so glad I got rid of procrastination, procrastination is one of many obstacles that really pinned me down. I have in fact been asked by a few women who are curious to know more about my fashion sense, like the way I carry myself, places I’ll go to and the way I dress. For me, in order for any woman to strut her stuff while looking hot at it, is to not only love yourself (although it might sound vain) but to also have a lot of confidence. I would know, because I do it all the time. Plus I find it important that I do, not only because I’m carring myself in such a form most find attractive but because its me, its who I am and its what is being advertised. Other women see it, love it and try it on for themselves. As for places, I only go to places if I have a professional reason. I'm not a tourist. (That doesn’t include shopping for groceries). For the way I dress, it comes with confidence. Plus I don’t have any favorites when it comes to designers. Why? Because there is always something new coming out and I’ve learned to love them all. When it comes to clothes, shoes, and accessories I am indeed a big fan of “Mix and Match”. When it comes to fashion, I read everything and anything that deals with it. Since I don’t travel much, reading voraciously helps keep me in tune with most of the things that happens outside of these mountains. ♥ Rayne |
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Blaque Rayne: Posted on Thursday, July 21, 2011 4:45 PM
Global warming, because of it its constantly getting hotter. Hotter to the point you see a lot of people at the beach. Speaking of which when you think of the beach what do you think of besides the BP oil spill and UV rays hitting your skin from all different angles and polluted waters? Ok, What I am getting at is because it is so hot, people automatically wear less clothes, and most try to stick to conservative outfits yet light material. The good thing about global warming is it allows a longer growing season, the bad part about it is the fact prices tend to climb up the ladder and most people don‘t have enough discretionary income to enjoy. As a potential fashion designer/ Merchant what comes to mind is sunscreen lotion. People rub it on themselves before they go outdoors to enjoy themselves or work, and when I shop for make up, I always see SPF 15 on the label. Why am I thinking of sunscreen? You might wonder, I was thinking if instead of constantly rubbing that sunscreen on you and letting it get into your bloodstream by entering your pores, why not discover more ways on how we could create fabric or material that already has SPF applied to it? I mean if you think about it, instead of spending money all the time on constantly buying sunscreen or forgetting to put some on. Why not create, invent and design clothes to the point where you can wear it, wash it and wear it again? Just thought I rant about this. It just seems like a cool idea. Feel free to leave your cool ideas as well. ♥ Rayne |
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Blaque Rayne: Posted on Friday, July 15, 2011 3:13 AM
I love roaming the island and looking at beautiful women of all sizes all dolled up and positive getting ready to take on the day. I personally think that’s the way its suppose to be. For some reason whenever I spot a chick on the streets strutting her gangster loose shirt, her dickies/ basket ball shorts and her slippers, I feel as if I should intervene on her life and educate her on taking more better care of herself whether she could afford it or not. Plus there are so many ways to do so. You don’t have to have money to look great, classy or fabulous, and you don’t have to do it just because someone told you to. Dress up, work out, look hot and feel hot because you want to and more importantly do it for you.  ♥ Rayne |
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