And so another year closes behind us and we head in to 2012. This will probably be my last blog of 2011 and i leave you with some New Year goodies. This fun pose prop is 60L from Sway's for SBS. Run along and snag it and get snapping those precious pictures with your loved ones. It sits 4 avatars and it's just so much fun!
You will also want to run along to Exile, smack that subscriber thingy jig and pick up this super cute hair gifty. Perfect to see the New Year in with. The 2012 horns are from Thistle Homes, also just 60L for SBS. My outfit was all from yesterdays FLF. The tank is Whippet and Buck and came in a fat pack full of mix and match colours. The jeans are from Milk Motion and cute for lazing around with a bottle of Lambrini on Hogmanay!
Happy New Year my lovelies and all the very best wishes for 2012. Dream big, you just never know!
I'm going to a New Year's Eve party tonight (RL) and have been in a quandary for days over what to wear. Too bad I can't raid Dolly's inventory. These pics came about from trying to decide on what to wear with the Mon Tissu mesh Lycia tank. None of my jeans looked right. Once I settled on Fishy Strawberry lingerie and my awesome bare feet from SLink, I knew I had a winner! Dolly's staying in tonight. ;-)
Both hairs are from Clawtooth. The top pose is from Del May and the bottom pose is another of April's upcoming series from Alterior Motions.
Frazzled, that's what I am! I'm sure this fashion blogging thing will get easier in time. Obviously it helps not to replace your whole outfit with a poseball right at a critical moment. Don't you love it when you are all nicely dressed, ready to snap away, then you end up standing there naked and bald? I mean, pose balls come in very handy, but they are hardly haute couture. All this, after spending over and hour trying to decide what to wear from my days shopping, then after trying everything on, i ended up going back to the first outfit I wore!
Anyway, i digress. Today is a very, very, very, very (add a thousand more verys), sad day. Fifty Linden Friday has come to the end of the road. For years myself and my best friends, Dolly and April, have logged on full of glee to see what FLF has in store for us. I think the only happy party in the demise of the popular sale is my inventory. I swear i heard a sigh of relief as i bought my very last FLF purchase.
To cheer ourselves up we all bailed home to unpack everything and then jumped on poseballs from Glitterati. So here we are, the redhead, the brunette and the ditzy blonde. Me and my besties.
Dolly, Ayla and April
Aren't we glamorous? Just a pity we were all dolled up with no place to go. The dazzling dresses are from Tres Blah and I am wearing the silver just to be different!
My favourite hair from today was this cute little style from Clawtooth, this is called Summer Break and the colour is Girl Next Door. It's just so whispy and messy and lush.
I am also wearing here a cute necklace with a 50L coin pendant from Yummy. It's something sweet to remind us of all those fabulous Fifty Linden Friday shopping trips.
So, that's it. No more FLF. Nothing more to say, so if you will excuse me i will go and don my sack cloth and ashes and mourn the loss of one of my favourite ever sales. *Runs off wailing and crying, looking for a shoulder to snot all over while listening to this song*
My friend April makes animations and poses - mostly naughty and sexy ones. She just passed me some new poses that she is working on called "Artistic Nudes" which she'll sell on the marketplace and in her store, Alterior Motions, as soon as she deems them ready for release. I found them inspiring and have taken several "artistic" pictures using these poses.
I was about to put on my pretty tiptoe feet from SLink, but noticed how April had posed feet so naturally, and I didn't want to mess that up. I'd seen that SLink had some new rigged mesh feet, so I popped over and picked up a demo. I could not believe how gorgeous these feet were, and how they adapted perfectly to the poses. See how lovely they are? Now that's artistic!
Also wearing the Lelutka Holiday Group Gift hair and the Glam Affair Linn skin, which matched to my new feet like a dream.
There are those things that tempt me...like ummm...great art and clothes!
Of course the mesh Maitreya skirt and blouse can be totally high fashion, but lover of vintage that I am (among other things), I went for the librarian look. I paired the beautifully detailed blouse with the polka dot slim skirt, adding "sensible" Gos shoes and tortoise shell glasses from Miel are the only accessories.
Hair is by Lelutka and the furnishings and skybox are all from Post.
Maitreya mesh is fabulous! I went to see the new releases after Christmas with high expectations because the dress I picked up earlier this month was so good. I was thrilled with the new releases. They're in the new standard sizes - meaning once you tweak your shape to fit one outfit, it's likely to fit any number of stores' offerings so long as they are conforming to the standard sizes.
I can't decide which piece is my favorite, but here are two of the pieces I picked up. The sweater is sold in lots of colors, and I had a hard time deciding between them (I got two). It manages to look soft and sexy all at the same time. The leather pants just rock no matter which color you pick. I went for a neutral so that I can pair it with lots of things in my wardrobe.
I paired this combo with my Gos booties, a bracelet from Dark Mouse and my excellent new earrings from Glow Studio. Hair is from Elikatira.
Just a quick post. While I was waiting to get to Maitreya I found the cutest mesh dress at Beetle Bones! It comes in lots of colors but I chose the baby blue because it matched my G Field boots and because I'm a sucker for alliteration.
I'm still sporting the Glam Affair skin and the hair is one of my all time favorites from Elikatira.
Ayla gave me these great mesh boots from G. Field for Christmas in baby blue and the fuschia pink as shown, so I figured I'd show them off in a blog post. Pink is not usually my color as a redhead, but with hues chosen carefully, I can make it rock.
The stars of the outfit below are the shoes (thank you again, Ayla!) and the mesh leather studded jacket from Beetle Bones and available at Four Corners. I'm wearing cable knit tights and a matching cami from Jane. The raspberry scarf comes from there, too. My hair is from Wasabi Pills. I've blogged the mesh tweed skirt from J.H Couture before, but it's a versatile piece and helps turn the studded black leather from biker chic to eclectic schoolgirl.
Lelutka released two new hairstyles Wednesday. I don't have EVERY Lelutka hair - yet - but I have quite a few. Enough that as soon as I got the group notice, I snatched them right up and had to take a picture of each of them right away before I went to bed.
They're both elegant in a modern casual way. The roots are understated and natural looking. Of the two, I think I like the top knot best, but both will have a place in my wardrobe. I'm wearing the Glam Affair Linn skin, the (sort of) infamous fox stole from Ohmai and available at Collabor88. The fox gives the teased up hair a suggestion of vintage to me. The fabulous jewelry is from Lilipily Spirit. I picked it up ages ago in a hunt. The barely seen mesh dress is from Celoe.
I love vintage and retro styles. I feel a little Claudette Colbert in "It Happened One Night" right before she showed Clark Gable how to hitch a ride. My hat hair is from Fashionably Dead, the mesh jacket and belt are from Celoe. As for the skirt - it's the mesh paneled Ingenue dress at Collabor88.
If you don't know the movie, enjoy this little clip.
Real life dealt me and my family a cruel blow last week, so it's been hard to focus on anything but keeping strong and giving my support where it's really been needed. I apologise for my lack of blog posts, but am really thankful that this is a two woman show, and that my dearest Dolly has been holding the fort with her wonderfully unique style.
The good news is my Mother's cancer is treatable and we can all look forward to Christmas, albeit she has to undergo several operations in the new year. It's not over yet, but the progonisis is hugely positive.
So today, finally able to relax a little, and with style guidance from Dolly, i found inspiration to blog. I have been indulging in retail therapy to keep the blues away and picked up this gorgeous dress called Mahari *bordeaux* from Zaara. She had a Red Tag sale going on and i snapped up several outfits, all deliciously yummy and in my one of my favourite colours, too.
I feel all glamarous and festive wearing this and it neatly hides my twin bump. You wouldn't even know i was pregnant in this picture, would you?
The skin i am wearing is Snow White, a group gifty from Glam Affair. The tone is very pale for me, but i think it's absolutely stunning and goes really well with the dress. I tried on a few demos there yesterday and for once, I think i found a skin that i like. Watch this space, perhaps i will change from Curio (which i have been wearing constantly for 2 years) and convert. Don't hold your breath too hard though, i am very resistant to change when it comes to my beloved Curio.
So all that is left to say, is that i wish you all a Merry Little Christmas. I hope that you and you loved ones, Real Life and Second Life, have a wonderful time together. May you be blessed with love, health and happiness, and i hope that the man in the red suit is kind to you. Most of all, appreciate the small things, love hard and be generous of spirit. Happy Holidays, my friends.
I went to Post today and bought the Cherbourg Hotel Suite No. 8. See the number? This first picture is just the hallway and already the details are perfection, inside and out. It is sold mod/copy, a 30 x 21 meter footprint, and 291 prims, mostly unfurnished.
I can't show you every loving detail, that would take 30 pictures. This next picture is a view from the bedroom into the living room. The fireplace screen opens to reveal a crackling fire. The radio on the mantle works. The chairs and table don't come with the skybox, but they're sold at Post. And the trunk on the floor? That's the skybox rezzer!
I feel as though I'm vacationing in 1930's Vienna in a turn of the (last) century hotel gone to seed. Van Auster, the artist responsible for this, is my favorite home and furniture builder in Second Life. He does his own thing. He's shabby without the "chic" that makes it cute. There's nothing cute about his builds. They're breathtakingly beautiful. I browse his work often, and decided to treat myself to a retreat, surrounding myself with his vision of faded glory.
I'm in good shape shopping wise in real life. In SL it's a never ending thing.
The very cute and nicely detailed mesh sweatshirt is a recent release from Cracked Mirror. If you're a Game of Thrones fan, you'll appreciate the Lannister Lion emblem on the front and the logo on the back.
I'm showing off the Natural tone version of Linn from Glam Affair. I'm becoming quite the skin collector (I was going to say whore, but it sounds kinky. So does skin collector come to think of it).
Yesterday at Four Corners I managed to pick up a darling pair of earrings from Aura and those divine red leather pants and simple cropped top from League, one of my favorite stores in SL. I switched my SLink boots from yesterday's brown to today's black. The hair is from Raspberry Aristocrat.
Now excuse me while I run off to fight the crowds!
My alpha issue is come and go, so when my computer, SL, and internet conditions are all in a good mood I can still take pictures. I think it helps to hold my breath while standing only on my left foot.
I went to Four Corners today and picked up a few things. I thought I was buying the demo of the Glam Affair skin, Linn, but I ended up buying the skin by accident. I can be careless like that at times, but it paid off. So exotic and pretty! It's the tan shade, and a shade or two darker than I would wear every day, but so glamorous! I feel like a brand new Dolly.
Everything else I already had on. I wanted to show off the butterfly stockings and dress from League. The mesh boots are from SLink. My earrings are oldies but goodies from a store that is no longer around. The poses are by Olive Juice and available at Four Corners.
Lyrical Popstar issued a challenge on her blog today and I thought I'd give it a try. In her own words, "The challenge is to find one item, and create a minimum of 3 different looks with that same item." The point was to help us all keep to our SL budgets, which is kind of laughable in my case, but without buying anything new, I did manage to put together three looks from my wardrobe.
Look One: This is the base look. I picked up this darling cocoa brown Ingenue dress with a mesh skirt panel at Collabor88 (now there's a way to stick to a budget). The Dark Mouse earrings, necklace, and bracelet, Shiny Things shoes and Elikatira hair complete the look. It's elegant but not fussy.
Look Two: Now it's a skirt! To change it up a little I layered this beige mesh sweater from J.H. Couture over the dress. I added fuzzy coffee colored tights from Jane. Because they're wonderful for winter layering, I have a whole fatpack of these tights. The gorgeous mesh hair from Wasabi Pills comes with the color change scarf. I found these great green suede boots from a fairly new to me store called Go!
Look Three: Now it's a cami! Ah, Jane, where would my wardrobe be without you? The oh so casual mesh barn jacket and mesh jeans from Jane are more basics of my wardrobe. Her fatpacks are such a bargain that I have all colors of both. The hair and mesh boots are from Lelutka, and I switched to another pair of earrings from Dark Mouse because the hair screamed for earrings.
I know for a fact that I've just scratched the surface of the outfit options for this dress. I feel so clever when I put together looks from inventory, but I think three pictures is enough for this post. Thanks for issuing the challenge, Lyrical!
Last evening I was honoured to attend the wedding of a very sweet couple, Vi and Sende Canningham. Of course, the lead up to it consisted of me spending what seemed liked hours looking for a dress to wear. I'm so darned indecisive and it's more of a struggle to find clothes now the twins are rapidly making my tummy swell. (Please creators, us pregnant ladies are desperate for more choice in maternity wear!)
In the end I went to Caverna Obscura and found this gorgeous little number, Serenade Gown - Passion. The bride told me she was having an autumn themed wedding so this colour was perfect and I love the detailed decolletage of pretty flowers. If you love fantasy clothing, you must visit this store, Elvina Ewing is the designer and her creations are absolutely stunning!
Once i had my dress sorted i nipped over to G Field and picked up a pair of my favourite shoes to match. These are Alex - Strap Shoes - Red Suede and they finished my outfit off perfectly. I adore G Fields shoes and they have a vast array of colours to match any outfit.
My hair is from Truth and it's Petra in Cocoa. There isn't much about to say about Truth hair that your don't already know. It's just fabulous. Can't ever get enough of it.
The wedding took place at Star Crossed Weddings and the scenery was fabulously stunning, so i snuck back this morning to take a shot of me in my gown. It is so beautiful there. They have many scened settings to suit your needs and tastes, so if you ever take plunge be sure to check them out. The marriage of Vi and Sende was lovely and the organisers really seemed to do everything to make their big day go as smoothly as possible.
Last but not least, I couldn't blog about the wedding without showing you a snapshot of the lovely couple. Congratulations to you both! May the joy you feel today be but a pale shadow of that which is to come.
It's time people. Embrace the mesh or don't, but it is here to stay and I, for one, have loved it since my very first Jane dress fell into my inventory.
You don't want to engage me in a technical discussion about mesh rigging or polywhatsits or minimizing land impact. My eyes will glaze over and I'll agree with whatever you say just so you'll stop confusing me.
I understand the shape issue for rigged mesh clothing, but hell. If I have to move my sliders down a few notches to make my thighs fit in my hot new mesh miniskirt, I'm going to do it. I'm as attached as anyone to my shape. I've hardly changed it at all since 2007. Here's the secret: I SAVE MY OLD SHAPE AND PUT IT BACK ON WHEN I CHANGE OUT OF THE MINISKIRT. I name the new shape so I'll know what clothing it's meant for and add it to the clothing folder so I don't have to search for it. If I have to adjust too much to fit into a mesh item, well then too bad, that item is just not for me, darn it.
Shape designers should be giddy with excitement over mesh now that more and more stores are adopting a standard sizing policy. Make new shapes that fit those standard sizes and market the heck out of them. This is a niche that needs filling.
Ok, on to the good stuff. Eboni Khan of Hucci has given a very generous Christmas gift to her subscribers. It is a girlie mesh skybox in shades of red, pink and beige and designed by the owner of Trompe Loeil, a prefab designer. I don't know Cory Edo, but her skybox has made me want to visit her store as soon as I finish this blog.
I know I should be in my ruffled pink Hucci mini dress for this post, but I just have to add my two cents to the praise for Maitreya's introduction to meshy goodness. This is a lovely dress, standard sizing and the medium fit me without any adjustment to my shape. HOORAY! In honor of this post I put on my mesh Lelutka hair and my SLink mesh glittery peep toe pumps. See how much better my ankles look? It's the mesh!
The one non-mesh item I am wearing are my new chandelier earrings that I picked up at Collabor88. They're an offering from the store Yummy. Hmm... after Trompe Loeil I think I'll stop in there. Better make a list...
Isn't this just the cutest reindeer costume? I popped over to Evie's Closet yesterday and picked it up for $80L. She also does a child size for your little toots. The boots are from KAO and they are my favourite this winter. I got the fatpack so i can wear them with almost everything. Get them here KAO Suede Fringed Boots. My friends behind me were also a bargain at The legacy, on sale for 30L Saturday, but they were still the same price when i checked this morning so rush over if you want some reindeer friends to pretty your winter wonderlands with.
The With Love, Again Hunt started this week and [Pink Fuel] is one of the participants. After hearing some screams of delight on Plurk, I went to there to see what the fuss was about. For $10L I got what the designer calls a "prelease" of her new Alyx skin. Oh - My - God. Two versions of the skin are included, Naughty and Nice. I'm wearing the Nice one 'cause I'm nice.
I am what you call a skin loyalist. Ever since I discovered Curio sometime in 2009, I've flirted with other skins, but stayed loyal to Curio until Mynerva stole my heart completely in early 2011. I demo almost every new skin that catches my eye still, and buy a few (especially when they're on sale). But, after I take the pictures and prance around asking Ayla and April what they think, maybe posting to Plurk and asking the opinion of my entire timeline, I take off the new skin and don Mynerva again. It's probably annoying, but I know Ayla understands. She does the same thing.
This new Pink Fuel skin might actually cause me to stray and to contemplate retinting all my sandals. It's GORGEOUS! I CAN'T WAIT to see the rest of the line. Pardon me while I go add to the orgiastic screaming in Plurk over this skin.
My friend April likes grunge in her Second Life. She's always encouraging me to dirty things up a little in my builds. In the background is the kitchenette for a motel room skybox April and I are working on. We'll release it eventually, and I'll be sure to share it on this blog.
But for now I thought it would make an appropriate setting for the mesh sweater from Aitui that is available at Collabor88 this month. There's a men's version as well. It's slouchy and casual and that feels real to me. Do we wear things like this in real life? Of COURSE we do!
The pink jeans I picked up from So Many Styles yesterday when they were on sale for $50L. I know, I should have told you then, but we hadn't started the blog yet. You really can't have too many pairs of pink jeans, can you?
The pose, just oozing the woe-is-me attitude I have about housework, is by AprilMae Devin, yes. The same April who pushes me to grunge things up. I know she's going to nag me about the doily I put on the chair in the corner of the skybox, but I can't help myself. She has a mostly naughty animation store called Alterior Motions. The poses are upstairs. I'm currently trying to bully her into making some couple poses. YOU HEAR ME, APRIL?
Hmmm.. what else? Oh! The hair is by Lelutka, my skin, lashes and eyes are all from Mynerva. Next post I'm gonna get girlie! So watch out.
Ayla got us started and I spent sooooo much time futzing over the title that I'm too exhausted to blog anything! I'm asking for forgiveness in advance since I've never blogged before. Here we are though, in our meshy sweaters from Jane and our Elikatira hair! I put on a scarf from Meil and we hopped on a !Bang couple pose.
Hello, and welcome to our new blog, Double Exposure. Just two Second Life girls letting folks know what we find on our travels. Hope you enjoy, Ayla and Dolly.
