Red and Re-read

Bloggers’ Challenge: Closet Clean-Out

I’m doing some much-needed inventory sorting today, and as I kept finding cute things, I thought I’d do Luna’s challenge.

› Continue reading

Tags: Chronokit, Izzie's, Kookie, League, Long Awkward Pose, Maitreya, Shine, Tres Blah, Zaara

Freckleface: Mei Li

Thought I’d take a few pictures of this lovely skin and share it with you.  There aren’t very many Asian skins with freckles; I find this one particularly pretty.

Adam n Eve’s Mei Li skin is available in › Continue reading

Tags: Adam n Eve, Junk, Kunstkammer, Tableau, Tiny Bird, Zaara

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

Tags: 5th & Oxford, Aden & Anna's, Alirium Gardens, Beauty Avatar Couture, DeLa, J's, Reel Expression, Tres Blah, Vanitas Vesture, Zaara, [OH]

Ruth Revisited.

What's going on here?

Total serendipity.  I happened to be wearing a purple shirt when the notice from Long Awkward Poses came through, announcing the release of a new set of poses — Jazzhands.  The notecard explains that this set is a bit of a tongue-in-cheek homage to all the early jazzhands freebie poses.  These new poses are fun and adorable, with modern posing sophistication instead of the bone-breaking awkwardness of early poses.  Anyway, the purple shirt reminded me of our painfully awkward outfit at rezzing, and I knew immediately that I wanted to give Ruth a modern makeover to show off the new posing fun.

No, it couldn't be!

If you were lucky or unlucky enough to be rezzed as Ruth, this look is immediately recognizable.  It may inspire a bit of terror or revulsion, but look again. Little Ruthie actually looks cute now, with › Continue reading

Tags: Adam n Eve, Bryce, Elliott, Fri.day, SLink, Zaara, [LAP]

Odds and Ends

I was looking at the mess of my inventory, thinking how woefully behind I am in sorting, when I had an idea.  I decided to see if I could create a cohesive look, using only items from my unsorted inventory.  So, I started with the first unsorted non-system folder, right below the trash, and worked my way down.

The process was oddly refeshing, allowing the look to develop organically and build upon itself.  I can get caught up in trying to achieve a specific look, looking only at items that meet my predetermined visual expectations.  Meanwhile, forgotten favorites moulder away in the inventory.  So, this was fun — no prior expectations, and using awesome items before they disappear into the dark abyss of sorted inventory.  Interestingly, the lovely Stacie Pryor of Sheek posted a similar concept just as I was editing my pics.

Now, while many of the items I’m wearing are previous group or hunt gifts, you may be able to find something similar in the creator’s store.  In addition, there are a few items in particular I’d like to draw your attention to. › Continue reading

Tags: 5th & Oxford, Dark Mouse, Ducknipple, Imagen, Mirone, Niniko, SLink, Surf Couture, Zaara, [LAP]

Celebrating July 4th with NO H8

We interrupt your regular fashion programming for a rare political message.

Today, the United States of America celebrates its Independence Day.  While our customs and culture are not the only way, or the right way for everyone, they are mine.  And I’m proud today to exercise my freedom of speech to remind Americans of our separation of church and state.  Specifically regarding gay marriage.  At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what you believe to be right in God’s eyes — so long as marriage is a legal governmental institution, religious beliefs are irrelevant.  Separation of church and state.  The end.  (For more information about the NO H8 campaign, please visit their website.)

I also have a few notes about my fashion credits today.  Yes, I’m featuring an international group of designers, rather than an All-American lineup.  That was totally accidental — I simply chose the items in my inventory that I was in the mood to wear.  For a moment, I felt guilty.  Why not feature US designers?  There are certainly enough talented US designers to choose from.  But, after a moment of thought, it seemed appropriate.  Today I celebrate my country’s independence, but not to the point of excluding acknowledgement of the fact that we are a part of a larger global community, particularly within in Second Life — OUR global community. 

Credits:
Hair: Maitreya Aisha in Ginger
Skin: Adam n Eve Bliss skin, T1 tone, Freckly makeup
Eyes: Exodi Zbilja Eyes in Hazel
Lashes: LeLutka Seductress Volume Scripted Lashes
Shirt: Zaara Isis Shirt in White
Jeans: Zaara Classic Jeans in Indigo
Pose from Long Awkward Poses
NO H8 Face Paint and Duct Tape: Exodi

Tags: Adam n Eve, Exodi, LeLutka, Maitreya, Zaara

LOTD and Ch-ch-changes

I’ve been spending quite a bit of time lately contemplating the content of my blog.  What differentiates it from other fashion blogs?  What do I have to offer that’s special and unique, or at least not done better by others?  Sure, I enjoy my LOTDs and such, but others do them better.

I’ve finally hit upon my solution: Compare&Contrast posts.  (Yes, it’s a terrible name for the category.  Suggestions are welcome.)  One of my favorite posts was Freckleface.  It was fairly thorough, and I’m really interested in how similar products compare when placed next to one another.  I’ve been meaning to do a jeans comparison post for ages, and when I saw GoGo’s plurk linking to Fashionphiles’ Who Designed It Better blog post, I realized I’d been sitting on my answer.  (One thing this will NOT be: a who-ripped-who type of blog post.  I’ll focus on genres, like holey jeans, hair in curlers, littleblackdresses, and the like.)

Edit for clarity: The post linked above is not a who-ripped-who post, and I’m sorry if that caused any confusion.  I wanted to reference a blog that cemented my idea, and also to say that finger-pointing would not be part of what I do here.  The two ideas are completely separate.

I’ve also been wanting to do more in-depth features of specific products/designers, with more pics showing more angles of the product.  It means I won’t be able to turn out a blog quite as quickly, but I think I’ll be doing better work, and showing what I would want to see from a blog.  In feature posts, I may also be doing a bit more reviewing, sometimes pointing out flaws as well as features of a product.

So, from here on out, What? Another Fashion Blog?  posts will fall into three categories: Compare&Contrast, Feature, and LOTD.  I could probably drop the LOTDs, but, damnit, I like them.  After all, showing off cute outfits is why I got into this whole blogging thing.  I’ve got a big skin feature coming up next, and then it’s on like Donkey Kong with the Compare&Contrasts!

Credits:
Hair: Philotic Energy – Eira in Clinker
Skin: Blowpop N2 Elizabeth -tone C- 2.2 Cherry Blossom 2
Earrings: Dark Mouse Platinum Bling Earrings (previous group gift)
Necklace: Chuculet Ava – silver – necklace – pearly white
Blouse: Icing – Puma Jie in White
Dress: Vanitas Vesture – Flute Scribbly Dress – Red
Bracelet (R): Dark Mouse Silver Blue Bangles
Bracelet (L): Earthstones Bangle Set – Red/White/Blue (previous gift)
Jeans: Zaara Jeans – Classic – Indigo
Shoes: ETD Starley Pumps in Ostrich Pewter

Tags: Blowpop, Chuculet, Dark Mouse, Earthstones, ETD, Icing, Philotic Energy, Vanitas Vesture, Zaara

Sheer Elegance

I’m trying a new layout for this post; I hope you like it.  My outfits are usually a mashup of things in my inventory, and I thought it might be beneficial for you so see how the item is sold, particularly when I’m borrowing bits and pieces from sets.  In addition to pictures of my ensemble, I’m showing clickable thumbnails of the clothing item, as the designer sells it.

As soon as I saw Philotic Energy’s new release, Katalin, I knew I had to have it, immediately.  It appears to be inspired by the character Roxie Hart in Chicago, and I love it.  The simple, swept-back retro style exudes quiet elegance and sophistication.  For those who fear the odd hairline of no-bangs hairstyles, don’t stress — the hair sweeping down from a center part is a lot easier to fit than most no-bangs styles. 

Zaara’s recent release, the Isis shirt, immediately came to mind when I began building a look for my lovely new hair.  It’s a long-sleeved, button-down sheer blouse, with pintucking running down the front and along the lower half of the sleeves.  As always, the texturing is delicate and beautiful, with subtle shadows giving the impression of real folds of cloth.  I picked up the neutrals pack, looking ahead to wearing the hell out of this versatile item.

Now, the Zaara Isis blouse IS sheer.  So, a more modest girl like me is going to be rummaging through the inventory for just the right layering piece, with just the right neckline.  I wanted a simple spaghetti-strap tank, and I found it on Persona’s Feathers Dress.  It works well for layering, with wrinkles that show through a sheer blouse.  Of course, the original piece is lovely, too.  The short feathered skirt with the feather brooch make for a great flirty cocktail dress. 

I had a hard time finding the right bottom for this outfit.  I started out with skirts, but they made the outfit too girly and reserved, and Iwanted something more playful, so I went looking for some shorts.  The High and Waisted Shorts, by Random Fashion, are a freebie from The Gnubie Store, and had the perfect cut.  (I left out the jacket layer, left.)  The pants layer comes up to touch the shirt layer, so I avoided the dreaded belt of belly peeking through layers.  They were a too bit light in color, but with a little tinting, matched the outfit perfectly.

Up to this point, all the clothing has been on system layers, and the silouette was a little slinkier than I was going for.  The answer?  Prim cuffs for my shorts.  I turned to my Elephant Outfitters Jordyn shorts and borrowed the prims.  You may wonder why I didn’t choose these shorts in the first place — after all, Armidi items always have lovely textures.  However, they were too low-waisted for this particular outfit, hence the frankenstein-shorts.

I have to tell you about my tights.  Do click on the pic for a close-up, so you can see the pattern.  I knew I wanted to wear tights, to keep some of the sophistication of the hair and blouse.  I also knew they had to be fun and sexy, with a subtle pattern, and soon had my heart set on leopard.  I started my search at Sn@tch, and ran into the designer there.  After she heard what I was looking for, the amazingly awesome Ivey Deschanel dropped these on me, and they’re perfect.  They’re not available for sale yet, but they’ll be part of an upcoming release, so keep your eyes open.  Anyway, the sheer tights mirror the sheer Zaara blouse, and with a bit of tinting, they had just the right rich black color to flow with the overall look of the outfit.

ETD’s Starley Pumps are some of my favorites.  For this outfit, the retro style helps to frame the look, tying in with the retro hair.  The classic rounded toe makes these a wardrobe staple, and I picked up a fat pack back when ETD had their big sale.  Unfortunately, ETD still seems to be closed, with no news as to when it will reopen.  Keep your fingers crossed.

 The bracelets are from Aesthetic (formerly TRip).  Unfortunately, they’ve been discontinued.  But I still love them.  They’re black.  And shiny.  I like black shiny bracelets. 

Balderdash jewelry makes my heart go pitter-patter.  The tiny sculptwork is exquisite, even if it does take an extra minute to rez.  While sorting hunt goodies, I came across these lovelies, and have been wearing them for a while now.  I like the scale of them — you can definitely see that I’m wearing earrings from a distance, but they’re not huge.  Their delicacy supports the girliness of the outfit. 

 Finally, we arrive at the skin.  I do love me some Adam n Eve Bliss skin.  This is the T2 tone, a medium-light skin color, with the FrecklyCat makeup.  The sweep of the eyeliner adds a touch of exoticism to the eyes, and I like the berry-red richness of the lips.  I can never get into the nude lips that are so popular right now — they make me look washed out. 

Of course, all my pictures would be lame without poses.  Second Life’s AO is not that interesting, and we’d all quit taking pics if we didn’t have awesome posing options.  Today’s poses are all from Reel Expressions, which is one of my faves.  All her poses have an innate elegance and grace.

I hope you enjoyed this extra-long chock-full-o-pics blog post.  This format won’t be my norm, simply because it was time-consuming, but I do like showing individual items, as you’d find them in stores.

Tags: Adam n Eve, Balderdash, ETD, Miriel, Persona, Philotic Energy, Random Fashions, Reel Expressions, Sn@tch, TRip, Zaara