Genre: Burlesque - Over-Run

The new Genre is Burlesque, and all the sexiest outfits and accessories have come out to play. My enormous fans and the poses which make such good use of them are from {NANTRA}, and they're redolent of the 1930s when it became a popular addition to erotic dance. The dance poses hint at the peek-a-boo nature of this burlesque classic, the large fans concealing and revealing in turn. {NANTRA}'s fans themselves are color change via touch and have white, black, and pink options, so they're easy to pair with just about any outfit... or lack thereof. I went with an outfit, selecting this purple and black number from Anachron. The corset with it's tuxedo tail is rigged mesh and comes with standard sizes as well as fitted to Bellezza, Maitreya, and Slink. I love the haltar top with it's bow behind the neck, detailed enough to stand on it's own while simple enough to work with accessories. The panties can be either a texture layer or applied using all of those plus the Omega system. There are five colors for sale, from soft shades for a classy joint to the brightest scarlet. It moves very well; I went the Slink route and no matter how I was animated, there wasn't any clipping and the panty layer was smooth and believable. The fascinator comes with it, a mesh hat with a veil that is editable and adaptable; fitting it was a breeze and I could make minor adjustments to the veil so it didn't clip my hair.

Genre: Regency

Genre is back this month and it's Regency time - one of the eras of England I'm most familiar with, thanks to an attachment to the fiction of the time. For the wealthy, everything was about restraint and simplicity, sumptuous fabrics and delicate laces being the main markers of class, and this is the Empire that the empire waistline gets its name from. For women's gowns this is the Genre to hit - and there's even an awesome option for the men, entirely historically accurate.

Genre: The Rainbow Zone

Any world can be created in Second Life, even a rainbow version of the Twilight Zone, and the furniture and sets available at Genre this month make creating your own land of improbable geometry both easy and fun. Personally, I started with an amazing chess-and-clocks base from Black Tulip, which is stuffed full of poses as well as personality. The combo of lines and curves make taking pictures from every angle a blast, and I adore the tip-toeing across the top edges of things in particular - it really makes it charming and fun. It comes in black and white but can be tinted to many colors and is easy to dress up if you want a less minimalist style. I'd love to see it with chess pieces in particular, or perhaps some giant clocks. The details I added were similarly surreal, though - 22769 ~ [bauwerk] has both a ladder to nowhere and a stack of chairs to nowhere in their offerings this Genre, and each have a ton of thoughtful, reflective, and silly poses.

Genre: Curb-Stomping Kawaii

The Military has rolled into Genre-town, and the results are... mixed. There's lot of camouflage in some very interesting places, and by far one of the most interesting is this combination of Lolita and combat colors. It's lover-cut than the typical Lolita, but pleasingly fluffy with the rough edges and rounded profile of classic Curious Kitties. It's fitmesh, so trying a demo first is a good idea, and in addition to the dark green I'm showing here it comes in water blue, sand tan, and urban gray. The skirt is more tutu than flowing layers of petticoat, and it's a fun shape to mix and match with tights or pants. There are also some very nice buckly belts around the waist, setting this apart from other Lolita styles. It comes with matching boots (not shown) making it a cohesive look. It was a lot of fun to take two very different things and try to combine them, and I think I managed admirably!

The rich, jungle color was an easy match with a variety of accessories - for example these amazing bracelets from Tanoshi, which also come in a bunch of other shades - like red, brown, teal, and navy. They have heavy rifle-sized bullets pinned around the edges with enormous grommets, and half of them come with lace in addition! They match my shiny star nails to perfection! Those come from Vengeful Threads and are enormously fun. Purple, pink, the green I'm showing, blue, and red are all options, each with silvery stars and bits of camo laid into them. I rounded out my look with two non-Genre offerings. The first are these awesome, flirty stompy boots from Dilly Dolls which seem simply made for combining steel toes and ruffles. They come in solid colors, but thankfully they are editable and one can select individual faces, so I was able to add dark and bright green to various surfaces and make it fit in better with the rest of my look - I adore modifiable clothes for so many reasons, but this level of individualization is a big part of it.

In contrast, the gray matches the bullets of my bracelets and the spines on my headband. That headband comes with the matching hair from Wasabi Pills with a fun single shoulder flow. I'm wearing it in mottled cool shades and gray to carry the color scheme further; I didn't want to go to warm and unsettle the effect. Look at how seamlessly the hair curls over one of my ears - and Wasabi Pills has moved more and more towards individual strands of curling hair, which make them really stand out. The final touch is my necklace, a heavy round shape like dog-tags but a little more sinister - this is one of my favorite necklaces from Eclectica, an octopus hugging a stone. I love every little coil of its tentaclely goodness, and it really pulls the whole outfit together - so to speak! Now I'm ready to take on all comers in the jungle, the prettiest General you've ever seen!

21 Shoe: Eclectica

Eclectica's Steamgoth Laced Boot are self-sufficient and require no feet. Their shape is unique and striking, though, ruched fabric stretching from the top of the foot around to lacking up the Achilles tendon all on top of thick platforms with a twisty heel. I love how they sit, quirky and heavy; they strike me as the kind of fashionable boot heels that might have steel toes hidden under their otherwise unprepossessing exterior. Despite the height of the heel, they seem tough and all about business; I can see these striding into a club, taking on all comers, as at home beneath a swath of petticoats as tucked into the ends of flared pants. Today you can take these home, two for the price of one, at Eclectica's Mainstore.

This month's 21Shoe sponsor and provider of our group appreciation gift is Klepsydra by Betty Scorpio - available now in the history of the 21 Shoe Official Group. Visit the Klepsydra Mainstore or Marketplace Store for more great offerings from our sponsor!

Genre: Blown Out

As I've said before, the Genre theme this month is Rockabilly - and this month is continuing for another couple of days, until the twelfth, so you have time to get your country on! I went for super saturated color and blown out highlights for this set of pictures - it seemed to fit the comic book sensibilities of my DRBC dress, now available at Genre. The dress itself comes with a ton of textures, but the second I saw this one, I knew what I wanted to wear! Look elsewhere for your vibrant red and blue, or your stylish black and white poodle skirt - I'm bringing pulp fiction to the grid! The bright colors of my skirt really stand out against the black base dress, a few white polka dots here and there to cut up the darkness. The cap sleeves of the blouse are cut and rigged well - I have a very wriggly animation set, but the sleeves always stayed in place and moved naturally. The scoop neckline is mirrored front and back, the perfect setting for a variety of necklaces, though here I selected a collar from Enfant Terrible, available as part of the TAG! Gacha event, which echoes the polka dots and brings in some stripes. The DRBC dress' skirt has nice, large folds which make it adaptable across a variety of poses; I'm always watchful for what happens to a skirt when legs cross or move together, and in this case the folds bunch naturally with very little of the "cutting" which can occur when a skirt isn't rigged as well.

I kept with the 1950s theme with with hairstyle by Anachron which combines the best parts of Rosie the Riveter's kerchief practicality with a forward bang curl and a long chignon over the back of the head. Much to my glee, the entire hairstyle is editable - both all of it and in pieces - which means I was able to modify it to fit over and around my larger-than-average ears! It's always a blessing when a hairstyle lets me shift it around in the small ways necessary for a non-standard avatar, and in this case it was a breeze to make everything fit. Like my DRBC dress, this hair from Anachron is re-texturable via a HUD, and the kerchief has a variety of patterns; here I selected a bright red and skull pattern to match my monstrous skirts. The skulls make a subtle polka dot design, which holds the whole outfit together, even the final matching pieces - my shoes and glasses from Eclectica. Both are re-texturable via blue touch menu, but as an added bonus they are also editable - meaning I could custom tint the bow and trim on my shoes to draw out the colors of my skirt - in this case bright red and orange with a slightly duller teal. I love how Eclectica always gives options for individualization of her creations so I can add touches like this; the look would work without it, but I think it adds a bit more polish to subtly echo colors in multiple places. They're fit for medium SLink feet and available in a bunch of other polka dot colors.

To finish out my look I wanted to keep the theme of historical monsters and the bright colors without introducing alpha which might conflict with the alpha of my glasses. To that end, I went with demon wings - in this case a set of chibi demon wings I picked up from Illusions a long time ago at Halloween. These have a wonderful shape and fit beautifully above the scoop neckline of my DRBC dress. I also pulled out one of the dragons from Avatar Bizarre to perch on my shoulder and add some green to my brightly colored mix. I picked up a whole bunch of these at Fantasy Faire and I'm looking forward to pairing them with a bunch of outfits! The tail and head curve are particularly fun, offering up a sense of personality and interacting in an interesting manner with the rest of my look.

The lighting was an experiment, playing with bright and shadows in a more extreme manner than I usually do. I think the effect was wonderful especially using some of the more interestingly shaped items around France Portnawak. One of the blessings and curses of photographing in the wild is a basic lack of control - it offers up chances for serendipity, like the star I found in the top picture, or the pinup pictures below. It's always an adventure on the grid!

21 Shoe: Eclectica

Eclectica has a glorious pair of strappy heels ready for 21 Shoe this month, full of sparkles and life. Fit for the SLink High Foot, they're a simple design - slim ankle straps gathering at a medallion above the Achilles tendon and echoed in bat wing vamps with a peep toe, also surmounted by a medallion. And because she loves us, Tiffy has also included the medallion in a ring that can be worn on either hand, and resized as needed. It's a simple eight sided figure of a star inside of an octagon, the points of the star creating wide sided arrows pointing to their heart. I also quite like the layers of the shoe, how the straps slip out from between sole and the insole. The verisimilitude is continued in the buckle of the strap and the belt tip, both of them simple but well made. The heel part has a subtle taper inward then a flaring base - one of my favorite heel designs offline. The shine is the most fun of this design, though, catching the light beautifully through judicious use of materials. I love seeing how materials can bring glitter to life in Second Life, and I look forward to sparkling my way around the grid in these gorgeous shoes.

On the 21st of this month, both of these shoes and matching rings will be available - all for the price of a single pair of shoes. I encourage you to swing by Eclectica and pick up a pair!

Genre: Rebel Yell

This is a bit of a departure from my usual look.

The theme for Genre this month is Sons of Genre, and Bikers have taken over. This is the biggest break from my style that I've ever done; the Apocalypse and Dark Magic both brought out the power of Dark Deo, but I still managed something clean cut and even a little sweet or Medieval at times. This time... there is no sweet left. There is no cute, no giggle, not even the shine of gossamer wings outside of the flash of rainbow on my Noctis biker goggles. Available alone or combined with a wide variety of scary helmets (we'll see if I can work any of THEM into a look!) the rainbow lenses are only one of the five options, and the goggle section itself has three metal designs. The goggles are also editable, which means if you want to fit the strap to a finicky bald head, like I did, it's totally easy.

My spikes and eyeshadow (the latter a little concealed, I'll admit!) are both from The Stringer Mausoleum, whose style seems oddly perfect for this intersection of grimy reality and dangerous fantasy. The spiky head is also editable so I could make sure the flat part of each spike fit nicely to my skull, and the effect is striking - if distinctly non-Deoish. There are five other colors besides this metallic blue, for all of your "HEADPETTERS BEWARE!" needs. And finally, tucked over my Rosal corset neck (not available at Genre) is a thick chain necklace from Painfully Divine, which looks both divine and somewhat painful! I love how heavy it is, each link easily as wide as two fingers, and the curve around the neck is perfect - especially over a particularly thin neck. It's available in three dark and heavy colors, but I'd love to also see it shined up and in even more shades - it walks a line between decorative and substantial that I find quite appealing.

Continuing the theme of "not your average Deo," even my wings have been traded in by the cutest bit of my ensemble - this backpack from Distorted Dreams. I tremble to call it cute - I am a scary biker chick who eats glass for breakfast! - but it really is adorable, and would work as well on the back of a schoolgirl as it does as the wings of a terrifying creature like myself! It is also editable - I'm sensing a theme here! - which means the sometimes irritating shoulder pieces can be changed to fit an outfit or a pose; a blessing for backpacks! My final accessory in an outfit which seems to be more accessory than outfit is a pair of terrifying skull-wing rings from Eclectica. There are two color sets available, one the darker rough-and-tumble shades and the other slightly brighter, as if maybe there could be a happy ending once the enemies are put in the ground - or at least a hardcore drive off a cliff! The black outline on them gives an almost comic-book feel, the edges sharp enough to cut.

All of my accessories combine to support the jeans-and-chaps and tank top combo from The Annex. I'm used to seeing flowing dresses and ruffles from them, so this brief and somewhat hardcore offering is eye opening - and one of the reasons why Genre can be such fun. The tank is embellished with a loosely laced opening in the front and the sizes would fit a whole range of avatars on Second Life. I ended up combining the large top and the extra small pants to pull off my usual hourglass shape; one advantage to a two piece look like this is that it allows for a wider variety in body shapes. The Jeans and chaps are amazing, and one of my favorite bits of clothing available at this event. The hip fit is very low, which isn't even close to my usual style, but which works with this outfit, and the added layer of leather over the legs and bucked around the waist draws a lot of attention to some of my nicer features while still seeming realistic. The added large buckles down the sides, and the stud detailing of the belt, makes this seem like something a Scary Momma would wear when out on a ride - though I'll admit the white bodystocking from Reasonable Desires and all of the corsetry from Rosal (neither available at Genre) is a tad less realistic. Although this is a lot less skin than I often show, it feels like it's a lot more due to what skin is shown off and how - I think I pulled off dangerously sexy pretty well, even if I do say so myself!

My Alpha and my Omega, and All that was Ever Mine

It's been a rough year so far, and I can feel how it's affecting what I do - making every step and every moment of focus more of a challenge. I've also been thinking a lot about Canary Beck's words for [SL] Blogger Support on why someone should make a niche for themselves and the challenge I have with making any sort of niche which would show up on a list of Second Life blogs. In the terms of Second Life blogs, my blog would seem to be a fashion blog - and women's fashion in particular. I view it as more of a personal travelog that includes some details on what I like and why, but I can't deny that one of the things which drew me to Second Life was the opportunity to create unique and beautiful outfits for a mostly-static avatar of myself. I think part of why I bristle so much to be included in the masses is because I'd like to think there's something which sets me apart, even while being afraid that nothing does - and as such I find it impossible to respond to what she says in any sort of measured way; it's all snippy hand-wave and airy defensiveness. I'm reminded of a dynamic I experienced a while ago, early on in my receiving items from creators to blog, when I would write about my mixed feelings about that and confuse one of the creators who was sending me things! I am, if nothing, a giver of mixed messages and a writer of mixed blogposts. Consider this a uncentered splurch of feeling to my blog, expressing some mix of tension, fear, annoyance, and general malaise - it has been a very conflicted year, and we're only three months in.

The new Omega Point sim fit my mood very well, being lovely and natural where one lands with gorgeous shadows cast by the trees, and rapidly descending into a nightmare of blood, lightening, and the depths under the earth where all fear to tread. This is an updated sim in much the same spirit as the old one - the color palette is very similar but the build is much more detailed and economical, and the texturing is more naturalistic. I also really liked the huge maze of passages under the ground, found by following not-at-all-subtle giant teal arrows down into the ground. Around the entrance to the depths and within those depths there is a fun combination of primitive and futuristic, wild and violent animals goring bodies next to piles of manufactured steel supply crates; durt passageways that give way to malfunctioning doorways of light. I am a fan of high contrast, and Omega Point is centered around the meeting point of dirt and steel, all of it bathed in blood.

I centered my look around my hair from Wasabi Pills, currently on sale at FaMESHed, a versatile style that can be aged up or down depending on dress and accessories; in this setting it felt rather like the business woman, taken aback by the land she is unceremoniously dropped into. FaMESHed is much more sleek and professional than my usual trend, but I've been trying to find the challenges within all of the events going on within the grid, and I felt I was up to the challenge. The Wasabi Pills hair on sale there this month is a high ponytail that drapes over one shoulder and can be styled a number of different ways. The asymmetric nature combined with the heavy fringe can play very young, especially when combined with an adorable headband like this one from Dream Things that's currently being sold at Fit for a Princess. The blossoms on my headband are color changing, and it's natural enough to work in non-royal contexts and on adult heads. I played up the youthfulness by adding in this group gift from .:Soul:., a rainbow cupcake styled on my actual platform and given out to try to cheer everyone up in the face of a very challenging year - Charlie is always so sweet to me! Combined with more mature clothing with a simple silhouette, though, these childlike touches at whimsy and charm without seeming underaged, and the Wasabi Pills style adds a touch of elegance with the simple flow of hair over one shoulder - one of the more formal qualities of the hair style.

One of the nice things about a sheath dress is that it can be dressed up or down, professional or casual, and while this dress from Valentina E. Couture, also at FaMESHed, flirts with the risque by showing a bit of lace along the low bodice line, adding in a jacket buttoned high would do a lot to turn it from slinky evening wear to stunning professionalism where the lace hints at a naughty side without being too sexy. The three tone tartan caught my attention as well, the pattern standing out but remaining more simple than a complicated or starkly colored tartan might. By limiting the color palette, Valentina made it much more versatile and set the dress up to be paired with a lot of different accessories. My absolute favorite touch is in the mesh, though. Look at the line along the upper thigh - a shape often seen on offline dresses. It looks like a texture added for verisimilitude, but it's actually cut into the mesh in such a way that the dress bends at the thigh in an incredibly realistic manner. This is often a tricky area where the bend can look rubbery, but with the addition of this curving inward to a bend at the upper thigh and some clever rigging, this dress looks wonderfully natural as you move. I would have never though of it, and now I don't want a sheath dress without it!

I reinforced the "classy" read of this outfit and balanced out my more playful accessories with this lovely necklace and earring set from Ariskea. It was the necklace which caught my attention - I'm a sucker for wire wrapped around stones, and these dual-colored stones were particularly striking, with the blue catching the darker blue in the dress while the pink bridged some of the distance between outfit and headband. I echoed this combination of peachy-pink and steel-blue in my shoes from Eclectica, available at her Main Store. They are texture changing, so I combined steel blue on the main shoe with touches of pink and black trim - echoing the main look both in the sleep shape of the shoe, and also in the ornate swirls of the pattern, which capture the swirls of my jewelry. The ultimate effect is a classy date look with hints of playfulness and whimsy, sleeking out my style without losing the essence of a silly faerie who loves rainbows.

Genre: Dark Summoner

Genre's theme is the Dark Arts this round, and the inspiration covers a lot of ground - from traditional practices of Tarot and Demonology to popular fiction. It also gave me a chance to get in touch with shadow!Deo, who lurks in the places least seen and comes out... well, best to leave those considerations unspoken. My face is made up of a combination of things; layered underneath is the base tattoo from Spyralle, meant to go with a variety of forehead decorations - foreheads were popular this month! It's a webwork design you'll see more of in future posts, but I liked the effect of the lacy edges under my mask, an incredible creation from Eclectica. It's formed and textured like leather, ridged and edged very realistically with simple, smooth curling horns coming from the temples. I love the texturing on this in particular, from the gleam of the eyes to how each section captures the light. It looks sharp and wild, yet still retains it's mask-like quality, which I really appreciate. My jewelry is also from Eclectica, but isn't a release at Genre, and after this round of Genre is over, the mask will join the rest of Eclectica's creations at her store.

My dress is from Wimey, and manages to somehow be both adorable and menacing - a Wimey special, in my experience. I am a sucker for outfits with snakes on them, and this one does not disappoint - with a python lovingly hugging waist and breast both. The snake part is textured with a dappled metallic effect, like beaten metal, while the corset top and skirt both have the heavy, thick quality of leather. I particularly like the embossed pattern on the bodice and how the bottom v of the bodice is more heavily creased, as if the wearer has sat a lot in it. The effect is a wearable garment, even though it's all leather. I added on some flash nails from Vengeful Threads, a field of red trees on a black background - certainly appropriate for the overall look and very slick. My shoes, in contrast, look like they were decoupaged from old Tarot cards - a fun and misty effect from Sense-able Fashions. The shoe shape itself is simple, a perfect base for the overlaying of brightly colored cards to really be shown at their best.

The final touch to my demonic fashion is a curse from BluPrintz - swirling flames which can be connected by a series of particles to form stars of different numbers of points - from three to twelve. The options for colors are immense - there is a way to change both colors of the flames as well as the color of the links; I went with a dull, bloody red for the star, and left the points as bright orange and red flames. In addition to flames swirling behind, there is a second set included which swirls around the body perpendicular to it - rather like the magical effects of anime, or what happened last week when I summoned that... oh, well... nevermind. It's not important.It's definitely critical to make it to Genre before ...whatever happened last week catches up with us, though - remember, salt and circles, and try to make sure what you summon isn't on the same side of the barrier as you are.

Genre: Life's Tragedy

Life's Tragedy by Paul Laurence Dunbar

It may be misery not to sing at all,

And to go silent through the brimming day;

It may be misery never to be loved,

But deeper griefs than these beset the way.

Genre this time is about Ancient Worlds - a whole slew of options, from Greece to Egypt, and today I'm a fashionable woman from Greece sporting the latest in Egyptian cosmetics and jewelry. My chiton is created by Luminary, and I chose a particularly bright gold because the hue and texture was incredibly attractive to me - it looked luminous and liquid, with bits of dull and bright intermingling pleasantly. The shoulders are lovely and rippled, and so is the skirt - falling in long, loose folds.

To sing the perfect song,

And by a half-tone lost the key,

There the potent sorrow, there the grief,

The pale, sad staring of Life's Tragedy.

I paired it with a heavy pendant from Eclectica in lapis lazuli and gold. I am a fan of scarab beetles - a symbol rooted in ancient Egypt - for a number of reasons, including it's connection with the sun and transformation. The winged version Eclectica created for this pendant is gorgeous, the wings inspired by traditional jewelry without copying it. My only, selfish wish would be for a wider variety of colors and the ability to mix and match - I am a spoiled fairy, I know, but I have daydreams of rainbow scarabs dancing in my head.

The earrings, which are similar but from a different hand, come from Sax Shepherd Designs and offer a subtle counterpoint to Eclectica's dynamic winged sun roller.

To have come near to the perfect love,

Not the hot passion of untempered youth,

But that which lies aside its vanity,

And gives, for thy trusting worship, truth.

I pulled up my chiton for a few fragile moments to show off these amazing sandals from Bliensen + MaiTai. I adore the fire feathers hanging down from the anklets and lovely, double layered bands over the feet. They are really quite charming and fun, and slip on perfectly over SLink's flat feet. The twine along the front is a particularly nice touch - I love how it's slightly uneven and imperfect, something which is more difficult than perfection in a world like Second Life.

This, this indeed is to be accursed,

For if we mortals love, or if we sing,

We count our joys not by what we have,

But by what kept us from that perfect thing.

And finally my poses are all a release from Genre as well - a gorgeous statuesque set from ht studio. Half of them are shown with men and half of them with women, but I found all of them worked well with my entirely female body. Despite seeming very similar at first, there is a variety to the arm and leg placement which is really quite pleasant. In another skin, I could be holding sheaves of stone wheat and standing in an arched niche.

Water Color

It's that time of year, when things grow cold and I wear short skirts and hang around in rivers! This is a decidedly spring-like look, from the gorgeous mesh flowers by Sweet Lies, to the crinkly dress from LeeZu. I put on a brightly hued updo from Analog Dog, who does some of my favorite ombre shades, and finished the whole look with rings from Eclectica and shoes from Hilly Haalan. It's also what I call an inventory look, meaning the majority of it were things I picked up while I was out across the grid, and then I threw the look together while sorting things out of my main inventory folders - liking different pieces so much I wanted to photograph them before I sorted.

The LeeZu dress is one I've been eyeing for a while and picked up during her recent sale; I love an unusual silhouette, and LeeZu does amazing, angled, crinkly silhouettes. I also really liked the texturing, from the band down the center to the thin, contrasting colored shapes that reminded me of medallions on Indian carpets and fabrics. It's a delicate spaghetti strap top, a wonder mesh has given us which I will always cherish, and the colors are clear but muted, a tone which would determine the rest of my look. The Sweet Lies flowers, put on soon after, were a purchase from the last iteration of the Fantasy Room - to give you a sense of what a mess my inventory is - and they are a wonderful set of simple flowers in a muted but diverse palette.

The shoes were the hardest part, but I had happened by some Hilly Haalan shoes recently and they were floating near the top. One of the wonderful things about SLink feet is that it allows for many more open sided and open toed shoes, even for people who have difficulty making feet! In this case, the open lacework of the shoes was a perfect and simple counterpoint to a much more fluffy and fussy look above, and the silver echoed the whites elsewhere without becoming too sucked in. Finally, I had the great luck of seeing these rings, Eclectica's new release for the Jewelry and Accessory Expo. They are gacha prizes, a veritable slew of rings, all of which are lovely. I went with a different color on each hand, one to echo the golds of the medallions on the fabric of my dress, and the other to catch the hues of the flowers I'm wearing and my hair. The final touch were my nails - a textured ombre from Devae that I picked up ages ago but return to over and over again. That's also the only bit of purple in my look, completing my somewhat inverted rainbow nicely and settling us firmly in the realm of spring shades and pastel hues.

It's interesting to see where I fall in step with the prevailing north Northern Hemisphere cold and snow, where I react to my local weather which is not at all and where I push back against that, clinging to the timeless and spacelessness of Second Life. The biggest strength and weakness of this world we create together is that it is the sum total of our imaginations. We bring in our own experiences, assumptions, biases, and prejudices and then build a world that replicates the ones in our own minds. I don't think there's any way we can actually know why people bring what they bring - so much of what can be made is as much a product of our subconscious expectations and values as anything consciously held. I think about that sometimes, looking back at a history of images bright and dark from the last five years - the times when I dressed in bright and cheerful clothes when I was feeling sad or upset; the times I threw on whatever and tossed it into the world; my own quiet jealousies and envies, sublimated into a sort of frenetic energy with no outlet.

Winter is a time for drawing in, self-reflection, and facing hard truths about ourselves in harsh environments. Spring is about growth and optimism, and the eternal promise that This Too Shall Pass. I feel like I'm in a swirl of energy, chasing my own tail to avoid my greatest fears about myself. There's a strong temptation to skate over the darkness, to stick to pastels and sweetness and kind words; I have no way to judge if that impulse is a kindness, or an ultimate cruelty.

Mystic Flow

Mystic Realms is one of the ten million gazillion events going on, and it's quite a fun one - if a little confusing. I found by making a circle of the center area, then again outside the gates, I was able to cover the whole faire without getting too lost. There was much that was tempting along the way, but I resisted womanfully and picked up only a few things which really leapt off the shelves at me. Starting from my brief and shining coif of shorn locks, my hair is from KOY and is a featherlight short style with lovely layers and a simple, crested style. It is editable, and I think it would work well for men or women alike. My jewelry and shoes, which cover quite a range of me from top to bottom, are all from Eclectica and are both elegant and a great deal of fun. The shoes are a delightful stylized holly pattern with black and white textures laid on top - touch to try each one. I really like the heel shape as well, an angled heel which is pleasantly chunky next to the narrow slingback.

My Eclectica jewelry is all in a leafy style, with the cutest pieces being the little rings which come along with the rest. The necklace is a torque style, and the crown is a simple front curve that easily slides into hairstyles. It also comes with a pair of single-leaf rings, which I think are adorable. It doesn't come with earrings, and so I paired it with a set of moon earrings from Bliensen + MaiTai - not available at the faire, though a lot of lovely things are there and her store is always worth a visit and the laying down of some Linden for pretties. I chose the copper earrings to offset the soft, icy blue of my winter leaves, and to work smoothly with my blue Peqe gown with a copper collar. I really had a hard time picking one of these smooth, ankle-length robes; all of the colors were glorious, and I really like the contrasting colors of the collars. Most enjoyably, the Eclectica torque fits smoothly around the outside of the collar and lays well on my chest. The dress itself is a lot of fun, and is adaptable to a lot of poses; I found it moved well even with poses where the feet are apart! The train itself was a lot of fun to fit into an image, and a few places you can see it kicked up, as if the fabric were light enough to rise the wind of my passing.

Fit for a Princess: Ice Princess in a Tower

There is less than twenty four hours left for Fit for a Princess, so if you were planning on checking out all of the awesomeness, now is the time to go. It closes at 3PM on Tuesday the 26th, though many of the items will be rapidly winging their way toward stores everywhere. My awesome set pieces are all from Fit for a Princess; first there is a fantastic table with a filled goblet on top of it from the Jewel Garden. It's 7 land impact made up of a variety of different pieces, and it is editable so that you can shift things around to fit your individual style. The goblet itself, it's stone filling, and the flower tucked against the side can all be moved around or used separately, and they are quite lovely both together and apart. The scroll I show on the wall is one of a set, all wit images and beginnings of fairy tales on them. They are made by the Second Star and are both perfect for being piled up on a desk, and hung gently on a wall as decoration. I love the artistic flourishes - a rose for Beauty and the Beast, or a tower for Rapunzel. The lovely light fixtures, which come in three different styles and one with three different heights, are all from Alouette and they give off a gentle glow. I love the different styles and the gentle glass holding the candles, each with a flickering flame. Each is freestanding, and they work extremely well against wood and stone.

My look was inspired by the blue and white gown from Les Femmes à Barbe, beautifully colored on a well made mesh basis. I love the Celtic pattern along the neckline and hem, soft gold layered over the blue of the outfit. The ribbons wrapped around the torso are actually a separate element, so you can show the dress with or without them - a lovely touch which can let you customize it for a variety of situations, and there are also arm ribbons in a similar style up to the elbows. The dress is pretty well rigged - tied to the legs but loosely enough that it doesn't distort too badly with unusual leg configurations; the wrists get a little hinky here and there, but that is likely because I wear SLink hands. The final piece from Fit for a Princess are my amazing shoes - a new release from Eclectica. They are astonishingly three dimensional, especially with the jeweled pieces over the toes, and the texture is layered and sumptuous. I highly recommend you run over to Fit for a Princess before tomorrow - this is only the tip of the iceberg of awesome.

My necklace is from tea.s, and is one of the items you can purchase to get stamp cards for the Enchantment Event this month, which also likely will be ending sooner rather than later. It's another event i highly recommend you check out, as many of the items are simply divine. I ended up with an enormous folder of awesome things, and I'll try to show more of them off soon. It's been a busy month. My final note is something just starting, though - Devae, formerly Rue and always awesome, is having a 75% off sale at her main store in preparation for reworking her store. My amazing nails are one of her releases, and I got them for pennies you guys - pennies. Everything currently released is there, including her completely saturated skins of many colors, some wonderful horns and eyes, and even a little clothing - a tempting example of what she can make if inspired. I live in eternal hope for her to turn her alien eyes toward something rainbow, but even if she keeps with her usual entirely gorgeous textures, I will remain a happy faerie.

Genre: "The Discreet Princess" or The Adventures of Finette

One of my favorite stories of my young adulthood was written by Marie- Jeanne L'heritier during the late Baroque period - one of the periods covered by Genre right now - an era of sumptuous clothing among the courtiers and witty salons within which much was discussed - building up to the crescendo before the reign of terror in the late 1700s. It's the story of a careful, wise princess who navigates a number of troubling attempts at disrupting her honor, her safety, and her life at the hand of a single, vindictive man. I sometimes wish for her poise and clarity; being a fairy tale, the princess is one step ahead all along the way, and it's part of what I really love about the story. Finette is wise without being cruel - though her Fairy Godmother more than makes up for that lack of cruelty. Much as I love Finette, I fear I have far more in common with her sister, Nonchalant, than the estimable Discreet Princess.

My gown is a gorgeous release from The Library with the long bodice and wide skirts characteristic of this era. The gold is pretty consistent, but the colors vary - I chose blue but there's a whole range of rich, dark shades available. It's rigged in an interesting manner, bending slightly with my legs, but not too much - I'm not quite sure how she pulled it off, but it's a very neat effect. A gown this impressive needs an equally impressive hairstyle, and I got that and more with this astonishing confection from Bliensen + MaiTai, complete with roses and lace on one side. There are tiny curls all along the browline, and corkscrew curls for over the ears - my one wish was that they be linked separately, so I could move them around my enormous ears, but honestly the rest is so gorgeous I don't think anyone will notice my magic curls. I tucked in under the roses a lovely brooch from Eclectica set in a diamond pattern, which color changes on touch.

Every princess, Discreet or not, needs a slew of accessories. My lips are slightly pouty and decorated with shiny sheen from La Petite Morte, a perfect cupid's bow. There are a wide variety of shades available, but I went with rose red. I added on a lovely set of pearls from Lost Junction with a bow at the back of the neck. I particularly like the findings on the back of the neck - it's such a unique and delicate touch - and it comes in three shades: cream, pink, and white. You can also get it with large symbols in gemstones across the front, but I fell in love with the simple triple strand. Finally, perfect for flirting behind is my gorgeous pink and blue fan from The Muses. It's a gorgeous combo of ivory peacock feathers and gold embossed base, and there's one for each hand. I love the curve of the peacock feathers - two rows of them arching delicately out to the sides.

Mrs. Darcy in Nature

The Empire waistline owes a lot of its simplicity to Neoclassical styles and popularity, and is loosely based off of the chiton of the Greeks which was belted under the bust for women. It was developed primarily in France, and also ushered in an era of short, often curly hair, thin ribbons to hold up the hair, and additional garments like shawls for the purpose of warmth and to offer some cover for bare arms and throats. In England, the style was popularized by Emma, Lady Hamilton even though England and France were at war, and heralded an era of Neoclassical influence which would continue until Queen Victoria took the throne. Austen is firmly seated in the middle of all of this, where serious topics were skimmed over with a narrow margin of pleasure-seeking and Empire building. In between the careful maneuvering of her novels, hints of the horrors which lay beyond the drawing room can be seen, and very few families are untouched by war and strife. Out of this era strolls this evening dress from Junbug tucked under a military-style pelisse. It's available in a variety of shades, though I picked up the pale pick for 50L Friday, along with the texture-matching shoes fit for the SLink high feet. With a fine lace fischu, I could walk along any street in absolute comfort and style as well - the color combination and length are charming, and it moves well. The coat is also available separately, and would be very fine over a variety of empire gowns.

I pulled my accessories from a variety of current events, leaping around rather like a gazelle - or something equally graceful and unpredictable. From the Hair Faire I have an amazing updo from Ploom. It fits extremely well, and is layered and built very realistically. The bow hair flops slightly as one would expect hair too, and has an amazing softness around the edges. The bangs alternate between being tucked sedately behind the ears, and dangling down in front with a gentle curl, and are layered such that they fall naturally around the face. Like always, Ploom offers up a wide variety or hair shade options - in this case I went with a blond/yellow/pink fade which made the "bow" part of the hair look particularly fun. The bangline of my hair worked beautifully with the pr!tty flowerband I picked up at One Word. It came with a single or double set of flowers, and I really loved both the shape - which reminded me strongly of the foam flowers you can buy in craft stores - and the gentle pastel colors. Finally, my jewelry is a new release at Genre from Eclectica, a glorious baroque set with dangling teal gems. Earrings, rings, and a generous necklace are included, and they offer up a bold statement to balance out my relatively simpler gown. I really like the asymetrical but balanced arrangement - and the fact I was able to echo the jewelry with the cosmetics around my eyes. The flower pattern I echoed through a White Widow design, with large, swirling bronze flowers. The teal I echoed with one of my best and narrowest eyeliners from cheLLe; I love how bright it looks against the bronze and black.

One final note - my gorgeous poses are from !bang, which recently moved to a new store and is having a sale associated with the move. I was able to fill out a lot of my collection there, and I really recommend you check it out soon.

2014 Fantasy Faire: Turned to Stone

The Fantasy Faire itself is over, but tendrils of good will and good wishes continue on into the future - not only swinging around to next year, but also in the form of the second half of the Fantasy Faire Hunt (First Half Guide Here) in the Palace of Tears. It also continues in many of the Faire Stores, where Fantasy Faire Donation boards are transplanted when the Fairelands close. My skin was a release for the Faire from Fallen Gods - an amazing stone skin texture which came with an outfit and eyes (not shown). I was so very glad that it included SLink appliers for the skin - the effect is as flawless and wonderful as I had ever hoped, as you can see from my perfect stony fingers above. I don't see a sign of this particular skin at his store, even in an extended Faire Donation Option, but if you like this skin just check out the myriad of wonders he has available to all - and if you meet any noobs, let them know about his Newborn boxes; for the first seven days, you can get a free skin. I layered over the stone rainbow sparkles from Folly, and they look quite lovely and give me a bit of a glow of health - setting me apart from those scary angels who might eat your time. Check out her store for a run on Fantasy Faire Donations - we're still counting up to a final total.

My hair is another faire donation, this time from Wasabi Pills, one of my perennial favorites. It's a lovely, curving style which I thought set off my stone skin beautifully, and had a lovely braid detail that I simply fell for. I also really liked the forehead line and center part - it really makes me look the part of a stone statue, doesn't it? It's now available at her main store for purchase. My gown is from Sakide, and I picked it up my first day in the faire and then took forever to figure out a look for it - this will be a continuing problem, as my Fantasy Faire Folder is quite brimming with gorgeous things. Sakide has all the RFL vendors out, so you can find a wide variety of options at her main store, including this one. I love the design - from the short skirt, to the sweeping train, to the face that the belt and skirt are color changing between several options - I chose gray here, but there is black, pink, purple, gray and white all available to you. To this final look I added a couple of items from the depths of my inventory. First, a gorgeous set of jewelry from Elemental Earth Designs with a large, chunky quality which I thought looked like something a statue might wear if she got to choose. Secondly, I added these fun shoes from Eclectica which are some of my favorites. I adore the teardrop shapes on the framing of the shoe in particular.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Fallen Gods, Lacrimosa (Fantasy Faire)
Sparkles: Folly, Rainbow Sheen
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Darienne (Fantasy Faire)
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Earrings: Illusions, Mystic Chains
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Wings: Deviance, Seelie
Hands & Feet: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands & feet
Nails: A:S:S, Royal Purple
Jewelry: Elemental Earth Designs, Kiowa Set
Clothing: Sakide, Maestitia Dress (Fantasy Faire)
Shoes: Eclectica, Crush Velvet Pumps

Pose: Exposeur

Location: Sanctum
Light Settings: Sim Default
Water Settings: Sim Default

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only