White Egypt

Pixicat is having a retirement sale, which gave me a chance to pick up a few things I hadn't before, including this wonderful dress which comes in several texture styles, all of them recolorable. A number of other things I've already show off in the past are also on sale, and I really encourage you to go! Pixicat's style is elegant but edgy, sometimes the edge like the metal bodice and spikes of the dress above, other times it's interesting cut outs and lacing, and still other times its elaborate embellishment as home in a 1700s French Court as anywhere else. Always it is vividly itself. This dress drew me in particular because of the heavy, shiny metal of the bodice and how it wove into the softer leather and fabric pieces. One thing that mesh has given us is elaborate halter-tops, and this one is no exception, with the band passing through an O ring to hold the dress up (the band can also be festooned with silver spikes).

I'm a huge fan of hard/soft contrasts - I think it's part of why I like fades so much, with their extremes and the smooth transition between. In this case I went with shades only; something in the lack of color appealed to me, and I tried to stick to stark blacks and whites so that the spots of vivid color would stand out even more. I also decided to match shade and height as much as I could, or at least work in some alteration of shade, and thus on the white end of my skirt I've placed bright white shoes, and on the dark end I've alternated a black staff with white wings. The shoes are from Miseria, and I picked them up at a completely different event paired with a completely different outfit, but it was with some glee that I saw how well they fit the outfit here. I  wanted a very simple shoe with an elegant line and a substantial shape - in this case the extreme height of the shoe with it's narrow heel and the straight and simple curve of the toe and platform of the shoe combine well with what I was hoping would be an upper class but industrial look. 

My hair and accessories, in contrast, draw from an entirely different well - in this case a wink and nod at ancient Egyptian culture. The Fantasy Gacha Carnival jewelry and staff from Sax Shepherd Designs came first, and I spent some time trying to figure out the colors I would choose. I only had three color choices for the scarab, and so I settled on this Lapis Lazuri shade which reminded me of long distance images of the earth. A few moments of research on color significance in Egyptian art told me that green was associated with life and the river, and blue was associated with spirit and gods, and that seemed like it contrasted nicely with the theme of purity and death invoked by my white/black base. I've been feeling the pull of opposing forces in my life - the rise of optimism and the fall of failure - and the idea that there might be a greater purpose and a hope for rebirth appealed. I wanted to make the staff and jewelry seem of a piece, so that dictated the scarab design even though I had more choices for scarab on the staff. What I struggled with most, color wise, was the sun ball the scarab is pushing - I briefly toyed with it being yellow, but adding another color muddled things rather than solidified them; in contrast with the staff for my A Spot of Blue look, likely due to there already being blue and green in the mix, rather than a single hue of pink. Color combination can make or break a look.

I settled on this lovely shade of white to green, which helped to decide the colors of my hair - a new purchase from Taketomi. I actually saw a completely different hairstyle on a blog and went to seek out the store it came from, which triggered a shopping spree. I had looked up some images of Egyptian style hair, though I wanted to stay within my range of usually-blond, and I wanted it to be more modern; Egyptian hair tends to be tightly curled or braided with elaborate headdresses; I went for a smoother silhouette but wanted to include some thing braids and a bit of fluff. One thing I like most about this style was the locks of hair tucked back over the shoulder, which gives it some movement. The second I saw that Taketomi included a blond to green fade, I knew that had to be what I used, and I think it gives a callback to the sun stone both of my scarabs are pushing without being too obvious. My final, definitely obvious touch was adding the eyeliner from Zed Sensations which is outright taken from popular media inspired by Egypt and usually rendered, as they are here, on the bodies of white people. I paired it with a soft crimson splash from Mock, one of her recent group gifts given out during a flurry of conversation; I really encourage people who like naturalistic and subtle cosmetics to join the group and never look back.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Izzies, Irene
Sparkles: Folly, Rainbow Sheen
Hair: Taketomi, Ayami
Ears: Illusions, Seelie
Eyes: .:Soul:., RooMee
Eyelashes: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyeliner: Zed Sensations, Egyptian Eyeliner
Lipstick: Mock, Vermillion Lip Creme (Group Gift)
Wings: Deviance, Sidhe
Hands & Feet: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands & Feet
Jewelry: Sax Shepherd Designs, Priest of Khepri (Fantasy Gacha Carnival)
Nails: Orc Inc, Glitterslash
Clothing: Pixicat, The Dark Dress
Shoes: Miseria, Candied Stilettos

Pose: Grafica

Location: The Trace (closing 5/11/2014)
Light Settings: Sim Default
Water Settings: Sim Default

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only