Fit for a Princess: Rose Angel

This amazing, ankle-length gown in contrasting colors with a metallic sheen is a new release for Fit for a Princess from Greymoon. I've had the pleasure of watching this store mature through time, and this dress is one of the best yet. It is hard to pick a favorite aspect, but I'll pick a few and wax rhapsodic. Firstly, there is the silhouette - a high necked gown with a cutout along the back. I love how it brings us almost all the way to fully covered, only to bring in some sex appeal from the back. That combined with the three quarter length sleeves and the cross-cut colors truly make this an amazing, interesting gown. Secondly, there is the rigging and folds. The skirt is beautifully designed with enormous, rounded folds that move gracefully with a variety of poses. The quality of fabric is most evident here, something heavy and glossy that will buckle heavily under it's own weight. Thirdly, there is the texturing. I love the interlocking diamonds and how varying their shades is used to set apart areas without making it too blocky - the golden hues on this red gown are particularly fine. The gloss is simply amazing, and made pictures a lot of fun to light; you can see how the reflections really sell the contrast between gown and skin, one mostly matte while the other is high gloss. Greymoon has really outdone herself with this gown, and left me hopeful for future wonders.

I paired it with delicate jewelry set from Krystal, also released at Fit for a Princess. Perfect for Valentines, these gold hearts are set with perfect diamonds set within lovely swirls that frame a second, internal heart with a single, teardrop jewel. I love her jewelry and these are particularly fine - different thicknesses of gold wire adding to the verisimilitude. I love how simple the chain is as well - just a band - and I was able to increase the size of the necklace to fit well over the high collar of my gown.

My other favorite accessories for this look aren't from Fit for a Princess, but they are lovely none-the-less. The crown I'm wearing is a Gacha Mania prize from Modern Couture - one of about five, of which I landed two. I love the style, the delicate branches, the well-formed roses, and the dangling gems. The colors are lovely, and I had fun placing it so that the metal wires fitted into the braids of my gorgeous Wasabi Pills hair from Love is in the Air - it forms a heart in the back! The biggest addition to this look are these amazing wings from Remarkable Oblivion which have taken over the grid, however. I love the perfectly formed and enormous roses a lot, but even better is the streamer-style of the wings, which make them at once decorative and intriguing. Wing tops and roses are set to catch the light like metal, but the feathers themselves are more dully textured, like leather or felt, which offers up a fascinating contrast under light. The also fit well, with the main part of the wing slightly curved; with a little angling I was able to set each wing into my shoulder blade so that it was seamless. They are a striking addition to any look, adding both drama and class to the mix.

Fit for a Princess: Winter Cliché

Another month has started, and with it comes the festival round of Fit for a Princess - which offers up a festive display and a few shiny gifts for the holiday season. I'm showing off a gorgeous hair from Sweet Thing again, a sweet bow updo that comes with a variety of ombre tips. I tucked a lovely new crown from Hopscotch along the bang-line, a delicate row of stars set above a simple band. It comes in gold or silver with a wide variety of jewel colors - here I went with pure silver for the simplicity. I love the starburst design, and how it can be tucked into a variety of hairstyles. I kept with the pale silver theme with my dress, selecting this gorgeous little cocktail frock from Greymoon in a combination of smooth and textured silver. The snowflake detail on the waistband is lovely, and I really like how she used the shape of the dress to add the textured panel and take this from a simple little dress into something perfect for a variety of holiday parties. I especially like that it's a more unusual neckline - there's a tendency for sleeveless gowns to be very similar, and I like the additional flair along the top; I hope this becomes more common!

My ears, which I've  been wearing for about a week now, are a new release from .:Soul:. at We ♥ Roleplay - opening tomorrow at 3PM SLT. This is the High Elf, made a bit larger because I like them that way and Charlie is always nice enough to make things modifiable. They come with a HUD for Charlie's skin tones, which will match with his latest release Catalina along with his older skins, and with a graytone to tint to match other skins. He's also created developer kits so that other skin makers can make appliers for his ears - something which I hope a lot will take advantage of! There are multiple other ears, including smaller and longer ones and a special mer style ear with jagged edges. The other feature of these ears which I really love is the tattoo layer overtop. Charlie includes a tinter and some textures, but using the developer kit one could make all sorts of patterns to add on to ears - I'm really looking forward to seeing what people make!

My final recent pieces come from two other events which are ending soon. From the Seelie Court, I'm wearing Bliensen + MaiTai's finger claws - which come pre-set for SLink hands in Casual and Elegant, and include both all of the fingers and the index fingers only. The nail guard of this sorOne example of nail guards originated in China, and were a symbol of the lack of physical activity women of high rank could indulge in - since they didn't have to work with their hands, they could grow their nails unusually long. The longer they became the more brittle they became, however, and so metal and lacquer nailguards were made to protect them. These are nicely assertive, though, and seem to carry a distinct edge - a reminder one can be lovely and lethal. I'm also wearing two other Bliensen + MaiTai pieces - the foiled leaf necklace and shiny silvery nails with a snowflake motif, both of them already released and still amazing. My amazing shoes are from Lassitude & Ennui, released at Geeks n Nerds, and I've loved them since I first saw them come across the feeds. The shape of the mule itself is a lot of fun, with the vamp arching away from top of the foot in an interesting manner. The platform section is digitized, with small cubes supporting and crawling up under the sole - as if, indeed, nanobites ate a chunk of my shoes! It's a fun and funny idea, and they look lovely to boot.

Both Seelie Court and Geeks n Nerds end on the tenth, so hurry by if you haven't already!

Fit for a Princess: The Dragon's Gate

In my search for a place for pictures of this modified, Japanese-style princess, I stumbled across a rather fun hunt / game, with an interactive component and a battle at the end (which I utterly failed to figure out) called Shadow House 3. The hunt starts on Virtual Ryukyu, and costs 10$L. It's charming, and funny, and takes you through a number of lovely vistas and buildings, with a veritable slew of prizes along the way. I highly recommend doing it for the fun story, at the very least; it runs through the end of October. If you want to dress in style to match - this lovely, miniskirt-kimono is at Fit for a Princess, and is from Greymoon. There are seven total colors, all of them fairly muted and reminiscent of autumn, with one brilliant splash of scarlet as memorial for the dying leaves. The sleeves and collar in particular are excellent - moving well around the edges and with good elbows. I also quite liked the bust line, the first break from a traditional kimono shape, which is followed up by a narrow waist and beautiful obi. The bow in the back of the obi is wonderful as well, small but well-shaped. The skirt is a true mini as well - even showing a little belly and cutting in close to the legs. The final fun addition to the silhouette is a train, which is rigged closely to the legs; it cuts a little close in some poses, but it's so fun I don't mind working around that at all.

My bright orange shoes are also from Fit for a Princess - a variation on one I showed before from Stargazer Creations, only this time without the flower accessory attached. Up close, you can see the delicate detailing of the front strap. I also love how slim it is - a narrow shape that stands as elegant support for all sorts of outfits. The last Princess-like aspect of my look is my poses - three poses with accompanying fans from Uncertain Smile. I adore the included fans, sweet and simple, with a cherry blossom motif. The poses are also quite unique, various flashes of face behind the fans a delight, and they would work with most small, hand-held fans. To finish the look I had to step out from under the Fit for a Princess parasol, though. First, my hair is a very old release from Asset which has lingered in my blogger folder waiting for the perfect outfit - and I think it adds a severe edge which fits the modern lines of a mini kimono. It's a very full queue style with bits of loose hair here and there, adding verisimilitude. Although I believe this is traditionally a men's style, I thought with the number of traditions I was bucking with this particular look, that gender-bending wasn't really beyond the pale. Finally, my earrings are from Lassitude & Ennui, and are being released at the Jewelry Faire and will be available there through this Sunday, the 28th. They are a layered, angel-wing style earring with enough simplicity that they work with any number of styles, and are available in several colors including this rather cunning black. Definitely make your way there and check out their other offerings as well!

Midnight on the Edge of Dreams

Sometimes it's fun just to put on a bunch of pretty things, go to a pretty location, put on a pretty windlight, and take pretty pictures.

The headwings are an old rare from Aux, brought out once I found the perfect look to pair them with. I had tried everything with my back wings, but it ended up looking odd - it's times like this I wish I could magically make things copy-ok, because I would have pulled a seraphim - multiple wings of the same sort - in a heartbeat. I tucked them into the strands of a new-to-me store called Asset; I particularly liked the way the hair fell across the face, as if casually disheveled in an ocean breeze. The jewelry is a gorgeous set from Sax Shepherd Designs which could work well in a not-wearing-anything look, but also layer beautifully over clothing. I especially like how the belt came out, layering under the abbreviated peplum of the dress. The dress itself is another release from Greymoon for the last Fit for a Princess, not the current one; it doesn't appear to be out in her store yet, but hopefully it will be soon because it's gorgeous.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Izzie's, Irene
Sparkles: Folly, Rainbow Sheen
Hair: Asset, Sophie
Headwings: Aux, Fly Free (old Arcade Gacha)
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Wings: Deviance, Sidhe
Jewelry: Sax Shepherd Designs, Nia Moon
Hands & Feet: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands & Feet
Nails: Frogstar, Pearlescent Princess (Fit for a Princess)
Clothing: Greymoon, Sovereign Shimmer

Pose: !bang

Location: nostos deer
Light Settings: Phototools, Dead End Sky
Water Settings: Phototools, Black Default

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Fit for a Princess: Incarnadine in the Wild

I adore new locations for pictures, and Heart Song, created by Harlow Hesop and open to the public on a temporary basis, fits the bill beautifully. I particularly liked the textures she chose, which had a watercolor-ish bent and could be lit beautifully in a variety of windlights. It's built like a northern American or European forest, all dark green leaves, soft dirt paths, and a myriad of tiny lakes all within walking distance of each other. I used to live in Michigan and Upstate New York for a while, and I was powerfully reminded of my long walks in the forest there, stealing by private lakes with their own little docks out onto the water. The surround, not a flat image but rather a three dimensional layering of trees and mountains, is particularly gorgeous, and conceals the fact one is in the middle of the ocean beautifully. I took pictures in only a tiny fraction of the sim, but be assured I'll be back until she closes it to be her own private oasis.

I'm wearing more of the gorgeous releases at Fit for a Princess, though perhaps given the poses from Lalochezia that are based on the Duchess of Cambridge, Fit for a Duchess would be more appropriate. They are subtle, reserved poses which suit her style well and work best with a very sleek silhouette. I really liked the additional "seated" pose, especially since it worked seamlessly with an in situ chair on the sim.

My gown is from a new-to-me store called Greymoon, and I fell in love with the texturing, especially on the blouse where it becomes a lovely swirl of leaves and flowers. Like the setting, the texturing on the dress is watercoloresque, with rich darks and soft edges. It comes with fitmesh options for each size, but I found they didn't work as well with my shape as the basic gown itself. For my hair I wanted something soft and romantic, and Calico's over the shoulder curls were simply perfect. I have always loved how Calico did the more romantic, fantastical styles and this one doesn't disappoint - it also layers well over mesh, and moves well with my head. I'm really looking forward to dressing it up with jewels and bits and bobs, as it seems perfectly set up or those sorts of accoutrements. And finally, for nails and jewelry I went with Frogstar, who I've covered before. The pearls set is from a gacha, which means there is a certain amount of piecing it together and trading with friends; if you need to resize it, her profile says that you can request a copy/mod version by sending the item and an IM. I really enjoyed the casual but stylish edge to the necklace and bracelet - they are not the perfect, smooth pearls one might initially think, but instead are twined and tumbled around each other in narrow strands of color. The rares are the original, with a variety of shades as the commons, which means you can style up your outfit without too much difficulty. The nails are also from Frogstar, and they are shiny, opalescent, and subtle. I thought they were the perfect manicure for a Duchess on the go.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Izzie's, Irene
Sparkles: Folly, Rainbow Sheen
Hair: Calico, Estelle (Fit for a Princess)
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Wings: Deviance, Sidhe
Jewelry: Frogstar, Modern Princess Pearls (Fit for a Princess)
Hands & Feet: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands & Feet
Nails: Frogstar, Pearlescent Princess (Fit for a Princess)
Clothing: Greymoon, Portiere Dress (Fit for a Princess)
Shoes: Deviance, Milady's Slipper

Poses: Lalochezia (Fit for a Princess)

Location: Heart Song
Light Settings: Phototools, Build 5
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only