Fit for a Princess: Sunlight in Moonlight

Fit for a Princess is back this month with some really cute looks some real deals - like this adorable dress from Baby Brat for under 50$L. There are four color options - the rather lovely gold I'm showing off, and three other pastel shades of orange, blue, and pink. I particularly liked the materials effect on the bodice, making it subtly seem to sparkle in the light. It's well rigged, and the spaghetti straps are delicate without getting too lost - one thing I love about rigged mesh is how spaghetti straps can finally look good! It's well rigged and fully lined, meaning there isn't a bad angle. I also found the invisilayer to be well made, without any gaps at the edges, though keep your panties handy! I paired it with the lovely Rosemarie set from Krystal in simple white diamond; the set has four parts, sold separately - a tiara and a necklace, which I show here, and additional earrings along with a hanging curve of jewels to hook up to the bodice of a gown to dress it up. She also has some lovely gowns set out along with a ring gacha and some lovely key necklaces in gold and silver. I like the size and shape of the tiara and necklace in particular, along with how they reflect each others shapes, creating a nice harmony in an outfit.

I added heels in a contrasting color from Bliensen + MaiTai. While often pastel on pastel can be a lot of fun, adding a richer hue at a single point can add some drama and make an outfit more interesting. I featured a limited edition version of these shoes for 21 Shoe, and the shape is just as much fun in a brighter shade! I still love the starburst of gold, and how lived-in the sheen of the leather is. The heel is very narrow, dressing up an otherwise simple spring gown to match my somewhat over-the-top jewelry choices. And in the same line as the elegant but simple effect of gown, jewelry, and shoes, I went with a sleek hairstyle with a little curl for interest - this gorgeous shoulder length style from Ploom with fun little tendrils and a row of curls along the back. I liked the bang-line in particular, how it flopped over the eyes without obscuring them - the kind of style which looks like you brushed your hair and went out, but which is cleverly held in place with several cans of hairspray or, in this case, clever rigging. I rounded out my look with some deceptively simple cosmetics from Wicked Peach - firstly a subtle combination of cream and red which stayed in the range of my gown while hinting at the contrasting color of my shoes, and secondly some sparkly nailpolish that remained more in the range of my jewelry and bodice - a bit of shine, but subtly so. The final touch was my lipstick from Mock, a creamy violet lipstick which caught the hue of my shoes but in a pastel shade to more closely hew with gown and jewels.

There is a lot going on, but I think the final effect is breezy, elegant, and just a touch too expensive for you.

Ballet Bleu

Ever since I saw this barre from Stockholm & Llima at Romp (now available at her main store), I dreamed of how to do this picture set. The animations included several dances, each of them lovely, and the only question was how I was to create the most important thing - the mirror at the back of the practice room for this Prima Ballerina before the show. That took a little doing - and the shameless use of Whiskey Monday's Nothing Endure's But Change Sim, which was largely empty except for an enormous black tree (thanks Whiskey!). It also took combining Stockholm & Llima's barre with this amazing attic hideaway from Frogstar - a blessedly modify-ok structure that I stripped of it's outer casing in order to bend to my nefarious will. The final touch was using the mirror water setting but turning the Fog Density Exponent up to 10.0 so that the door and wall didn't show up at all. The final effect is of a quirky room with enormous windows and floor to ceiling mirrors along the entire back section of the wall. Up close, the illusion is perfect; from a distance, it looks something like this.

Both of the structures I irrevocably modified are lovely in and of their own right. The Ballet Barre Stockholm & Llima made is actually a BDSM tool as well as a lovely dance display - complete with ribbons coming from ceiling mounted brackets and the ability of a second person to take control. There are a variety of bondage animations, 14 M/f animations and 7 F/f animations. There are also some tinting options, and the entire barre is modify-ok, so the opportunities for customization are extensive. The Frogstar attic actually comes with a lovely surround set up for the lighting and large windows. It comes with three options - shabby clean, dirty, and bloody - and comes with and without baked lighting. I used the baked lighting and reinforced it with my windlight, which I think turned out well. It also comes in at only 9 land impact, which is stellar for a large skybox.

The other half of these pictures was initially inspired by the Zenith tutu and collar set, which I fell in love with on sight. It is the best mesh tutu I've seen to date, rigged well and with a charming and inventive style. I love the ribbon effect on the bodice, and the layers of skirt which each hang slightly separately. The collar is sold separately but matches perfectly, both in the heavy ruffles that stick out around my head (check out the open weave at the outer edges!) and in the gold balls rising up from the froth that echo the gold figures worked into the skirt. The collar is rigged to the head and shoulders, moving so that it continues to frame your head perfectly.

I wanted to keep the accessories simple and highlight the tutu, so the gold band on my Ploom hair, though instead of going for a simple bun, I went for dual poofs that add some interest both to the shape of my head and in terms of the gorgeous texture I chose (candy pack remains my favorite~!). The band is tintable, and I chose gold to continue the gold theme, and then reinforced it by selecting Sax Shepherd Designs' gold filigree wings instead of my usual butterfly solids - I think the effect is really striking! By far the hardest part of find were my pointe shoes. These lovely ones from *Etoile* which include the tintable foot, were the closest I found to traditional shoes; they are modify-ok, which meant I could select the pieces included in the shoe to tint it blue, and add a gold highlight in the small bow on the toe. As you can see below, the shape is perfect from the back and side, and since they fit on the ankle much like a boot does, there are no issues with the ankle moving in a distorted manner. Overall, I am thrilled with my first attempt at a Prima Ballerina - and I hope you all are, too!

Mannishly

Emboldened by the androgyny I was inspired to through Genre, I decided to give menswear a whirl with FATEwear's latest release - the Jordan jacket - and found it fit well and was a lot of fun, despite being rigged to the male instead of female frame! I was particularly pleased with the sleeve length, as it covered the wrist without clipping my hand, and the asymmetrical folds and wide spaced collar is wonderful. I very much like how thick the entire coat seems; the edges are all rounded and thick, even on the sleeve detailing. This gives a real sense of the weight and reality of the coat, making it's folds over my hips and gaping at the waist all the more realistic. I also like how the pocket is three dimensional instead of simply a texture on the fabric, and even the buttons are three dimensional - which makes some of the angled shots I took amazing. It's very well rigged through the body and to the legs, leading to an excellent fit even in more complicated pose. All of these are little details, but combined with the soft texture of the jacket - there are a variety of colors and event he option of a color-changing HUD with the fatpack - the jacket manages to straddle the border of Second Life and offline life beautifully.I have always loved FATEplay's female clothing, and FATEwear is equally impressive.

With the masculine quality of the jacket, I decided to go ultra-femme in the rest of my look. I began with this corset from Rosal, part of a complicated set but equally impressive on it's own. She just re-released it with updated colors and I highly recommend it both as a set and as an individual piece. I went with the narrowest waist - unrealistic offline, and gorgeously easy online. The fit of the jacket demanded a pair of pants, and I found those in a pair of jeans from Decoy that I picked up during one of the sale events and squirreled away in my inventory for just such an occasion. They are hip huggers, leaving that fascinating band of flesh between hips and belly exposed. I almost ended the look topless - the jacket actually covered enough to preserve modesty - but I ended up deciding that was a little more risque than I preferred and I used an old favorite, a texture-top from G Field - to finish my outfit. The flower for the halter-top was too voluminous for the narrow opening at the top of my FATEwear jacket, though, so I substituted in an old prim collar from Plastik that has the distinction of not only being modify-ok, but also set up so the different bands around the collar can be tinted separately. The close fit of the collar also maintained the illusion of layers that I was going for, as it fit beautifully into the gaps left by the jacket.

So far, my look was equal mixtures of casual masculine style with high fashion, ultra-femme touches, and I wanted to push the latter over the top with the remaining pieces of my style. First I went with an extravagant updo, the newest release from Ploom being released at The Kawaii Project. It is a whirl of braids and curls, editable mesh which meant I could shift the odd curl here or there out of my ears and make it a wonderful updo from every angle. I went with one of her candy hair textures, a wonderful blond with a fade of pink tips to echo the pink of my jacket. I also went with very dramatic cosmetics - a heavy, glamorous shadow around the eyes from .:Soul:. and dark black lips from MiaSnow. The goal was to maintain the predominance of black in my entire look, leaving the pink in only two places, and also to continue the thread of evening-wear despite my casual jeans. My nails were equally dramatic - a gorgeous pair from A:S:S on a black base with silvery sparkles set in a fade from the tips, like snow falling on a dark night and just barely catching the moonlight. The final touch, absolutely required to keep the styling over the top, are my sleek and delicate shoes from Lassitude & Ennui. One way to dress up jeans is through stylish shoes, and these do that job to perfection.

Dream a Little Dream

Oneword's "Dream" end on the fifteenth, disappearing like mist at awakening along with all of it's lovely items. I came to this event late - having gotten severely behind on my events! - but I'm very glad I took a few moments to pick up some of the evocative offerings. My dress, for example, is from Moon Amore and is a simple, lovely wrap dress with texture changing in the top and bottom. There are two packs to pick up - one light and the other dark - and each have variations on the deep cut bodice and high, flyaway skirt. I was drawn to the peaches and cream combination and really enjoyed the ruffled texturing of the skirt, which is lined inside as well. The skirt retexture does include the bits of cream below the waist, which makes mixing and matching the tops and bottoms a touch more complicated. My favorite effect on the whole dress was the back texture, though - a delicate wickerwork spiral and hanging beads on each side - reminiscent of an Ojibwe Dream Catcher without replicating it. My other Dreamy accessory is my eyeshadow - a lovely cream offered up by Wicked Peach in a set of several dual colored options. The colors are clear and bright without being overpowering, a wonderful complement to the delight of dreams.

I rounded out my outfit with some lovely accessories, varying the intensity of the colors while trying to remain within a similar hue. My silvery snow crown from Bliensen + MaiTai calls up the cream of the bodice and my wings, a frosty counterpoint to the warmer oranges I'll add. I love the shape of it as well - arching up above the head with delicate snowflakes floating around each angled, sharp piece. My jewelry, a release from Maxi Gossamer at the Uber event, draws from the warmer edge of my iced peach outfit, a bright orange and softer, gold-edged peach set in silver - the silver a callback to all of the white I'm wearing as well. The heavy squares and circles also stand in contrast to the feather-light flow of my dress and the sharp triangles of my crown; I'm a fan of high contrasts in color and shape. While the colors of my jewelry might seem too bright in isolation, I echo them in my lovely Cila shoes set with stars. The shoe part is still a pale peach, but the star is gold incarnate and bright enough to balance out my bright jewelry. I love the anklet of stars connected to it as well, and the smooth transition from shoe to platform that makes the effect work. I finished my whole look with a casual, breezy updo from Ploom with loosely gathered loops of hair up in pigtails. The updo quality, with it's curving bangs, whispers of elegance even while the waves of hair over my shoulders laugh casually.

Unsettled but Grateful

I am suspicious of gratitude. All too often, like forgiveness, it's a word that gets thrown around to distract from injustice and inequality. Be grateful you have food, ignore how your wages are being cut in the name of increased profits. Forgive those who harm you, don't expect them to stop. There are times when I feel blessed and grateful, though; times when I recognize the positive things I've gotten out of what I hoped was a good idea at the time, and times when people have been generous and I appreciate it.

Advent in Second Life is a wonderful thing. Some store owners decide, out of the generosity of their hearts or as gratitude for group members, to give things away for twelve or even twenty four or five days! Usually there are also smaller events during that time - the odd store sale, or event. Some do discounts instead of gifts, or even two levels of give aways - one for everyone and another for group members. I've worn various advent things as the month went on, and in this post I'm showing off a few more as I continue to go though my backlog; I expect this will be a well of beauty I'll be plumbing for some time. I also thought I would list the store I liked the most, and the ones I found along the way, as a place to start next year when Advent season comes again.

First, to what I'm wearing! My hair is one of the many Ploom Advent releases, a style which made me giggle and wriggle when I saw it - the bell shaped puffs at the end of each pig tail are amazing. One of the things I love about her "candy" color pack is how the colors show up differently on different parts, and in this case the bob of shades at the tips just makes me happy. They are, in every way, delightful. My jewelry is actually the result of picking up all twenty-five of Krystal's jewelry advents (she had a separate one for clothing which is similarly priced) and collecting the ornaments inside of them. Once you had a full set, you could send it and a notecard for a desired item from the store (Krystal or Kouse's Sanctum respectively) and get a free set of jewelry or a lovely new gown.

My clothing is another advent which involved a small outlay of Linden - in this case Purplemoon Creations, which in addition to her usual generosity with group gifts (monthly at least, usually an exclusive color) also took a few days before Christmas to offer up several sets of lovely jewelry and clothing at dramatic discounts. I took the chance to round out some of my ballgown and formal jewelry collections with offerings from Purplemoon Creations and Lazuri, which offered the same deal in nearly the same place. I'm still only a hair's breadth into unpacking all of the riches I accumulated, and I'm already thrilled.

In addition to the stores mentioned above, I had a lot of fun with the tree under Cosmopolitan, which had a few different additions each day and the added bonus of including pictures in the announcements; you could wait until the last days for picking things up, as they remained in play until the tree came down. Abranimations had an entire wall of Advent, from the first day to the twenty-forth, each clickable in their own day and offering up a remarkable panoply of avatars, objects, and dances. The same boxes were hidden all over DMC's store, offering up dance balls and single dances among many other things - the searching for the boxes added a fun frisson to what is usually a walk-and-click. Alice Project offered up three different hair modifications, one ofr anyone and two for group members, to a bunch of the hairs she released this year; she does something similar at a bunch of other events, and over the years I've accumulated quite a selection of themed hairstyles to play with. Falln Angel Creations offered up his usual advent capped with a hunt through the store - clothing, skin, and fun world items all available for free or a single Linden.

The widest cast set among the advents had to be the one at Kittycats, though, which had a multitude of gifts from all kinds of stores, and all of them available the entire advent period - I will admit to having brought a few of my alts through for a full set of gifts near the end. Another store that I missed a few days on but was able to catch up later was Loordes of London, which offered up tons of shoes and outfits in their sleek, modern style. Also modern, but sweeter and for your house, is the incredibly offerings from Sway's; the gift cycle starts with a hunt for ornaments that give passwords, and then the passwords are used to get the advent gifts. Much more straightforward is the jewelry from Virtual Impressions, available once each day by clicking on a disordered and lovely calendar; I've been a member for a long time because of the generosity of her group gifts and the discounts on new releases, but the generosity of her advent is likewise immense. And finally, I found NaYu Designs during Advent time and got a lovely selection of shoes, jackets, and dresses for my troubles. One lovely thing about advent is finding new stores through their generosity, and marking them down for future visits - their generosity is so appreciated.

Boho Culture Faire

The Boho Culture Faire is going on right now, and for once I'm vaguely ahead of the event curve on this one. Good thing, too; one blessing the faire brought back was the civilized and inventory-enriching custom of free gifts in nearly every stall, and many of them are not only quite good, but include an image so you can easily pick and choose which suit your style and inclination. I ended up picking up these smart shoes, fitted to the SLink flat foot, from LaGeeny for a single linden. They are colorful, simple sandals with a cute bow on the ankle which fit beautifully - perfect for afternoons at the park. My RD Style romper, a sort of tank top and short combo which has become very popular in Second Life due to the heat this summer, is also one of the gifts for a single linden, and it's incredibly cute. I love the sealife texture, especially against the brown backdrop, and the shorts made it fun to pose with. Finally, my earrings from Bliensen + MaiTai, are available in her booth at the Boho Culture Faire, and the necklaces - lovely drippings of large jewels, are available from a gacha nearby.  The nice thing is, since the earrings are color-changing you can match them to any of the necklaces you win!

My hair is a fun and playful style from Ploom, and like usual I couldn't resist making it a rainbow of color. Melon also has a sister hair called Splayed, which is perfect for lying down if you want to keep the style contiguous; I really quite appreciate the opportunity, and ended up storing them together for photography purposes. I love the idea of having hairstyles that work in multiple poses, as if they were responding to gravity or wind. My lips are part of one of the large color packs from Adore & Abhor, and honestly I recommend anyone who wants a solid base for lip color to pick these up; they both work beautifully alone, and equally well layered under more transparent gloss textures. I love the lipline they give me, and how they accentuate the expression of my mouth. Finally, my nails are a release from Devae and are one of a bunch based off of her horn textures - all of them incredibly lovely. I love her fades in particular!

The spot where I'm taking these pictures is new, and associated with a new website focused on covering events called EloquenceSL.com. Along with the website is an area with a wide number of group gifts and then a small tea room in the center - quite a lovely spot in the sky. It's more tightly packed than the usual Second Life location, which for photography purposes made it perfect - every inch had some lovely or entertaining bit, and there really weren't any bad angles. In addition, the website nicely puts the reoccurring events front and center. When you mouse over any of them, an orange screen pops up to give the rotation schedule, duration of event, and date of the next one. I love how the timing gets put front and center, since at this point I lose track of which is which and when they all start and end. The page for each event gives details and images of what's available, which is very useful. The coverage right now is fairly extensive, and there is contact information for individuals wanting to add their events to the mix. You can also apply to be a blogger for them, though it clearly isn't for the faint-hearted!

Chiaroscuro

It's been a little over a week and I feel like I'm finally settling again - though my apartment has become the usual weekly mess. I feel like I'm settling into blogging again, too, after several deliberate and inadvertent gaps. There is something about refocusing on tasks left undone that is like things coming into the light from darkness - like one of my favorite things in art, chiaroscuro. I made my attempt at it again this time, using projectors and a no light setting in Second Life, and while I still think there are some kinks that need to be worked out in how I'm using the light in world, I'm overall very happy with how they turned out - and I have a lot to do to make my projectors more useful in the world.

Part of what inspired this second attempt (the first is here, pre-projectors) attempt at chiaroscuro was this amazing dress from Purple Moon Creations, which has a unique shape and uses materials in order to amp up the shine.It catches the light beautifully, shifting the match any hue provided, and the shapes and enormous jewelry are incredibly striking. I paired it with a Ploom hair I've been wanting to show off for a while. As a long style - well past the waist - it requires a slim-cut dress and something dramatic enough to stand up to it's enormous waves, and together they are simply stunning. The large, unusual shapes cradle the large waves, and I love Ploom's ombre offerings - in this case a blond to black fade which emphasized the shadows. Due to the sheer drama of these two pieces together, I kept additional accessories very light - webby wings from Deviance which are my go-to- wings for anything Unseelie, a mask I just picked up from the Seelie Faire, a mesh leaf confections from Chimeric Fashions, and bright red lips courtesy of Madrid Solo.

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.

Beached White

This post is going to be more than a little event heavy. July has had a slew of events and there's no sign of us slowing down any time soon. Fit for a Princess continues until the end of the month, and it has lovely things for anyone seeking a Happily Ever After like this white gown from Kouse's Sanctum, also available in an amazing array of colors besides. It has a gorgeous, hip-length corset with delicate curls upon it. The sleeves  have pleasant puffs, and the neckline is a lovely square one; I had a little skin-bleeding through some of the ruffles since I'm a scooch fatter than the average avatar, but otherwise the fit is easy and good, and the included invisible layer works well without leaving any gaps. Each side of the skirt is strongly rigged to the legs, which means in poses where one leg is before the other you end up with a sharp angle, but other than that it moves quite well, and the length is such that you can see the peeping of shoes - or in this case bare feet - under the hem. I truly adore it; in fact, I'm considering adding to my considerable Kousely-Collection with a few more colors. I think the length of the corset is my favorite aspect, as I'm particularly fond of that smooth line over the hips with a flair out below. I'm also still wearing the nail shades from Frogstar on my fingers and toes, this time in a blindingly white shade which works beautifully with the rest of my look. I love how muted the colors are in this particular set, but the white itself is glorious.

My hair is a gloriously twisted updo from Ploom which takes full advantage of Ploom's divine ombre shades. I know I've mentioned it before, but it bears repeating that these really add an incredibly punch to Ploom's styles - and you can see why in the gorgeous swirl where the color goes from a pale blond, through pink and green and ending on an eye-smartingly-bright blue. I love the effect of a relatively usual shade becoming suddenly rich and unusual - and in this case it adds a delicious pop of color to balance out darker shades elsewhere in my look. This particular look is one of several available at the Hair Faire, and well worth braving the lag and avatars to find. It fit perfectly, with delicate tendrils along the sides of the face far enough forward to not interfere with my ears; truly perfection held up with pins. Darker shades also come in with this set of color-changing jewelry from Elemental. This is one of the four cool color shades, a lovely rich purple, and the metals are color changing as well through a dizzying array of options, including several combination metals like a gold-tinted silver scale.

Oh My Gacha offers up another dizzying array, this time of gachas. I was completely floored by a sim full from edge to edge with gacha machines, often several from the same store, each with their own offerings. Naminoke is one of my favorite gachas to play, as the prices tend to be on the low side and the offerings are so adorable. In this case, it's sets of colored flowers to cling to several parts of the body - from growing out of the temples to twining around the wrists to clinging to the ankles. At least three different color sets - two shades of purple and a lovely blue - are available, and often they have additional flourishes like silvery strands from the hair or little creatures lurking among the blossoms. Sadly, I didn't end up with a full set of any color, but I have high hopes of running across these in a yard sale and filling out my collections. Finally, the ribbons around my toes are from BooBubbleGum and I was lucky enough to score the rare, which includes this cute charm above the heel. The ribbons themselves are rigged for the SLink high heels, but the charm is editable so that if it lands too far down your foot you can shift it around to fit smoothly. Since I ended up with the rare, I also ended up with a charming HUD to change the colors - including to this pure white shade. I've been wishing for foot ribbons for a long while, and these cheer me immensely.

Rainbow Waters

I'm slowly getting back into the swing of blogging something other than events - licking my wounds after my vast failure at covering Second Life's Birthday (though in my defense, my idea was rather stupid given how much else was going on in my life). I was inspired by the hair, from Ploom, which I've wanted to show off for a while. It's a subtle set of pig tails, caught back far enough to fall behind my ears. The length is extremely long - falling well below my hips. Both the all of the hair and the length makes it a more challenging hair both to dress and to pose - the fall over the shoulders limits how far your head can turn naturally, and the sheer volume tempted me to pull a Lady Godiva. I did near as, placing a simple swimsuit from Baiatice underneath - a lovely linked bikini with a pretty metal clasp in the front. It's being sold at the Summerfest Event, which ended today. Hopefully it will make the transition to her main store soon as it's completely lovely. I especially like the cutout over the stomach - sexy lines there.

On my head I added this amazing, color-changing headdress from Folly. It is astonishing; just about everything is color changable with as much as twelve or fifteen different options. My only complaint was that I wish it was HUD tinting instead of via menu - the options are so varied and amazing that I wished I could see the colors instead of trying to judge from names. Otherwise, though, the headband is amazing, the flower add-ons are delightful, and the options make me wriggle like a thrilled puppy. It can go with anything, in astonishing variety, and I have no doubt these will be showing up again after I completely rework the coloring to fit a completely different outfit. Finally, these amazing poses are from Grafica and are available at the Rhapsody event right now. Yes, shocking as it seems, I actually have managed to cover something while the event was going on; please pick your jaws up from the floor. These poses are all based off of different dances or music, and I simply adore them - managing to be unique, interesting, and to not twist my limbs despite the sometimes extreme shapes they make. I love the variety of arm and leg shapes, and the real natural feel to the poses, and I also love that each set comes with mirror images of the pose. 

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Izzie's, Irene
Sparkles: Folly, Rainbow Sheen
Hair: Ploom, Pepper
Hat: Folly, Nouveau Headdress
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Glasses: Eclectica, Antique Glasses
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Wings: Deviance, Sidhe
Hands & Feet: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands & Feet
Nails: A:S:S, Fairy Wings
Clothing: Baiatice, Caprice Monokini
Shoes: Lassitude & Ennui, Fey Sandals

Pose: Grafica

Location: Sunset Beach
Light Settings: TOR, MIDDAY Baskaholic
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

2014 Fantasy Faire: Between Courts

One of the nice things that Fantasy Faire does every year is set out a few no lag outfits, most of them excuses for going about without any clothes. I agreed with this basic premise, mostly because Trap style skins can be seen best with as little clothing as possible. I started with the skin, a collaboration between Trap and Gauze that is truly lovely in application. It also comes with a hair and eyes, not shown, all of them zero script. I augmented my look because, well, I'm me; first I added these wings from Deviance and ripped the scripts out of them to make them no script. I did the same with a copy of my awesome ears from Illusions - since they are manually tintable I could have kept the recolorable ones I use for these situations, but I wanted to make a complete low-script look for ease of use in the future. The hair I added is from Ploom, and I did the same thing - copying it, tinting it with the HUD the way I wanted and then cruelly emptying it of any and all scripts; I've covered this hair before, and I really love how it falls along my back. Since the Gauze and Trap skin did not have SLink appliers, I used a fade effect created by Orc Inc to smooth between the hands and my arms. I also tinted my nails with De La Soul's latest tentacley release, though this time in fingernail form. The only place where my script removal didn't work was with my SLink hands and feet, which stymied my every attempt to de-script them, but it still leaves me with only six scripts and a very low kb count, which I think makes this still work even with my vanity intact.

For the sake of these pictures, I added a new gacha release from Sax Shepherd Designs, a gorgeous set. There is a rare HUD which has twenty-four total stone and pearl shades, and a ton of commons which come with a simpler, twelve-option HUD. Bracelets and anklets are available in addition to the usual necklace and earrings, this gorgeous belt I'm wearing, and a lovely circlet that didn't work with my hair. You will very likely see it again - this is one of my favorites of his releases.

We're six days into the Fantasy Faire and I'm a little behind, which I always seem to be - eleven days is never, ever enough. In my defense, I've been trying to cover another event and I've done walkthroughs for one hunt and one hunt-like-event, but really I'm feeling quite behind. The sims are lovely, though, and I really encourage you to seek them our while the faire is still going on - we have until the eleventh before it all vanishes like mist.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Gauze & Trap, Dragon Koi (Free Fantasy Faire Skin)
Hair: Ploom, Camille
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: De La Soul, Cthu Nails
Fades: Orc Inc, Blend Hands & Feet
Jewelry: Sax Shepherd Designs, Nia Moon (Fantasy Gacha Carnival)

Pose: Don't Freak Out

Location: The Faery Court
Light Settings: Places, Abracadabra
Water Settings: Mirror Water

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Twisted Color Challenge: Week 50 - Redstone Mountains

Guess Who???

I know, I know, it's been freaking ages. Ironically, I took these pictures days ago - intending on doing a quick blog post to get within the end range of the Twisted Color Challenge - this week is Redstone Mountains, and aren't they lovely? - before the meat of my vacation began. Instead, I tried to be a little more reasonable in my plans and desires, and I ended up only getting to the Redstone Mountains today after much travel to be back with my family, and several days of illness. I'm finally beginning to perk up again, which honestly is a bit of a relief; being sick on holiday always seems like it should be illegal.

I don't have any deep thoughts this week, I'm afraid. Or, rather, I have deep thoughts, but they're swirling under layers of stuffiness and My Cat From Hell (new addiction - I love Jefferson Galaxy; doesn't he sound like he should be on Second Life?) and none of them are going to make it out to play with you lovely people. My Cat From Hell has clarified for me something which seems to put me at variance with most people who watch reality television, though (or perhaps just those who create it?) - I dislike greatly seeing people at their worst, fighting and being nasty. I adore seeing people succeed. One thing that My Cat From Hell does is that it is all about positive reinforcement and success - both for the people, and for the cats. They play up a bit of the drama in the beginning, but I'm guaranteed two happy endings a show, and that means the world to me. It also explains why I really no longer like Project Runway, which had been a favorite - now the deck is stacked so horribly against the contestants that it's endless fights and failure and a rare few successes, and it just makes me sad. Give me two happy endings a show any day and I'll be loyal.

I'll keep my clothing talk short and sweet today - starting from the toes and moving up. My boots are a recent release from Lassitude & Ennui, a lovely pair of Majorette style knee-highs with shiny metal buttons. I particularly liked the two toned effect, which made these a very appropriate choice for the reddish-brown / matte-brown of Redstone Mountains. They are fully rigged, which means the subtleties of foot poses translate cleanly, and rigged well enough that they pretty much always look natural. The texturing is exquisite, as well, with the subtle shine of quality leather and bits of worked patterning on the buttons and tongue of the boot. My dress is from Beetlebones, and if I remember correctly it was a purchase form ages ago which fell out of my inventory in a timely manner. Like few dresses, it is fully textured inside - which I believe adds to the rendering weight of the garment, but which also helps to ensure that the world won't be visible beyond if my angles become a little too hard. The sleeves on it are very sweet, and I really liked the lay and design of the bodice; it makes it a simple dress without ever getting near dull. The texturing around the buttons was an excellent touch as well, adding just a subtle amount of pressure without making it seem like they should be bursting.

My jewelry is from AZE Designs, and is a delicate beauty like most of their work. I'm actually combining two different sets - a copper, wire-effected necklace and earring set with a pair of lace bracelets (better seen here). I really appreciated the bracelets in particular, as I'm often wistfully wishing more sets had something for the ends of my arms to balance things out a little; these are interesting enough that they can be combine with other sets, and will probably find their way into many looks as the years go by. Finally, my lovely, multicolored, beautifully rigged hair is from Ploom. I saw this hair on FLickr, new I had to have it, and was so pleased to discover when I picked up the fades pack of it that it had an additional point of personalization - a streak which made its way through the bulk of the hair and down over one shoulder. Part of why I had to include a shot from behind for this post is because of how wonderfully this hair is designed and rigged - it clings to one shoulders and the back without becoming over extended, even when my head is turned, and I adore the poof of hair on top and how it gets caught up by a little band of lighter hair before fanning out. I really love all of the fades included, though of course I went as almost-a-brunette for this look, and hair stores which are doing fades are becoming some of my favorite on the grid. How it is faded is also striking; instead of being all on one level with a relatively quick fade, the Ploom fade is gradual and interlaces the different shades of hair in a way which seems more natural - truly, an awesome and fun style.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Izzie's, Irene
Hair: Ploom, Camille
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Wings: Deviance, Sidhe
Hands and Feet: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands and Feet
Nails: Bliensen + MaiTai, Strawberry
Jewelry: AZE, Theodosia (Gothmas)
Bracelets: AZE, Awilda's Manacles
Dress: Beetlebones, Puffsleeves Linen Dress
Shoes: Lassitude & Ennui, Jolenta boots

Pose: !bang

Location: Rosemist Isle
Light Settings: TOR, MIDDAY An Incongruent Truth
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Flying Above It All

In the oldest books with angels, the first thing the angels would always say is, "Fear Not." In an era where angels are more associated with pretty women in big dresses plucking babes from danger, this seems like an odd opening line. These days, everyone could easily pick an angel out of a lineup and would most likely go to them for directions first, if they were lost. In days long ago, though, angels were fearsome creatures, as likely to smite and burn you as to protect you from danger. The cuddly, sweet version of angels is a modern invention; a de-toothing of the undercurrents of wrath and danger which permeated most cultures around the world. We, and by we I mean the relatively moneyed, privileged sort, can afford this distance from danger over-all because we are so little under threat. With few exceptions, I can count on not expiring from most threats. When I'm sick, I can go to the doctors, and the same when I'm injured. I have more than enough food - even too much some times - and of such a wide variety that I get all of my nutrients. Wild animals are easily avoidable, as are most serious accidents. In a world so insulated from death and despair, and even often minor inconvenience, there is no wonder that the stories children grow up on can likewise be so insulated from pain and death.

And so now angels protect us, and no longer say, "Fear Not"... because we wouldn't fear them anyway.

All of my expressive poses are are from a relatively new to me store called Don't Freak Out. What I love most is how natural they all seem - there is no stiffness or awkwardness in the poses. Also, many of them have a certain amount of emotional resonance and content which is what I've really been seeking out lately. I felt like their attitude fit this angelic badass outfit from Bare Rose, complete with wings and an awesome spindle-killy thing which I promptly threatened all my friends with. It has all kinds of spikes for smashing and slashing. I love the armor style of the bodice, and how smoothly it moves with me through the world. While bare Rose only comes in one size, it is a size which thankfully works for me, and I think I look fantastic. My cool, buckle boots are the latest release from Dilly Dolls, and they're a really smooth, thick shape with a texture sort of like a heavy rubber. I love the dual color style of them; it really makes then stand out. I saw the hair I'm wearing on someone else and inspect-stalked my way back to Ploom. I love the rise in curly hair on Second Life, especially when it's combined with rigged mesh and length like this - it really looks like the hair is tumbling free and wild, while it is also kept in place as I move.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Izzie's, Irene
Hair: Ploom, Lislie
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyeshadow: Mock, Pantone Fall eShadow
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Lipstick: Mock, Peenk Secret Menu
Wings: Deviance, Sidhe
Hands and Feet: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands and Feet
Nails: Nine Inch Nails, Butterfly
Outfit: Bare Rose, Fortune
Stockings: Stellar, In Bloom
Shoes: Dilly Dolls, Charla Boots

Pose: Don't Freak Out

Location: Nouk Land
Light Settings: TOR, DUSK Fairytale Glow
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only