Fashion
Review: Reel Expression Burlesque poses.
Reel Expression recently released several Burlesque-themed poses sets. I wanted to do these pose sets justice, really showing off their expressive quality (more on that later.) As I was playing with the poses, I decided to try my hand at setting up poses in an intimate, photable-type setting, using poseballs to set the poses where I wanted them. It’s a bit of work to get the poses to work all together, trying to visualize where and how each pose will interact with one another, but it was an interesting experiment — though certainly an area where I could use quite a bit more practice. It’s funny; you wouldn’t think slapping down a few poseballs would be so much work to align.
Moving on to the poses themselves. In this case, I’m considering the two Burlesque standing pose sets and one Burlesque sitting pose set from Reel Expressions. So, how does one evaluate a set of poses? For me, specific criteria: expression, naturalism, fit, mesh distortion, and value.
First, expression: does the pose express a certain mood? Is it sultry, or emo, or standoffish? I demand that my poses have expression. I want them to tell a story. You may have a perfect outfit and setting, but it’s really the pose that will tell the narrative — the narrative that helps to make a picture worth a thousand words.
Burlesque, in my mind, is about the contradiction between › Continue reading
Review: Elsa Boots from Sand Shack Surf Co.
The lovely and talented Emma Gilmour of Sand Shack Surf Co recently asked if I’d be interested in doing an in-depth, proper review of her latest shoes — the Elsa boots. I was a bit hesitant to do a comprehensive review, as the potential for drama isn’t worth it for me. Anyway, as Emma and I chatted, we reminisced about the early days of SL fashion blogging, when a reviewer was supposed to be thorough, and include both strengths and weaknesses of a particular item, and their own experiences with the item — when we expected bloggers to educate us on what we should be looking for when we evaluated things. I decided to rise to the challenge — though in this case, it was easy, as Emma is an experienced, talented designer, and so there’s little need for constructive criticism.
So, these are the Elsa Boots, available from Sand Shack Surf Co. First, let’s look at the features available with these boots, and then we’ll analyze them more closely. There are essentially three › Continue reading
High-Waisted Pants: Sailor-Style
The high-waisted pants series continues! (Finally!) You can check out Part One here. Today, we’re looking at sailor styles. The sailor style pant is an iconic example of fashion appropriation: first, the civilian world appropriated a military style, and then the ladies took the mens’ pants and made them their own.
There are a few features that stand out when comparing › Continue reading
Feature/Tutorial: Mechanized Life FilterCam
The FilterCam, from Mechanized Life. Version 2.0 was just released, and it adds a more user-friendly menu and more filters to the last version. This tool — it’s amazingly awesome. You want one. It’s easy to use right out of the box, and it’s also easily customizable with a bit of effort. This will be a rather long post, so make yourself comfortable.
Getting started, the HUD attaches to your center HUD attachment point. You’ll then want to go to File>Take Snapshot and check the “Show HUD objects in snapshot” box. You’ll also want to remove any other HUDs, as they too will end up in your picture if you don’t do so. (If you look at the pictures below, you’ll see HUDs I should have removed, but I forgot. Don’t look silly like me.)
Initially, you’ll also want to run through three basic chat commands: “/5normal” “/5widescreen” and “/5ultrawide”. These set the aspect ratio of the HUD to fit with your monitor aspect ratio. I find the “Wanted” filter useful for determining which aspect ratio looks best. Once you’ve found the correct setting for you, you’ll never have to fuss with this again.
To get started using the FilterCam, there are only two things you need to know. First, a long click on the HUD will bring up your blue-box menu, from which you can choose from a large selection of filters. Your blue box menu first presents several categories: Scatter, TV, Frames, Holidays, Horror, Artsy, Basic, and Custom (more on custom later). Each category, when clicked, will show you several preset filters, all ready for you to use and take pretty pictures.
A few of the filters ready for use from the menu. There are lots more!
Second, a short click on the HUD will minimize it, allowing you to set up your composition, camming and alt-clicking and so on. Clicking on the minimized HUD will › Continue reading
Freckleface: On Shading
Yay freckles! Four more freckled faces to look at. As always, we’re looking at the quality of the freckle — color, darkness, size, scatter pattern across the face, carryover onto the body. Take a good look at these faces, and see how the freckles feel: Do they look natural? Do they suit the skin for a cohesive look? Do they have that special something that makes a freckled face feel like your own?
Freckles are mandatory for me, of course, but they’re not the only factor when looking at a skin. Today’s selection lends itself nicely to a discussion on › Continue reading
Footwear Expo: SLink Bare Feet
I seriously love shoes; just ask my husband. You may have noticed I’ve blogged one or two pair of shoes for the Footwear Expo. It’s closed now, but all the footwear is available at the designers’ shops.
I’ve saved my favorite footwear grouping for last. The thing is, sometimes you don’t want to wear shoes. Sometimes it’s nice to be barefoot. Sometimes being barefoot is the best design decision, for a particular look. But, but, the system feet are so hideous! Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen some very well-done skins, but skin creators don’t have a lot to work with, when it comes to our sad club feet.
Siddean Munro, creator behind SLink, has delivered us all from system feet. I’ve been enamored with her bare feet since they were released; they were my first adventure in prim feet (I fought them for so long!) For ladies, we have a choice of four foot silhouettes, from flat-footed to tiptoe, and the recently released extreme pointe foot. (Gentlemen also have a few barefoot options, so men, you’re not left out!)
Now, I’m still not as good as tinting the feet as I’d like to be, but practice will make perfect, and the tinting HUD is very easy to work with. The shading on the foot is incredibly detailed, with shadows between the toes, where light wouldn’t hit, and highlights indicating the underlying tendon structure. Delicate subtle veins trace the top of the foot. There are of course a variety of toenail options — both colored nail polish, and a range of natural nail shades to suit different skin tones. I adore these feet, and if you’ve even once considered going bare-foot in-world, I’d suggest you give these a try. Demos are free, after all.
Feet, left to right:
SLink- Jolie Pied Bare Feet, from left to right: Flat, Medium, Tiptoes, Extreme Pointe
En Scene Credits:
Hair: Tiny Bird – Precious Things – Stein Silver (tinted)
Skin: Imagen Skins – Irene 2.0 – Este – Natural (promotional sample)
Bubbles: Reasonable Desires Strippable Bubble Costume
Feet: SLink – Jolie Pied Bare Feet Tiptoes
Bathtub: The Loft – Oriana Bathtub
Disclaimer: Medium feet, Extreme Pointe feet, and Imagen skin are promotional samples. I’m acquainted with some of the designers shown here. However, I only blog things I like, regardless of affiliations or gifts.
Footwear Expo: Ankle Boots
I like ankleboots. They’re comfy. Neither as blatantly trendy as the bootie, nor as sexy as the knee-high boot, the ankle boot is a versatile in-between, working well with a variety of looks. That said, they’re still fabulous! The selection shown here is from the Footwear Expo, which ends tonight!
Oh, and I know the last pair aren’t really ankle boots. But they’re cute, aren’t they?
Credits, left to right:
Decoy Jully Boots in Ivory
Anexx FiveBeltsBoots in Gray
Nova Suede Ankle Boots in Espresso
Periquita Lolipolita (color-change)
Disclaimer: All boots shown here are promotional copies. I’m acquainted with some of the designers shown here. However, I only blog things I like, regardless of affiliations or gifts.
Footwear Expo: Specialty Shoes
Clock’s a-tickin’, folks, Footwear Expo ends tonight!
There are several shoes styles that defy easy categorization, like these two. Sure, technically, they’re flats and boots, but really, their unique function means they don’t quite fit in. The pointe shoes on the left include prim feet, allowing the ribbons to really form to the foot. The shiny rubber rainboots had me itching to find a nice rainy sim to splash around in.
The three shoes above also don’t fit nicely into standard categories, but then, normal isn’t really › Continue reading
Footwear Expo: Pointy Pumps
Only a few hours left to get to the Footwear Expo!
The pointy pump is such a classic shape — so polished, so versatile. Some are suited to elegant dresses; others finish a professional suit. Some are just plain fun. Each of the pumps shown above, from the Footwear Expo, are, I feel great examples, and each shows a unique style. Sure, you may already have a few pair of pointy pumps in-world already, but do you have any like these?
Shoes, left to right:
Baiastice Claire decollete – fucsia
Baiastice Crystal – Ruby
House of Curios – MIB Stilettos (colorchange – both solids and patterns)
Periquita Chicky Chic (colorchange)
Periquita Q-Steps (colorchange)
Disclaimer: All shoes shown here were received as promotional samples. I’m acquainted with some of the designers shown here. However, I only blog things I like, regardless of affiliations or gifts.
Footwear Expo: Overknee Boots
The clock is ticking! Hurry over to the Footwear Expo before it closes at the end of the day!
I’m not quite sure why we collectively equate shoes with sex, but we do. And no shoe screams sex more than an over-knee boot.
These are, of course, three examples of knee-high boots at the Footwear Expo. Structured, slouchy, or skin-tight, these boots will add sexiness to any look. You know you want some — over-knee boots, that is!
Credits:
Shoes, left to right:
SLink – Sydney Overknee Boot – 50L Friday Gold Edition
Coco KneeHigh Boots
J’s Thigh High Boots – Black
En Scene Photo Credits:
Hair: Truth - Marianne – Copper
Skin: Sn@tch – Plush Skin – Tone 2 – Babydoll Fr
Jacket: part of iBizarre Soraya Bolero Jumpsuit – Blue
Leotard: Elymode – bodysuit – wine/blue
Tights: Sn@tch – Cheetah Tights – Black
Boots: SLink - Sydney Overknee Boot – 50L Friday Gold Edition
Pose: Long Awkward Pose
Photographed at the Kyoot Mainstore
Disclaimer: Promotional samples: Coco and J’s boots, Sn@tch skin, Elymode bodysuit. I’m acquainted with some of the designers shown here. However, I only blog things I like, regardless of affiliations or gifts.
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