Genres - Trivial and Critical

The Genre Event always gets me thinking about genres; which ones I like and which I struggled with, which seem clear and which become confusing, my knee-jerk and longer term responses to people who can't seem to identify a genre and so put forth something more in line with their usual output than the theme of the event. In general terms, I like fantasy, I like science fiction, I like mysteries - especially cosy mysteries, but I dislike horror unless it's psychological suspense and even then I'm watching it during the day. I like romances but I'm picky, anything that ends up down Gender Essentialist Blvd will raise my ire. I like Rock & Roll and Pop, but not the sexist  bits and at inopportune times I'm prone to pointing out we stole most of it from Black people. I love philosophy, but I'm a post-modernist who became so not because of classes but because I thought it made the most sense, and then I met other post-modernists and became very sad; see also Libertarianism (though now I'm really a progressive socialist).

I know it may seem like political things don't fit under "genre", but if you really think about it, a genre is really just a collection of similar characteristics with which something or someone is identified; we focus on it in entertainment media, but sports varieties are really genres, and sports geeks are as geeky as Dr. Who geeks. The same with fashion; while everyone wears clothing, there are distinct stylistic genres people can become attached to, like my attraction to Renaissance-y  and Lolita style fashions. These days, it seems like the internet is ever more ready to divide us by our genres, sending the furry Lolitas one way and the sporty country lovers the other. I like the frisson when I run across something I might normally not like - like Westerns, I am neither a neutral nor a Country kind of girl - in such a way that I find things I can appreciate as a part of it. I'm wary of the ways in which the internet molds my world so it reflects back to me what I like - only more so. I want to see the world, not my own reflection.

All of the major features of my look come from the Genre Event, which has the theme of "Westerns." The pickings were much slimmer than for other themes, but a lot of what was released was very high quality. This dress from The Muses is a gorgeous Westerns style dress with an amazing belt and some truly gorgeous textures. The shape is amazing and nearly perfect - I just wish the inside of the sleeves had been capped so that I could more easily photograph straight down them; the immediate inside is textured, but a few inches beyond it becomes invisible, which can be a challenge to work around. I still adore this dress, though - the ruffles down the front (several different colored shirts are available, all of them gorgeous), the lace like pattern on the skirt, the soft cuffs and neckline - from stem to stern it is unique and a joy. My jewelry is something I actually own a version of offline - Squash Blossom jewelry from Sense-able Fashions. I have a set much more heavily festooned with turquoise, but the shape of the blossom is the same, and I particularly appreciated that Sense-able Fashions included a little note about the origin of the necklace.

"The Navajo (Dine) create beautiful jewelry of Silver and semi-precious stone...The Naja (crescent shape) came to the Americas via the earliest Spanish invaders. The crescent shape with its horns turned down was considered a means to ward off the 'evil eye'.  The 'blossoms' were based off pomegranate, another symbol from the invaders, incorporated by Native American Artisans."

 My shoes are a really fun release from Bliensen + MaiTai which I simply had to have when I saw them. The fringe is lovely, and the little beads just make it that much more cool. I could totally see my Country Marm strutting around in these... though the heels are probably a little high. The rest of my look is not from the Genre Event; the hair flower from Lode is being released at L'Accessories, and is a fun take on big flowers on your head. The ombre texturing is lovely, and I really like the ribbon touch down one side. My hair from Wasabi Pills is available at the Arcade Gatcha event and is a lot of fun; when I put it on, I thought the simplicity of the formality really fit the genre of Westerns, and this character of a prim lady with a wild side particularly well. I briefly considered pulling my poses form yet another event going on this month, but at the last minute swerved and landed neatly into Olive Juice's capable hands. While her store is largely closed, it does maintain an in-world presence, and hopefully when the creator has more time she'll be back to grace us with more of her fun and quirky poses.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Candace Creamer
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Melissa (Arcade)
Hair Flower: Lode, Viora (L'Accessories)
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Wings: Deviance, Sidhe Wings
Hands: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands
Nails: SLink, Default Nails
Jewelry: Sense-able Fashions, Squash Blossom Set (Genre)
Dress: The Muses, Susanna (Genre)
Shoes: Bliensen + MaiTai, Calamity Jane (Genre)

Poses: Olive Juice

Location: The Bayou
Light Settings: Nacon's Afternoon
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only