I’m feeling like a crankypants in RL, so I indulged in a little retail therapy this morning.
If you haven’t been to the EPOCH event, then you probably have more Lindens than me. I’m now broke. But I have such happy, fun goodies, it’s hard to be McCranky, even in RL.
But I’m still grouchy.
From EPOCH:
MCEHT Leggings, from Maitreya
Groucho Mask, from Ohmai
Black Bustier, from Milk Motion
I’m not a fashion blogger. Sure, I’ve been whoring myself out over at The Unapologetic Second Life Fashion Blog as a guest blogger. My god, it takes so much time to put together a fashion post! And also, my fashion sense is hardly inspiring. Not to mention, many others have that beat well covered.
For a long while, it was difficult to find items in InWorldz (that’s not the case these days), and so I did blog my finds here, but even then, it was just quicky snapshots of things I thought were worth sharing or vanity shots when I was especially proud of my look. But, no, I’m not a fashion blogista.
One of my favorite designers in InWorldz is also in Second Life. Carrie Snowpaw a designer who makes dresses that move. My InWorldz inventory is heavy with Snowpaws Designs’ gorgeous pieces.
I stopped by Snowpaws in SL last week, and fell in love with a dress. I never go anywhere in SL worthy of such a piece, so I figure I’ll wear it here instead. It’s a work of art that deserves showing off.
But since I’m not really a fashion blogger, I hope you’ll please forgive my less than stellar shots and just appreciate the beauty of the dress.
These images are untouched, aside from cropping.
I may not go anywhere in Second Life that calls for such a dress, but the beauty of virtual worlds is that I can wear it anyway. I’m building a new room in our home, and I’ll wear this dress while installing a bathtub today. I can do anything a plumber can do, and in heels.
I’m wearing:
Dress: Watercolor from SnowPaws Designs
Hair: [e]
Skin: Curio
Shoes: Pixel Mode Baby T’s
Until I bought my first furry avatar, I had never given much thought to how they were put together. Now that I’ve spent some time wearing them, modding them and looking more closely at their construction, I think it’s safe to say that furry creators are some of the most clever and creative people in virtual worlds. That’s not an exaggeration.
A furry maker has to create prim body parts, alpha layers, skins, tails, ears and shapes. Most furry avatars come with male and female versions, so they’re doing all of this times two for every release. And let me tell you, furries are picky. They won’t buy crappy avis.
There are a huge range of furries out there, from tiny realistic animals to anthropomorphic versions like I wear. There’s also some pretty fantastic mesh furries available. The first time I dropped a furry folder onto my avi, I have to admit I freaked out a little. The head of my furry avi is made of prims, and the shape, before those prims rezz, is pretty scary. The head is shrunken and misshapen to accommodate the prim head parts.
The avatar I’m wearing here is currently hugely popular, which puts me in the front seat of the bandwagon. It’s the chinchilla from Curious Inc. The creator is Uchi Desmoulins. But most furries running around in this avi have modded it, replacing ears and tail, or more. Furries are masters of modding- they have to be; there are very few clothes that fit furry shapes without modding, and no hairs that do. But I like my chinchilla, and only made a few mods.
My favorite mod, though, I didn’t do myself. A friend added my freckles for me. There’s no way I would be “me” without my freckles. While she used photoshop to add the freckles to the prim textures, I can easily add a tattoo layer of freckles for the body.
In this picture I’m also wearing Chinchilla Blush, which you can find here, and it comes with a kissy script. Next time you see me in Chinchilla form inworld, be sure to click my nose to kiss it!
The chinchilla avatar comes with a HUD for changing my eyes, opening and closing my mouth, and even changing my eye color and iris size. I hate that my photo cuts the HUD in half (I forget how to prevent this and can’t be assed to go back and figure it out now) but you get the general idea from this shot. The jaw is a separate, hinged piece that moves when I talk inworld. It’s incredibly well made and fun to watch.
Putting hair on a furry avatar is a challenge. I’m not even going to tell you how long it took me to mod this hair to fit (but it was 2 full hours). If you decide to try a furry avi yourself and want to add hair, you’ll find that the round, wide shape of the head lends itself to certain hair styles, while others can’t be fitted, no matter how long you spend modding it. Look for curls rather than straight, I’ve found, and hair styles with a “wider” profile are easier to size to fit.
Bangs are hard to fit, due to the generally larger eyes on a furry, so look for sideswept bangs instead of straight down. But I’ve found that the hairs that work best on the furry avatars I’ve bought have all had hair pulled back or to the side, with no bangs to hang into the prim eyes in that scary way you see. (That always makes me shudder.)
After you get the hair to even fit the head, you’ll have to get brave enough to use “edit linked parts” to further mod the hair piece by piece. I posted a tutorial on doing this a couple of years ago, you can find it here. It’s based on working in InWorldz, but will certainly work for any world.
One thing to note about furry avatars is that often their feet are made of prims, and the regular “human” shaped feet are hidden by alpha prims. Here’s my feet without the alpha.
You can see the prim feet and how they attach to my legs. (It looks like I’ve got a furry hidden under my skirt!)
Here’s after I wear the alpha prim.
The frustrating part about these feet is that I can’t wear pants over them. I can wear shorts, but you’ll usually see my chinchilla avi wearing dresses for this reason. My human avi is normally found in jeans.
I have to admit, it took a while for these chinchilla feet to grow on me. They weren’t my favorite thing when I first rezzed them, but over time I’ve grown to kinda like them. Many furries leave their feet human shaped and wear regular shoes. One of the great things about being a furry is that pretty much anything goes, no one’s gonna knock you for your choice of feet, hair or clothes. Furries are one of the more accepting groups in SL, I’ve found.
Dressing a furry can at times be frustrating. Now that I have a computer that can handle better viewers, dressing my furry is far easier. You need a V2 or V3 viewer, so that you can “add” more than one layer or attachment to the same spot. My skirt and my tail both attach to my spine, and reworking either is frustrating at best. Using an advanced viewer allows me to “add” one instead of wear it, and they both fit fine.
Wearing mesh clothing can be a challenge for a furry, mainly because a furry shape tends to be far different from a human shape, and you can’t mod the mesh to fit. Also, mesh generally comes with an alpha layer, and if you’re already wearing an alpha for your avatar, you’ll again need to be able to “add” the layer to wear more than one alpha at a time. I’ve only bought one mesh dress for my furry so far, and only because it came with a demo so I could try it on first.
I still tend to spend more time in my human avi, but being furry is a great change and I’m still amazed by how different I feel when I slip on my chinchilla or bunny avi. It’s easier to goof off and have fun as a furry, not to mention furries tend to be inherently kinky, which works for me too.
If you’ve never tried a furry avi, why the hell not? They’re not too pricey, they’re fun and they can make you creative in a way that a human avatar doesn’t. Maybe it’s the amount of work that goes into fitting stuff onto a furry avi, but I feel like a more artistic version of myself when I’ve put my furry avi together.
I’m wearing:
Chinchilla avatar from Curious Inc.
(pretty heavily modded in shape, head and size of ears & tail)
Hair from [e]
Outfit from The Sea Hole
Pearls from Dark Mouse
“Don’t blog it, then everyone will go there and we’ll all look the same!”
A friend actually said this to me. She made me stop and think, about a few things.
1. Are resources so scarce in InWorldz? Admittedly, there are a few things that are scarce, great hair being one of them. But really, new creators are opening stores daily, and if we don’t tell each other about them, they won’t make it! Word of mouth is the number one source of advertising in InWorldz.
2. Do we all look the same? I don’t think so. We could wear the same hair and skin, but our shape and our own styling will set us apart from each other. I admit that I don’t want to look like everyone else, but I don’t keep good finds to myself just to prevent it. I count on my own unique way of doing things to set me apart.
c. Is my friend keeping good finds to herself? I’ve been trying to figure out her password all morning to see if she’s holding out on me. If she is, there’ll be hell to pay.
So I’m blogging this new hair store that’s opened. When I saw that Vanity Hair had opened, I ran over there thinking it was Vanity Designs reopening. The hair I wear more than any other is from VDI, who closed months ago. But I was pleasantly surprised to find a whole new store and brand. Tabata Jewell is the creator, check her profile for LMs. These aren’t your run of the mill ‘dos! These are fun, dramatic and perfect for pics.
Feel free to go pick up your own, I’m not scared. I’ll still look like me, and you’ll still look like you. And I expect you to share your new finds with me in return.
Hairs: Vanity Hair, Tabata Jewell
Skin: Pulse
Sweater: Tesoromio
Pants: Sassy
As a teacher and a mother, I have a vested interested in ending the horrible effects of bullying. In both real life and InWorldz, I’m wearing pink today in support of International Stand Up Against Bullying Day. My real world pink is a conservative buttondown. My inworld pink gets to be a bit more fun.
Talia Fournier of Paparazzi made the “Bullies Can Kiss My Ass” Tshirt, it’s free at her shop, or ping her inworld for a copy.
I hope you’ll Stand Up too.
Skin: Pulse, Hair: Deviant (modded to tint pink), Wings: Keira Alzael, Shorts: Sassy, Socks: Dancer Glimmer sent them over and I forgot to check the creator (thanks Dancer!)
Ophelia Rose has been working on opening her new hair store, Wish, for a while. Bugs have kept her from being completely open, but I managed to sneak in during her brief grand opening to grab a few hairs, like a ninja. A blonde, loud, clumsy ninja in a pink and white dress.
Ophelia’s textures are incredible. The blondes are absolutely beautiful. This shade is the exact shade of my RL hair. I made a noise like Christmas morning when it rezzed. I was going to shoot the whole range of blondes in the pack to show you here, but Max dropped in on me and looked so handsome I got distracted shooting pics of him too.
Since Max updated his avi, I can’t stop staring at him. He’s HAWT.
Max is wearing Jack Fournier’s skin. Not literally, although Jack wears it too. Jack is the designer. You can find his male skins at Paparazzi, but don’t expect your guy to be as hot as mine. It’s the typist at the keyboard that makes him dreamy, and me swoon like a girl, and the cute avi is just gravy.
Pssst, Mera, yes, that was me sighing a sappy romantic goofball sigh. You’re welcome.
Max is wearing:
Skin: Paparazzi, Jack Fournier
Hair: Bryce Designs
Clothes: SF Designs
Shoes: SF Designs
Wedding Ring: TMD (Chas Dezno)
I’m wearing:
Skin: Pulse
Hair: Wish, Ophelia Rose (to open soon)
Dress: SF Designs
Pearls: Accessories by Eolande
Wedding Ring: TMD
Poses all by AAA Poses and also some from Crux (these aren’t couples poses though, so don’t go looking for them, I just used two pose stands and moved us around. I’d love to see more couples poses!)
My most favorite shirt in real life is a battered, old, men’s flannel. There’s something comforting about being wrapped in oversized shirts and worn jeans, even if my kids do call me Cobain when I wear them.
I squealed like a silly girl when I found my exact flannel inworld.
This open shirt is from SF Designs. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I don’t have the patience to fuss with prims. If it can’t be fitted with a minimum of work, then I’ll just never wear it. This top is prim heavy, and I didn’t have to adjust one of them.
The shoes were too perfect to pass up, they’re also from SF Designs, although they rezzed no mod, which I’m hoping is a glitch cause the socks (included) need adjusting.
You might think this outfit looks like I’m ready for yard work. Well, you’d be mistaken. I’m not allowed to work in our yard. My terraforming abilities are lacking. I somehow manage to raise everything sky high and spiky and then inevitably ruin everything when I try to fix it back. So this outfit is good for watching Max do our yardwork.
I’ll make the Long Island Teas.
Skin: Pulse
Hair: Deviant Designs
Overshirt: SF Designs
Tank: Paparazzi
Shorts: Random Rosie’s
Shoes & Socks: SF Designs
Poses: AAA Poses & Crux
But you probably already knew this about me.
Shopping leads to shopping. Let me explain. When I TP into a shop to peek around, I always peek next door. This leads to me exploring a whole sim of shops, and when I see another avi, I perv their profile and their picks generally lead me to another store. Which leads to a whole new sim to explore.
Yesterday I went sim hopping. Here’s some of the goodies I found. (Please note that my graphics card is dying a slow painful death, so my pics aren’t all that they should be. If anyone has suggestions for a good graphics card I can update to, write it on the label of a liter bottle of Grey Goose vodka and send it my way please.)
First of all Constanza Amsterdam has been teasing me for several days, talking about releasing new hairs. I finally got to see a couple of the new styles, and she released a Neko outfit yesterday as well. The outfit comes with the boots and socks you can’t see under them.
I’m not Neko, but I think I’ve got a good tail all the same.
(Hair: Gurly6, outfit: JeriCat Fashions, both Constanza Amsterdam, Skin: Pulse)
From there I bounced to Brain Circuit, for another black and white outfit I’d been wanting to grab.
It comes with the hat, but I actually purchased the shoes to match. That’s right, I bought shoes. But for some reaon, 99% of the shoes I try on in InWorldz simply don’t rezz well for me. Yes, I’ve turned up my RenderVolumeLOD Factor and yes, I’ve set my windlight. But shoes just don’t look well rezzed for me.
(Hair: Deviant Designs, Entire outfit: Brain Circuit, Skin: Pulse)
I perved a profile to find a totally new to me shop called Nightshade, and the lingerie alone was enough to empty my Iz account.
I love deep dark reds and they’re hard to find in InWorldz so far.
(Hair: Gurly6, Lingerie: Nightshade, Skin: Pulse)
Then I happened upon a shop that I don’t think is officially open, but that didn’t stop me from shopping, nor will it stop me from telling you about it. The name of the shop is TempT, but I forgot to note what sim it lives on. You’ll have to stumble upon it like I did.
She’s only got a few things out, and careful- some of them are for sale but not loaded with the items yet. Don’t go buy an empty folder!
I’ll be watching to see what else she sets out.
(Hair: Deviant Designs, Clothes: TempT, Skin: Pulse)
While I was shopping I got a notice that Lexi Morgan at Stellar had put out her free gift for the month, so I popped over for that.
I love gifts that aren’t lacking in quality. Stellar’s gifts are always top notch. And she always includes a gift for the guys; alas, I’ve no guy to show off the cute boxers, so you’ll have to go see them yourself.
(Hair: Gurly6, Outfit: Stellar, Skin: Pulse)
Here’s a quick shot of my PJs. Raivynn Kraus made the socks for me, not sure if she put them out in her lingerie shop at The Nest, but it’d be worth a peek to see, as she has lots of nice goodies there too.
You can’t get the top anymore, it was from Ayla Holt’s old shop. Neener.
Remember when you were little, and your mom would take you clothes shopping, and you’d come home and put on a fashion show for everyone? Yeah, that didn’t happen at my house either. But I saw it on TV once, so I know it must have really happened somewhere. Thanks for being my mom for a few and letting me put on a fashion show for you. Just don’t try to ground me; I have to draw the line somewhere.
I hate Valentine’s Day. I hate contrived, commercial holidays that use guilt to make hapless people spend money. I refuse to spend a penny on anything related. The only thing I’ll buy on Valentine’s day is vodka, because it’s on a Monday and I’m sure to be out. And this year, I’m buying the big bottle dammit.
But that doesn’t mean I’m selling out if I accept Valentine’s gifts, right?
I hope not, because I actually kinda dig the February gift from M!ramode, even though it’s heartsy and sweetly Valentine.
This is how it comes out of the box. Now, Mira’s prims are no mod. We’ve talked about why she makes them that way, and I respect her decision as a creator to protect her art.
So, while I love this outfit, I don’t love the heart details and the sleeves don’t fit me just right. So I’ll wear the dress like this:
If I could mod the skirt, I’d take the other little hearts off. But otherwise I love the way the skirt fits. It has a resize script in it that works just great, which can be removed after you’re done. I don’t normally like resize scripts, but this one worked just fine. I’d much rather mod, but that’s just how I roll. I mod everything I can.
If you go to M!ramode to pick up this gift (only there this week!), be sure to also grab the 50iz dress created for the opening of Bellissima.
It comes with more parts than I’m wearing here, but this is how I’ll wear the dress. As always, Mira’s work is stunning.
I’ll be hosting a “Cupid’s Stupid” party on Valentine’s Day at the Equinox Lodge. More details to come. I’m actually working on my own AntiValentine’s gift, which will be nowhere near as pretty as Mira’s. But it will be called “Fuck You Cupid”, so you know it’ll be fun.
Skin: Pulse
Hair: Emo-tions
Dresses: M!ramode
Shape: tis me!
Poses: AAA Poses
Life would be so much easier if it were black and white.
Happy or sad. Stay or leave. Love or hate.
The messy things are are the ones in between.
But I rarely get easy, and I always get messy.
And I’d rather have that, than nothing at all.
Skin: Pulse
Face tattoo: Not So Effing Serious It’s Pudding
Hair: Emo-tions
Dress: Evie’s Closet
Shape: mine
Poses: AAA Poses and Ayla Holt
I tend to buy a skin for the face. My favorite skin’s face is “me”, but the body isn’t. I like a rounded, womanly belly and ass, not 6 pack abs. I think natural cleavage without the mushed look is most attractive. But this is all totally subjective, I know many people prefer mushed and pushed cleavage and abs that look like they don’t sit at the computer all day.
My favorite body on the grid right now is Paparazzi’s Ethereal skin:
It’s so soft and lovely, no harsh shadows or weird smudges. I tend to zoom in and really poke and prod a skin. This skin has no seams (no seams!!!) and is just gorgeous all over.
The bonus is that the body and face are both fabulous.
This is the vanilla tone, which looks best with my blonde hair. I hope Talia will put out a blonder brow in the future. (Bikini is a sneak peak from Paparazzi too… spring is just around the corner! The snow on the Equinox sim is slowly melting away…)
Another skin I found with gorgeous a freckleface, but no blonde brow, is from Not So Effing Serious It’s Pudding. She’s having a sale right now, so good time to go check out her stuff.
This is Tweeny. The tone isn’t “me” and the body needs some work, but the freckles and face are simply adorable. I’m watching to see where Lady Sakai goes with her skins. She’s got a fun store on the Sweet Dreamz sim.
And while I’m here, my new favorite sweater is from a new store that just opened, Tesoromio, on the Primrose sim.
I love watching new stores put out their items. I’ll go back to Tesoromio to shop again!
First of all, if you haven’t read Bebe Naidoo’s post about skins, read it here. Bebe’s insightful look at finding “her” skin is worth reading and thinking about. There’s lots of talk about acceptance and diversity in virtual worlds, but some diversity is easier found than others.
I’m lucky that I’ve found (mostly) my skin. I’m not 100% happy with any skin I wear, but I’ve found a skin line that very closely resembles my real me, and so I’m comfortable “in it”. I can imagine how frustrating it must be for Bebe to not be able to find herself in a skin.
This is my everyday skin:
Love the smile lines! I have plenty of those in RL too. But this makeup is super basic and natural. Which, is also RL me most days. But when I want to add a little somethin somethin, I’m happy to have tattoo layer makeups to enhance, since this skin doesn’t come in many makeup options.
B[u]Y Me just released a new set of 10 eye makeups on the tattoo layer. I love that they change only my eyes, but still make a huge difference in my looks. I won’t wear every color, but at 149Iz for the set of 10, I’m happy with the ones I’ll wear. Here’s a couple:
She sells some specialty tattoo makeups in singles too:
Another designer selling tattoo layer makeups is Talia at Paparazzi. I like to wear her Ethereal makeups on other skins, although her Ethereal skins are stunning as well. (I’ll be blogging them soon to show them off in all their dewy glory, watch this space.)
Your skin can make all the difference in the world in how you “feel” inworld. I hope Bebe finds hers soon. I couldn’t do without mine.
Base skin: Pulse
Tattoo makeup: B[u]Y Me and Paparazzi
Hair: Vanity
Red Top: Deviant Designs
Lace Top: Snowpaws Designs
Pants: Sassy
I’m attending a meet & greet of sorts today inworld. Being single again, I figure I should get out and mingle instead of spending my days alone at home. I spent a few mins this morning trying to figure out what to wear. Now, don’t take this the wrong way (tip: anytime someone says “don’t take this the wrong way” they’re going to say something offensive and by “the wrong way” they mean “you can’t get mad at me cause I told you not to” which is really stupidly passive aggressive and tacky, but I digress…)
What was I saying? Oh yeah… some women in world don’t wear a lot of clothes. I know, right? They wear their sexy on the outside. They hang their peaches from the low branches, easy pickins. But you know what they say about low hanging fruit? Me either, but there’s a saying about them, I know it.
So, when I get dressed for a meet & greet of sorts, I gotta decide where to put my peaches.
This is my normal every day get around the grid outfit:
The jeans are from Chic Boutique, and normally I don’t buy jeans without prim bottoms. Also, when I saw these in her shop, I didn’t buy them because her vendor ad didn’t show the bottom of the jeans. But then I saw them on Leanna and they were afreakingdorable, so I went back to buy them. You know I’m all about the ass (speaking of low hanging peaches), and yeah, these jeans pass the ass test.
But a meet & greet of sorts is cause for maybe dressing up a wee bit. Not a lot, mind you, one doesn’t want to seem desperate, does one?
I came up with an outfit I love. And without doing it on purpose, it’s head to toe Deviant Designs.
The dress comes with the shoes and socks. And the layers available are both regular and alpha for the feet.
And while my peaches may be covered, truth is, I’d rather meet & greet the man willing to climb for them, than the one who’ll squish the ones on the ground.
The peaches at the top of the tree are the juiciest, and most worth the climb.
(All that, and not one “eat me” joke. It must be early…)
Skins: Pulse
Hair: Vanity, Deviant Designs
Tshirt & tennis shoes: Stellar by Lexi Morgan
Jeans: Chic Boutique
Dress, Heels, Leather Jacket: Deviant Designs
Poses: AAA Poses, Ayla Holt
Told ya I’d be right back.
Felt like a change. New skin, new clothes, new hair.
New boots too, although they aren’t mod, so I’m pissy about them. They’re far too big and I can’t fix ‘em.
Now I have the the theme song from Grease stuck in my head.
Now you do too.
Skin: Pulse
Hair: Deviant Designs (modded)
Jacket: Deviant Designs (fit like this straight from inventory!)
Pants: Fashion Destiny (they come in a gorgeous brown too)
Boots: Virtual Creations
Tshirt: Amanda’s Fashions
Poses: AAA Poses
Retail therapy has long been known to soothe the wicked beastress within. Bonus if the shopping is for pretty dresses. It may be a cliche, but I just don’t give a flying fuck.
I’ve been pouting lounging around in Fashion Destiny’s yoga pants, and Paparazzi’s Thsirt.
But when I got a notice that Snowpaws Designs had a new dress, I threw aside my carton of Turtle Ice Cream and TPed faster than Jim Tarber to an orgy. And the dress, oh the dress…
The 50′s House Dress. Could I love it more?
It’s kinda fabulous.
Then, while admiring my new pretty, I received a notice that Deviant Designs had a new dress too. Could the timing have been more perfect? I TPed quicker than Tormie Baarer to a nakie party…
And it comes with matching shoes! Shoes I say!
What was I pouting about? I forget…
Skin: Pulse
Hair: Vanity, Deviant Designs
Poses: AAA Poses
Pearls: Eolande’s Accessories
The Masquerade Ball at Equinox was postponed due to technical difficulties. I have to admit that I’m just a wee bit happy about this, cause it means I get to attend after all. After the sim is worked on by the powers that be, a new date will be announced.
Til then, I say we keep dress shopping.
First of all, my shopping attire last night, new dress from Snowpaws Designs:
I was having issues last night. No matter which viewer or which trick I tried, I couldn’t change skin or hair. So all of my pics will feature my everyday look. (skin: Pulse, hair: Vanity)
Boudica Destiny at Fashion Destiny finished this dress just in time last week. It comes in six colors, and I wish I could show you how it moves. It flows and swishes, and is quite elegant.
I’m a huge fan of M!raMode, and she released a few new dresses last week. Here’s her Masquerade take:
That black mask is from Bebe Naidoo of Mooville. I’m pretty certain she’s sharing them freely, if you’d like to ping her for one.
This silver mask is new from B[u]y Me, it’s on the tattoo layer:
It works perfectly with the silver dress from M!raMode, which I’m kinda in love with. I feel like Mae West in this dress.
If I went to a formal event in real life, this is what I would want to wear, as long as the fur was faux, natch. I am vegan and all. Speaking of the fur, check out the detail on this:
I may just wear this dress around the grid for a day or ten. Flounce around saying things like, “I generally avoid temptation unless I can’t resist it.” and “Why don’t you come on up and see me sometime.. when I’ve got nothin’ on but the radio.” (Insert eyebrow waggles)
If I gave you a hand, would you rub it all over me?
I’m not ashamed to admit that I have a girly streak in me a mile wide. I don’t often get to dress to the nines in real life, and heels are just a figment of my imagination there. Trying to figure out what to wear to a Masquerade Ball fills me with heady glee and squealy giggles. There is a 17 year old prom girl inside each of us (you guys too! You just keep her pushed way, way down. Unless you’re Kora, then you dress her up in InWorldz and have the balls to do it right).
Today I went shopping. First of all, here’s my shopping outfit:
I don’t care who you are, that’s smexy. Rawr! Or… rather… moo?
(PJs from Ayla Holt, no longer available but she’s such a sweetie that I bet if you were really Jonesing for them and asked her nicely, she’s pass you a pair.)
Here’s some Masquerade options I either had in inventory, or picked up on my shopping trip.
First of all, the mask I’ve chosen to wear, from B[u]Y Me: (it even has a little beauty mark!)
Next, a few choices from Evie’s Closet, a favorite for swishy gowns:
Cariad Christmas Gown
Fable Halloween Gown
Rowena in Black
Rowena in White
Maybe Kora will go to the Ball as Saera, so she could dress up, and I’d wear this to escort her:
Ritz Tux from Deviant Designs
Le Noir Rose, from Pulse
Penelope Black Lace from Snowpaws Designs
And last but most certainly not least, this work of art from Eshi Otawara. I may never take this dress off.
(comes complete with pearl choker)
Smokey Tux
The dress I’ve chosen to wear isn’t shown here. I think Kora should see it before anyone else, and I’ll unveil it at the Ball all dramatic like, with flourish and trumpets and fanfare. Every girl needs a night to feel like a princess, like the prettiest girl in the world. I pick Thursday night.
I was feeling kinda down tonight; Kora’s been sick so it’s been a few days since I’ve seen him. I’m missing snuggles. I went inworld to shop and cheer myself up. Retail therapy!
I started out looking for a gown for the Equinox Masquerade Ball, but got distracted by a cuddly reindeer suit. I had to have it, it suited my mood so perfectly.
But I wasn’t quite feeling cuddled like I needed, until I came across a friend:
I named him Paco. He’s my Spanish cuddle bear.
I hope Kora doesn’t mind that I danced with him.
Paco comes with a hug pose built in. He’s pretty snuggly, but he’s not my Kora.
Paco’s from Moon Dance Designs. My antlers are too.
Skin: Pulse
Hair: Emo-tions (modded)
Reindeer Outfit & Nose: Evie’s Closet
There’s nothing exotic or mysterious about me. I’m straight forward and easily read. What you see is what you get.
But I can pretend.
Solene Hoisan has opened Ancient Tree Kimono shop on the Edo Nippon sim. The sim is as beautiful as the kimono.
Demure and enigmatic might not be words you would use to describe me, but I can put on a good act with the right clothes. This skin is from Tsuki, and is very reasonably priced and perfectly done.
There is something about a kimono that brings out the elegant drama.
Even if only on the outside.
1st (everyday) Pic:
Skin: Pulse
Hair: Deviant
Lace top: Snowpaws Design
Cardigan: part of Pulse Holiday Gift dress
Pants: Sassy
Earrings: Eolande’s Accessories
Exotic Pics:
Skin: Tsuki Geisha Skin
Kimono: Ancient Tree Kimono Shop
Hair: Deviant
chopsticks: Kora made them for me
I’m not one to shop for skins. I find one skin that closely resembles my real life skin, build my shape around it, and wear that one forever. I’ll buy a couple of different makeups, and that’s about it. I hate adjusting my shape once I’ve perfected it- it’s so tedious and painstaking. And each skin is so different, it rarely looks good on my unmodded shape.
I used to take skin creators for granted. Hell, I used to take most creators for granted. I never appreciated the amount of work that goes into creating a skin. But my good friend Talia, creator of Paparazzi, has been perfecting a new line of skins for months. I’ve watched her work on it, upload it, ask for feedback, go back to the paints, work hours on end, upload again, scrutinize every inch… and all of these steps over and over. Watching this skin take shape over time has been fascinating and has given me much more appreciation for the amount of work that goes into a good skin.
Talia has put a lot of thought into her new line, including a new way of offering her makeups. They’re available on a tattoo layer, so that you can buy one skin, and then augment with make-ups. Brilliant, if you ask me.
Here’s two shades of the new line, Ethereal, on my unmodded shape:
Now, you know I don’t touch up the photos I post here- frankly, I don’t know how. So this is the natural freckled version of Talia’s skin, shot taken inworld and untouched. I love the freckles!
Here’s the same skin, with an added tattoo layer of makeup:
I think Talia’s hard work and attention to detail pay off here, and InWorldz is lucky to have a new choice for dewy, pretty skins. I’m especially fond of Talia’s signature apple cheeks. They look so sweet!
I have tattoos in the real world. I dislike most tattoos inworld, due to lack of detail and realism, so I rarely wear them. But I wanted something special, so I contacted Chopper Grubux. He does custom tattoos (among lots of other stuff, you should see his shop!), and he worked with me to create just what I wanted.
I love it! He was patient and worked with me several tries to get it exactly where I wanted it, in the size I wanted it. I highly recommend him for tattoo work.
Skin: Pulse, and Ethereal by Paparazzi
Hair: Vanity
Top & Jeans: Stellar
I hate the holidays. I’m a Grinch. Holiday music makes my ears bleed and Christmas shopping makes me postal. But I will admit, because I’m nothing if not honest, that I dig holiday dress inworld. It’s kinda like wearing a Christmas sweater, only not. If I could wear this kinda stuff to work in RL, I might like the holidays better. And my tips might be better, too.
Here’s just a few of my favorite holiday outfits so far:
From Stellar, and as always, the prims were spot on and needed no adjustment.
Shoes and hat included, bonus!
This outfit is from Rockcandy, the tights are from Dark Langdon’s Naughty Or Nice outfit.
And last but not least, my favorite so far:
Also from Stellar, includes a bulb for your mouth!
I dig anything that keeps me all tied up and lit.
Skin: Pulse, Shape: mine, Big hair: Deviant, Lil Hair: Vanity
Look! I’m wearing shoes!!!
Yes, I know I was wearing boots in my last post, but those don’t count. They were a joke.
These high-tops are no jokes. They’re afreakingdorable in every way and I love them. They’re from Cow (so are my jeans) and can you see the little cow print bead on the laces? Squee!
You can’t have this sweater yet. I’m special. It’s from Paparazzi and it’ll be released soon, in a few colors. I only have it because Talia loves me more than the rest of you all. Ha! Suck on that!
Go here to the forum to view all the designs of the high tops, and watch the Paparazzi Blog for the sweater release.
Skin: Pulse
Shape: mines
Hair: Vanity
Jeans & Shoes: Cow
Sweater w/ undershirt: Papparazi
This blog is an odd mix of real life, InWorldz fashion and other InWorldz stuff. I like it like that, it represents me well. I have a real life that is rich and full and busy. One might even call it eventful, if bad luck can be considered events. Inworld, I am not a creator nor a designer. I’m a consumer. I buy items for my avi, my home, as gifts. InWorldz is a cheaper and more socially acceptable hobby than crack. And all the rest that I post here are just my opinions and thoughts on things as I come across them. You pretty much just get me here, in all my foul-mouthed, vodka-pickled, hard-headed glory.
Today’s post will delve into all of it.
I have a folder on my computer that is filled with snapshots from InWorldz. I snap pics all the time, and save them to hard drive. Most of those pics I intend to use for this blog, but many others are just shots of my daily life in InWorldz.
(Saera Pfeffer snapped this pic for me eons ago, on my dock)
One constant in these pics is a friend. I met Saera when she was just a couple of days old, and I was just a few weeks into InWorldz meself. She was one of those fast friends who just fits. She fit into the spaces around me, and we clicked like puzzle pieces. We shared a warped and twisted sense of humor, a similarly warped and twisted sexual vibe, and also, she was brilliant. Brilliant like Da Vinci and Michaelangelo and Georgia O’Keefe all wrapped up into one adorable little bundle of energy. Watching Saera build was like watching magic happen. I was in awe of her talent and felt smarter just hanging around her.
Here’s where we touch on some personal stuff: Saera was a girl in IW, but a guy in RL. She’d been a girl inworld for years. And I have always, always been a proponent of accepting people as they present to me inworld. Whether you’re a robot, a furry, a wee puppy or a cross dressing Lycan who walks on his head- I will treat you like one. I treated Saera as she presented to me- as a fun loving, twisted and clever girl whom I adored unreservedly. She made no secret of her male typist, but she was happy playing her female avi inworld. I was happy to have a girl friend to hang with.
But there was an attraction between us from day one that was always in the background. Our relationship could be an interesting study in the dynamics of avatars and their RL thinkers. While I was not in any way attracted to Saera’s avi or her female-ness (for lack of a better term), I found myself constantly attracted to the person I was getting to know every day. There was an inner battle, there was turmoil, because I consider myself totally straight and I very much dig all things manly- but here I was feeling this attraction to a little neko girl running amok in my life. It was disconcerting. I pretty much “play me” inworld. I look like me, dress like me, talk walk and fuck like me. I tried to wear a tail and just felt silly; tried to wear black hair once and just felt totally wrong. I am very much invested in and attached to my avi. She is me. Touch her hand, and I feel it. Kiss her lips, and mine tingle. And I like it like that.
But I really, really liked Saera.
Thank God the feeling was mutual. And even better, Saera had a male alt named Kora. Here’s where things get interesting… because they’ve just been boring up to now, yeah? Saera tried on her male alt, and let go of the “character” of Saera. I went on a date with Kora, just to see how it went and what we both felt. And instead of hanging out with a character, I had the unique pleasure and honor of getting to know the the man behind the avi. Kora became an extension of the male typist. And while Saera was always a part of him, there were parts of him that didn’t see the light of day inworld, by virtue of the part he had chosen to play. Getting to know Kora was like getting to know a new person, but one that felt safe and familiar and exciting.
Now, I know those blogs that get all lovey and sappy and hearts and flowers and gag. (Yeah, you know who you are, you romantic schmucks!) And, while I may have a romantic streak in me a mile wide, that tends to be a private side of me. You’re not gonna catch me getting all googly eyed and starry here. Yes, dancing for the first time with Kora, there were trumpets and fireworks and a hallelujah choir- but that’s none of your business. Back to our story…
So, Saera became Kora. But not without lots of discussion and massive amounts overthinking (I am, after all, a woman. We do that, I’m told.) Saera had friends, a place in InWorldz, a job at Equinox, and an inworld family… a whole inworld life! And a personality that was a real part of the dude at the keyboard. I didn’t want to take that away from him, nor take Saera away from InWorldz. It was no small decision for either of us.
In the end, Kora felt right with Whiskey. But truth is, Dude at the keyboard is right with, and for, the Girl at this one.
Last night, despite my exclamations that I was hardly dressed for it, Kora and I eloped. We discussed our future together much the same way we discuss most things; that is, with humor and tenderness and honesty. On my dock, where we have spent countless hours together. That was a private ceremony.
We did, however, make it official in public later:
19:53] Tranquillity Dexler: Whiskey..
[19:53] Tranquillity Dexler: do you?
[19:53] Tranquillity Dexler: ;D
[19:53] Astra Thorne: awww
[19:53] Whiskey Day: I DO!!!
[19:53] Tranquillity Dexler: and Kora, do you?
[19:53] Kora Daviau: I do!
[19:53] Whiskey Day grins
[19:53] Astra Thorne: CRIES!!!!
[19:53] Tranquillity Dexler: I now pronounce you.. um partners ;D
[19:53] Kora Daviau: thank you! 
[19:53] Whiskey Day throws flowers
[19:53] Whiskey Day kisses Kora
[19:53] Kora Daviau: cant get more official than that
[19:53] Whiskey Day: thanks Tranq
We danced to Arimo Teixeira singing the blues, with our friends and family around us, and no one made fun of my boots.
And I’m very, very happy. But not sappy. Never that. Slap me if I quote cheesy song lyrics or call him my Beloved. You have my permission. But you’ll have to deal with the Dude too. He’s not as nice as I am. (he’s nicer)
In which I show lots of skin, again.
Often as I wander the shops of InWorldz, I come across a new shop that I really want to love. I want to support an obviously new creator who is putting their stuff out there, I want to! But every now and then I find a shop where, no matter how much I try, and how many items I look at in their shop, I can’t love it. It’s not my taste, or it’s not made well, or it’s priced like the Hope Diamond dipped in crack. I rarely leave a store empty handed, usually I can find at least one item to love.
I came across a lingerie shop recently, and pretty much bought everything in the store. I loved it all. It was well made, nicely priced and I couldn’t be happier with the items. Sade Trafalgar Lingerie is located at Planet London. Here’s a just few of the dozens of sets I purchased:
(I would mention here that these pics might be NSFW, but I think it’s understood by now that pretty much my whole blog could be Not Suitable for Work, small children, or those with a delicate constitution.)
(And also, it’s 39 degrees in my house as I type this, so being all toasty warm and mostly nekid in InWorldz is helping me. Thanks for sacrificing yourself for my comfort.)
(Yes, it does indeed say BITCH on my ass.)
And it’s all Dude Approved.
All Lingerie from Sade Trafalgar
Skin: Pulse
Hair: (long) Emo-tions
(updo) VDI
Shape: my own
Cuddle Couch: Ayla Holt
Dude: mine
Poses: AAA Poses
Pose stool w/poses: Luth Brodie
Someone finally took me dancing last night. When he said, “Dress formal.” I about swooned with excitement. Didn’t matter that this was just a friend who wanted to give me an excuse to dress up; I was still going to spend the evening spinning around in the arms of a handsome man- and that was enough for me!
I’m a simple girl. I tend towards classic, clean shapes and silhouettes. Frills, lace and fuss just aren’t me.
This dress came with several options that I didn’t wear. Instead I kept it austere. But don’t mistake austere for plain.
These pearls are from Accessories by Eolande. Simple and elegant and they fit perfectly straight from inventory.
Here’s some shots of the dress parts that I chose not to wear:
Something of note: this dress comes with a system skirt, in addition to a flexi skirt:
I’ve had friends who hate system skirts; I adore them. I love the shape and style of them. But, I learned how to alter my shape to look good in a system skirt. Here’s my “regular” Whiskey shape, in the skirt:
Baby got back, right? But I don’t like that much junk in my badunkadunk, so I made a skirt shape:
Mucho betta, right?
Most people just slide their butt slider down to zero, but I figured out a better, more natural skirt shape. I set my butt to half its normal size, then my saddle bags to half their normal size and that seems to give me the most shapely ass. Better than no ass if I slide it down to zero!
I want to wear this dress every day; I love it that much. But it’s really made for spinning, moonlight and whispers. Ad most especially, deep slow dips.
Skin: Pulse
Shapes: Mine and Skirt Mine
Hair: Deviant Designs
Dress: Evie’s Closet
Jewelry: Accessories by Eolande
Poses: Luth Brodie
I adore Steampunk fashion, on other people. I don’t have the proper street creds nor historical knowledge to pull off the style. But while “outside the box” shopping, I fell in love with this outfit, from Antibiotik.
While I may not be able to pull off the whole look every day, I’ll definitely be able to work pieces of this into my wardrobe.
I had to work quite a bit to get the prim parts to remotely fit, and eventually I got so frustrated I just let them hang where they wanted.
This is the Winter Skin from Pulse. While it’s not “me”, it’s beautiful, and better suits the outfit than my regular warmer skin tone.
I think I’m ready to get back into my box now. That’s enough time outside my comfort zone for one week.
Skin: Pulse
Shape: mine
Hair: Deviant Designs
Outfit, glasses, hat: Antibiotik
Shoes: Vertigo
Poses: AAA Poses & Luth Brodie
In my quest to step outside of my current fashion rut, I wandered to new shops and tried to keep an open mind. I came across gobs of ‘ho wear, several shops full of templates-plus-color and a few shops that sold only ass crack jeans and bandaids. But every now and then, I found a gem of originality and style that made me sit up and take notice. (and click BUY) MiraMode was one of those.
This is Mira’s “Dentelle” dress. It reminds me of something from Alice in Wonderland.
While it’s not something I’d wear to flounce around the grid, it’s a work of art that I’ll pull out for special occassions.
Mira professes to be a slow creator; I think her creations are worth the wait.
The dress came with everything but the shoes, and all of the prims went right where they were supposed to, which thrills me to no end. I hate fussy prims. Color me low maintenance.
I know it’s just a baby step outside my comfort zone, but baby steps are better than no steps at all! I’ll keep shopping.
Skin: Pulse
Shape: my own
Hair: Hot Heads
Dress: MiraMode (I believe it may be spelled M!ramode in search, but look for Mira Karu’s profile)
Shoes: Adam & Eve
Poses: AAA Poses
(as always, click the pics if you’d like to see them mo bigga)
I know most “date dresses” inworld are the size and shape of bandaids, but I think there’s something to be said for being coy.
Both this dress and the bandaid dress look fine on the floor beside the bed, but the anticipation of the reveal makes this dress so much more fun to remove.
I had to mod for days to get the prim parts of this dress to fit. The hat is originally attached to the head, but cover up this hair? No thanks. I know the polkadots are stretched and wonky, and I never could get the sleeves just right. But I still think this dress is sweet, and I feel like being twirled into a firm embrace.
Now I just need a date. That is a whole ‘nother post in itself.
Skin: Pulse
Shape: My Own
Hair: Deviant Designs
Dress: *HAUTE* Fashions
Shoes: Adam & Eve
Poses: AAA Poses
I have given myself a little personal challenge, to step outside my fashion comfort zone and try things I might never otherwise try. But I’m not one to spend 1500Iz’s on a dress just for pictures; I do have a smidge of a practical side (read: saving my money for Grey Goose). I tend to stay in clothes that mimic my RL style. Before I branch out and show you Outside My Comfort Zone, here’s what my comfort zone looks like today. A Friday outfit:
This sweater is from Antibiotik, and I adore it. The prims all fit with no adjusting, and it is exactly what I am wearing in real life today. Nothing more comforting than a cozy cardigan. (Only my belly button is covered in RL, I am a teacher, and an exposed belly button just tempts folks to give you a zerbert.)
It comes with shoulder prims, that make it more modern and fashion forward:
But even that is a bit outside my fashion happy place. See? I do need to branch out! And so that’s my goal over the next few days- to venture outside my comfort zone. And since I’m a blogger (yo), you get to follow along.
Skin: Pulse, shape: Whiskey, Hair: Deviant Designs, Sweater: Antibiotik, Camisole: Cupcake, Pants: Sassy, Poses: Crux
I know, I don’t have the street cred to say yo. Sue me.
I’m not one to get all gah gah and googly eyed over “big designers” coming to InWorldz from Second Life, and in fact I get quite annoyed when folks try to sell IW as a viable option by listing those who have made the move over. I judge people based on who they are, what they do, and how they treat those who are smaller than themselves- literally or figuratively. Not by how popular they may or may not be in Second Life.
So when I saw that Accessories by Eolande was putting a shop at Equinox, I wasn’t excited because she’s big in SL. I was excited because I wanted another option for affordable but well fitting and nicely made jewelry. I’m picky about jewelry. The most minute amount of bling makes my eyes bleed. I can’t stand fussy items I have to spend 3 hours fitting. And I like pieces I can wear with several outfits. And also? I’d rather not rob a bank or rent out my girly parts to have to pay for them.
That’s why I was excited to see Eolande on the sim. Because I already knew her to be a good creator who makes something I like. Plus, bonus, she’s nice as can be! Can’t ask for more!
This is the Phoenix Set from Eolande. My first ever jewelry purchase in IW. I’m uber pleased with it, didn’t have to futz with it, and it works with lots of things.
The earrings went right where they were supposed to. Imagine that! Wonders never cease.
Skin as ever, Pulse.
Shape, mine mine mine.
Sweater: Stellar
Skirt: Stellar
Black strapless: Evie’s Closet
Jewelry: Eolande (at Equinox)
Hair: Chichickee
