MD StyleWatch

Ticket to Elegance pt deux

2012-01-29T09:30:00.000-08:00

The Where is The Concert? Hunt, has 52 of sl finest offering goodies. One of those generous vendors is PurpleMoon. Besides the ticket, there are always many nice specials and group gifts that are amazing. This Rusalka Cocktail in Deep Purple, the group gift for reaching 11K members, is a perfect example of what you can expect for the small fee (50L) to join. An investment that will pay for itself many times just with this dress. The rich color and texture on the full skirt topped off with contrasting ruffled bodice and ruffled tie at the waist oozes elegance.

Adding still more elegance to this look the full length gloves with ruffles at the top as well. Also from PurpleMoon, this Ser hair attachment. Elegant and smooth, reflecting the ruffles on the dress this hair features this sweet lightly jeweled hairband. It also comes with hair bases for the basics and the hair is color change as well. Gift from the Where is the Concert? hunt, it seems to be made for this dress. Right now until the 15th there is also a Cherries on Top, minihunt going on there. There are 10 cherries hidden all over the shop and boho shop with some awesome gifts just for fun, who knows some of it may show up here.. anyway .. until next time see you around the grid

Mxx

Hair: PurpleMoon
Skin: Atomic
Dress: Purple Moon
Shoes: GOS

Don't Look At Me!

2012-01-28T10:51:00.000-08:00

I feel I need to talk to the people who struggle to grasp my SLife since it's come to my attention that some people think it's pretty good.

Now I'm not denying there are benefits in being me, but really, sometimes it is just plain hard!

Case in point; you can simply stick your head out the door and grab the newspaper, but not me. When I open my door the paparazzi jump, hoping for a shot of me with egg on, if not my face, my dressing gown. I have to comb my hair and shave else tomorrow you'll see me all over the Linden Enquirer with headlines of my descent into madness and sloth.

Luckily I have a solution. The group gift at Contraption is called Blank Void - a nice black mask with gold cage (well really, I do need some luxury) that is perfect for hiding any toothpaste I've drooled on my chin. Ideal.

Of course, I can't risk a gust of wind blowing my robe up and showing the camera what's usually hidden in my pants, so I pull on a nice pair of comfy trousers, in this case the Light Chevron Pants that 22769 is selling for La Venta Eventa (only 69L).

For that added privacy? Why, I pull out a paparazzi pose from Stakey - the pack of 6 only cost me 50L since I'm in the group, but anyone can grab them for 100L.

Of course, all the privacy is great except one for one thing. No-one can see me! Lucky for me, those paps are determined folks (especially when I give them tip offs and bribes) so even as I recoil in terror from the flashing bulbs at the end of the driveway I can be safe in the knowledge, one of them is hiding in the bushes just for me.

Ticket to Elegance

2012-01-27T08:07:00.000-08:00

The Where Is the Concert? hunt going on through Feb 4th is a 2 week long hunt for tickets all over that grid. Collect all 52 tickets, snagging some awesome swag from 52 of sl's best content creators, and get invited to exclusive sl live music event. Learn more about it here. The Dita dress here in emerald is Tres Beau's generous offering for this hunt. Sleek and elegant, dress is classic design with fitted bodice and pencil skirt.

The off the shoulder neckline adorned with clunky jewels and fine scroll work is what sets this dress apart. Also elegant and sexy is this Jan Group gift skin from Filthy with smoldering beauty mark, (shown with lipstick layer ) . There is a nominal fee (199L) to join the group, but worth every $L with just one gift. There are monthly gifts for both men and women so check it out. You still have a couple of days to pick this one up.

A finishing touch for this classic look are these simple double stranded pearls and earrings, group gift from Alienbear. Free to join and lots of special high quality goodies and monthly gifts for members. Besides being generous Alienbear has some of the very best jewelry on the grid in my humble opinion. You should go there sometime and just look around.

Just a quick post to tell you about these great things, be sure to get them asap as time is running out. More to come soon. I have missed you all!! Mxx

Skin: Filthy
Hair: Fri.day
Dress: Tres Beau
Jewelry: Alienbear
Shoes: NCore

Letter Luck at Yasum

2012-01-26T20:25:00.000-08:00

Yasum Design has added new stuff to their lucky chairs. Heee... there is some time since I was there so it probably be all be new to me anyway. Anyway, 17 chairs loaded with prizes for all genders, how about that? With so much stuff on offer, the 20 mins between letter changes are hardly noticed (no numbers or wildcards).

While waiting for the thing I really wanted, I managed to get most of the other stuff as well. Outfits, foot wear... even some unisex mesh dungarees.

Below are a few mix and match outfits from my visit. I apologise for those awful stripes in the photos, I think I understand them now anyway... see bottom.

Sun glasses: Baggy InvasionTop: Baggy InvasionGloves: Steam Baggys Male EditionJeans: Jeans FlashFishnets: Gruffy UrbanBelt: Urban Nitted (sic)

Top: Slash - single garmentPants: Punk Pants - single garment <= what I had my eyes on. Lots of potential me thinks.Gloves: Steam Baggys Male Edition

Armor: Steam ClawArm scarf: Steam Baggys Male EditionPants: Steam Baggys Male EditionBoots: Steam Baggys Male Edition
Hair in the top photo is Dias, a new release at CheerNo over a past hunt gift hair base. Middle hair is Alain, also CheerNo but not as new and finally an old favourite, Rosa from Discord Designs.
My apologies again for those dreadful lines in the photos... I'm in a quandry there since I don't do any post production beyond cropping and light levels. It suddenly struck me I had an adventure with them in a former life.
I'm sure that if I counted pixels I would find the lines would make a rectangle exactly the size of my screen and the 'extra' pixels outside it show the proportional 'enlargement' of the photo format. It's therefor a side effect of the viewer. Both Firestorm and the linden viewer has that 'bug' or whatever it is, but from what I've heard, Exodus doesn't. That Exodus and Mac isn't a brilliant combination yet is a unfortunate misfortune, which I hope will improve with coming versions.
This effect can be used with some advantage in other circumstances.... like my old pic below which is a raw SL photo. Yup... the photo format was 3 x 5 my screen size. Nifty eh?

Anyway... there you have it. Take care and have fun.

When things go POP!

2012-01-23T18:14:00.000-08:00

Big news - LaGyo is having a massive 50% anniversary sale this week... on ALL jewellery and accessories! Perfect opportunity to stock up on both old and new designs. It finishes the 27th, so there's only a few days left.
I find even some of the older stuff wonderfully fresh and new and went sort of wild... which is exactly why I'm wearing something I've actually have blogged before. Talk about imagination... :P
Seriously, the Floral Blind Mask is stunning. It also great with the lemon F*CK U - LYR Fur Jacket, which, together with the SKES Monster Pants, is result of another foray at CheerNo. The 'fur' might be a misnomer, but you can't deny the impact. While the pants are from an older collection, the jacket is from this winter's, even if not the latest, release. Not that it would do much against any winter cold, but it sure looks good.
Hip decoration is scavenged from a copy of the mask.

Tried to continue the wild colours all through. The colour change Waves Bangle comes from the LaGyo sale and the Piano ring from Accessory Bone. The ring comes paired, meant to be shared.
Pop art Colourable Laced & Strapped Boots are my own mod of a great modifiable pair I bought from Blackburns on the Marketplace for the massive sum of 49L. They come with a colour change hud so each part can be coloured in whatever hue... or retextured with a little bit of care. Brilliant for the tinkerer. and, YES, I've got my shadows back!
Photo location is Fuschsia Nightfire's installation Not Everything is Plain B&W on MetaLES
All for this time, I just wanted this out before the sale ends XD Take care!

Gone Fishin'

2012-01-21T13:35:00.000-08:00

Now depending on your point of view, my last post was either too stringy, or not stringy enough, but either way this post will hopefully please both viewpoints. You see, string is fine by itself, but you can craft it into wonderfully useful items, like fishnet! I have fond memories of a childhood pond dipping, rock pooling, crabbing, and probably a whole bunch of other things involving a little piece of netting on the end of a bamboo cane. Truth be told, I probably even wore a few of those nets as hats or gloves from time to time. But now... No more stealing stockings to get that delightfully knotty (or should that be naughty?) feeling against my skin!

Yes! Jump into the latest round of Mens.Select and there on the Graffitiwear vendor are four delightful colours of fishnet briefs! Only 100L for the pack and no judgemental changing room assistant either. Okay, delightful may be over-selling really, we have masculine standards black, grey, and white, with green thrown in for a little extra delight. So more... underwear with 33% more fun? It makes up for the lack of material.

Now, if any of you have ever seen the nets they use to catch eels you may be wondering if I'll address... the issue. Well innocents turn back here!

To avoid entanglement the netting comes complete with a fine mesh between the strings. It's most noticeable on the white pair, although personally I think the effect is nicest on the black - it's such a good traditional colour for both fishnet and mesh. But the green is more fun. So safety has been addressed, but what about visuals?

The briefs come in both "junk" and "non-junk" versions (their name not mine). This is one of those strange tricky areas really since it's no secret that male avatars come rather lacking in this area, and although there are no shortage of prim options they can't be worn under your underwear layer. It really is an issue if you want to wear anything low slung or transparent. So you can wear non-junk under some hipsters maybe, but if you're wearing only briefs you'll appear a eunuch. Or very, very cold. Which brings us to the junk version, and an inherent problem with trying to put something distinctly 3D onto a 2D texture. If you play with the package on your shape you can help a lot, but ultimately you're going to look rather tightly wrapped.

The other problem is that of matching skin tones, or more accurately, hoping for the best. There's only one shade in the pack, and it's paler than the rest of my skin. Not by much, but it could be problematic if you're much darker than me. Of course it's one of those things, provide 64 shades of junk and confuse buyers, or a limited range and figure it'll be a reasonable match for many. I suspect the best solution is a tattoo layer solution combined with the non-junk versions if you intend to spend a prolonged time on display. Or stick to the white pair, the more visible mesh makes the skin tone less pronounced.

These are fun underwear. I must confess I doubt I'd use the grey, but then it's not my choice in RL either, so I find myself wishing it was a blue instead. Or if I'm really honest, something really fun like red or yellow. I probably wouldn't wear them very often either, but they'd make me smile simply knowing I owned them. It's Valentine's Day soon so you could buy them underwear you want to see them in, or you could each buy underwear they'll like to see you in. Or, you can buy flowers and chocolates. Your choice.

Pink with attitude

2012-01-20T22:41:00.000-08:00

At the Modavia Fashion Week event in August last year, Gizza had me jump back a couple of steps at the visual impact of their group gift... a VERY pink outfit called Jolly. It was available as gift for quite a few months. This was lucky for me, because it yo-yoed in and out of my inventory several times before it stuck.

I sort of can't get over the pants. I now fondly think of them as my pink aluminium foil pants. The material most likely have a proper name but be what it may, the hard shine takes some beating... and they're PINK! You've gotta love 'em. This outfit is no longer a gift, but is available for purchase, 250L if I remember correctly. I saw it on the Marketplace, but I assume they're available at the store as well. The outfit is complete, including vest and boots and everything in between, and the range of colours has increased to include purple, baby blue and black.
Before I continue, I would like to express my deep irritation when blog ads and vendor pics are so photoshopped they hardly resembles whatever they sell. What's the game? PS can't replace bad workmanship. Beyond one sale, it simply doesn't work.
This outrage comes after a disappointment, to put it mildly, with a pair of purchased boots that promised to have these pants on their knees and failed to deliver... badly.
Those are not the ones I'm wearing below, however. I found these beaut zebra WedgeChogs at GoK once I got my search image up and running. They're available in a range of colours and each comes with a choice of gold, silver or black spikes... and a LOT of them.

I haven't got a clue how new/old they are, I don't much care about such things. I'm happy if they're available when I 'need' them. By now I suppose 'everyone' has at least one version of something using these sculpts. I really like these ones, though, some attentive texture work has resulted in a comfortable 'feel' when worn. Not a blister in sight.
The similarly zebra striped Rider Leather Jacket is a new release at Poison. Both male and fem versions available and, of course, in other colours than zebra as well. The lining is treated with the same care as the outside and is mirrored as tiny colour details elsewhere, a sure way to woo me.

The wall of free tees at Guarded Cross provided the aggressively pink tee. Intense colours and good strong male shading.
A quick trip to Mandala sorted out the rest. The new unisex Smexy Tie Necklace and the not as new unisex Kookai Belt and all's done!
Hair is another new old purchase, Vanessa from Truth. Guy liner from A:S:S. Various piercings so old they may be excused. Finally, poses are both my own.
It's with some regret I have observed that shadows no longer seem to be available for me. I'm no sure if it's my ageing computer or the latest Mac version of the Linden viewer, but... it's back to the beginning for me :(
Oh... the photo spot... it's the Guarded Cross store. Pretty yummy, eh?

String Theory And Time

2012-01-19T12:49:00.000-08:00

Earlier I lamented to Siss that I don't find more time to blog, which apparently doesn't bother anyone else, so I figured if no-one is that bothered I'd get all physical and post about string theory. Luckily I'm not actually that daft and I know that I'm the blog's beefcake, and if in doubt, I should get my nipples out! So how better to fulfil all these post options than to head to the beach with my string vest on?

Yes, I'm over winter, take me down under and give me summer!

Luckily, I had just the outfit to balance nipples with science - Squares by Alexandre! It's 200L for the shorts, shirt, and bandana. Not too bad really, although I must admit I had one wish, that the bandana had a resizer script. It was about two times too big for my punny arms (and I'll actually say I prefer prims to come big rather than small so they don't vanish into my flesh) so I tried resizing it. A simple edit revealed I was shrinking the size of the knot though. This was... not helpful. Edit Linked Parts ended up resizing 3 prims, which are great for detail, but if I'm resizing three loops of the same item I probably want them to scale constantly, and more easily. I know there are arguments for and against, I'll probably sit both sides of the fence depending on the item and my mood, but today, with that, I wanted to click and resize. But I did it manually, and it's not a bad little bandana.

Yeah I know, it probably needs a bit more tweaking; the knot is a little too big and distant now, it's maybe not as snug as it could be, but for a speedy edit it's not bad. However... The watch? That has a resizer script and it took even less time and fits even better. Now you see why I'm cynical about the bandana. Officially the watch is part of Graffitiwear's unisex range, and women can wear it, but it's at the more masculine end of the range (it's one to click for the bigger image if you're interested - it's only 100L so a pretty decent price for such an accessory). Graffitiwear also sell the necklace... actually I'm not sure it's sold as unisex now I think of it, but it is very unisex anyway, and only 75L. It caught my eye because it's called Voodoo Fetish, which is just hard to ignore even if you're busy watch shopping. Personally I think it makes a fairly decent beach necklace on the chaps, but any ladies wanting bones or faces in their cleavage can probably pull it off with a few more outfits. But women are usually more flexible than men anyway.

Of course this post largely failed what I hoped. Sure I got myself a watch so I would keep better time and blog more, but the first chance I got I went straight to the beach, and everyone knows nothing productive ever happens at the beach! I made time to sprawl in the sand in my string vest, and while frolicking in the surf is great fun, it's not going to help me prove string theory... And, while it may not turn me into a blogging machine, it did get this post out of me. So what I'm saying is, don't expect me to win any Nobel prizes any time soon, but maybe the odd wet T-shirt contest or beach volleyball game, and who knows, maybe some blog posts too.

Being a Little Distraction

2012-01-16T09:19:00.000-08:00

Okey... so I've sort of taken a few days off from the usual routine to do something different. The zebra's stripes never wash out, though, so here I am again with something I just have to share.

There is these place called the College of Scripting, Music and Science inworld, which offer free on the spot tutorials in the form of these huge posters you can study at your own rate. Or, you can buy them as books if you prefer another format.
My better half, pulled, teased and blackmailed me to their new book on level 10, The Book of Free Will. It is a mental defense class against manipulation by advertisers, cults, politicians or whatever other kind of predator who's out to get you. It's a quick easy read and an investment time wise... once you get there ^^

Okey... so that's not fashion, even if scams alway are fashionable. BUT, a friend pointed me in the direction of this new (I think) Otoko Oiran Miira kimono at BareRose (who's apparently is in need of some linden love. *Hint hint nudge nudge*) Doesn't the big board in the back ground match the colours in the outfit just brilliantly? Yup, there's blue details if you look closely. Big and billowing it is, the kimono that is, off one shoulder and with plenty of sexy wraps. High sandals are included as well.
There are special versions for girls and boys and each comes with a black and a red choice. The Renkai sword is not included, I bought it on the market place for 10L or so. It is scripted for fight, but was chosen entirely for its colour scheme. Dramatically over sized, but the details are pretty.
My skin is the very pale version of my new custom skin from Blush.
Heee... that's it, won't distract you any further. Take care and have fun!

Post Scriptum

2012-01-13T16:01:00.000-08:00

Just a little PS from my last post. Osakki responded very promptly to my notecard about the missing jacket prim. I think I owe it to everyone to show what the Artica Voluminous Cropped Coat REALLY looks like... and to use the opportunity to show off another purchase from her sale. The Osakki closing sale is on until the 14 February.

Thank you Osakki for your prompt response. Now the coat looks just as it should, with a dramatic collar and a wee body prim making the garment a solid voluminous furry hunk of good looking luxury.
I've left the midrib bare, again, just to show off one of my two my new custom skins from Blush Skins in a better light. I love the different feel of it. This skin, based on her Elle line, is more mature and is just that little bit sharper than my old ones. Simply beautiful! Hush, stop the sniggering! I rely entirely on custom skins so this is a BIG event for me! It has opened up new doors for me, seriously.
Makeup, Imperial Eyeliner and Mizu Gloss Copper Rose, are both from M.O.C.K. Beaded jewellery with several options with or without discs, is the black set of Wanderer from League.

The spiked Noxious Leggings - Phantom of The Opera are another purchase from the sale. There's a whole range of these dramatic leggings, none of which are the best to snooze on a waterbed with. The spikes are copy/mod so they have great potential. I copied some and made spiky matching additions to my sans heel Activa Ankle Boots from Neurolab Inc.
There you have it... one little PS that became much more. Hope you enjoy this stuff as much as I do.
Take care and have fun!

Bittersweets

2012-01-11T23:21:00.000-08:00

There's a wave of store closures washing over the grid. It's always sad to see both familiar and unfamiliar names make their announcements. I'm hoping that, in the other end, there are as many new names opening their doors for the first time.

For some creators, happily, closing down is just the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. This is fortunately, for us, the case with Kayami Osakki (Kayashi Piers), who's closing the door to fashion and taking her talents down other creative paths.

Consequently, Osakki is having it's last fashion sale, until 14 February, with some of her stuff available for seriously slashed prices. Her avantgarde outfits, the Kurai collection, are out for 100L a piece and other things, like the Grid Python Necklaces are going for 45L. An opportunity to experiment!

Sometimes I feel like a vulture attending these sales... at other times ready to hit myself with something hard for not having visited before. With Osakki, I feel earnest sadness.
I usually can't wear an outfit as is and sometimes even not at all... so I can be a bit shy taking the plunge when it comes to paying full price. The result is that I far too often just keep looking without much else happening.
With this sale, I can have a real party without any such concerns... I really like the stuff and with some mixing and matching I've discovered I can wear it pretty well. That discovery, just as she's getting ready to leave, is a downer. *kicks hirself*
Anyway... I only have myself to blame and I have a lot of fun. Each outfit comes complete with a matching face paint make up, 'must haves' in their own right. The outfit above is Discipline with its fantastic shoulder/arm pieces. I'm wearing it with black leggings from another outfit but out of sight, out of mind as they say.

The glorious Ombre High Waist Pants from the Flow Jumpsuit can be worn separately (phew!) and I matched them with the Artica Voluminous Cropped Coat from Artica/Ena. The sleeves are huge and have a luscious black bear fur texture.
There is an issue with the cropped coat, however, at least the prim collar is missing. I'm sure this is a mistake, Osakki has shown herself to take such issues very seriously in the past and I've notified her. Then, of course, considering it's a closing sale, I'm not too concerned to be honest... I LOVE the coat as it is. BUT I did fashion my own little jacket layer since the one provided doesn't offer the same modesty level when worn alone as shown on the vendor pic. SO... I took some liberties with her texture. I solemnly swear I respect creators rights and beside this little consumer issue, I don't have any further plans.
I just couldn't blog this without mentioning this little issue. For full fems, modesty is provided by the included bandeau and Ena Highwaist Bodysuit :)

The jewellery is Osakki's Grid Python Necklace from the sale and the retired Hamured Metal Cuffs in gun metal. Hair in the top outfit is, of course, MADesign's Tera. Hair in bottom outfit is Liberty HP from Vanity.
AND... this will sound weird to all pure gendered peeps that change skins as often as their underwear... may I present one of my new skins. It's the second time this year I'm fortunate to get something new. Marie Whitfield of Blush skins has very kindly created a couple of custom skins for me, using the lovely face of her Elle line. She has created her own vision of a true androgyne body... more defined and slightly more male-ish than the others I'm wearing... and they are stunning! To announce this with a huge splat of bright coloured face paint schplat in the middle might not be the best introduction but... Thank you, Marie!
Beside the different, slightly sharper 'feel' of her skin, the tones are 'cooler' and opens up a new world for me without having to compromise anymore. Of course... it also means I'll have no excuses now when I get the colours wrong XD
So... in all... a bittersweet mix of news. Osakki is closing but her sale is great and I've got new skins making me VERY happy.
Take care and have fun! Oh... and the sims are of course Insilico, a place with worlds within worlds and getting lost is the standard, for me anyway.

Boots and not much else

2012-01-07T18:15:00.000-08:00

It's the time to be weary now... anything labeled 'christmas' can be expected to be gone any day. So it's prudent to feel some urgency if anything worthwhile turns up labeled with that fateful word.

So... if you want these white Fur Boots for only a little bit of luck with the resident lucky board... you should make it down to Pelletteria Morrisey. In fact, the only luck you need for free goodies is to have read this and taken the time to visit the little store. There are several freebies up, covering sun glasses, bags, boots and shoes. When I visited last, the Christmas gift was still out as well (which was sort of three minutes ago when writing this).
It is a fem store, so any guys who're still resisting the latest FL trend for high heels for men, won't find much here ;)

It's not only for the free stuff I find this store attractive, there is a certain knack with textures on display among the vendor pics. Not all is brill, but there's enough of it to warrant a visit. The prices are low so there's even a chance of a bargain.
For example the Leather and Snake Skin ankle boots below are 220L but that includes a matching bag as well. The fur boots above, four different colours, are 160L each and as you can see on my photo, you can almost smell the lanolin on that coarse sheep fur texture. Yup, that dripping sound is me salivating again.

After the styling nightmare of my last post, I've kept the rest real nice and easy for myself in this. Both hairs, even if only the top one (Andrej) is at all visible, are new releases from Exile.
White Leggings - old group gift, COCO, still availableLeather Woven Belt - included with Leather Woven Pants, Mr.Poet, 170LAvana Fur Jacket - blogged before, Designing Nicky Ree, not free
The Andrej Pejic inspired pose is one of my own (I'm feeling lazy so I used the same for both photos). I'm including it as a group gift in the group notice announcing this post. Just join Freebie Fashionista (a bit of a misnomer nowadays) and it's all yours. I really hope you'll enjoy it... *chews hir nails nervously*

On Thin ice

2012-01-06T15:12:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you just have to admit that you just might be in the wrong place... or not quite knowing where you're... or... ok, I'm lost! I'm sure it was around here SOMEWHERE...

Being lost is not too bad a place to be at times, though... this place is quite pretty in it's freezing winterness. Unfortunately I can't tell you where this is. If I could, I wouldn't be lost.
Yup, another pathetic introduction from yours truly. It's true I'm feeling lost, though. There are different sub-species of humans evolving in SL it seems. Sub-cultures are affecting body type and it really seems to be such a deep divergences developing that 'cross dressing' is becoming increasingly tricky.
The effects are even more pronounced when one takes gender into account... and if you belong to neither, life gets interesting, to say the least...

There's nothin 'wrong' with this, it just is. It's in fact really fantastically fascinating. It's not as fun, however, when you realise that your favourite shape might not be the best to show off something, even if that something is a nice little booty in it's own right from a store you'd like to support.
Like the stuff I found at D R O P, a tiny store with a few generous things out. The red knitted sweater above and the grey long sleeved tee below are both group gifts (no joining fee). I've only seen them modelled on full males and they don't seem quite have the same modding issues as I have when it comes to a bulky body prim *hits hir hips with fists (repeat fast ten times)*
Life was made easier by creating a bulky 'shirt' under the jacket layer just to give my upper body a bit more volume and making the garments looking as bulky all over. That's a good trick in fact. Some very naturalistic effects can be created by a sensitive use of under garments to give some bulk to the clothing layers above. The best thing is that those are all free since you can make them yourself under appearance... nifty eh? Since they are out of sight, there's no need to worry about texturing, only sizing and amount of bulk matters.

The knit pants with grey leggings are bought... I liked the look of them but was down on the floor laughing (as usual) when I saw my skinny knees. I really don't understand... my legs aren't that skinny... they just manage to look it when I want it the least! Well, anyway... those knees where shaking as I made my way across the thin ice... going to all those weak spots you're warned about as a kid if you grow up in a country that goes real winter in winter.... BUT... the very same spots are the most picturesque ones... Sort of no win...
The patterned sock are an re-opening gift at NoaR. Bum Boots from a sale at Death Row Designs (not anymore - now 189L a pair or 699L for fat pack, 8 colours). The Yellow and Purple ones are up on MMs right now! There's a Lucky Board (changing prizes, 5 mins, wild card) at the same location, too.

The tartan flannel shirt is the Lucky Board prize at D R O P and is one of the items for sale in the store. Very carefully done up all the way, it reminds me of very cold winter days. The mittens are from BUKKA (90L, several colours and patterns to choose from). Being copy/mod, the cuff and band can be removed so they slip neatly inside a sleeve like here.

Other bits and pieces are from old purchases, lucky boards and hunts and the like.

The Great Leopold!

2012-01-06T10:20:00.000-08:00

Lurking in the Mens.Select room this week is a fun 80L bargain from the chaps at 22769 - a gorgeous black leopard fur sweater (with some lace and feathers and who knows what else for decor). I suggested it was a very strokable sweater, and upon being spotted in the wilds I was greeted with "oooooo I DO WANT TO PET YOU"

Despite my animal magnetism it soon became clear that the only reason for wanting to get me out of my clothes was to steal the sweater. Wearing the sweater I'm cool, but it's January so without it I'm cold! I did the only thing any self-respecting man can do - I ran, I ran fast and I ran far! Given my giddiness over the sweater made me feel I was away with the faeries, I actually ran to a faery forest.

Luckily the faery folk were far happier to leave me frolicing (with the able assistance of the Knees pose pack from HelaMiyo). Partly because the sweater is too big for them (luckily they don't know how to resize prims, I had to bump the waist up a little hence the pinched waist) and partly because my majestic posing works well for all this fun. I have a hunch they quite liked the stars on the Mephisto pants from A:S:S too (not in a sale but only 105L). Rounded off with some basic eggplant socks from [hate this] and shiny new shoes from SaWoDe they have been very welcoming. I just hope I can find my way out again... there's more shopping to do!

Year of the Dragon

2012-01-04T01:28:00.000-08:00

Wow! This year is going fast! Several days into it already and I've hardly noticed. Later this month, the chinese new year will bring us into the year of the dragon... what a massive bang that promises to be in conjunction with the 2012 of the Mayan calendar thingy.

Of course, the end of one world and the beginning of another can't detract for things that really matters... like a good freebie or a newly discovered thing of beauty. *nods nods*

Like this unisex leather jacket that's the end of 2011 group gift from Opium... Too good to miss, even if the name suggests I'm a wee tad late to find it. Good things can't be too late, though, good gifts are very generous gestures that deserves attention as long as they're available... I think anyway. Group membership is free. Another group gift consists of grey stripy shirts for both genders. Two MM bords adorn the walls as well.

The real find, however, is this new release Dragon Fes ear piercing from WTG (not free, for left ear only). The naturalistic depicted dragon will go with any 'level' of outfit, from urban to haute.
I have feeling the release of this beautiful little beast is because of the chinese calendar. The 'ball' it holds in it's paw is the Pearl that asian dragons are usually shown as pursuing but not having caught. Considering that the Pearl, to summarise it suitable for a SL fashion blog, symbolises the wisdom and creative potential associated with enlightenment, I find this piece of jewellery very inspirational for a year that's started out so tumultuous. Wtg WTG!

Sleepy Sweater

2012-01-03T08:57:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I feel I get way too many group notices and subscriber alerts, but today I caught a very important message; Sleepy Eddy has moved! Now this was useful to know not only because it means I can tidy up some LMs and partly because the notice also mentioned a new group gift in the new store! I only just got a few hoodie from the group over Christmas, so I was a little surprised, but I ran straight over and I can report the new store is nicer than the old, it really appeals to my taste, but then so do the clothes. Which is why I'm so excited about this crew neck sweater.

I love that detail, the epaulettes are incredible, the texture has great... erm, texture. And while I'm not likely to wear them often I am impressed that I can wear a glove layer and get long sleeves - perfect for any ladies stealing their boyfriends sweater!

The sweater even got back! It's great, and it's free, what more could you want? Join the group, visit the new store, and grab it - it's warm!

Rags to Riches

2012-01-01T13:55:00.000-08:00

Hiya again... hope everyone survived New Year. The feeling every year of turning over a new leaf never ceases to amaze me. Today isn't really any different from yesterday, albeit forecasted to be slightly hotter, but it still feels like I opened my eyes to another world. Then of course, I had a LOT of 'help' from one of the cats to crawl out of bed far to early this morning... Maybe that's why I'm having this otherworldly feeling.

The otherworldliness resulted in a morning on Bladerunner City, a sim that doesn't cease to amaze me either. While there, I decided to 'shoot' a few outfits I've had fun putting together from a mix of free and bought stuff, with special focus on CheerNo.

I don't pay CheerNo enough attention, I've decided. They have a lot of fun fashion on the haute side, all querky and edgy. *Blinks* I'm talking on the male stuff... I actually don't know what the fem side of the store looks like. <== Disclaimer *face palms* Not afraid to push a few boundaries, CheerNo is like a chilled beer on an aussie summer's day.
The luxurious fur 'poncho' (and necklace and, yup, it's male stuff) from the Prince Experience outfit created the perfect calm balance to the more busy black Malik Pants (in newly released male Blackbeard pirate outfit) from ALB Dream Fashion and Rococo Shirt from Gizza. Gold stud Wrap Skinny Belt from COCO, Finesmith's H2O ring and ear rings and gold streaked Audrey Hair from Calico Ingmann completed my blissful sense of absolute richness.

None of the things above was free, BUT.... don't despair... CheerNo has a couple of great free gifts available as well.

I found the Tricot Coat in the subscriber history which goes very well with the rust version of the Malik Pants from the ALB Dream Fashion calendar... have I mentioned that one before? :P Hopefully this gorgeous range of cut out pants will be fully available in her store in a near future.

The single piece if jewellery is the latest group gift from Earthstones, the necklace from the Aculo set.

The CheerNo inworld group gift consists of this urban/utilitarian suit Ana - with a certain twist - a generous bow at the waist. It can be found in the very back of the boys section. I continued the theme with Loose Socks from Klamotte and golden Docs from Gos and felt perfectly at home on the dystopian streets.

Sculpted dreads, EDO998, from BooN and some different pieces of jewellery, Signs of the Time from N@N@.

Well, that's it from the first day of 2012... may it be a good one. Well.. it is up to us to make it so. World peace is after all just one collective decision away and we don't need politicians or banksters for that. War with Iran? NOT in my name!

Light in the Dark... Being a Thank You!

2011-12-28T01:44:00.000-08:00

The sweet rich time of this season's advent calendars is over and for me it has been time to go through and sort all the gifts. Together with the little bit of hunting and the unavoidable extra shopping I've been doing, there's a few thousands items to explore. I thought I would dedicate this post to extend a big warm THANK YOU to all the creators who has worked so hard for this Christmas. THANK YOU for all the gifts and special offers you've put out across the grid.

Maybe the strange economy of SL might demand such things to stay in customers minds... but... it WORKS! From a consumer point of view it's not only about getting things for free. For me personally, it's more to explore, for me, new stores and catching up with old ones.... AND getting things for free! ;)

A gift is the best business card a store can distribute. The gift can be small, size doesn't matter the least. The quality of a freebie is sometimes the only clue a potential customer has about the craftmanship hidden behind an often photoshopped vendor image, so they are important. Generosity creates a wish to give something back, to show support by joining group and/or buying something/s in the store.

Yet again, to all creators, a big THANK YOU and all my wishes for a fruitful 2012 to all of you!

There is one content creator, however, who stands out for me.
You all will know by now how fond I am of AnaLee Balut of ALB Dream Fashion's stuff but I don't know how many of you visited her calendar and fully enjoyed the rarity of her generosity. It is true I didn't visit many calendars so my sample size isn't too great, but still... By the time I'd unpacked the last, I was so touched I had tears in my eyes.
The ones of you who did go to ALB Dream Fashion on a daily basis, you'll recognise the carousel. It was assembled over three days. Cushions with relaxing poses, candles and champagne flutes in the centre and a surrounding ride ready to go around with a single click. A couple of the horses even have romantic couple poses. How sweet is that?

Everything you need for a romantic Christmas for two is found among the gifts, including a bath and a little house (to be honest, haven't rezzed tat one yet), complete with Christmas tree... under which were stunning outfits for both genders. I fell instantly in love with the male... black leather pants, frilly shirt and a rich red coat with marvellous black leather inclusions in the long 'skirt'. Boot are included as well. I'm wearing some others in the image above because my legs are simply to scrawny for certain sculpts. Not only is this outfit a keeper, but it's also already a favourite. With this one it will be my dear lady's turn to dress to match me for sure...
... and immediately realises the more painful side of big FL holidays in SL... the absence of someone loved that's being kept busy by FL commitments. *Smiles and sits down on a comfy cushion* Well... that gives me time to find that matching round rug from wherever it's hiding in my inventory to give even more colour and warmth to the scene for when she comes back.

All sadness pushed aside, there's simply too much beauty around to enjoy. I wish you all a Happy New Year!
To AnaLee Balut, THANK YOU for a most astonishing round of gifts for this Christmas. *Tips hir imaginary hat and bows deeply*

Christmas continues

2011-12-26T16:01:00.000-08:00

Santa's busy day has passed and with that also the hard work for his elves. One of them had time to take me on a private tour around the North Pole. He must have heard about my sloppy kisses, however, because he insisted of walking around with this spiky holly leaf between his lips.

Lame introduction? Yup. Bear with me, it's just an attack of good mood.
There's a lot to be in a good mood about now as we emerge on the other side of Christmas. Both big and small things, for sure. One of those... and notice how I skilfully avoid attaching any judgment of value to the event... is [sYs] Designs little inhouse christmas hunt that's still up. At least it was still up yesterday.

There're eight packets to find in an easy trail of hints and the stuff above is what you'll have when you've found them all. Poncho, pants and a pair of stomper boots (given in six bits). The quality is very high.
The gifts are free, but group membership is needed. This cost 50L but any of these bits are worth more than that. You pick up the first hint and gift in the big sign advertising the hunt by the group joiners and off you go. There's no having to spend ages looking for little obscure titles or items in a back corner... it's all inspired by the season and the many colourful decorations the store has been filled with.

I didn't go to the North Pole... but almost. I spent my morning exploring the arctic installation by Rebeca Bashly on MetaLes. For a few more pics, follow the link to my FlickR account (click the image). Better still, visit the sim for some of your own ^^
The holly leaf comes from the calendar at Orage, the pose is a christmas present from Diesel Works.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2011-12-25T14:00:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone!!! Hope the holiday is bringing peace and hope to you all... or relief for the seasonal indigestion at least... or comfort to those for whom Christmas isn't the glitzy silly season we're being sold left right and centre... or divine patience to those for whom Christmas doesn't mean a thing. Poouu! Christmas is complex when you start to think about it!

May the new year see the protests and awakening that's sweeping the planet come to fruition so we can get on with building a fair world for everyone.

I've spent a few days in front of a lucky chair trying to win certain goodies while busy in FL (as if you would need an excuse :P ). The store is Davinel and the chair in question randomly switches between seven different items (a mix for both genders, change every 10 minutes, no wild cards). There's a MM board as well that changes gift on a daily basis and well worth keeping an eye on.
It wasn't hard work to be patient. I love this build - a post-apocalyptic derelict cathedral in grey and rose which is part of a small tableaux up in the sky. It's worth a visit in it's own right.

Then there's the clothes, of course. I hungered after three of the prizes because they make up a complete un-gendered outfit (if barefoot). Add some site-inspired wings and bobs your uncle as they say. I did win two of the items, doubles even... plus a pile of other things. My chances of winning were down to 0.5% for the last item, that's the point where my wallet came out.
Outfit consists of: Ferocious Sadness coat, Second Skin Half Dirty pants and Unconditional Crawler leg bands (seriously modded to fit left thigh).
Poses are from Davinel as well (20L, found upstairs somewhere while exploring).

The red 'woodland' is only one of several stone/bead options of the Triple Strand necklace that's in the sale at RookHold for 75L a pop - round and friendly to go with that innocent face of mine XD
Below a somewhat photoshopped image to show you what the place looks like through my eyes. Pardon the obvious mistakes.
A big sloppy christmas angel kiss to you all. Have fun!

Men and Angels - Discuss

2011-12-19T10:08:00.000-08:00

Okey... so I'm working on this rather important report in FL that's sort of just due now... hehe... or rather WAS due in past tense. What better way to cool the nerves but to plant oneself in front of a lucky chair or two to keep the pixel-self happy? See? Busy!

It has, in fact, resulted in a staring contest between my wallet and Lady Luck... At what point does one give in and simply goes an buy the object of one's desires? The result will be next post.... together with some improbable probability calculations to prove me right in being stubborn or excuse me for giving up. Which one is, of course, dependent which one I need to feed my ego.
But even late reports require breaks so why not a little reminder of that there's just one week left on the big Menstuff Hunt that finishes the 25th this month.

Somewhere around exactly more or less 150 stores participates. As the name suggests, 'Menstuff', it's stuff for men... but hey!... when has that ever stopped the ladies? (Come on guys... Occupy Evening Gowns!)
The stuff is good quality. Might be mainly solid, everyday things... but the mix is fab.

This is some of the stuff I've found this far. SLURLS and hints can be found on the Menstuff web site.
Black outfit above:
Make up: #147 A:S:SNecklace: #65 Dark Water DesignsShirt: #89 PEERPants: #13 Legal InsanityChucks: #45 CODED

Light outfit:
Sunglasses: #12 SB MenswearScarf: #67 22769Cardigan: #12 SB Menswear (Doohh... messed up on this one, two items from the same place)Gloves: #11 MOHNA LISAJeans: #40 ConnorsBoots: #55 7Style

About the men and angels? At least I have proven they CAN be mentioned in the same sentence. For the rest... you tell me ;P
*Looks at the calculated probability, shakes hir head and stomps off to the vendor.*

Countdown and Cards

2011-12-17T04:20:00.000-08:00

Since I've been a bit quiet there's lots going on in this post, and unfortunately some of it is now ancient history. So I figure while I show you gifts you may have missed out on (don't worry, I missed one too) I'd also brag a little. You see, everyone does year end reviews, everywhere you look it's the "Popstar whose name starts with a K of the year Awards!" and other such stuff, but I must admit I was very flattered to be nominated for the Best Of Blogs show at Show Me Yours. Now yes, it's true I know the committee, but I still needed a nomination to be included so it filled me with pride when someone suggested the shot from my post This Is England. That was the first time I actually admitted I was English on the blog; I would've happily kept on using Atlantic agnostic words but when it came to a story of my childhood there was no avoiding it - I had to come clean! The post meant a lot to me, so it was great to have that response from it.

Which brings us to this post in a double whammy funday type thing! You see, whilst nosing around the SMY hall (and I recommend you do go visit, there are some stunning shots in there from some amazing people) there is also a little side room with guest vendors. This is great if you're pushed for time or slightly lazy, but as the guest vendor in there right now is actually the big store across the bridge I'm going to recommend you take a little trip to Background Check if only because they have a nice little advent board giving away... backgrounds. The hint was in the name of the store really.

So yes, this is a little reminder of Marguax's extremely handy Advent List 2011! Which has proved helpful in making myself a little Christmas card!

The background is from the aforementioned Background Check, and given they made the parka that got me into the show - I raided the 22769 unisex advent for my outfit. On the 12th I picked up that shirt, the 8th gave me my Christmas kilt, and the 7th offered up earwarmers that obviously had Christmas music in judging by my face! Actually they didn't, the face is thanks to the free emoter HUD I picked up while grabbing advent gifts from aDORKable. Now these are largely female poses, aDORKable do make male poses too, but the advent seems to be female offerings, however as with much in SL if you ignore the packaging you'll quickly find that there's a lot of unisex goodies available - this one came from the 4th (and if you're lamenting not having these items then be glad you weren't trying for them - for some inexplicable reason I don't have one for the 5th from there...). And really, poke around just inside the door - there are a mountain of freebies for one and all!

I must admit though - I did cheat slightly. I was too lazy to find a font for my card and Background Check had a nice little Merry Christmas alpha texture that I could put in front of myself, it even had a sprig of holly on it so I splashed out the 25L and rezzed myself an extra prim. It really was easy, here's the set-up shot.

And as a bonus those snuggle winter boots are the 22769 group gift this month so you can still grab them. But honestly, December is a great month for freebies in general - if you've not been adventing yet get cracking, a lot of stores take the gifts down after one day (although it never hurts to try the old boxes...). I've managed a handy collection of poses, frisbee games, snow games, clothes, accessories, furniture, avatars, musical goodies, ornaments... who knows what else - this is more gifts than many a hunt and no brain power required! Thanks to all the vendors being so generous - you've given me much to cheer about this Christmas.

Wild, even if not woolly

2011-12-16T22:42:00.000-08:00

I seems to be into something of a animal skin themed coat run here... This is the latest that's crossed my path. I stumbled upon this one on during my ramblings and it's such fun I just have to share.

The Zebra Tuxedo from Siryelle's Dreams is actually part of a whole fem outfit complete with red pants, shirt/vest plus heels. A must have for me. Push it towards the male and it becomes glam big time. I love the frill around the neck and the bold red under coat reaching well below the zebra texture.

The rest of the clothes are from A:S:S. Pants are the gift in the Menstuff Hunt and therefor free. Comes with a pretty cool makeup. The leather corset I've featured before as well and the boots... well, you can't really see them so they can be ignored... but they are from there as well.
Dread updo is from the constant source of fun hairs, BooN.
Drama for drama for sure ^^

Winter Warmers

2011-12-14T16:18:00.000-08:00

BUKKA has made it again... offering up some real beauts for nothing more than some luck. They've generously put two colour variations of a very well made coat are on offer in lucky board/chair. Only problem is that strange reversed probability... where does your letter go as soon as you park yourself in front of a lucky item?

The red coat is part of a christmas outfit containing, santa hat, scarf and leg warmers, all mod and available on lucky board in satellite BUKKA's stall... on a snow covered tropical beach XD
The loose christmas Lazy Boots are a MM prize from Death Row Designs a short while ago. Unfortunately, these boots are gone, but two other pairs (one unisex) has taken their place instead. Worth checking out. Needed group membership is free and you can join on the spot. Ohhps.... I can see mine on sale down stairs (80L) with the option of red/green socks.
Tee and jeans are fundraisers for Japan from Legal Insanity. The loose Clara hair, makes me feel like a Boticelli painting, is one of the new releases (I think) from Truth.

This colour version of the same coat is from a lucky chair at BUKKA's mainstore. The two other chairs are still running the knitted 'poncho' and boots I blogged a month ago.
The retro green norwegian Marius Knit Sweater comes from Artelleri. It's very close to traditional men's sweaters... the variation that became fashionable a couple of decades into the 20th century. Available in a range of solid colours.
Discord Designs has a 15L offer out atm, black dreads that's the result of experimenting with sculpted dreads. I apologise for not showing it better but I simply enjoyed this pose to much *yawns* Maybe next time *Turns over and goes back to sleep* Good night, all.

Precious as...

2011-12-12T11:00:00.001-08:00

It's pretty amazing that fur in SL seem to need the same luxuary treatment as in FL. There's something about the texture, soft and precious even in pixel land, that asks for special attention... or maybe it's the subtle textures of this one that does things to me.

AnaLee Balut of ALB Dream Fashion has an unusual knack with textures... always rich and varied but never garish. This Antiguo Coat of hers is no different, soft subtle natural greys and silvers blends with some as gentle browns and golds until your finger tips itch with the imagined feel of it.
The lower part uses a combination of system skirt and prims attached to upper legs and hips, creating a garment that moves with you but which still can be lined with fur along the bottom hem. Do I like it? This is my fur coat for this season for sure, I love it... really do, no sales talk.

Such a coat needs the right stuff to go with it. These quirky red crocodile skin Merle ankle boots comes from ALB Dream Fashion as well. The high waisted jeans from the New Hope outfit by Envious (market place) picks up the colours of the coat in a very delicate way (see what this coat does to me?). I found them, of course, in my inventory after only a few hours running between stores failing to find something else. Quite fast for me.
Red Nif Nif gloves by LeeZu, crimson neck tie by DCNY (market place).

#10 Fashion Icon

2011-12-11T14:25:00.001-08:00

It's the very last week of my personal Finesmith challenge. Ten weekly instalments that have been great to see through to the end! The learning curve has been steep and I feel like I'm graduating from an intensive course. I think that I'm actually ready to take on that 10 weeks challenge Finesmith ran last year... :P
The last theme is 'Fashion Icon'. No need of a theoretical introduction to that. There's only one possible figure on my shortlist of fashion icons, the hauntingly beautiful androgyne beau Andrej Pejic who has stunned audiences the last few years with some serious gender bending. In fact, he wears a lot of fem clothes better than women does, while no one can doubt his gender when in male.
Now, he happens to be pale and blond and I'm not... but source of inspiration is true, down to the lace catsuit.

This outfit just exploded into place, no searching, no doubting, just a wham bam. It's a red version of an outfit Pejic has posed in. The jewellery set, Finesmith's Asia, was the very last to be chosen and so because of the soft feminine look of the pieces. 'Matching' the Docs from Gos perfectly.

Yummy catsuit, Velvet Elvis "Vampire BOY" Lacy catsuit, from Faster Pussycat and scrumptiously textures red Henna Jacket from Miamai. Finally the hair, HSO388, from BooN with it's big wave down the face. All together a feast of different textures and resulting in an outfit that's great fun to travel around in.
I can hardly believe this challenge has come to the end. To be 'forced' to face a theme that might not be your favourite thing to think about and still deliver on time... even if it's only been for my own pleasure and time has been a little bit elastic. But, hey!... what are deadlines for, if not to be missed?
Now I need to figure out what to do with all this free time... any ideas?
Until next time, take care and have fun. For those who might have followed this challenge partly or fully... thank you, I hope you got something out of it, too.

Dreaming of White Christmas and Peace on Earth

2011-12-08T18:54:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas, possumsss....!

It is a little bit odd, to say the least, to approach Christmas time in Australia. Dreaming about white christmas here is as close you'll get to one for sure. I mean, we have summer with cherries and mangoes in season... and flies... Forget the roo, flies are the true icons of Oz. If you think 'aussie wave' refers to surfing, think again XD

So what more australiana but some Dame Edna personification to boot? Seriously, the silly season is in full bloom here too. *nods nods* There's nothing silly about the dress, however, or anything else in the photo above... with the possible exception of myself. I'm only wearing the pieces that turns the outfit into dress pants. The full dress is more.
ALB Dream Fashion and other creators now active on the sim, have a fantastic calendar on the go with something worthwhile behind each little door. Even the the wraps/boxes/thingies are keepers, consisting as they do of these little german wooden christmas figurines. Just over one week in, these little cuties has delivered a sweet mix of clothes, jewellery and decorations with a touching generosity. There's stuff for guys too, just so you know.

ALB Dream Fashion is also taking part of the Peace On Earth Hunt with a gift catering for both genders. I'm wearing one of the male options above. Yay! A new colour of her sarouel pants I'm so fond of and which keep turning up in my posts. Here in a dark rich red/brown version worn with a bright jacket with extravagant sleeves.
The necklace by FabCat and the rust unisex Parade The Snow Boots by ShuShu are calendar gifts... as is the big version of the snow dome I'm prancing about in. Just to be fair to any other involved creator who's gifts are still wrapped, here's the limo to the little market place... or maybe, more in style with the sim, the bejewelled elephant all dressed in brocade.
To finish off... some obligatory aussie high culture. Take care and have fun.

I might need a ride back

2011-12-07T18:09:00.000-08:00

Hi! It's been like 10967835154367 days lol! I told Margaux that I was divorced with Blogger.com. becuz it wouldn't let me post, but I wanted to come back and try it again.

Yesterday I was jumping around SL grabbing freebies and goodies there and over there:

Like my black cable knit sweater dress that is the currently Where is... hunt FREE gift at Sticky Fingers

I matched them with the new Kristica Nina boots, I really like they're rounded and the design, and they come in many colors. Thank you Kristic Furman!

Let's talk about my makeup, I went to Kosmetica and grabbed the Dollarbie by Doremi, it comes in two style but the same color.

Well enough from me! Take care!

#9 'Contemporary'.. or 'Farewell my love'

2011-12-03T19:24:00.001-08:00

It's week nine of my personal take on the 10 week challenge Finesmith Jewellery had one year ago. The theme is 'Contemporary'... which is great because that could mean just about anything.

For me, living in the post-post-modern, everything is kosher as long as you're conscious of the narrative to which whatever belongs. There's no more any real 'high' or 'low', all is on the same level. It's just the implicit meaning and conscious or unconscious choice that remains.

So... here is my little story. I found it while doing my research for my last post on the Meta Body Project on Delicatessen. Finders keepers as they say. *nods nods*
The focus point for my outfit for this challenge is Finemith's Lorena shawl. It's natural looking without a hint of being contrived and is one of my absolute favourites of hers. The organic feel about it is what makes it 'contemporary' for me, the new getting back into touch with life. Pure goodness and good for digestion. Plenty of fibre :P

I enjoy how 'ethnic' material and ideas are gaining increased popularity in the 'west' and how the internet helps designers in the developing world to reach out. Inworld, I lap this meme up in whatever dose I can get it. It reminds me of the handmade and I like such things. The human contact, something rare and precious with today's mass production.

The whole look is obviously inspired by ethnic material. I can't imagine any greater riches than a patchwork of material from all over the world... just imagine the colours... the textures... the histories and traditions captured in a single garment.

The stuff:
Hair: Ouzy from LoQ, one of two fatpacks that's the present subscriber gift
Jewellery: Lorena Shawl and Nola Bracelets from Finemith
Belt: Harem Sash by Ladies Who Lunch
Pants: Boho Pants from ALB Dream Fashion (former group gift)
Boots: Engineer Boots from COCO

Finally, some music to set the story telling going:

What am I today? Checks the mirror

2011-12-02T20:40:00.001-08:00

Sometimes my relationship with my av needs a reality check. I mean a real reality check... as when I consider I've been changing outfits where I used to change species. Avatars are after all metaphors. Just like the land they stroll through they are the result of choices where every detail is laden with meaning. Sometimes we're not aware of those choices or sometimes they are made by others for us.

Meilo Minotaur and CapCat Ragu explored these thoughts in the crossworld Meta Body Project during October. Gifting a rich and varied range of arty and quirky avatars, they invited us to explore ourselves and share the results of our visual musings with them.

That part of the project might be in the past now, bottom line was the 20th October... but the work still lingers and the results can be enjoyed in FlickR. Action creates re-action and somehow and personally I can't believe the artists has said their last word on this subject yet. Avatars are simply too interesting in their every pixel for any last words.
The FL show the work took part in on the invitation of Austrian Association of Women Artists (VBKÖ) can be enjoyed here in FlickR and is blogged here.

ECCE HOMO
Ok... ok... ok... something's put me in philosophical mood today. *Hides in the tall grass and waits for this inflicted moment to pass*
The avatars, while you're waiting, can be found above the artists' sim Delicatessen => X. The sim at sea level is mighty interesting as well. I am, however, on Immersiva, the always changing lair of Bryn Oh.

Advent Event List 2011

2011-12-01T10:38:00.001-08:00

With Dec 1st upon us it is the start of the advent. Many shops celebrate this with daily gifts and goodies. Here is a list compiled by Tinka Bondar and myself, to help everyone get into the holiday spirit. Keep in mind that the time of day the gifts change or update may vary by creators time zone. This list will be updated as I confirm new locations so please check back for updates :)) Thanks to all these generous designers. Please check out these shops for some of your holiday shopping as well.

Ivalde- Advent Hunt

Adorkable

Sway's

22769

Abranimations

ALB Dream Fashion

Baby Monkey (Starts Dec 13th )

Diamond Downs (Small Fee)

Isis Boutique

Krouse's Sanctum (Small Fee)

Cero Style

DeVicious (small fee 99L)

KIttyCatS Winter Wonderland can also get gifts here BOSL Country Club (less laggy)

Orage Creations

Gothwear

Lily's Garden Decor

Sinful Temptations Boutique

Volkshochschule Deutsche

Moonstar

Skye Qi's Vintage

AIDORU

AKA Ass Kicking Angels

C&D Designs (Group Gifts 1-10L, group free to join)

Weekend Salvage

PinkMares House Lucky advent

G&N Quality Design

Earthly Delights

YM Dezignz Lucky advent

FallnAngel Creations

GINZA jewelry Kohime

Luckenbach Texas

Virtual Impressions ( Group gifts, free to join)

The Delectable Doll ( Group Gifts, 50L fee to join group)

Lois Allen Designs (10L)

LaRosa (Gifts for men and women)

Yasum Design

Suavage

Viviane Fashion

LeBloom

Sacre Bleu

Mabinogion and Adore&Abhor

If you have info on other shops or would like to be added to the list please im Margaux Dufaux in-world

Fall Diamond

2011-11-29T09:07:00.001-08:00

I am a big fan of the fall, I so look forward to the fall and winter fashions when this season comes around. This Sugar Sweet ensemble by Ali Couture is a great example of the fall fashion I love so much. One of the awesome prize from the DIMH3, includes great knit sweater, tights, and leg warmers. Some sexy fall shorts and shoes completed this outfit.

It almost seems unfair to show you this Chen skin by Al Vulo in blackpearl coco, since it was a group gift that is no longer available. It will however give you a little taste of the goodies you can get in this group. It is free to join and Hlin Bluebird is so generous, the gifts are plentiful and great way to sample some of the beautiful skins she has for sale in her shop. Be sure to check out the new shop when you go there.

The pics for this post were taken on the Pickle sim, new home of Concrete Flowers and a beautiful fall build. Gorgeous place with many little sweet spots scattered around for you to enjoy the splendor of Autumn.

Enjoy
Mxx

Hair-Elikatira
Skin- Al Vulo
Outfit: Ali Couture- Shoes included
Nails: Finesmith Designs
Poses: Exposeur

#8 White

2011-11-28T17:32:00.001-08:00

Almost there... week eight out of ten of my Finesmith challenge. A little bit late as well, but life's been busy.

The theme is 'White'. I'm 'in talks' with a very talented skin creator for at least one new skin, one that would do better justice to this colour... but here goes anyway...

White has, as every other colour, different associations in different cultures. In mine, being western, the colour is associated to purity, innocence and everything good while in the east it's the colour of death. Death is, I suppose, also a kind of purification. Of course, white is the illusion of death the winter snow brings with its slumbering potential. I wanted to express the purity of the colour in some cool elegance. Looking at the result, I think 'pure soul' was in my mind as this outfit slowly developed.

I chose Finemith's Black Nile set consisting of a goatee and ear rings as a starting point. The immediate associations to a white cross can't be ignored as a westerner. Beside the colour itself, these pieces presented a challenge in themselves... where are the role models for bearded ladies? The slinky line and feel of the goatee creates down the chest is different and refreshing. Personally, I would have been happy to have a gold option to choose between, but artists have very specific visions at times.
The goatee brings the thoughts to those little beards of the east... and maybe that's why I haven't actually ever seen these pieces worn. It's very brave to take such a male icon as a beard and make something utterly female out of it. It falls in the same category as my pet peeve, skirts for guys, where traditional gender values stands in the way for innovation.
In retrospect, the white cross do combine east and west... it's becoming clearer day by day the role various churches has played in oppression, exploitation and crimes against humanity as instrument of death and despair. What more erie stones but white diamonds in a cross shape to illustrate all that? Hee... I could write and essay on possible, and perfectly un-intended, symbolism of the design. That's not my intent nor do I want to associate my dark broodings with Yula's jewellery. These are beautiful, unique pieces... I mean, who else but Finesmith would make such perfect nipple shields and call them ear rings? *winks*

The other bits and pieces...
Hair: New Tower Hair from L+N Signature. Comes with hair base that has this cute little forelock that's worthwhile in it's own right
Make up: AstroGlam, black, from Nuuna
Jacket: From Cassie Outfit, Diram
Corset: Santina from ALB Dream Fashion. Comes with the alternative of continuing half way down the thighs as pants
Pants: Gatsby Pants, obviously the white version, from Tableau Vivant
Shoes and Bustle: Precarious Platforms and High Tea Gown, both from Ladies Who Lunch

Photos were taken at the beautiful art deco Cotton Club, one of my and my SL partner's favourite places in SL. My apologies to the lady who arrived in the middle of this who must have thought I was nuts while working with the pose. XD
Last but far from the least... the music. Enjoy!

In Like Flynn!

2011-11-27T10:47:00.001-08:00

Sometimes you make a post with greater implications than you expect. In my case it was a rather harmless enjoyment of a nice moustache. I casually mentioned my desire for a thin little pencil moustache and my soon to be new best friend Kalli of the aforeblogged Discord Designs read this, and asked "what do you mean?" I was soon to learn I had missed an entire alcove in the November sale! Now give the amount of wall space I'm not entirely sure why she has these on the other side of the door but I am glad I found them! The Vega, the Gomez, they all caught my eye, but there were even greater treasures lurking that way too. Like the HG!

Why that is perfect for the time machine I needed for this adventure. You see SF Design have recently put some Elysium waistcoats up as their monthly free gift. But even better than that, they have also started selling them as part of a Victorian style suit! You get everything, from shoes to tie. Now it's a little more expensive than the Tasche Dash sale, but it is also truly stunning. HG enjoys it in brown and gold, obviously. But let's assume you're more of a villain. A rogue up to no good. Well then you should look to the red and black version.

Of course HG is a good guy, so we turned to Salvadore for this facial wonder. He looks as Dastardly as Dick and you just know that brain is up to something. But truly, if there was a combination I would turn to it was obvious.

The blue and silver suit with a Flash on my top lip. Yes, what better for Flash than a tash to for that Flash harry look? It's perfect, I feel like Errol Flynn! I had to grab the full fat pack instantly for that one, on a day of great finds the Flash is easily my pick. Huzzah!

It should be noted that the moustaches all come in packs of 4, 12, or 36 shades, and the suits all come with numerous options of layers for jackets, shirts, and waistcoats, plus they have two ties for those who want more choices.

Collabor-Great!!

2011-11-27T05:18:00.001-08:00

Just a quick post to tell you about some of the great goodies at this months Collabor88. This sexy little Ever- High waist mini dress by Boom. Available in 4 colors this sassy little dress is cute and also sexy with the sheer panels on the sides. All yours for 88L until Dec 8th, So don't miss out.

Another great find at Collabor88 this month, Paige skin by Illusory is a very pale skin with soft make up and sexy beauty mark by the mouth. Fantastic and only 88L it is true!! Told you it would be quick!! Hurry up and run over to Collabor88, where there are all these great goodies and more for prices ending in 88. New collections come out on the 8th of each month. So pick up all your favorites from this collection before they are gone. See you there

Mxx

Hair: Analog Dog -
Skin:Illusory 88L at Collabor88
Dress: Boom 88L at Collabor88
Jewerly: Artistry by E
Nails: PurpleMoon
Poses: Exposeur -

I love you til the end of the world...

2011-11-25T11:18:00.001-08:00

I am sure most of you have seen or heard about the opening of the new shopping area on the RMK Goth Sim. There are many great shops many offering generous gifts such as this fairytale sweet Le jardin des Roses gown from World's End Garden @RMK Goth Mall .

I love the barely there softness of the pink . The thoughtful feminine accents such as the lace trim on the bodice, floral accented waistline, and full skirt with sheer tulle overlay.

So ladylike and detailed even down to the underclothes. Sexy sheer stockings with soft lace trim and ribbon garters. All with a satin soft glow of sweetness. Get this while you can and be sure to explore the mall some when you swing by to pick this up. See you around the grid,
Mxx

Hair: D!va- DIMH3
Skin: Filthy- Nov Group Gift- Fee to Join but totally worth it
Gown: WEG @ RMK - Opening Gift
Jewelry: WTG @ RMK- Opening Gift
Eyes: Sorry.Asia- Group gift- Free to join
Shoe: GOS- not free
Poses: Magnifique Poses and D!va

Bring On The Violins

2011-11-24T19:28:00.001-08:00

Ok, so the Vintage Fair is on. Not news anymore. It's a colourful, drool inducing experience and a good zen practice as it brings you down to the pace of the inevitable lag.

Despite the riches on offer, I was struggling to find stuff suited for the androgyne. This might be fair enough, to be honest, but still made my day a wee tad gloomy. The more fanciful the female outfits, the less extravagant the male... if present at all. And for the androgyne? He he.... well... not.

I realised this after I came across three theatrical creations from LG Concept Mademoiselle collection, sweetly suggesting commedia dell'arte and carnival. For once, my standard personal challenge at these events, 'create three outfits', failed and I had to leave the fair to find stuff to wear with them.
Not that I'm complaining... in the end I had real good fun putting this lot together... keeping my initial gloominess as inspiration. For a larger version of the image above to see the outfits better, just click the X.

The Violin Collar... sweet number one. Not yet available at the store but can be found at the shop at the fair. Miamai released their new Linda Jumpsuit just in time to stop me tearing my hair out. White shirt and black opera gloves from the historic depths of my inventory.
An old maiko skin became perfection with the black/pink Drama Eyes and Devil May Cry tears from Sorry Asia. Hooray for multiple layers, tears for Sorry Asia that's about to close the doors the 27th November.
Last but not least.. my funny favourite PYO902 hair from BooN.

The Floral Napoleon... sweet number two. The original is a bit smaller... made to sit daintily on a fem hairdo. Comes as no mod and without any resizer... too many prims are already at their smallest size I was informed so mod was a risky business. Thank you LaGyo for this copy, making it possible for me to wear it in the male way on my larger head.
White Bow Shirt and Balloon Pants are both from COCO. Boots with stockings from ALB Dreamfashion, the 'seashore' Joy Boots.
The thematic Columbine Apres La Danse cosmetics is my latest purchase from Miss Shippe's Studio and hair base with the forelock comes from a new release at L+N Signature.

The Blind Mask - sweet number three. Perfect fit over a multiple layered makeup. The Devil May Cry tears and Nuuna's Astroglam Pink Makeup over the Clockwork Geisha from Tableau Vivant.
Cropped New Hope Sweater from Envious and Elaine Bell Bottom from Bliss Couture.
The backdrop is a photo of the de Chirico inspired tableau at the surrealistic Flashman's jazz club. Photos raw from SL... except the top one where three images was superimposed over each other.

Latex, my love

2011-11-21T20:11:00.001-08:00

For those of you who thought they lost out when there was no latex or straps in my last posting... I've got news for you. Latex Station is having an store hunt.

Ten female and two male free outfits have been placed out throughout the levels. With this I mean 12 different outfits, not colour variations of the same. They are easy to find with a systematic stroll through the futuristic store that's worth a visit in it's own right. You're looking for large boxes textured with the vendor images of the included outfit. As easy as it sounds.
The hunt lasts to Friday so there's a few days still to go.

My two favourites from the lot... obviously created with me especially in mind. Yummy!Above: Overmoulding Blue. Below: Francesca. Boots are not included.
The poses were created on the spot using my trustworthy Animare, which I've blogged before => X.

That's it folks... have fun. If latex is your game, Latex Station is the name...
Now... if you will excuse me... *Turns my back*

Sooooooo... teddy... where did you say you hid the chocolate...?...

#7 Fetish

2011-11-19T12:11:00.001-08:00

The personal Finesmith challenge is nearing it's end, this is #7 out of 10, and the theme is fetish. Fetish might not an art form but it is most certainly a popular genre.
A fetish is really just an object believed to have super natural powers... ehm... kind of easy to see why the term also is used for sexual obsessions for certain things, be it objects, poses or whatever. That's about how much I will 'discuss' it... 'everyone' knows what it is anyway.
My personal take is focusing entirely on the passion and the helplessness we feel when we're up against something from our own unconscious. Very organic, very animalistic, something I've tried to reflect in the outfit. Again, quite different from the kind of images turn up in a google search, not any vinyl or rubber anywhere... just organica.

Finesmith's In the flash - shpitz expressed exactly what I was trying to capture and I kept it as the only piece of jewelery. It was combined with a few things from ALB Dreamfashion: the Santina corset, feather shoulders from the Mara Elephant and the pants/stocking from the Mara Giraffe outfit. Yea, yea... you can have giraffes as fetish, no? Just imagine Freud's take on that.

Other visible its and pieces are Bax black suede ankle boots, Obscure net top by deviant girls and Sockers thong from Jungle Wear.

I found the long sharp nails by Cult of Belgar on the market place. I seem to have too big hands for all the real fancy nails, but these one are good. Costs a fraction and come with a colour and resizer HUD.
Cosmetics from A:S:S over Osakki's Creative Facepaint, my usual brands *shrugs*
There you have it. Hope something is of interest. Take care and have fun!

Wish I Was There

2011-11-18T16:42:00.001-08:00

As the northern hemisphere rapidly approach winter, we in the southern are plunging closer to the summer heat. We had a fright the other day with the promise of the first true heat spike of the season and suddenly I longed for the northern midwinter. Freezing and little daylight but with the snow glistening and heavy on the tree branches and crunching under your feet.

Or maybe I was trying some 'heat magic', trying to cool myself by preparing something for low temperatures and hope the created illusion I'm cool. That kind of magic works well for politicians... they cover the farce with serious talk and suddenly they take themselves very seriously.
Or... maybe I just wanted to show off some lucky chair prizes and the prattle above is my lame way of introducing them.

Whatever the reason, if you enjoy japanese designers and are open to their special style, these two (out of three) lucky chair prizes will make you happy. The ivory boots and the 'grey-brown stripe' poncho, even if it's a jacket, are both scrumptious lucky chair prices at BUKKA. The colours and textures are made with the same delicacy which you can expect from a japanese creator. If you like natural hues, this place is a must, the wool has such fine quality about it you can smell the lanolin.
The boots come with socks on/off options and the jacket has a HUD driven colour change for collar and fringes. The little bag is a joining gift from the sub group and another group gift is lurking in the kiosk history. Well worth a visit in other words.
Have a good weekend.

This Is England

2011-11-18T10:04:00.001-08:00

Now I love a good little event, so when I heard about MENS.SELECT I got all excited. The Dressing Room? For guys? Sign me up! And what should be there but a blue parka like I had as a small boy! That was probably the first item of clothing I ever really wanted, and if truth be told the only one for a few years more. We all zipped them up and stared past the faux-fur porthole as we ran around and it was wonderful. So I grabbed one and considered going over a field to kick a ball about, but realised I'm a grown man now.

The only option was the moody, brooding, young adult of the 80s. Sitting in wastelands drinking cheap cider, kicking the cans instead of a ball. Now, if you thought I was all set there, imagine my eyes when I saw that the creators, 22769, had another offering at The Vintage Fair - yes, the parka of my childhood wasn't enough for them, they wanted to turn me punk with a Union Jack parka too!

Now I'll be honest, I'm not a fan of SL coats. So often they look a little too turtleshell for my taste, but people like them and the Union Jack parka is a very fine coat in that regard, but for me the Blue Parka is the find of the month - not only is it a wonderful blast from the past but it's also one of the best made coats I've ever come across. It fits! I adore this parka, and with winter coming I look forward to wearing it a lot more.

No Dark Mice

2011-11-17T11:15:00.001-08:00

May I present a new version of Siss? I'm playing with my shape to see what happens. This version of me is at least one head taller, and the face reflect more the classic ideals of the mediterranean cultures that inspire my colours. I'm attending this modelling course you see, and this is part of the necessary tasks if you nurturing secret dreams to be a super model... or simply just want to pass the course.

After recovering from the vertigo and gaining control of the stilts, I think I'm quite dapper.

Anyway... that is not what I wanted to tell you about. I would like to draw your attention to a couple of real nice jewelery deals I've come across with unbeatable prices. They are completely free! The first is the lucky boards at Dark Mouse. The second is the November group gift at Finesmith.

Dark Mouse is a treasure for vintage feeling jewelery, all beautifully done and in tastefully subdued colours. I haven't been there for some time so it was news to me that the lone lucky chair from the past has been replaced by six lucky boards. Three of those together creates this softly colourful Midsummer set. Each piece is delivered with both warm and cool colour schemes options... think red and gold or blue and silver.

I keep going on about Finesmith and I'll do it again... and again... simply because some of their stuff is amazing. Finesmith is also a generous store which spoils its group members (no joining fee btw) with sudden flash deals or impromptu gifts. Some of the gifts are very stylish indeed, like the Geo set below, which is the group gift for this month.

The straight lines in the design and the large contrasting pearls suggests Art Deco and considering that the Vintage Fair is still going strong, this set is definitely SL a la mode. But then, this is SL, all styles are ALWAYS a la mode here. How great is that?
The rest of the outfit was cobbled together as follows, all with 'old' favourites:
Hair - Black Jack from Shag, on black hair base from BooN.Make up - the subtle Guy Liner 12 from A:S:S and lip stain from Mock.Jacket - obviously white version of R.icielli's Alexandra leather jacket.Tank - brown transparent version of Summer Tank from A:S:S.Pants - COCO's Slim Fit Pants in gold.Shoes - Soubresout from 2g.

A Dapper Tascher

2011-11-13T09:03:00.001-08:00

There are more than a few moustaches making appearances in that real world place this month, and I kinda love it. Facial hair gets a bad reputation sometimes, and in fairness there is a lot of pretty dodgy stuff out there, but as I sit here with my perennial stubble I lament the sparsity of SL facial hair. I'm not saying it doesn't exist, but it's not exactly common, and even less commonly good.

Now the tattoo layer is a real boon for facial hair fans, especially now we can wear multiple tattoo layers for those of us who want to use that layer for something more central to our identities (in my case my actual hair, but for many their ink is a large part of them). But the tattoo layer is very flat. I can get a nice stubble happening sure, I can even claim it a tightly trimmed beard, but the reality is your options are limits to something plastered to your face. (A comment which incidentally has given me a craving for one of those pencil moustaches slicked down with... well possibly best not to ask what with.)

Anyway, my recent revelation and desire aside, a thin moustache is rarely doable is it? I mean, full facial coverage works from stubble to ZZ Top, but a stubble moustache? Sorry, you'd look like a teenager trying to prove to everyone he shaves by not shaving the 5 hairs off his top lip. SO we get to the three dimension facial hair. Yes, having ditched prim hair I realise I am missing out on a big part of the SL experience, but instead of growing flowing locks I took a quicker solution - put the prims on my top lip.

Lucky for me, over at Discord Designs they have the Tasche Dash! 30 days, 30 sets of primly goodness facial hair, at 30L - they say it's 30L each, but it's actually 30L for a pack of four similar shades.

As you can see above there are many boxes per day. Aside from the standard pack they also have a 12 pack for 60L, or as I was possibly a tad excited at the bottom row... 90L for all 36 shades! Yes, that is where my Amethyst Mario Moustache came from, the scary bottom row which also included blues and hot pink! (The hot pink is actually in the purple box should you desire it.)

I love it, there are 13 out already, and previews of the next couple of days. The old ones are still available though, it's not a limited "one day to buy" type sale, it's one more being released per day. They really are great fun, there's a beard and a soul patch also available already, with the promise of more varieties to come. In fairness, there are some similar offerings, but there really is only so much you can do with facial hair so look at it as a way to find the perfect variation for you.

So what are you waiting for? If you want to look as dapper as I do (or indeed slightly regal with my purpleness) get on over there and poke around.

#6 Avant Garde (with Humour and Heart)

2011-11-12T18:32:00.001-08:00

Its time for my little weekly Finesmith challenge. It might be a bit of a drag, but I'm learning a lot in the process and, most importantly, it's fun. I'm up to week #6 and the theme is avant garde.

Avant garde is a term that was very popular in the last century for cultural path finders into the new and un-explored. For the public, stuck in the 'bourgeois establishment', avant garde was the shockingly new that caused scandal and ridicule before it gradually became adopted into the mainstream as the new norm.

Avant garde was the real catch phrase until art's only purpose became to shock... shocking for the sake of shocking rather than for innovation or serious discourse. Personally, I find this has happened in the so called 'avant garde' of fashion... especially in SL. It has become a genre in it's own right with a very specific style that tends to look the same every season. If it has shown some direction it tending towards the hard and cold with more and more open BDSM involved in the imagery. I touched on this is the post about Mannerism. Then there's of course the liberating wearable art, which has it's own conceptual background, but which need be considered in any concluding discussion on the subject.

To be quite honest, I was rather despairing until, out of the blue, Azoury launched a fund raiser for Somalia. Of course... what else to bring some shock and new direction to our culture but some empathy and good hearted humour? So here we go...
Azoury's fund raising Constance - La Cape Afrique (not available, but is sold in other colours) over parts of the Ninja II Unisex from Ladies WhoLunch. The shiny black belt with it's squarish silver buckle chose the Active Ankle Boots from Neurolab Inc.

The round buttons of the cape asked for Finesmith's Berry Blossom set, which asked for the sweetly crazy PYO902 hair from BooN (scrunchie with texture change). Makeup - A:S:S Guyliner over Osakki Creativ Facepaint.
I'm fond of this outfit. It makes me smile and I enjoy wearing it. It will linger in my inventory as a grid hopping one for sure.
Photos were taken over Quadrapop Lane's retrospective installation on LEA6.

Until next... take care and have fun!

Out For Lunch

2011-11-10T14:41:00.001-08:00

Either there's something in the air or I have simply visited too many mind blowing builds these last few days. Whatever the reason, I feel the 'need' to push a little clothes-wise and try something new.

Feeling like this, what better place to make acquaintance with than Ladies Who Lunch? Even if I'm not exactly a lady, or that they would only cater for such, I had a ball among the quirky and fun avant garde stuff. Like the After 6 Jacket and Stovepipe Slacks (cuff sculpts turned upside down). Not the usual tails, exactly.

The Alejandro Headdress is unique to say the least and doesn't exactly answer to mainstream aesthetics. I love it! The platinum hair and the separate eye pieces are included. Something to wear while around the grid and not just for dress-ups.

And heeee...... one have to love the Army Mouse Helmet. Here combined with Hijab (modded to fit) and Harem Pants, both available in a wide range of colours. The pant racks looks like a lolly stand, a yummy range of colours and textures.

I took these photos on Spencer Art Museum, funnily enough owned by the FL Spencer Museum of Art, (University of Kansas)... I would never have guessed! Anyway, it's an adventure. I used the 'Sailor's Delight' windlight preset and tweaked the gamma for more light and mmm...
Real surrealism... or is it surreal realism? This is SL after all.

A Flash In The Sky

2011-11-08T13:20:00.000-08:00

On Sunday I suggested that women could (and indeed should) buy a men's jacket, which is all well and good but let's be honest, women probably have more quality clothes on offer to them. Take 22769 for example. I've been watching them grow since they were exclusively menswear, these days they probably have a bigger ladieswear section than they do menswear! And the thing is, they make my kind of clothes. Earlier today they released some sneak photos of their items at the Vintage Fair; us chaps will be able to buy a pretty respectable 60s jacket. The ladies? They get two stunning flight attendant outfits (very Pan-Am) to choose from, and the outfit probably every woman in SL should invest in - a Barbarella dollarbie!

Now I found this sickening. This is a rather stunning little outfit and only a dollar, and only for women... or is it? Men can go in space too you know! Don't believe me? Well here I am hanging around in zero gravity.

Forget Barbarella, that outfit is Flasherella! Now I will confess it took a little tweaking to make it fit. I'm probably not quite there yet, but I am about twice the size of the mannequin it was made on so a little effort is only to be expected. But I ask you what is wrong with that? I was so happy I felt I could dance the night away, so I did - until the region restart told me to move along and stop disturbing the peace anyway.

So there you have it, not just a call for more unisex stores, but unisex clothes! Women buy "boyfriend cut" jeans for a reason. Men know that their shirts will get stolen every so often. We have this already, so bring on recognition! Stop limiting your shopping to half the store, explore, browse, and seriously... male or female that outfit will only cost you a single dollar when the fair opens. That really is a deal that's out of this world.

Cuckoo about COCO

2011-11-07T15:54:00.000-08:00

Hiya again... COCO is having a clearance sale, a massive one with stuff reduced down to 75% which brings many prices down to well below 100 lindens. It's been on since August so this is not new news exactly. So much happens in SL, it's easy to miss worthwhile events, though.

COCO isn't costly at any time so this is a golden opportunity to pick up some real fantastic bargains. For all you full fem guys, check out the new summer dresses.

The freshness of her apparel is timeless, her garments will last a long long time. I've bought my way through most of her shop during my time in SL but I added the bits below at long last, true to my bad habits I made it a challenge: find a complete outfit among 'new' stuff.

Fresh from her vendors: Cropped Knit Tee (red, 75L), Asymmetric Mini Skirt (tweed, 75L), Slim Fit Pants (black, 50L) and the black Engineer Boots (v2 and resizer HUD, 250L). I haven't bought the boots earlier because I thought I already owned the 'ultimate' boots of that strapped style, but having seen the textures of these ones I'm changed alliance. These are the scrummiest to date!

While at COCO, a visit to the gift shelf is a must. All of them are serious keepers. The appearance of new gifts might be a bit sporadic, but the quality is as good as the priced stuff. As new gifts are added at one end of the shelf, the old are removed from the other. Next in line to disappear *sobs* is the classic black Turtleneck Sweater which has earned the position of 'essential' in my wardrobe. It comes with wrist cuffs and two different sized collars. The texture is very dark but has a true ribbed texture. Creates a bit of a contrast with the White Leggings ^^
The Flat Ankle Boots can be sized up to fit men as well. In fact I wore them as man in Gor and they looked better than most rp boots. They come with separate invisi prims, but it's an easy task to replace them with some random alpha from the inventory. The Shirt & Parka combo is available in four different colours divided on two gifts.

That's it for this time folks. The marvellous locations are from the fantastic The Path, a collaborate art project involving some of the best builder artists in SL. It's organised like a whimsical surreal tale where you have to find the tp to the next build. Each build is a mini world to explore. The creators of these two builds are Claudia222 Jewell and ROSE, respectively.

The Defiant Peacock

2011-11-06T09:48:00.001-08:00

SL is always full of people with different opinions, but luckily there's one thing everyone can agree on - I'm never wrong. Which is why I got all excited to learn that the November group gift from VICE! was made for me! I mean sure, they claim this pose has something to do with remembering fallen heroes and stuff but let's be honest here - I'm never wrong. Although I guess the rifle they include with the pose does suggest it could be used as a military pose too...

With a pose called Defiant in my pocket I found myself pondering just how to express my greatness. Then I looked at the pile of computer parts sitting on the floor next to me and realised I should pick something other than my ability to upgrade my PC in a timely fashion (I know, perfection even evades me - just think of it as character). And then it struck me! I apparently really suck at anything to do with timing. Why? Because La Venta Eventa finishes today and I had a weekend bargain, and bargain does not do this justice. Over at A:S:S is a peacock bolero jacket. Now I'll be honest, they released a set of these the other week and I looked at them and thought "Nice, but not for me." When I heard about this one I figured I'd skip it, and then I saw it in all it's peacocky goodness and my fingers did a Bambi on ice type thing as they scrabbled over my drool covered keyboard to get me to the store quickly.

I like it.

Suddenly I was set! How better to show my defiance to the world than to dress as a peacock? So I posed, majestic and proud, and of course defiantly.

Now I paid 80L for my jacket, and I apologise if you read this too late. But based on past experience it will stay in the store, and the originals only cost 129L so if we assume this will be reasonably similar you're still getting great value really. And although A:S:S is in the menswear arm of La Venta Eventa it's safe to say this is pretty unisex - although if anyone looks better in it that I do I may have a use for that rifle after all...

#5 Classicism

2011-11-05T20:40:00.000-07:00

I'm catching up. Week five of my challenge and the theme is 'Classic'.

I think ancient Greece, white marble, simple lines and harmonious proportions of mathematical precision. Whenever western society have wanted to start afresh, its gaze has returned to classic Greece for inspiration... which is why so many state buildings in former colonies are light in colour and have greek pillars. In fact, the White House is a good neo-classical example.

Then, of course, there's also classic fashion. Simple elegance that's easy on the eyes and never goes out of fashion. Think tux or little black dress.

The ancient greeks designed after mathematical ideals of a divine beauty and nothing is more perfect than the circle. This makes the Finesmith Cybergirl necklace a perfect centrepiece for an outfit. The bracelets are part of the set while the more toned downed ear rings comes from Alienbear. The Tear Drops & Diamond Earrings mirror the gem shapes in the neck piece AND they are 'classic' in their own right, created as they were back in 2007.

I stuck to simple for the clothes and included soft folds and braided hairstyle to keep in touch with historic fashions. The colour was decided by the cardigan (Drape T & Cardigan Set from Scars), which you can have in any colour you want as long it's black. To avoid ending up with another black pants outfit (yet again the non-poofy bits of the, obviously, VERY useful Reich Pants from Tableau Vivant), I added a pencil mesh skirt (Lorene by Pixelated Design on the Marketplace). After that, I obviously gave the fem free reins.
Black Sophie Hat - By Morrigan Hyun. Dug up from the depths of my inventory when I failed to find what I wanted in the stores. It's so old even the creator's account appears to be closed down.
Backless Ankle Boots - COCO. I've used them before. Far from new but still looks good.
Hair - FTN683 with Anna45 added (extra front braid) and hair base from BooN.
I like the outcome, it reminds me about the almost fearful elegance of the late 1940s and 50s. I hope you find something that gives you pleasure in it as well.

A Rose by Any Other Name

2011-11-04T18:23:00.000-07:00

"That which we call a rose. ... By any other name would smell as sweet..." is a famous line from one of the most romantic and tragic love stories of all time, Romeo and Juliet. This stunning wedding dress Pure gown from Hello world is the epitome of romance with long flowing train, and sculpted roses all over.

The sculpted rose head piece perfectly accents the delicate beading on the bodice. That is further accented with more sweet roses at the waist. This Nov group gift skin from Filthy is the ideal mix of sweet and sexy with the all over glow of love. The group is not free but you get a great quality skin like this EVERY month and just one of these skins are worth over 5x the cost to join. Definitely worth the investment of group slot and $L. I should also mention that there is a 50% off sale going on there now for a limited time.

This dress also comes with adorable shorter version that will make you stand out even in a field of roses, such as these at the beautiful Rose Garden on the Feast sim. This is just one part of this gorgeous natural sim. Great place to explore and did I say gorgeous? You can see more about Feast here. This awesome gown is a Lucky Board Prize but also available for sale.

Hair: B (aka Analog Dog) Tangent
You have to check out her new stuff. Awesome new textures and still some of the best flexi hair on the grid.
Skin: Filthy-Nov Group Gift-F ( shown here in beach tan with blusher from the sl2 group gift makeup also available now.)
Jewelry: Icing-Princess Pearl Set
Dress: Hello world -Pure gown.
Shoes: GOS -Pointe Platforms Check out my glowing review of these on marketplace

#4 Surrealism

2011-11-04T03:20:00.000-07:00

I'm back after 1 1/2 weeks involuntary break from SL and must say that the corporate wall of what Linden Lab has become has put a real damper on my enthusiasm. Still, the intense colours are the same and so is the pixel magic so I will soon be back into my addicted self ^^

A few days late, to say the least, but it's time for the next instalment of the ten week challenge of Finesmith's from last year. The theme for week four is Surrealism, the art movement with it's roots in the 1920s and which was all about letting unconscious material flow and be given shape in various media.

Usually surrealistic art is simply teasingly weird and strangely alien, distant and potentially dangerous. This is perfectly understandable considering the obsession with the material world and human reason that has come to dominate the western world since the Age of Reason. Freud's writings hasn't helped... the unconscious is where the wild things are, the source of all our sexual perversions and sad lives but nothing more.
However, Freud simply scratched the surface, if that. Jung continued the exploration and dived deeper and found a profoundly ordered world of magic and divinity that whispers to us in dreams and fantasies in a language that's common for all of mankind. When it is expressed destructively, we have our life and schooling to thank, both coloured and broken lenses trough which we see a distorted world.

It must be obvious that I see the energies that surrealists work with as a life source and that this is reflected in my choice of outfit.
I've chosen an old Finesmith group gift as the point of origin, the Joy necklace suggesting the basic life force. I've tried to collect symbols from the language of our collective consciousness on three different levels of being - plant, animal, human. Most of the stuff will probably make perfect 'sense'.

The fish scale 'pants' is really a free silver mer-tail from Lost in Starnight on the market place. The darkening towards the feet which was paired with the black sans heel Carmen boots from sYs. The combination brings my thoughts to grey horses, the most treasured colour in my cultural tradition as well as my personal favourite. The FallnLuxuriaSuit coat from FallnAngel refers to the hermaphrodite of the alchemists, the result of the 'chymical wedding' or the union of male and female in all of us which the gold making process really was/is all about.
The mask is so old I won't even bother try to research it's creator and the HSO 388 hair comes from BooN. The combination of black and white as well as the hidden or only hinted is most fortunate.
My weird shape makes mesh clothing a no go, but I found something mesh I can wear - the violin! Mikki Miles produces excellent working instruments and especially their range of medieval instruments is admirable.
To get in the right mood for these pics... Next time you think swedes are cold and un-feeling, remember this tune:

Viewed from afar

2011-10-30T02:51:00.000-07:00

I'm stuck in FL! Something's gone wrong with my account and I can't log into SL. Linden isn't exactly falling over themselves to solve the problem so... pffftt... I have no idea how prolonged this agony will be.
In some ways it's an interesting experience. The withdrawal symptoms and the soul searching... ^^

The blogging bug has, however, bit me badly and I have a NEED to do something. So I'll present something I prepared earlier as they say.
This weekend, I was hoping to enter a competition at Finesmith... but... pffftt!!! I put this outfit together for my application. I've blogged everything before, everything except the Lorena Shawl by Finesmith, a very contemporary creation of loose balls of metal wire mounted on a light frame. The fresh lightness of this creation is pure pleasure and it asks something of a different response than most other pieces of jewellery.

A menu gives several options of metals and colours which creates umpteens possibilities. Just to uphold the public moral, I'm wearing my male nipples today, ok? No need for any upset ;)
Hahahaha... that's about as much I've got without prattling. Hope to see you inworld soon. In the meantime, have fun!

Happy Halloween!!

2011-10-28T19:45:00.001-07:00

A sexy little group gifty is available at Blacklace just in time for Halloween!

The hair Im wearing is new from the Dressing Room Blue by Exile! You get 4 colors for 60L!

Skin: Al Vulo Past Group Gift

Hair: Exile at The Dressing Room Blue - Iona 60L

Lingerie: Blacklace - Gimme my Treat -Halloween Group Gift Free!

Boots: SLink - Whitney

The Perfect Hunt

2011-10-23T20:48:00.000-07:00

I have just completed my second hunt this year and feeling sort of proud. It's rapidly approaching it's last week so if you've intended to to do The Perfect Runway Hunt, there's no time like now to do it.

50 stores are involved and it ends at the end of this month, the 31st. Hints and SLURLs can be found on the web site ==> X.

TPRH is catering mainly for fems so most of the clothing and hairs and the like was beyond me but I do think this rose bodice is cute and has potential for a great outfit or two. However, there's several pose stores involved and together with other gifts I've landed myself with almost 50 poses, both genders combined (when it comes to poses, androgynes tend to score double).

Photos show some of my favourite things from the hunt, poses included (not hair, eyes and skin). I've added eye liner. The shoes comes with a colour picker available for the nail polish, beside the skin one I mean.
Photos from Originalia... hopefully it's just the number of visitors that had created the painful lag.
Happy hunting as they say ;)

Easy Tiger!

2011-10-23T03:25:00.000-07:00

We all get happy when we have a three day weekend, but sometimes the one day weekends are the ones we really enjoy. When Saturday night rolls into Sunday morning and you watch the sun come up it's probably a night to remember. Sure, we're still in our posh frocks and swanky suits but our clothes take on a new life as they've worn into the night.

Brocade Tiger have captured that morning after attire well with their Double Take suit. It's 250L and purple - which may not be to everyone's taste it's true. No jacket, but that's been hung carefully already hasn't it? Jacket off, tie undone, and stretch out remembering everything you got up to. Rather nifty attire for a lazy Sunday after a great Saturday.

#3 Mannerism

2011-10-22T15:53:00.000-07:00

Dooohhh... this outfit is jinxed! Every time time I've worked on it, I've had to re-build it from scratch because it refuses to load. Someone or something don't want me to go there.
It's time for the third week of my personal fashion challenge based on a competition held by Finesmith Jewelry last year. It will feel good to have this one behind me, for more than one reason.
The theme for the third week's challenge was 'Mannerism', the period of late Renaissance, the period of da Vinci and Michelangelo. It's characterised by intellectualisation and a move away from 'art imitating nature' to 'art imitating art'. I read somewhere that the art at this time was criticised for the un-natural poses and aloof expressions of the human subjects and that got my associations running haywire.

The image of FL fashion models sprang to mind and I could see the whole modern era with it's obsession with mind on the expense of feeling. An era of control, elitism, dominance and increasing artificiality. I don't see any point where the fashion genres labelled 'avant garde' and the hard side of 'fetishism' breaks off from modernism... they are thoughts thought to their logical end.

So... something that most would put in the 'avant garde' genre used to interpret the late renaissance, all based around Finesmith's In the Flash - Acupuncture pieces. The chest piece consisting of the official chest piece with a couple of earpieces added. The weight of the jewellery would make attaching and wearing them a feat of self control me thinks... but they are fantastically beautiful to look at and this is SL. No avatars were hurt taking these shots.
Clothing wise I started of down the line of the control a good horseman has over his/her animal and geometric symmetry. A lot of searching and I decided the Triangle pants from Source with all those nails inserted in a regular pattern matched my thought and the jewellery best. The hip pads were colour modded and used with the high cut Reich pants from Tableau Vivant... sometimes solid black is a blessing!
G246 Boots from Graves, shoulder pads from Osakki's Assassin outfit and Cyber tattoo from sYs completed the image, all giving the right visual signs and keeping the lines flowing.
There you have it. The spooked outfit!
While on the subject and since you can't go anywhere without stumbling over pumkins at the moment, here's to the season:

Enjoy and have fun.... muahahahahahaha

Shadow Play

2011-10-18T19:52:00.000-07:00

I'm blind... *blinks hard at the pile* Am standing at MADesigns, where I've been so many times lately, and not until right now do I see them. 'Them' being 25 free gifts packages to pick up from familiar and respected stores and some not as familiar. *Grabs them all and rushes home to a few hours of fun.*

Hectic unpacking and trying on. Although most are for guys, as could be expected at MADesigns, there's good things for other peeps as well. Thumbs up for this initiative. There's a few stores among this stuff that will get a visit a bit later, that's for sure.
Here's some of what I found in the treasure trove...

This poncho is from CheeNo not only comes in fem and male versions but also versions with their own AO to keep arms under the garment. Khaki pants, chosen for their colour, where gifted by Shiki together with a blue top.
Pose was gifted by BeScene. I did a lousy job with it above, my apologies to the creator. I didn't want to modify it for any reason since it was to be named so I left the arm poking through the poncho a little. The light/shadow effect on the wall was too satisfying to turn and stand properly against the wall. Sometimes being a visual artist is a handicap :P

In fact, to learn more about shadows in SL was as much the goal for this photo session as showing the stuff. My apologies for my lessons taught me what NOT to do. Life's a journey ^^
The set of 10 (12 if a couple of relaxed hand alternatives are included) from Diesel Works are not only too good to ignore but proved handy to show the upper body kanji tattoo from HUZ TATS without breaking the rating as well. XD
Jeans (with prim cuffs) and tied wrist band are to be found in the gift from *FIR* and the black gloves in SF design.

The most important thing I've learnt about light and shadows is that you loose transparent textures as soon as you turn them on. That's a real bummer and a big limitation on such a cool feature. I was to pre-occupied with figuring out how to catch the movement in the little trying-to-stand-still-but-the-music-is-too-good-dance from AKEYO to realise that the dark glass in the sunglasses didn't render. No wonder everything tends to look so solid with shadows switched on.
Shorts and shirt are gifted by Connors, sunglasses (complete with dark frames, promise) by Adjunct and shoes by Duh!. The watch from GBTM is a keeper even if I use my computer to keep track of time. The scripting involved behind the complex display must be a scripting master piece and will be treasured as such.

MADesigns has a giftie, too... but not a hair. Their box is filled to the brim with of a long list of really useful stuff such as a HUD controlled face light, emoter HUD, full perm building textures, eyes and even a couple of their male poses. There's also a full perm pose stand filled with all the 'classic' freebie poses from around the block. A real juicy package that made me go all soft in my knees to be honest. Among what I understand are older eyes are two pairs of brown of the latest generation. I'm wearing a pair of those in these images. Wonderfully clear and with just the right amount of tinting of the whites to look natural without the hay fever or the morning after effect.
The hair is not part of these riches, it's my Rosa from Discord Designs. Why such a great unisex hair has such a gendered name is beyond me... it's a fantastic tangle of braids that would look good on anyone with almost anything!

Pearls of Wisdom

2011-10-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

My comeback was weirdly serious! I mean I know I did the ranty blogger thing but... there was discussion! I must confess to only reading the ones here after getting sucked into much brain thinking in the ensuing Plurk debate and I'm a bit calmer now, so I figured my next appearance should be one of my old faithfuls - silly with lots of skin! One slight problem I had though - my skin was falling off.

Nope, not some Viewer 2 bug, no fancy mesh skins - I just went rummaging through my inventory and found out that skin had gone off. I guess I should've patched up the holes before I put it into storage but now it's all mouldy and falling apart. But it's that time of year when we all remember we have some zombie skin we picked up somewhere long forgotten and try to dress it up sexily for some spooky party. You know the ones - half the people want to pull a vampire and the other half just want Candi (ideally with a heart dotting the i). Luckily for me Vision Eyes gave out a nice launch pack a while back which included Vampric Eyes (which are usually 50L a pair), so I threw the blood balls in and felt ready to impress the vampire hunters!

With the zombie look developing nicely I decided to fall back on that piece of trivia that for some reason there is always one person willing to tell the room despite the fact that 90% of the people there already know it and it was only kinda cool the first time you were told it anyway - when you die your hair and nails keep growing. This was a dilemma for my shaven headed self, but luckily I'd seen an advert for a weekend sale at Bryce so I hopped on over - and promptly ignored what the 50L bargain I'd been eyeing up, because round the back of the reception desk I picked up the Saul fatpack for 0L which suited my cheap self rather finely if I do say so myself. Bingo, not only did I have hair but the pack contains a nicely deathly white offering too!

With skin and hair I figure I'm a fully equipped zombie, so I went ona graveyard tour looking for some friends. Big mistake. At my first stop I tried talking to some fellow zombies, but despite being far more decomposed than they were they kept biting me! And the free pistol at the front door didn't actually blow their prim selves up either. So I moved on to find real people! We'll ignore the tragedy of the next few sims (although really, if you don't want strangers arriving at your graveyard just take yourself out of search...) before I landed at a jam packed graveyard sim! Granted, I don't speak much spanish so I couldn't mingle brilliantly, but I did realise they thought there was something a little unusual about my attire. Which is when I realised I needed to hide my pumpkin!

Now personally I think they were over-reacting. Whilst I was naked, I had rotted enough that my parts had fallen off so I was pretty PG. But apparently it still counts. Luckily I knew I had the perfect little pills tucked away, some healthy VITAMEN pills in fact, in the shape of their seasonal peark thongs. They're free gifts and you get one in black and one in orange - they really do put the treat in trick or treating!

Realising that no-one wanted to talk to me now I was less obscene I went to sulk by a tree. I got out the newly released Undead Pose pack from Embody and started playing with myself - which was when a crazy lady followed me over (she probably had the same dirty thoughts you perverts did when I said I was playing with myself!) Luckily she arrived just in time for a little growl and she soon ran off, because it's only when you crawl around on all fours you notice that those pearl thongs do not cover much of your rosey buttocks!

#2 Kitsch

2011-10-15T01:46:00.000-07:00

He he... time for the second instalment of the personal ten week challenge. One year ago, Finesmith Jewellery had this competition based around their own pieces. I responded... missing the deadline by only one year. ^^ Could have been worse... I might not have seen it at all :P

The theme for the second week was 'kitsch'.
*Groans* Here goes...
Kitsch in everyday speech refers to something cheaply made, sentimental and in bad taste... and it was a popular term with modernists who looked down their nose on popular culture from their self proclaimed pedestal of the avant garde. Clement Greenberg's essay 'Avant-garde and Kitsch' (1939) is obligatory reading in art history. In our post-post-modern times, 'kitsch' is appreciated as 'camp' and we can love, laugh or cry or whatever we feel about it.

Kitsch in fashion seems to refer to those unique items you've salvaged and wear with pride in a contemporary setting. To be honest, the term seems to be as loose as the proverbial canon. For this week's challenge I decided to base it all around something iconic SL retro of disputable good taste... the PENGUIN SHIRT!!! And it was FREEEEEEEE!!!!! He he, the classic top now sleeping wherever computer files go when they're deleted from the library.

For the rest, I let my SL sentimentality guide me.... My most brightly coloured happy poofy pants from deviant girls... One of those short japanese jackets that were popular last year... or was it the year before? I won it on a lucky board in a store I can't even trace now, anyway. It came complete with a non-working resizer script so it won't fit me but I keep it because I like the lining... Christmas themed sneakers from In Her Shoes, wonderfully free and beautifully picking up the colours of the rest.

And... the jewellery... well, he he... Ethnica is a past group gift from Finesmith. It's unfortunately no longer available since they moved to their new location. With this outfit, the set is loud and fake looking... and simply wonderful and fun.
Overall result, loving the fun and colours... I think the word 'kitsch' springs to mind. *Strikes a pose* I still look better than the first time I was here, however.

To complete this journey, I used a place with which I have a sentimental connection to, the art works that brought me to SL in the first place. It wasn't with Siss but with The First One, who was revived only last year. I was researching an essay on avatars when I came across SL for the very first time. I found references to the crossworld art exhibition 'Pixel dolls, meat space and everything else at once'... back in 2006 at the Seattle Bumbershoot Art Festival. SL art was shown in a FL gallery and visitors could sit down at a computer and have an inworld walkabout to watch the pieces in situ. What about that eh?
Of course I had to stretch my then lousy internet connection to venture inworld to see for myself. The pic above shows the very birth place of my second life. ^^
A few of the original works still linger on the now derelict looking sim. The ones in the pick above are by Carl Fizz and Chance Abattoir. The wooden figures fall apart as soon as you approach. That was enough to gob smack an absolute noob, for sure.
There you have it, with a little SL art history thrown in for good measure! If any of you want to see the works in first person, here's the limo => X.
Take care and have fun. If anyone fancies the penguin shirt, just contact me inworld and I'll be happy to forward a copy.

Sweet Tart

2011-10-12T15:53:00.000-07:00

I wanted to do a quick post to share this sweet treat from Tart. This Tart- Look 3 complete outfit, includes some of their most versatile and popular items. The open chest vest, cropped tee and ruffle mini skirt with and without garters , stockings and shoes!! That is right it even comes with the shoes. All this for an astounding 99L available for a limited time on the market place. Check it out here.

Helping to round out this complete outfit, this awesome Oct Group Gift skin from Filthy. There is a 199L fee for joining the group and you get great new skins every month, one for women and one for men too. This membership pays for itself and then some with just one gift. Another gorgeous and very generous group gift, Mana hair from D!va to celebrate the group going over 15000 members!! This group is free to join. Many old group gifts still available as well as luck boards and discount hair. So have a look around when you pick this up.

Well there it is, don't miss out!!
See you around the grid.
Mxx

Truth Behind The Mask

2011-10-11T15:18:00.000-07:00

Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth. ~Oscar Wilde

The allure of the face hidden behind the mask... and the freedom to hide behind one! A bit like having an avatar. You can pretend to be anyone but will reveal more about your true self in the process.

As a species, we're obsessed with masks. Tribal ones that brings the dreamtime to life... the haunting fine featured beauty of a decorated venetian volto... or the crude homemade mask that hides the features of the rampaging psychopath in a slasher movie. Whatever the origin, they're beacons of deep seated allure and gets us in our soft spot.

They certainly get me and in SL I can't resist them... as long as they're not simply an uploaded stolen photo pasted on a prim. I added three new ones to my collection this last week and I can't wait to show them off.

The first one is the result of the raid at the 4.44.444 event. Yay! Can't believe my eyes with this beauty, The Three Eyed by ContraptioN. What is it? Tribal steampunk? It defies labelling and simply looks great fun together with the Wrecked Horns from the same source. I combined it with Nuuna's yellow BodyCross Makeup from the same event and some henna tattoos (tattoo 10) from Peace and Lol.
Hair is the Aura by Discord Designs, free in four colours at Savoir Hair.

The second one isn't so much about hiding as about enhancing. The fine metalwork and the colourful gems of the Jacqueline mask from The Jewellery Exchange was enough to get me scrambling for some white lace to match. The top is part of Myrthe, a recent group gift from ALB Dreamfashion. The Creativ. Facepaint is by Osakki, available at their stall on Modavia.
Hair, again almost visible, is Penelope from MADesigns.

Last but not least, the elegant Light & Shadows lace mask from Tableau Vivant. Matched with the Aeneas 4 top from the same designer, albeit with random shoulder pads added.
Hair is another new release from MADesigns, Fifi.
Three masks, three looks and three very different me. All three are probably true as well... the raw, the light and the heavy, as with all of us ^^
Until next time, take care and have fun!

#1 Steampunk

2011-10-08T20:01:00.000-07:00

I've got good news and bad news for you today. The good news are that I'm not making another post with me in a tutu at Burn2. The bad is that only one day remains before the gates close on the festival.

But life moves on and I've got a date with a date, a so called deadline.

One year ago, Finesmith Jewellery had a large styling/modelling competition stretched over ten weeks. Each week an outfit had to be presented on a given theme using at least one of Finesmith's pieces. I found a nc about it a few of months ago and until I quite recently saw the date, I thought it was still on... so... and... yeah... ^^

I was intrigued by the themes. Several were art styles, simply yum yum. I don't care much for competitions so who cares I missed it by just under one year. You know what the say about blinking and you've missed it... I'll do the challenges on my own and present the result here each week instead.... muahahahahaha!

I'll try to do it with as few words as possible and prattle with my pics instead.

The theme for the first week, to be presented on 8 October, was 'Steampunk'.
I love the look of Steampunk, the wrought iron and rust, Jules Vernesk imagination, steam and curious contraptions. However, I can't identify with it. For me it represents a triumph of the clockwork/ mechanical universe with no place for spirit/soul. A constrained world like the victorian where there were concerns for the dignity of children's sleeping positions.

A world where the human mind rules and the rest can be replaced with machinery. My gut felt response to the steampunk challenge developed along the ideas of constraint/self control and contraptions.

I used the Finesmith - Collar inspired by Blackliquid as starting point together with LeeZu's Au Revoir de Sade Jacket (modded). Together they create a suitable flowerlike cradle for the seat of the prime cut of the human carcas, the brain. I kept the androgyne by combining gender associations of the various bits and pieces.
I love this collar. One of Finesmith's pieces that goes new places. It comes with a resize and colour change menu with many many choices of metals and colours. I prefer it in platinum and I'm real happy that the other things naturally fell into each other colour wise.
Will just list the other stuff:
Pants - Pin Men, Davinel Corset - free Orient Corset Dress, KWZ Hair - Free Hair, Black Maria Eye piece - Scanner eyepiece (slightly modded), Grim. Bros.
The artificial leg and bustle are bits from the sweet avatar on the pic below, Ms. Art Deco, which is freely available on Alpha Point. The bustle was cobbled together using the prims of the chest. The leg required a custom alpha which was an interesting little project in its on right.

The shots are from the Forgotten City, a place that suddenly make perfect sense in my present outfit inspired mood. A beaut for a visit. May it get what support it needs for it's continued existence.
Until next time... as always - have fun!
Music find of the week:

Meshy Madness

2011-10-08T04:51:00.000-07:00

Yes, the crazy angry male blogger is still alive! Just... But I'm still here. Why so quiet lately though? Because SL has been annoying me. I'm not a viewer 2 hater but I must say it does run slower on my computer, and the inventory options do make it a little harder for me to keep everything organised as well as before (and I'll be honest, it wasn't that well organised then...). But I do like the Outfit stuff, I'm slowly building up those so that I can dress quickly should I need to leap out a window or anything. But it's the mesh thing that is bugging me.

You see, the problem is... I like mesh! It's pretty cool when you look at it really, it's just the whole resize problem. And this is where my personal anger and problems come in - it makes me not want to buy any clothing just now! I want super cool menswear meshes and no-one will make them. Okay, not quite no-one. My friends over at 22769 (who now have a swish island all to themselves btw) have made mens jeans in mesh. I really like them too. I just don't fit them.

In fact it's even worse if I take off the alpha layer...

And then they release some dirty blue denims for La Venta Eventa with prims. And the thing is, they don't fit me either.

But this time I can lower the cuffs and narrow them down slightly and they fit!

And those are nice prim jeans. Now I know it's a weekend sale but for 75L I get those jeans, a sweater, and a scarf. All prim! So do I buy prim clothing know it's a dying technology, or mesh in the hope that any resizing fixes will apply to stuff I already own? Or do I just buy nothing at all? it's so frustrating it just makes me shake my fist! Which I can actually do with the Slasher poses Embody have at The Theme Park.

But I've decided to mellow a bit. I still like a lot of prim clothing, and although I suspect in a year or so I'll think it looks dated and newbish I'm turning my back on good clothes now. Which is silly, and not in the good way. We all know I do silly in the good way, that's why I've been playing Glitch instead of getting annoyed at SL's current state of flux. That's also why I went to A:S:S for the Glitchy Tees they're ofering in this weekend's La Venta Eventa, and the boys and girls even get different badges, but I'm definitely a cheesemonger so I'm glad I'm male.

I do hope this mesh debacle sorts itself out soon though. There's the JIRA, and the fundraising, and lots of uncertainty about who is doing what. I guess I pay enough attention to this stuff to realise I'm not confident in anything happening right now, so rather than give up, I'm going to keep eyeing prims and accept that mesh isn't actually here yet. Which is a shame.

Bridal Dreams in Color

2011-10-06T08:39:00.000-07:00

At some point in every girls life no matter how brief, we all dream of being a bride. Some girls have these dreams in color. Such lucky girls are Indian brides. Indian bridal wear is traditionally red, to symbolize fertility and abundance, feature lavish embroidery and decorations usually in gold or silver. This gorgeous Exotic Maharani Lehenga from Glitterati by Sapphire, with its rich texture and great details it is sure to compliment any ceremony and make the wearer feel like true royalty.

Besides the Lengha the Bride is also adorned from head to toe with extravagant jewels. This stunning Nisam set from Zaara Couture comes with all you see here as well as jewels for the feet additional head pieces and an additional necklace. ( I am wearing 2 of the necklaces in this pic). Worth every L and also made to work with special hairs from Maitreya. Please check out some of the talented Indian designers and fashions in sl and discover something new and exotic.

Hair: Elikatira
Skin: Exodi
Mehndi: Yak &Yeti
Nails: Finesmith Designs
Jewelry: Zaara Couture (with the exception of the belly jewel by Glitterati by Sapphire)
Wedding Lengha: Glitterati by Sapphire
Location : All pics shot on the Zaara Sim gorgeous and worth the trip. Be sure to check out the temple there for Ganesh, Hindu God of prosperity and remover of obstacles. For more pics and info about this sim look here

Have a great week fashionistas and fashionistos and
see you around the grid
Mxx

Ehm... A Bit Silly Blushes Slightly

2011-10-05T17:55:00.000-07:00

Ehmmm... I haven't got a clue how or what to write.

Burn2 is in full swing and I'm there... with an umbrella. Don't ask me why. Seemed the right place to blog about an umbrella... but it grew to a sort of performance piece. I've been standing here for hours in the desert with an umbrella that makes it rain. The idea is a bit hilarious, it doesn't even rain until I open the umbrella. How about that?

In the beginning it was only me in normal clothes clasping an umbrella, standing on one of the empty parcels that dots the festival. One minute I was in a warm jacket and rubber boots, standing on the parched soil looking like a one person rain storm and and the next I looked like this! The effect this place has on you!

What really gobsmacks me with this umbrella from NODe is the beauty of the animated rain that plashes against the material and runs off the cloth. I've mentioned this in another post. It really has to be seen to be believed. I tried in vain to catch the magic in a photo, but the effects have the subtlety you can expect from a japanese creator. I had to contend with catching the different textures available in my version (several other sets at the store). There's even a good sound effect!
However, to be honest, this marvel has a couple of draw backs, the most serious being that the AO interferes with the hold pose when you walk so the umbrella swings everywhere except over your head. That's a serious point. But then... the big cloud of rain has no hope to keep up with you anyway when you walk. The second one is less serious. The umbrella opens and closes with a quick click, but how heavy rain, even if any at all, is decided by pure chance. Very poetic, but more control would be welcome. Said like a typical westener.

Other things of interest... simply listed from top to bottom:
Mask - Sirius 'V' Mask by Sirius Solo free on the marketplace or in his inworld store (can't access profiles atm, so I can't give LM).
Jacket/gloves - Part of the Reputation outfit, group gift at Beautiful Dirty Rich.
Corset with pants - Santina corset - ALB Dreamfashion.
Tutu - Fairy Land Tutu by Trill Zapatero, free from the tutu tree, just inside the front gate at Burn2. Many colours to choose from.
Socks - Loose socks from Klamotte, comes in colour packages of four for 180L (I seem to remember...)
Chucks - Smilys by [-yo-], bought at XYRoom (VERY happy but texture is a bit disappointing, even for the discounted price).
Trust Murphy's law... back home, changed outfit, opens the umbrella to confirm what I'd written about the animation and get a deluge.... At least you can see the rain now ^^ Take care and have fun!

Roll Up, Roll Up!

2011-10-02T18:15:00.000-07:00

Burn2 has started and is in full swing with music and builds and crazy avs!!! Come and join in this celebration of the human spirit! At full speed until the 9th October.

Among everything else, there are of course plenty of fun and and arty gifts... after all, giving is the spirit here. I present to you this outfit made entirely from those. What? You can tell? *Blinks in incomprehension* How...?
Bad jokes aside, come on down and join into the fun. There's even a couple of Burn2 fashion shows in the program (I don't have the SLURL yet):
Wed Oct 5 2-3 pm SLTThu Oct 6 5 - 6 pm SLT

Stuff from allover the sims, photos taken on my partner's and mine little poetic installation, Flow.
As always, take care and have fun! See you at Burn2!

Smooth Move

2011-10-01T13:50:00.000-07:00

Hiya yet again... another few days behind us and I've got a fresh pile of stuff to show and tell as well as as another 'old friend' of mine to introduce.

First, I've got some new stuff that looked so cool I couldn't resist it and which ended up in this futuristic cyber haute outfit. Starting point is a new release male high waisted pants from Tableau Vivant disclosed at the Modavia Fashion Week. Hehe... they are so black that beside their outline, I don't have clue what they actually look like. XD Still, the outline is great as is the high waist and I'm very fond of them. *Nods nods in earnest*
The intriguing top with it's single poofy sleeve is the jacket and dress top is the latest and VERY generous and worthwhile group gift at Beautiful Dirty Rich, the black Reputation dress with jacket and gloves (fat pack of colours to celebrate the umpteen numbered group size). Their MM boards are featuring bits with similar potential atm, the Dancing in the dark jacket is a definite have even if fishnet dresses or neko isn't your style.
The TERA hair and sans heel Activa ankle boots (some colour changing options available) are new releases from MADesigns and Neurolab Inc. respectively. The hairs are being pushed in black but they are available in all colours in the women's hair department. Combed hair base's from BooN, which I like because of the realistic hairline down the side of the face.
The pants are still only available on the Modavia sim, they haven't reached the stores yet. In fact, the whole shopping area from the earlier fashion week is still up... as are all the freebies. If you haven't been there yet, there's still time. Just join the group and they're all yours. It's well worth the effort.

OK, that was my new stuff. What about my old friend? Well, believe it or not but the pose in the picture above with the mask is my own and I made it inworld. How cool is that? (I'm not referring to the pose.)
Some time ago I bought the Animare Pose & Animation System by YT Recreant on the market place for the massive amount of 299L and those are probably some of my best spent lindens to date.

Animare's greatest usefulness for me is in modifying existing poses for a photo. Like this one by Del May. With these poofy pants, my hands ends up inside the poofs, which doesn't make a decent shot. With the help of the HUD, a single click freed my hand so I can use this angle to show off the heel-less design of the boots. Nifty eh? The changed position of my arm even added a little extra dynamics.

This is how the Animare HUD looks like... you simply click on the joint you want, then click on the arrows to move it. The blue dots shows the ones you've fiddled with and the green shows the presently selected one. Simple.
You can even move your avatar around by using a rezzed pose ball in case you're using props. I should make it clear that this is not a tool with which you can simply 'record' and steal other peoples creations. It doesn't work that way. What it allows you to do is to make temporary adjustments of existing poses or create your own from scratch.
If you have created a pose you want to keep, a click on the export button will give you a set of values in chat which you copy paste into a downloadable file from the website. After saving and renaming the file, it can be uploaded into SL again as an animation file. You don't need any animation software, only a text editor that can open BVH files. I'm using the free Textwrangler on my Mac, TY mentions Notepad. It's even possible, apparently, to use Animare for animations.... Simple to follow instructions are found on the website and the creator is a pleasant person who happily makes himself available in case of problems that's not covered by the webpage.
HOWEVER, this tool will not replace a 'traditional' animation software. The movements of joints are done in steps and for some body parts, like the hips, those steps are a bit too large for subtle poses. It is, HOWEVER again, a brilliant and fun toy... ehm, TOOL... to work with inworld and as I'm getting more and more into making my own poses, I find it an invaluable help.
This is that for this time. See you soon. In the meantime, take care and have fun!
Ohps! If you haven't firmly closed the shutters to the resent FL issues, I can't recommend you enough to listen to the interview below. If you're doing your best to ignore it, I recommend it even more. There are signs of attempts from above to stop it from being widely watched. This is, indeed, the time of 'speak up now or be silenced forever'. It's our choice. If this link cease to work as well, enjoy the practical demonstration of 'free speech' ^^

Fall Fete

2011-09-26T19:31:00.000-07:00

Fall Fete is a week long event celebrating the 2nd Birthday of 25L Tuesdays. It will start Sept 27th and end Oct 4th with a special round of 25L Tuesdays deals. Many special events are scheduled for this celebration including dance contest, fashion shows, and a special hunt to start on the 30th of Sept. For a full list of events check the notices in Freebie Fashionista in world group or feel free to contact me by im for one.

One of the very first weekly special groups 25L Tuesdays has grown in the past 2 years to include over 60 quality designers and 12000 subscribers. We here at Freebie Fashionista and MD StyleWatch would like to congratulate 25L Tuesdays on 2 great years and warm wishes for many more to come.

Some great things in store so take a minute and check out some of the fun this week,

See you there

Mxx

Colour Me Brightly

2011-09-25T15:59:00.000-07:00

Hiya again... another post and another old friend... or maybe not very VERY old... I stumbled across this little store while out walking (true) some weeks ago... but I do keep going back. I simply love the stuff!

Miss Shippe's Studio is all about face paint in one form or another... and fun, FUN such. No subtle makeups but real dramatic colour for bold statements. Orderly or disorderly, her palette runs off the vendors in colourful streams. Her inspiration comes from absolutely everywhere and anywhere, ranging form hindu holy men (above) to the spirit of her friends.
There's stuff for everyone and for every wallet. Cheapies, the odd freebie, gathcha and a subscribo gift can be found beside the full priced stuff that's still pretty cheap, 50-100L is standard. They're all impressively well made.
There's not much more to say. I'll just show you a few of my purchases and let you make your own mind up. Just keep one word in mind - 'marvellous'.

Some spontaneous fingerpaint and a traditional fem maori moko.

Some sparkling eye colour from the gathcha and cyborgian insets, whole body tattoo available in three different colours (matching eyes included).

The rather striking facial hair of the fabulous Frida Kahlo... and a simple flustered mud look (full body) after... whatever... ^^
The other stuff:
Skin: My standard custom from Pink Fuel, not generally available.Hair: Y-50 from Zeus on a standard hair base from BooN.Eyes: Cabochon Eyes II from FTL. My standard, I suppose.
There you have it! I recommend you don't take my word for it but check this store out for yourself. You'll see I've left out the whole body freckles, the moles and and too many other things. Most of all, you'll have fun!