Blog Archives
Design Time
Finished Pants Project One
The Christmas 2015 Cryllic Streetzblog shirts made it from NY to HI today (7/27/16). The same day I completed the Seersucker Pants Project.
Above is the front of the new shirts and the right side completed pants leg.
The pants started off as $130 Suit pants on sale at Kohl’s for $50. They now have 2 overlapping layers, Black Stripes on both sides with the right side a bit more tricked out with the grey design. Also, cuffed them and took in the inseam. Quite a project!
Here is the right leg. Similar to the left leg, just missing the grey acruements.
What I call my mood board for the next project. That’s just page one, there are an additional 5 pages of other pictures and influences I plan to use. At the moment, I’m putting together the basic portion of the pants. Later on comes the fun embellishing portion. I tend to let my brain cruise. Then burst into action as I make them into something completly new!
In just one day, I cut out a pattern using an older pair of pants. I made 4 legs, only needed 2 LOL. And I have 4 flat pocket portions. Did them with paper first, pinned em’ then cut out the black linen blend. So far, this project is moving quick!
Front and back legs, All cut up and ready to sew.
4 layers of black pockets ready to go!
The back of the new Streetzblog shirts.
Front and back of the new Streetzblog shirts. These are also supposed to be in black and Red, but they are yet to arrive.
Goal of the new black linen pants to be finished is Wednesday August 24, 2016. I want to wear them to the Cubs game in Chicago on Friday September 2nd. So far, so good.
See you on the Streetz!
Festive Fun Fruit For the 4th
Farmers Market-Pearlridge (Aiea, Hawaii)
Taking advantage of a 3-day weekend. I woke up super early Saturday July 2nd 2016 and attended the Farmer’s Market in the Pearlridge Mall’s parking lot in Aiea, Hawaii. I set out to get some healthy food, some nice pictures for the blog and have a bit of what I would call Tourist Fun.
You may go to the Farmer’s Market weekly or daily, Me, I shop mostly at Walmart or Foodland for my food. But been attempting to eat more fruit lately and share more about the island where I live on the Streetzblog. So, that’s why I call this a touristy thing. I’ve never really shopped at a Farmers Market before. I walk through a small one on the way to work every Tuesday and Friday, but never even stop to see or buy any of it.
The experience was pretty fun. Lots of things were $2-$3 and as an added bonus I got to try some Bacon Jam!
A few tips I learned:
- Have a budget it mind and stick to it. As you will see I didn’t make it home with too much, yet spent $100.
- Buy the fruit and vegetables. Buy the fun Breakfast food, Thai Food or Poke bowls on your tourist day or only on special occasion. The food is good, but a bit pricey. Not $2-$3. My breakfast sandwich was quite yummy but cost $15. Plus a Coffee $5 Plus a Lemonade $5. That’s $25 in 5 minutes. This is just a tip, not something I would do, the breakfast sandwich was delish, the coffee was cold brewed so it kept me awake for days and the lemonade with Pineapple Li Ling Mui was quite refreshing and I saved it for my dinner. Bonus Tip: Ask for extra ice for the coffee and the Lemonade, the Hawaii weather melts the ice in like 2 seconds.
- Buy from the first stand on the right. Almost everything in it is $2-$3. And make sure you get the Sugar Candy Banana’s. They are very sweet and healthy at the same time. Wow!
- Get there early. Like when they first open at 8:30am. Things go quick and the heat from the parking lot can become unbearable after 10:30am.
- Get the dragon fruit. Because it looks so colorful. And I expect it tastes good, but have yet to figure out what to do with it. Gonna’ Google it first, before cutting it up.
- Have fun! Play Tourist. Take pictures. Enjoy the moment. Hey-I just might check out another one of these things next weekend.
Here’s more of the experience in pictures! If you celebrate 4th of July, Have a Happy Independance Day 2016. And don’t forget the fruit with your Hamburgers and Hot Dogs. See you on the Streetz!
I can’t leave you without showing my shoes and a very cute picture of Adalyn. Along with the sliced up and already eaten Mango. BTW: The mango was even better than the Banana’s. Tasted extra sweet after putting it in the Fridge for a couple hours. I never knew Fruit could taste so Good! OMG!!!
My Haul for the Day, Along with my cat Squirley checking out what’s for lunch!
Stan’s the Man & Raf is Daf!
Silver and Bronze Metallic’s
The Metallic Craze continues on into Spring 2016 with the Raf Simons x Adidas Stan Smith in these two very stylish Silver and Bronze colors. If you thought the 2015 bright orange SS’s were the bomb, these two beat that color-way by a few miles. Just not sure if the Metallic trend will last. Although, this silver pair is very, very tempting.
Other colors of the Raf Simons x Adidas Stan Smith Spring 2016 kicks include: White with Mint and Burgundy details, Solid Navy, Peach, and Lemon. There will also be the Stan Smith Aged version, which looks quite used and abused in off-white and black. Would be hard to pay the big bucks for the used looking version, I’d recommend the Metallics all the way to the bank and back.
See you on the streetz. Thursday lunch at Kats All you Can Eat Sushi, Thursday night at Pomokai Ballroom, Friday in Waikiki, Saturday on the radio from 3p-6p and Sunday probably not on the streetz…sleeping somewhere.
Eat the Street – Dia de los Muertos 2014
Picture re-cap of Eat the Street in Honolulu, Hawaii-Dia de los Muertos
Spoiler Alert: If you’re scared of clowns, skip this post and check out another. Or come back later for some Style, Kicks, Clothes and Fashionably Fantastic posts.
Friday October 31st – Halloween 2014, Eat the Street in Honolulu celebrated Dia de los Muertos. The Day fo the Dead. Which is celebrated Halloween thru November 2nd. I was there and took a few pictures of the costumes. At this event, some of the biggest costumes included: Where’s Waldo, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Batman and his crew of buddies and villains, Day of the Dead painted faces, and One Super Scary Clown from Stephen Kings It, with the same name as the Punk-Alt band-Pennywise.
With that Ultra scary clown on American Horror Story keeping me up nights. I will post this scary clown, but probably be too scared to ever look at him again. He did win first prize for the scariest costume at this Eat the Street Event. Enjoy the pictures from Honolulu Hawaii-Or if you’re too scared of clowns, see you later this week at H&M x Alexander Wang and at the Grand Opening of Jimmy Choo in Waikiki.
Hot Stars in the City
The Streetzblog Hawaii Designs Series chats with CityStars Apparel…Where Everyone Deserves to be a Star!
For this edition of Hawaii Designs, We sat down with CityStars Apparel’s, Romeo Valentine after this year’s Honolulu Festival Gala. Where we feasted on Delicious Delicacies from Ruth Chris Steak House, Morimoto Waikiki, Roy’s Hawaii Kai and Honolulu Coffee Company. Prior to the Jump event with DJ HED at Vice Nightclub. The picture below is from the Honolulu Festival’s Friendship Gala in front of one of the World’s largest Aloha Shirts.
1. So, you recently celebrated your one year Anniversary, Has everything gone as you expected?
In our first year we’ve experienced a lot of turbulence but through it all it helps us grow. Without the turbulence we wouldn’t be able to overcome our fear of flying and reaching for the stars.
2. And you brought in big time DJ Carisma? How did you hook that up? Have you brought anyone else to Hawaii?
DJ Carisma is a friend of mine that I’ve met a few times she came out here but really linked up the time she came out here with Honey Cocaine for the Chris Brown concert. DJ Carisma fits perfect in our genre and what we are about, so it was great to have such a humble but successful person to bring in for our one-year anniversary along with Abby De La Rosa.
We have brought in other acts before such as YG, New Boyz, Tyga, DMX, DJ Drama, Glasses Malone, DJ Hed, and more. We also plan to bring a lot more fun shows and events in the future featuring some national acts. And for Spring Break 2014 we brought in San Fran’s DJ Amen.
3. Are you a clothing company or like an all around lifestyle brand?
Both. We live this lifestyle in the night life to the music to the dancing we like to keep it fresh. We want everyone to feel like a star when they rock the gear.
4. What are your goals in 2-3 years with CSA?
Our plan is to take this dream we have and make it reality. When we do that we want to take everyone who supported and was their to contribute and help us when we struggled with us to the top. CSA wouldn’t be without the hard work and dedication everyone puts in.
5. The name of your brand is so perfect, it seems to fit so many different things that you do, from the designs to the shows. How did you come up with CityStars Apparel? And what does it mean to you?
The name didn’t come over night but when things come to you they just happen. It fit perfectly with my lifestyle. I was in the clubs every night, promoting, partying, rockin’ the mic and in the day I was at the radio station (Power 104.3). It all sounds like fun which it is, but hard work so the city represents the hard work and the stars represents you being better than just normal. You are a CITY STAR.
6. Who creates and designs your shirts and hats?
Our main designers are Ryan “Dj First Class” Garo and I (Romeo Valentine). Along with Gary Dymally and Monica putting ideas together to help contribute and Ka’aina Nahale working hard on hand drawings that he comes up with or ideas we have that he can bring to life.
7. What type of software do you use to design everything?
Everything we do is in Photoshop. As well as drawings on a piece of paper which we transfer and redraw in Photoshop.
8. What has been your biggest seller? And why do you think it did so well?
Our biggest seller to date has been the Louie Stars design we released in early 2013. I believe it was the best seller because the design pattern was catchy and our customers at the time liked the how long the design was on the shirt and of course our floral snapbacks are in high demand.
9. You recently made football shirts? How did you pick the teams you chose? Which was the biggest seller/hottest colorway?
We chose the 5 teams which had the best following in the state we are in which is Hawaii. Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Oakland, Dallas and New England. The best had to have been San Francisco and Oakland.
10. And where were the Chicago Shirts?
We actually made a Chicago Design but it didn’t make the cut along with the Packers.
11. How did you come up with the idea for the football shirts?
We grew up watching football. It was cool to represent your team in the club without having to worry about dress codes of jerseys.
12. I really like the purple and orange Galaxy lanyards? They are very intricate? How many hours did it take to design and then produce them?
The lanyards where quick it was the design of the galaxy pattern that took a while. If you look closely there are small City Stars logo’s inside of the galaxy. We also have Hats with the same pattern.
14. How do you get the word out? I know I see you on Instagram a lot? Which social mediums do you use?
It’s all word of mouth and Social Media. We also do photo shoots and update our look books. Right now we are on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and Instagram.
15. Do you think you could have had the same success with your brand 2 years ago before the social Media explosion?
That’s a tough question. I do believe us coming out when we did was perfect timing to really make a statement and get to the next level.
16. Where do you see Social Media going in the future? Are you on any newer mediums? Any cutting edge social media sites you would recommend to an up and coming designer?
Social media is a rollercoaster, by that I mean which social network will be on top and with that being said when the next social network comes out we are going to have to jump all over that social network. We are willing to take that challenge to go to the top and keep rising. Right now though Instagram is where it’s at.
17. For the just getting going designers our there, what is the perfect size for an instagram photo? How bout the length of a FB or instagram video?
For designers starting out using social media, it is important for the dimensions to be just right. When using Instagram the photo has to be a square. Making your photo 5 inches by 5 inches will show you exactly what viewers will see. Facebook videos can be longer than Instagram videos. When creating a video it depends on what type of message you are trying to get across, thus affecting the length. A 15 sec Instagram video and a 2 minute Facebook video are good lengths to keep viewers attention. We like to use Instagram to reach our fellow CityStars because of how quick and easy it is to use.
18. I know your clothing line is available on-line, do yo have your clothes in any stores in Hawaii?
CityStarsApparel.com and Hatsby in Pearlridge mall which we will expand soon once we are able to justify ourselves as a brand.
19. Any plans on having a brick and mortar store? Why do you think its important to have a brick and mortar store in the digital age?
Of course we would love to get a flagship store but at the moment that isn’t in our lane and we understand that which will make us work harder to a goal.
20. Do you personally shop more on-line or in person?
On-line is easier plus you can see the deals.
21. Ok, so we made it to question 21, now tell us about your latest release, the galaxy snapbacks, Where are they available? Are they a limited release?
Yes, only limited amount are being made in the 2 colors with 2 style ways each. Once they sell out there will be no more. (The Galaxy Snapbacks available now/4/3/14 at CityStarsApparel.com)
22. And after the Galaxy snapbacks without telling too much, what are your plans for the Spring/Summer line? And maybe you could let us know a little teaser about what to expect in the Fall 2014 or the Winter 2015 line?
Let’s just say his name is COMET.
23. Anything else you’d like to comment on?
We greatly appreciate everyone who supports us and is a part of our vision to take things to the next level so we can get to a point to put on shows for everyone without being over charged. We aren’t about ourselves we are about the people. We all work Hard. Everyone deserves to be a star. We also want to thank our good friends at Hawaii’s Finest for helping us out with so much.
What Would Chanel Do? and What Laurent Did.
I wonder, wonder what they would Think?
In the back of many of the WWD magazines, the whole back page has the following ad printed on it. May Question for today is What Would Chanel Think of the SSUR shirts that say Channel Zero on them? What do you think? A copy of the ad is shown below and right under that is the Channel Zero Shirt with Camo Lettering.
The Channel Zero T-Shirt by SSUR
BTW: The first time I noticed a shirt similar to this it was on Rihanna. I looked at it 2 or 3 times before I noticed the spelling was wrong. At the time I didn’t know the SSUR brand and thought she bought it on a street corner. Sheez, was I out of it or what? In recent years SSUR has done many fun designs of some pretty BIG designers including Commes Des Garcon, Gucci, Hermes, Cartier and Yves Saint Laurent-Which Heidi Slimane wasn’t too fond of and recently pulled the Saint Laurent brand out of Colette. What I found a bit of course here is Colette was selling the real brand and making good money off of it. And they were selling the SSUR “It Ain’t Laurent without the Yves” T’s at the same time. Hmmm.
I also remember reading on the WSJ that Laurent sent Colette a Cease and desist order to stop selling the shirts on-line. They stopped, but then put them in the Paris store location and sold them all out. I doubt selling a few shirts would compare to the thousands of dollars they make or could have made off the Saint Laurent hand bags. Kind of a strange story.
Even more thoughts to ponder on this. Maybe they were correct in selling both lines? Maybe Laurent should Like this move? Ya know, it has brought a lot more awareness of the Saint Laurent brand to a more youthful generation. Which in turn could turn into sales for Saint Laurent. Interesting eh? Would be an interesting debate topic for a Fashion School or High School Debate team to discuss.
HOT Spotting-Fort Street Mall-Honolulu, Hawaii-March 2013
Crocs in New York Knicks Colors-March 2013
HOT-SPOTTING on the HI Streetz-Fort Street Mall-Honolulu, Hawaii-March 2013-As seen by: Streetzblog.com
Every Monday thru Friday I walk from my car to my place of work in Downtown Honolulu. One of the best parts about walking from the parking garage to work is noticing the various clothing and kicks trending along the streetz of Honolulu.
…I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can’t see from the center-Kurt Vonnegut
Near where I work is Hawaii Pacific University. This is nice because it gives the streetz a nice international flavor. Here are a few of the HOTTER trending items I’ve been noticing over the last month of March 2013:
- 80’s Stripes: Bright, Bold, Thick striped shirts and skirts. They look like they’re from the 80’s mostly because of the colors. True Red, Flo-Yellow, Neon Green, & Bright Blues. Many colors & various styles. Some striped shirts worn over one shoulder ala 1982-85.
- Leggings in Exotic Patterns and Colors: Designs of Snakes, dragons, flowers, and Paisley’s. Or colored in bright solid Neon Pinks, Greens, Yellows and Orange. Typically worn under short black skirts or extremely short cut-off Jean shorts with the inside white pockets sticking out.
- The January, February and March 2013 Trendy color is for sure purple! I’m not sure if this is just a Hawaii color of the moment the color of the moment elsewhere? Here in Hawaii it’s for sure the color to have now. Shirts, purses, shoes, Sneakers, Scarves, Sunglasses. Various shades, mainly Concord grape, then variations of purples, violets and darker pinks.
- Hot Handbags of Today: Mostly Louis Vuitton or Louis Vuitton knock-offs. Typically the bigger the better. Guys in Hawaii Like to Rock Jordan’s and Drink Heineken, The ladies go for the Heels and drink Mojitos. And they either have a LV or are in the process of getting one. Doesn’t matter if its real or a knock off, the knock off’s are of such high quality nobody can tell the difference. I don’t care what the people at the second-hand purse store say; The Real and not so real both Look extremely good! Next hottest handbag would be Michael Kors, I’ve been seeing a lot of bright Gold MK logos in Downtown Honolulu. And the newest to pop up around down town is Marc Jacobs. And the long over the shoulder “Yoga” bags have been in style for the last 3-4 years and still haven’t peaked.
- Blue: Not as big as the purple, but the Cobalt Blue is the HOT color to POP. Also a few Sapphires and ultramarine’s out there. Usually used as the Popping color with blacks and greys.
- Electronic Cigs: Not sure if these have hit where you live or not? But around downtown this is the “must have” accessory of the moment. Seen on the streetz, at the ball games, in the cars and bars, in Gold, Silver, Black, Red, with very intricate designs, puffed vertically not horizontally like the traditional Cig. If and when Marlboro makes their version-buy stock the day they go on sale. People be smoking these electronic cigarettes like Crzy!
- Crocs: It seems that Crocs and Uggs will never go away. In Hawaii it’s mostly the Crocs. Lately I’ve been spotting them in NBA colors with tops and bottoms that match the NBA team colors. A couple weeks ago I spotted a couple wearing the Knicks (Blue on top Orange on the Bottom) and Lakers (Purple on Top and Yellow on the Bottom). And a few days ago I saw the first pair of Chicago Bulls (Black on top with red on the bottom).
Trend: Seen or Heard a Minimum of 3 Times. Definition as heard by me from a teacher of mine. This is a very vague definition of trend especially in our extremely fast paced world of 2013. Sometimes I’ll call it a trend after ONE good look or it may take 6-20 looks. Depends on my eye at the time of the sighting.
And even with the hype from the Honolulu Star Bulletin, Flux Magazine and the Honolulu Weekly, I really do NOT see an Aloha Shirt renaissance trend. All 3 have written about the shirts getting hipper and more fitting. And talked about Zig Zane and Reyn Spooner. I’m just not seeing it quite yet. There’s still lots of Traditional Inside out Reyn Spooner, Tommy Bahama and Costco/Sam’s Club shirts. I do suspect we shall see a change, but now it’s mostly media driven. I work right smack dab in the center of town and have yet to see much of a change in Men’s work attire. (Sunday March 24, 2013) I do suspect it will happen, just not an overnight sensation on this one. I have a couple of designs on my computer, just looking for the textile manufacturer right now. And even mine won’t change the culture over night, might take a couple/few years … or more! I’ll keep you up to date on the Aloha Shirts because I personally would like something newer, hipper to wear to the office!
And my last trend isn’t much of a trend, just a future prediction. It’s #hashtags for blogs. Since Twitter made the #hashtag huge, you can’t post an instagram picture without a # and Facebook has them coming out in Late March or April 2013, the next place will be blogs. I’ve been hashtagging blogs here and there for a couple of years. In the beginning I didn’t really know what I was doing, I just thought it looked “cool” or it did something. Now I’m gonna’ continue hashtaggin’ #streetzblog so that when the world turns into ONE big hashtag and ONE monstrous @At sign I will be there for #it. @Streetzpix #StreetzHI #StreetzNYC #StreetzCHI @Streetzblog See you on the #Streetz
Check out Streetzblog on instagram @streetzpix
The General Idea is a Pretty Good One!
“When I haven’t Any Blue I Use Red”-Pablo Picasso
Over the last year or so, I’ve been seeing some eye-popping colors in Men’s shoes. Mark McNairy’s yellow soles, the recent Cole Haan Collection, and some nice Purple, Yellow and white Boots from DSquared to name a few. But, from Chic Men’s magazine to one of last week’s issues of WWD, I was really noticing some wicked Rubbery soles, Cobalt Blue Soles, and brogues in bright orange. I was on a mission to solve the mystery of the designer making these lavish Kicks that I sure would want to get a hold of in the near future. Luckily in one of last week’s WWD’s, I noticed in the fine print on one of the pictures the word General Idea, I’d seen this name once before but thought it was in context of the article not the name of the designer, but yes, it is the name of the designer and the mystery is solved.
In addition to some nice shoes, they have some pretty great looking futuristic yet classic clothes in slick greys, pops of purples and the like. Here is the General Idea Fall/Winter 2013 Show. Not sure why the audience is void of Women, but it is. Other than that I’d say General Idea has some great ideas, Kicks and Clothes. Check out the show:
Here is the link to purchase some of the Bright and Nouveau Riche Kicks. I really am not sure at all why they call it General Idea New York, then sell most of their shoes on a Foreign Site? I would recommend a New York site with American Money, these look quite expensive in the Korean currency. And shipping who knows? Hey- I wonder if Rodman has a pair of General Idea Kicks? LOL. At least we do know the shoes are available somewhere. Maybe that’s part of the mystique about General Idea? It took me a while to figure out who they are? Now, it’s a bit hard to Aquire the footwear? I suspect it’s all part of the master marketing plan. Things that are harder to find, become more sought after. The similar marketing strategy has worked HARD/WELL? on me and my bank Account when it’s a Retro Jordan!
Up next is the General Idea Spring Summer 2013 Behind the Scenes and in front of the scenes Fashion Show. As you can see there are both male and females at this event. Looks like lots of people enjoying taking pictures with BIG tablets and the guys in the seats have some pretty nice kicks on too! I show you this VID, not because it is the most recent, but it’s what is for sale right now-March 2013. Check out the Flo Green Camo Clothes and of course the Flourescent Yellow and bright Pink Kicks. The pull tabs on the backs are also quite nice!
And Here’s a picture of what I earlier called “Wicked-Rubbery Soles” If you know the official name of this type of sole, LMK. I was thinking of doing a blog on kicks with these soles in the near future.
Kicks to Rock the Shore and Light up the City! General Idea Boat Shoes with Wicked-Rubbery sole!
And Before I get myself back to my job, here’s the pair of kicks I have my eye on for a possible future purchase:
General Idea-Hi Top Brogue Boots-White Sole-Red Pull Tabs. The MOON’s
What’s Up HI! 1-20-13
No Spikes Here, Just Streetzblog on the scene with Tyga’s Beautiful female Artist-Honey Cocaine. If you’re wondering? HC was a bit different then I would expect from seeing her youtube vids. She is really nice in person and so was DJ Carisma. Both were very nice, Friendly, cordial and Thankful and truley grateful performers.
And Don’t Forget-Steve Aoki, Walter French, GSpot and the BQ Girls are all Going to be at the NFL Pro Bowl All-Star Block party This Saturday NIght January 26tth in Waikiki! Gonna’ be the Biggest Block Party in Hawaii’s History!!!!
Other Hot off the press NFL Pro Bowl News: Hawaii Five-O is rumored to be shooting a show this Weekend at some of the Pro Bowl Events and make sure you smile and wear your favorite gear at the game, Train is shooting their upcoming video entitled “Mermaid” Friday Thru Sunday on the Island of Oahu including some shots from this Sundays Pro Bowl!
Streetzblog.com 