2014 Fashion for Life: Promenade

Sadly, Fashion for life is gone for the year. I saw it through to the end; or, rather, while writing my last post I lingered on Promenade until suddenly I was bouncing in the air getting "you are banned from this sim" notices. I assume it wasn't personal. Luckily, less than an hour earlier I had managed to catch these last pictures of Promenade and even explore the ship at the heart of the sim. It was really a wonderful and amazing experience, and completely different from the other sims - for despite the common windows, there was no way out into the sim to explore the waters within which more futuristic buildings stood. I think the control room, all glowing red with bright panels of flashing lights, was my favorite part of the whole thing. I have a few things left in my inventory which might make their way fluttering out sometime in the near future, perhaps as part of the Birthday Celebrations beginning tomorrow, but for now memories will have to hold me to the next Fashion Fair.

ZOZ is back, this time with nails and shoes both. You've seen tons of shiny new nails, but these shoes are really something special - set over SLink's high feet, they are of an ankle-yolk design with layers of leather and chain. It's open toed with studs covering the vamp to echo the silver of the chains. I really love how edgy it is; I definitely tend much more toward sweet and frilly, but this offers up shoes for a different kind of Deoridhe. I echoed the silver in my shoes with the silver of my Sabina jewelry, from Krystal. I love the off-centered hang of the chains and the three drops hanging down. It's a novel design, interesting and off center with soft gem textures. Stylish and not at all subtle being the name of the game, I finished my look with this incredible gown from Legal Insanity, complete with cow textures and ruffles along the edges so extreme that from certain angles I was flashing a great deal indeed. I love how revealing it is, and how thick the fabric of the dress seems around those rather extreme plunges; it offers up a delightful contrast that is then mimicked in the stark black and white of the ruffle.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Izzie's, Irene
Sparkles: Folly, Rainbow Sheen
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Michelle
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: MiaSnow, Dark 5
Lipstick: Adore & Abhor, 13 Lips
Wings: Deviance, Sidhe
Hands & Feet: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands & Feet
Nails: ZOZ, Urban Silver (Fashion for Life - Promenade)
Jewelry: Krystal, Sabina (Fashion for Life - Promenade)
Clothing: Legal Insanity, Evita Gown (Fashion for Life - Perambulate)
Shoes: ZOZ, Synful Heels (Fashion for Life - Promenade)

Pose: Glitterati

Location: Fashion for Life: Promenade
Light Settings: TOR, NIGHT Moony
Water Settings: Blackwater

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

2014 Fashion for Life: Parade

Parade is a lovely sim, full of elegant and tall-standing stones, with bicycles and tricycles all over the place. The earliest example of a tricycle was a three wheeled wheelchair build in the 1600s by a disabled German watchmaker, who drove it with cranks. It wasn't until the 1800s that the rotary chain driven tricycles were invented and developed in tandem with a variety of two wheeled vehicles, some of which used pedals connected to the front wheel, while more of them used the same chain drives as the tricycles. Further innovations ushered in a Golden Era of cycling toward the end of the 1800s, and bicycles and horse buggies remained the primary modes of transportation until the advent of the automobile. In fact, bicycles may be credited with the initial spread of graded roads, as the cycles worked so much better on them.

I'm wearing a gorgeous dress from Bite & Claw which was one of many gacha prizes available with the store on Parade, and I even managed to land one of the rares. All of the sizes are included, which was a blessing, and I adore the style. The ruching around the ankles is completely delightful, and the way it falls against the skin is interesting and evocative - especially with the textures layered over the movement of the skirt. I could wish for a more interesting bodice line, but it's a simple tube top and textured beautifully with an empire waistline. The touches I like the most are the dragonflies lurking along the edges, though - an adorable touch which really made me smile. I'm wearing my ZoZ nails again, those lovely souvenir prize ones which you have only one more day to get. And finally, I'm back in my awesome Sweet Thing (from Meander - oh so long ago, now) shoes again - once more the ability to tint the bands and shoes separately came into play, and these awesome pink and yellow shoes match the shades of my Bite & Claw gown beautifully.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Izzie's, Irene
Sparkles: Folly, Rainbow Sheen
Hair: Shimmer, Vintage Cloche Hat (Art Hats)
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Lipstick: Pink Fuel, Metallic Lipsticks
Wings: Deviance, Sidhe
Hands & Feet: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands & Feet
Nails: ZoZ, Floral Solids (Fashion for Life - Souvenir Prize)
Necklace: Eclectica, Perenelle Gothic
Clothing: Bite & Claw, Anna Dress (Fashion for Life - Gacha)
Shoes: Sweet Thing, Solid Angel Pumps (Fashion for Life - Meander)

Pose: !bang

Location: Fashion for Life: Parade
Light Settings: TOR, MIDDAY Maldives
Water Settings: Phototools, Ship Light

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

2014 Fashion for Life: Trek

Trek is an airport, and a glorious one at that where we get to walk and fly all over the runways and byways. I'm particularly fond of the enormous diagonal road cutting through the sim - it just makes me giggle. It's a little harder to navigate since there are crosses and recrosses, but the variety of vehicles and planes is simply charming. The longest continuous running airport was in College Park Maryland, founded in 1909 by Wilber Wright, but it's a small airport quite unlike the enormous one which inspires Trek. The initial airports were quite rudimentary, and they didn't start to become more sophisticated until after World War II, when planes had become more advanced and more integrated into society. In the Trek Airport, I particularly liked all of the fun accoutrements of the trade, with rolling stairs and carts for the luggage, with each store place looking like a gorgeous little hanger or tucked into an enormous, glassed terminal. There are also adorable little figures here and there - a teddy bear scaring away geese, for example. My one complaint is that the terminals were set to full bright, which made picture taking a bit of a challenge; when photographing in the wild, full bright things can cause no end of trouble, as they aren't affected by changing light at all. This can be used for good effect - a subtle way of making something seem like it's glowing without overusing glow - but it's often overused and can be a trial in both landscaping and dress.

My dress, from new to me store Ghee and purchased on Trek, is amazing and takes full advantage of things which can only be done in Second Life. In addition to glow, it has a lovely color changing effect - both in the flickering lights above the dress and imbued into the fabric itself. The shoes also have a glittering, glimmering effect on them, though less of the color shifting. I have no idea how it is done, but I adore it, I want more, and I'm full prepared to indulge in some store stalking in the hopes that more rainbow offerings will be in my future. The shoes are involved, platform confections which fit over SLink feet, and their design is every bit as complex as the dress - with layers of glittering lights shifting all over them. They would work well with other shiny club dresses, but they are really in their element with this dress - the short hemline is balanced by the longer train, and all of it is so glittery and sparkly I don't want to take it off. My only other Fashion for Life accessory is my nails, this time not a purchase from ZoZ but rather one of the prizes from their Souvenirs Hunt. This is a fun little accompaniment to the full events, though it isn't free.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Izzie's, Irene
Sparkles: Folly, Rainbow Sheen
Hair: Alice Project, Bells II (Group Gift)
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Damned, Rainbow
Lipstick: Skinthesis, Deoridhe
Wings: Deviance, Sidhe
Hands & Feet: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands & Feet
Nails: ZoZ, Floral Solids (Fashion for Life - Souvenir Prize)
Jewelry: Ganked, Easy Jewelry Set
Clothing & Shoes: Ghee, Gown of a Different Color (Fashion for Life - Trek)

Pose: Striking Poses

Location: Fashion for Life: Trek
Light Settings: Phototools, Lo Light 04
Water Settings: Phototools, Ship Light

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

2014 Fashion for Life: Journey

Journey is a city sim, a modern city without plantlife or softness. It reminds me strongly of images of London I've seen from the 1800s, all tall roofs with grates and narrow windows, with old cars abandoned here and there and the odd bent crate or pile of crates adding texture. I particularly love the textures of the streets and walls - all hard stone and crisp shadows interspersed with the odd blast of color in a window or painted onto a car. Most interestingly, the way through to the other end of the sim was actually through two of the stores, with a small courtyard in between where the gacha for that sim were; an incredibly novel, if somewhat confusing, design. I also quite liked the number of faux doors and stairwells, giving it the effect of a much more populated area even while giving the individual store sufficient room for all of their Fashion for Life offerings.

This is my most sim-congruent look; hair, outfit, and shoes all come from Journey, which I think makes it rather fun. The hair which I've been showing off for quite some time is from EMO-tions, this time a lovely windblown style. Their store on Journey is quite lovely as well, with enormous, spinning gears in the floor; I found myself quite entranced by them. I've had a great deal of fun playing with EMO-tions' hair over the past week, and this windswept hair is particularly fine, with narrow strands going wildly. It also includes a mirror style, which would be useful for setting a scene. My gown is one that I have completely loved for ages in other colors, but this black and white confection completely floored me. Likka House (also on Journey) has always made wonderful, unique, interesting gowns, and this Carousel stands firmly amongst my favorite surreal outfits, a category I wish more dress makers aspired to. The corset, skirt, and ponies are all separate pieces and the latter two are not rigged, so they can be adjusted for shorter avatars; I ended up using the resize script included to make them smaller as well, but I'm quite tiny for Second Life. It came with stockings, but since I was indulging in shoes made for SLink feet I substituted a different set of stockings; DressME Designs also has clothing available, but I quite liked these purple shoes with their velvety texture and simple design. I love the puff-nosed pump and the narrow but not spiked heel, and they add a spot of color that was also found on Journey. The other spot of color comes in my nails, once more a fantastic offering from ZoZ, this time crackled color and silver combined; in this look, ZoZ is the odd thing out, since you can find these fantastic nails on Promenade instead.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Izzie's, Irene
Sparkles: Folly, Rainbow Sheen
Hair: EMO-tions, Windblown (Fashion for Life - Journey)
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Lipstick: Adore & Abhor, Silent Star
Wings: Cila, Cloud Wings White (Group Lucky Board)
Hands & Feet: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands & Feet
Nails: ZoZ, Urban Silver (Fashion for Life - Promenade)
Clothing: Likka House, Carousel (Fashion for Life - Journey)
Shoes: DressME Designs, Anna (Fashion for Life - Journey)

Poses: Long Awkward Pose

Location: Fashion for Life: Journey
Light Settings: Places Betham
Water Settings: Phototools, Ship Light

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

2014 Fashion for Life: Voyage

I really have no idea ,beyond the odd hint of wind power, what type of travel is being highlighted in Voyage. It's a lovely sim, though, all gabled roofs and long buildings reaching high into mountainous skies. The buildings are all very old-world - half-timbered buildings with stone infill and bells which sound regularly according to the hours. The bits of ivy surrounding the doors are a particularly nice touch, as are the stone paths here and there between the main path and the little cottage stores. It has all the charm of a country village which never adapted to anything harder-edges than a hoof.

I'm rocking the miniskirts this week, the latest example being findable on Voyage from Mon Cheri. It's a three part dress - the dress part, belt, and sleeves are all separate, and the belt can be recolored via a HUD. I selected a lovely salmon shade to show off, which then meant I doomed myself to struggling for accessories. The pattern and shape is fun and light, and I really like all of the ripples. It has some issues with movement when your legs are at angles, though if you're lucky it can look like a breeze catching the fabric up, and when animated it blends into the general movements pretty well. I love the line along the bodice and the tops of the sleeves as well - it looks smooth and of a piece despite being two different pieces altogether.

My headdress from Zibska was also found on Voyage in the gacha area, and I was lucky enough to land one of the rares - which includes a full texture HUD. It means I can tint it any way I wish, which for a colorphile like myself is a blessing. I paired it with two offerings from Bliensen + MaiTai, available on Wander, which really work with my bohemian charm. The jewelry is a fantastic set of swirls and also come with a color changing HUD with a wide variety of stone and metal options. The inner and outer stones can also be tinted separately, offering up a lot of opportunities for mixing and matching. The shoes are also from Bliensen + MaiTai and are truly lovely - a simple style with a jeweled brooch on the toe. They come in sets of colors - which I think is a charming idea - and this particular shade is the orangest of the pinks. You've seen the hair and nails before, but I couldn't resist using them again. The hair is from EMO-tions on Journey, and my fantastic nails are from ZoZ from Promenade. This is one of my looks I've managed to saturate with offerings from Fashion for Life, which really makes these pictures a lot of fun.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: Izzie's, Irene
Sparkles: Folly, Rainbow Sheen
Hair: EMO-tions, Violet (Fashion for Life - Journey)
Headdress: Zibska, Ibis Headdress (Fashion for Life - Gacha)
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Lipstick: Mock, Lucir Lipcolor
Wings: Deviance, Sidhe
Hands & Feet: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands & Feet
Nails: ZoZ, Love (Fashion for Life - Promenade)
Jewelry: Bliensen + MaiTai, Layla (Fashion for Life - Wander)
Clothing: Mon Cheri, Sachi Flare Dress (Fashion for Life - Voyage)
Shoes: Bliensen + MaiTai, Bolero (Fashion for Life - Wander)

Pose: Exposeur

Location: Fashion for Life: Voyage
Light Settings: TOR, SCIFI Cranched
Water Settings: Phototools, Ship Light

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

2014 Fashion for Life: Excursion

Unlike last year, when each sim was named for the seventh wonder it was for Fashion for Life, this years theme is much more abstract - which can make it harder to tell what type of travel the builder was thinking of when she made her display. Excursion has a watery, old world feel to it which reminds me of the Venician bridges and channels, with the tall buildings on either side, the open palazzos for shopping, and the gorgeous gondolas here and there for getting around. Venice has been called the Floating City, and was known as a city where the wealthy and influential went about masked so that they could do business and still keep a veneer of impartiality. I set my story The Red Sail for Fantasy Faire 2013 there, and it remains one of the places I would love to visit, along with Florence, but which I also acknowledge will never live up to my dreams of it.

I'm wearing gorgeous EMO-tions hair again, this time in a tight ponytail. EMO-tions' Fashion for Life booth is on Journey, which we'll hopefully be getting to soon. It comes with textured hair layers, but I found I preferred it without; the hair line on an avatar skill is always an awkward point. The band is color-changing, and the braid is well rigged so that it looks like it's falling naturally in most poses. My dress is a fun baloon-puff dress from Distorted Dreams that I wanted as soon as I had seen it on Excursion. I love this kind of style and skirt, but it can be difficult to rig due to the shape; Distorted Dreams did an excellent job, from the small ruffle around the thighs, to keeping the voluminous shape even in twisty poses. The texturing is soft and dulled, like the underside of a flower petal, and the bodice is very simple. I would have loved balloon-like sleeves to go with it, perhaps as separate pieces; it would have taken a charming dress and given it just a bit more oomph. I'm wearing nails from  ZoZ again (found on Promenade), and I really love the softer shades which keep their rich tone. Finally, my accessories are another set of cookies from Sweet Thing (found on Meander), this time in the common chocolate shade. I paired them with cookie-half earrings instead of the mixers I used last time, and the effect is totally tasty.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Izzie's, Irene
Sparkles: Folly, Rainbow Sheen
Hair: EMO-tions, Renee (Fashion for Life - Journey)
Hat: 22769, The Roses Crown (Art Hats Event)
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Lipstick 1: Adore & Abhor, Shreveport Lips
Lipstick 2: Mock, Lucir Lipcolor
Wings: Illusions, Apsara
Hands & Feet: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands & Feet
Nails: ZoZ, Love (Fashion for Life - Promenade)
Jewelry: Sweet Thing, SillyBaking (Fashion for Life - Gacha)
Clothing: Distorted Dreams, Wanderust Dress (Fashion for Life - Excursion)
Shoes: Lassitude & Ennui, Saltarello Slippers

Pose: Don't Freak Out

Location: Fashion for Life: Excursion
Light Settings: TOR, MIDDAY Cheery Cyan
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

2014 Fashion for Life: Perambulate

Perambulate is a treeish, lotusy park with long walkways, and it wasn't until I saw the sign for a skatepark that I realized the specific type of perambulation intended. The first skatepark was built in Surf City in Arizona, largely in response to skateboarders turning large parts of every city into a sort of shared skatepark with moving obstacles otherwise known as "people going about their day." Some municipalities are also combining art, landscaping, and skateparks to create enjoyable destinations for everyone - much like the loveliness that is Perambulate. Here and there are boxes of gifts - either skates or a skateboard if you want to slide your way along the smooth paths. I love the swoops and swirls inherent to the style, and the lovely embellishments of small pools and gorgeous flowers. I chose a half-light with heavy mists to set of the layered textures of the trees, and just indulged in general.

My dress is from Redux, found on Perambulate. It's beautifully textured in rich colors and two toned - a tight, gold cherry blossom pattern over one shoulder and a looser, artistic fall of pink tinted cherry blossoms along the line of the bodice and down to the skirts. I really like the texturing, a velvety touch with rich gold like illuminated texts, and it works excellently with the collar and sleeve shapes, making it seem elegant and rich. My nails match the color and tone perfectly, a rich crackled shade with solid gold bands. ZoZ (found on Promenade) really does amazing work with color and texture and I loved finding a pink which worked so well with the velvety magenta of my dress.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Izzie's, Irene
Sparkles: Folly, Rainbow Sheen
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Ingrid
Flowers: Naminoke, Sakura
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Lipstick 1: Adore & Abhor, 13 Lips
Lipstick 2: Buzz, Gem Lips
Wings: Deviance, Sidhe
Hands & Feet: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands & Feet
Nails: ZoZ, Urban Gold (Fashion for Life - Promenade)
Clothing: Redux!, Journey to the East (Fashion for Life - Perambulate)
Stockings: Stellar, In Bloom Tights
Shoes: Lassitude & Ennui, Jolenta

Pose: !bang

Location: Fashion for Life: Perambulate
Light Settings: TOR, FOGGY Fogvari
Water Settings: mirror water

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

2014 Fashion for Life: Meander

The second sim for Fashion for Life is Meander, and is based around the Boardwalks of the world - all white wood and bathing boxes. The first boardwalk was in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1870 for practical reasons - hotel owners were tired of their buildings drowning in sand. Over the years it was expanded on and improved gradually until it was seven miles long - though the hand of nature played a roll in setting more modest goals; thanks hurricanes! The golden age was in the 1920s and prohibition not only didn't touch the fun, it contributed to it - since Atlantic City didn't enforce the law, people from all over flocked to the beaches and the bars. The expansion of other forms of transportation and air conditioning contributed to the boardwalk's decline, however, until the legalization of gambling in 1978. Much of the urban poverty was cured by this new influx of entertainment money, but the heights of the Golden Twenties has never been regained.

The gown is from Poute and is available both at Fashion for Life on Meander, and Cosmopolitan Sales.I fell in love with this as soon as I found it, from the adorable butterfly detailing on the back, to the rich colors woven into the dress. It has a lovely style, with spaghetti straps over the shoulders and a short, flippy skirt that is extremely adorable. The invislayer covers most of the middle of the gown, though I'd recommend wearing panties underneath. I'm wearing those amazing Sweet Thing shoes again, found on Meander, and I added a sweet set of jewelry - the necklace is adorable cookie triangles strung on a chain, with brightly colored mixers for earrings. The colors I'm wearing are one of the secret common sets, and I really adore how well they match the saturated shades of my dress. My EMO-tions hair is from another sim - sneaking in from Journey - and it's an adorable updo with lovely hairsticks through the bun. The awesome thing about it is that there is an additional ponytail which comes out of the bun; just touch the hair and it can flow forth in all it's shining glory. Finally, my nails are from ZoZ which is offering up an enormous bunch of shoes as well on Promenade, which we haven't gotten to yet. Her nail colors and styles are simply smashing, though, so expect to see them again.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: Izzie's, Irene
Sparkles: Folly, Rainbow Sheen
Hair: EMO-tions,  (Fashion for Life - Journey)
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Wings: Deviance, Sidhe
Hands & Feet: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands & Feet
Nails: ZoZ, Love Polish (Fashion for Life - Promenade)
Clothing: Poute, Butterfly Essence (Fashion for Life - Meander)
Jewelry: Sweet Thing, Silly Baking (Fashion for Life Gacha)
Shoes: Sweet Thing, Angel Pumps (Fashion for Life - Meander)

Pose: Diesel Works

Location: Fashion for Life: Meander
Light Settings: Sim Default (Time of Day Edited)
Water Settings: Sim Default

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only