Making Friends

It's been a busy week for me in SL. Finalising my Fashion Forward article for the November Issue of Second Style magazine, making sure that I get it done before I head off for a week away (without access to my PC - arrrghhh!). This always involves sending a lot of notecards to designers to request review samples, trying on multiple outfits and taking a heap of photographs.

I'm continually impressed by how friendly and helpful so many of Second Life's fashion designers are. And the high regard they have for Second Style blows me away - most of them really do consider it an honor to be included.

But the last couple of days was a bit extra special. Lots of people helped me out, but I'd like to make special mention of four of them - Launa Fauna, who happily piled an absolute heap of stuff on me at very short notice; Sinjun Soyer who despite having never heard of Second Style (!) and not considering herself a fashion designer, was ready to let me have her lovely new coats; SAZAE Yoshikawa, who despite a serious language barrier managed to work out just what I needed through patience and perseverence; and lastly, Zahara Rahja - the latest designer on my friendslist. We became quite gushing about one another as we negotiated the exchange of goodies and info and I have a really positive feel about the momentum around her SavvyAvvy line right now.

As a token of my gratitude and because these outfits will not be included in my forthcoming Second Style article (but I love them so much), I am showing you the two versions of Zahara's Katie set for SavvyAvvy. The are worth including in your inventory if only for the stylish little neck scarves!

Look for more from all of these designers in November's Second Style!


















l: Katie by SavvyAvvy in Rosy/Brown with ribbed stockings by TaP
r: Katie in Beige/Blue-green with stockings from the set

Hair is ETD's Roslin. Skin by Cake. Earrings are by Caliah Lyon, shoes from Maitreya.

Fall-ing in Love Again

Oh wow! - I just found out yet another great thing about Second Life. I get to have autumn twice! I grew up in the UK and then moved to Australia. My RL birthday is in the autumn and it's my absolute favorite time of year.

"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness..." I love the melancholy of autumn, with its evocative and magical festivals of Halloween and Guy Fawkes.

In Australia we do have autumn of course, but it comes in April/May and still feels very wierd. What's more, Halloween is in the Spring - the buds bursting forth, the birds singing - just doesn't feel right at all. So it's a joy to be able to play at autumn in Second Life the way that I used to in my childhood.

I was just privileged enough in SL to be a part of the New Shoots Runway Show staged by Metro Models on behalf of Annah Couture and Persona. What an eye-opener to witness how much time and effort has to go in to produce such a professional result! Alaska Metropolitan, owner of Metro Models followed up the show with a note of thanks to myself and the rest of the models together with a Fall Photo Challenge. I am also right in the middle of putting together my piece on coats and boots for the November issue of Second Style so I was definitely in the mood and in the right outfit to take up the gauntlet. Here are the resulting shots - I hope you like them! Check out what the other models have some up with at the Metro Models blogspot (see Hotspots at right).

Both photos feature coats by Sinjun Soyer at EtchD. The beret is by Maria Gherardi and the boots are a much-modded version of Launa Fauna's Buccaneer Lass's Boots in brown available at LF Fashions. Skins are Jessica at Cake. Hair in the closeup pic is Meryl (modded for the beret) in chocolate by Rikka Koi of the soon-to-be-renamed Lucky hairshop. The other is Sabotage from Nuclear Boutique in a tinted version of auburn. These shots were taken at the lovely Silent Sparrow sim - currently looking highly autumnal.

Fan Club

New from Casa del Shai

Above:

l. Jezebella

r. Tamara

Below:

l. Samantha

r. Lorena

A huge thanks to Shai Delacroix today. She responded so quickly and generously to my request for a peek at her delicious new undies! They are truly scrumptious and deeply worthy of jasmine-scented drawer liners and rose petals scattered over the bed.

According to Ms Delacroix, the inspiration for the collection came from a range of sources including what she calls "the allure of lace"and she's been dying to get into lingerie creation for some time. But, reading between the lines, I suspect that a little bit of SL romance in the form of the delightful Mr Kriss Lehman has created a new sense of urgency for her in the naughtiness department. Certainly Shai confessed that she added the feather fans to the collection purely as playthings, telling me "lingerie is so much fun with toys!" These boudoir fans were entirely hand-drawn using Photoshop - no mean feat.

The new lingerie release at Casa del Shai includes four sets, ranging from the delicate simplicity of Samantha - my overall favourite - to the more exotic and overtly sexy Jezebella (one of Kriss's!).

Each set has it's own distinctive mood and each is expertly conceived. Shai believes that her experience making swimwear for her Spring/Summer '07 collection enabled her to avoid some of the pitfalls associated with working on underwear layers to create what really are skimpy works of art. These babies look good from the front, the side, the back and (no doubt) hanging from the bedroom chandelier! The lace textures, tiny ribbons and scalloped trims create a clever three-dimensional effect that is very figure-flattering and will render your avi particularly photogenic. The perfect choice if you want a few tastefully erotic shots to surprise your partner with.

I chose a curve-defining, pouty-lipped skin by Lovey Darling that I don't often wear these days with mussed-up bedroom hair in the form of Wish I by Cakes' Stumbelina Ophelia. I set the backdrop to cerise and played around with some of Luth Brodie's "Sex Sells" animations. An SL boyfriend is something that I really can't seem to make time for right now, but I found myself wishing I had a special someone to share the moment! By the end of the session, I was so caught up in the spirit of playful sensuality that I threw on a Ginny Talamasca feather boa that just happened to be "lying around".

And this, I think is exactly what Shai was aiming for with these pieces. I'm sure it's her sincere hope that you will enjoy some seriously tantalising moments courtesy of her creations. In her own words - "Have some naughty fun!"

A big thanks to Alaska Metropolitan for allowing me to use the Metro Models studio for this shoot.

Get Layered!

Ahoy there mateys! As SL "Talk Like a Pirate Day" drew to a close, I battled through lag as chunky as shark fin soup to buy things. Yes, I was in a shopping mood and no pesky post-upgrade clagginess was going to stand between me and retail fulfilment.

And I did find it in the specific form of the Pixel Dolls stock liquidation sale! Nephilaine Protagonist has cleverly injected a sense of urgency at the store with "count-down" vendor boards primed to self-destruct after the 25th purchase, so that got me on a roll. I was a little disappointed at first to find that the charcoal version of the Comfort skirt had already seduced 25 buyers before I got there, but ultimately I was satisfied with the chocolate (which is an uncannily familiar pattern in my life - see profile).

I enjoy playing with the contents of my inventory to create layered looks and essentially this means prims, ideally mod-able. I picked up a knee-length wrap dress in a texture that I've always liked. Despite the fact that I tend to favor pieces in solid neutral colors for their versatility, a girl always needs a bit of print here and there to spice up her wardrobe. I felt the plunging V-neckline was a little out of kilter with Autumn, so I teamed the skirt piece with a black turtle neck from Seu Shop and could not stifle a chuckle at how perfectly its colours matched my Dune slouch boots from Maitreya in Olive. With semi-opaque tights in midnight from TaP, the overall effect was elegantly cosy - almost perfect for shopping, but definitely in need of a few finishing touches. I threw on another Expo acquisition - a set of subtly-colored bangles from Turnstyle, where the presentation was imaginative and the pieces showed creative promise. The soft tones of the bangles complement this skirt beautifully. But something was still not quite right. The contrast of the deep black top against the skirt print at my waistline seemed too stark. I found a couple of sashes in the far reaches of my inventory and after about 40-50 mins of modding and with unflattering dark circles developing beneath my eyes, I had devised something that I was really happy with using a bronze & black hip sash from Opium's Giselle bikini set.

I get like a dog with a bone over this stuff and when I finish up, stand back and look at the result I guess I have a glimmer of the kind of pride that some of SL's amazing designers experience quite regularly. Top-of-mind candidates include Fallingwater Cellardoor, Elika Tiramisu and Caliah Lyon (who I recently heard described as SL's new Prim Empress). And what thrill it must be when people actually buy the fruits of your labor!

I can't close without a mention of the splendid freebie on offer at Pixel Dolls. The Cimarron set includes a nicely done laced vest plus jeans & fingerless gloves in a total of 8 rich colours. And get this - the vest in on 3 layers and the jeans on 2 with prim leg-pieces! This is a L$0 genuine freebie. There is something a little vulgar to me about the dollarbie (and the L$1 demo). But therein lies a different rant.

In my layering mood and never being one for revealing much cleavage before 8pm, I wore the skimpy black vest over a floaty chiffon blouse (also Pixel Dolls) thus adding some much-needed structure into this silhouette via the prim peplum, as well as scrunchy socks courtesy of the Kutsushita set from Seu. The shoes are black Maryjanes from TaP. My necklace is the long drop chain in gold/opal from Shiny Things (with some color modification).

The hair is Patricia in caramel from ETD.

What Kind of Nerd Are You?

It's "de rigueur" to do the Nerd Test and the very fact that I use that phrase confirms my status as a Word Nerd.

My hubby does not think my current computer addiction is related to my nerdiness, but part of a mid-life syndrome that I will grow out of. I saw through his stategic offer of a shiny new PC. He just thinks a strong dose of Windows Vista will soon sort me out!

I was pleased with the overall result (no Uber Coolness to live up to thank heavens!) and I hope that the NerdTest's insights will alleviate my predisposition to use excessively long words in sentences whose structure is utterly convoluted (seems not!).

Surprisingly high score on Sci-Fi/Comics which I'd rather you kept to yourself, thanks.

Thanks to Tuli Asturias who alerted me to the test when she couldn't help herself but explain how she passed with flying colors. Truly the nerd's Nerd and the benchmark for all that follow - I dare you!

Treasure Hunting at Jewelry Expo '07

It's coming up to party season - do we need any other excuse to splurge? Probably not. But if in doubt, there's always the Second Life Jewelry Expo.

Set aside at least an hour plus a couple 1000 Linden and make your way to Onrez Orientation (226,118,25).

I adore so much of the Muse collection and tend to come over a little light-headed in the presence of Caliah Lyon (it afflicts many, so I'm told). My day was made with the discovery of her Chatelaine Chain Brooch, so cleverly contrived in two sections for perfect fitting and with feather options aplenty. Just looking at it lifts the spirits!

I wouldn't buy "no mod" from just anybody, but you can trust Caliah to come up with the goods.

And sometimes a girl just HAS to make a dramatic exit. Check out this back view to see why this makes the perfect "flounce out of the room" accessory!