Color Challenge: Week Thirty-one - Denim

I'm laging behind on Denim week, but this is kind of a lagish week so that's ok. It was also a very difficult to find a denim thing,s ince Jeans aren't... exactly prevalent in my inventory. I ended up pulling out a dress I picked up at Tiny Birds, when she dropped the prices and (sadly) closed her store.

That seems to be happening a lot, these days. The recession offline has deep effects online, sending shudders through the system and - in many cases - driving sims to close, which lowers the profits of land owners, which sends more of them fleeing... and so on, and so forth. I try not to pull the death knell kind of language, and I wouldn't here, but it's certainly been difficult for individual store owners, and each closing makes me rather sad (and, at the same time, greedy; I've picked up a lot at closing sales).




The pictures and the poses come from the same place - TERHO, in Katat0nik's psychodelic wonderland of cutiedeath. I particularly loved the flamingos outside the store - including skelemingos! The sense of whimsy which spreads form decorations to the fun textures on the ground always make me smile whenever I come here. The dress, as I said, is from Tiny Bird - more known for hair than clothes, though the detailing on this dress is lovely. The Shiny Things shoes actually set the color for the entire outfit, being the only thing I'm wearing with the word 'denim' in its title. I paired them with G Field's fantastic socks, this time at ankle height - there's also a knee height besides the over-the-knee length I usually wear.

I paired up jewelry again to make a triple strand - one high strand, almost a choker, from Eclectica, then a longer, double strand from the glorious Little Boy Blue. I love how they lay together - slight curves which accentuate the neckline without being to obvious; the Luxor necklace is a long time favorite, regularly pulled out for outfits, and my more recent Eclectica purchase (which comes with matching earrings, bracelet, and ring) complements it perfectly.




My hair is from Truth, and I damn my friend every day for introducing me to this particular addiction! I lvoe the curve of the bangs, though, concealing the face without completely obscuring it, and the loose knot at the back of the head makes me thing of those hurried mornings when you rush out to work or school, putting your hair up in the car at red lights. The skin is from Plastik, and I honestly don't remember how I got it, but I do like it a lot. I added cheLLe's new eye liners to it - an impulse buy which has now added a lot to a few photoshoots, so definitely an investment worth the linden. It's a subtle effect around the eyes, but it adds that extra zing to my RooMee eyes from De la Soul and my favorite ears from Illusion. And, of course, there are my eternal favorite wings from Fancy Fairy.

The shot above was actually taken inside of the TERHO store, going up the stairs. I really liked the style of her new store, though part of me will miss dropping down a hole into a store. She used glow on the stairs, which is a fantastic effect and served to blow out the merchandise on the first floor nicely.  




I actually went back to Fancy Fairy recently to check out the wings and see if there was anything I wanted. One problem with how well the Azarelle wings fit my needs is that I really don't need to buy more - which is one of those curious things with stores when you have a more set style, as I do. I change my hair and clothing regularly, but my wings and ears feel more like myself, and when I change my eyes it tends to be to a new one without much looking back. My ears I've barely changed since I joined Second Life as well, and when I did change them it was to the same style with earrings - not to a new brand. On the one hand, that has to be rewarding to a creator - to know I love something so much that I rarely take it off. On the other hand, form a business sense, it means they don't get more money out of me, at least not for that type of item. I'm not rending my eyes, and ears, and wings; they are bought and paid for.

Identity is a funny thing in a world where appearance is so entirely for sale as it is in Second Life. I am myself, but only made up from the creations of others. I am unique and individual, but only through things sold en masse in a virtual world. It is a paradox, and one I doubt will have any resolution anytime soon.




( All of the pictures here. )

Credits:

Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Ears: Illusion, Mystic Fairy Ear
Skin: Plastik, Amber - Sacrilege
Eyeliner: cheLLe, Cleo Called navy
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Hair: Truth, Kalia - driftwood
Dress: Tiny Bird, St. Augustine Dress - Slate
Jewelry: Eclectica, Victoriana - Blue Agate
Second Necklace: Little Boy Blue, Luxor Necklace - Double
Stockings: G Field, Ruffle Socks - Cream
Shoes: Shiny Things, Zimmy Flats - Faded Denim

Poses: Terho

Location: Katat0nik
Light Settings: [TOR] EUPHORIA smokey blue
Water Settings: [TOR] Crosshatched plans

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only