Purely Visual - An Alternative View

.::Silenced::. is Golden

2010-11-02T15:10:00.001-05:00

So, I spend my time in Second Life a couple different ways... There's a lot of exploring. There's a lot of getting into trouble too but that's a story for a different blog maybe. I have a bad habit of keeping pretty much every notecard, LM or spam I get when I arrive someplace so my inventory is a horrible hot mess. Totally disorganized.

So, sometimes I'll just start clicking through my landmark folder and look for something interesting. Somehow along the way I landed at .::Silenced::..

Yay!

Loved it... really, and so happy to meet designer Silent Acoustic. I have a LOT to show you from this cool little boutique but just a teaser for today.

It's the textures... I mean, you know me, I LOVE looking at a nicely textured bit of clothing... cuts, styling and whatever is OF COURSE important, but a good outfit can be ruined by a boring fabric. Tattoos, skins, casual, undies... it's all there... it looks like she even does some custom photography.

For today's look I'm wearing the Sport Tank in pink, but there's more colors to choose from and I LOVE the Playboy panties... REALLY cute and lots of colors there too.

The Wonderland tattoo is really really gorgeous... available for now at least on jacket, shirt and tshirt layers, Silent promises some new tattoo layer updates are on the way! There is a little bit of a seam along the backs of the arms but I don't think it distracts from this really gorgeous work.

If you've never been, DEFINITELY check out Silenced... I can't wait to see what's next

Worn

.::Silenced::.

PLayboy Panties Aqua
Sports Tank Pink
Wonderland Tattoo

Beautiful Dirty Rich

Zoe Platinum

Den Dou

Heidi Skin Champagne Rose

My Pinkie Sk...errr... I mean Insanya! Oh! and I learned a new word!

2010-10-22T07:58:00.001-05:00

I love My Pinkie Skull... awesome textures, the cutest clubwear and all from the busy brain of Tatyana Ultsch.

...and this will be my very last post about it.

Nooo, not anything bad, I promise. It's just that !MPS! (the exclamation points make the My Pinkie Skull folders really easy to search for in your inventory, by the way. Awesome.) will now be Insanya.

Me, personally, I can't wait. MPS has been one of my fave go-to places lately for sexy skirts and daring club stuffs. I think it's exciting when a shop makes some changes. I mean, there are places I love, designers who consistently release items that if I don't buy outright I'll at least teleport back every few days to moon over some cute top or awesome boots or whatever. Why would I want them to change?

Because I love it when THEY want to change. The best designers in Second Life are always looking in new directions. It's all about experimentation.

Then, of course we, the fans and consumers, get to enjoy the ride.

So, yah, this is the last My Pinkie Skull post on Purely Visual.

Loving the Criminosa Skirt from MPS (ahem, I looked it up. Criminosa is Portuguese for 'criminal'. So I guess I can say I'm smarter now than I was at the beginning of this post). Resize scripts, really cool little prim parts and pouches along the belt, and a dangerously flirty skirt with dangling strappies for that little rave you want to go to this weekend. Also from MPS is the Ripped Stockings and Socks Set'... lots of options with this one, with 10 I'm pretty sure options mixing up knee socks with nylons with short socks with both with either... whew! I've been abusing the socks set lately just because it's sooo versatile.

Tatyana does tattoos too, that little heart there is from a group gift and NO I won't show you the rest of it. (the arm tattoos are from K&L... I got it on XStreet but the LM for an inworld location doesn't seem to work :-( )

The tshirt is from Primitive Design, a great shop for some nicely textured punk sexy looks and accessories. Primmy socks from SOUP (they're called 'I Love Sneakers' and I love SOUP for it's sheer cuteness.

So here we are... the last post for MPS... I can't wait to see what Insanya has in store for us!

I've left both LMs below, Insanya SHOULD be online today sometime but of course we'll need the servers to cooperate, yes?

Go! Check this out!

Insanya

My Pinkie Skull (there's a sale there now too but hurry!)

Primitive Design

Soup

DV8 CyberJammer Grrrrl!

2010-10-19T08:29:00.003-05:00

oooo check out this badass schmexy new look from DV8. CYBERJAMMER!

It's pretty cool methinks. Roller Derby Girl of the future! Well of COURSE I'm a fan! Even had the chance to party with one or two of some of our own Windy City Rollers ("Skate and let die, but leave a really HOT corpse.")Awesome awesome....

Anyway, enough of that. DV8 designatrix Vasha Martinek just dropped this really hawt look and I'm in love (again). The latexy texture really works, and the colors range from glowy outrageous to more subdued, muted shades. The little skull bellyring and matching belt are pretty cool. There's the really fun shoulder, elbow and kneepads for to protect your sexxy, bruised badass self and then of course there are the skates!

Ohhh yesss, you can get skates for this too! comeplete with skating animation to scoot around the track! All that's missing is a helmet but this is really a cool look from DV8.

On ANOTHER note, how cool is this?! Purely Visual got some press! Totally flattered that Essence of Style included me in their October issues. Even better to be listed with Achariya, Strange Pixels and In Cold Bloods (all of whom are in my faves!).

So, yay! xoxoxo

DV8

Counting Down to Halloween!

2010-10-12T21:29:00.002-05:00

Halloween is coming, and this year we get a whole weekend to celebrate it so if you haven't started looking for something in the way of a costume then "shame on you!" I know I'VE started looking.

Of course, if you follow Purely Visual at all, you might be thinking "it's ALWAYS Halloween on this blog!" Ya, kinda. So maybe for October I'll add a little orange to my pictures. Too late for today's tho.

I've been playing with some different looks for Halloween Weekend 2010, and I happened to find this totally AWESOME lace babydoll from SOUP the other day. Mixed with the Dark Jester skin from Nightshade Designs (totally still, STILL one of my favorite skins EVAH!) and the Surreal hair in Angelhair from Bishwear this is a lovely gothic ensemble.

From everything like the lace details in the top to the prim resizable garters... There's a cute prim bow up the front too and what can I say but this is my new favorite piece of lingerie in my inventory.

SOUP

BishWear

Nightshade Designs

My Pinkie Skull and Roots.... OH! and I'm back!

2010-10-06T08:00:00.001-05:00

Oh it's good to be back blogging again.

Had a little break from Second Life lately... technical difficulties.

I won't dwell. It wasn't THAT bad really. Breaks are good. Actually, I rather prefer the 'true death' of my computer to the horrible, laggy, messy stress fest of watching it slowwwwwwwlllllllyyyyyy slipping away.

It died. A new (used) computer takes it's place. The whole circle of life thing.

ANYWAY... one thing that REALLY bothered me was not being able to get inworld to take photos. Ugh... so much cool newness in SL lately and I wasn't even able to get it to rez. Well, that was before. This is now.

And THIS is some new sexiness from My Pinkie Skull designer Tatyana Ultsch and Roots designer Ruth Quan.

Let's start with !MPS!, yes?

I stumbled on this shop a few months back actually. I think I was looking for some clubwear. I can't remember. Anyway, let's just say I found what I was looking for and then proceeded to snap up just about everything I could. Today we're looking at the 'Not Your Hun' leather mini. Very schmexxy... lovely textures. I really like this skirt; the prim panel and little bows are super easy to adjust and the cut is... ummm... well, very flattering. Tatyana does some really lovely things with her textures, from the super real leather on 'Not Your Hun' to the almost touchable fabric on her 'See Me' tops. It's easy to go nuts on the !MPS! shelves too coz the prices are SOOOO reasonable. Seriously, you can wander the store and just right click and buy at random and you'll find something gorgeously textured and beautifully done without depleting your precious precious $L. Not Your Hun comes in multiple colors (I got one in black and one in pink) and See Me has some choices as far as graphics and neckline options (now I wish I'd taken more pictures... hmm... I'll have to work some of the others into upcoming posts).

Love that skirt with Ruth Quan's '00C10031 Corset', another really nice piece I've collected recently. Ok, admittedly I'm not in love with the name, but whatever, it's totally hot.

Soooo, maybe not something for that 'casual' look you're putting together... but DEFINITELY very sexy and isn't Sweetest Day coming up?

(insert greeting card diatribe here)

Whatever, the point is there's SOMEONE out there who would LOVE to see you in this top. I've visited Roots a few times now and there's always something new and interesting to see. Ruth's textures are definitely unique and her cuts are cute and sexy. I think there's a few things for the boys there too actually.

So, whether it's Sweetest Day or Halloween or whatever your clubbing plan might be for October, you should definitely make time for !My Pinkie Skull! and Roots to put that perfect look together.

xoxoxo

Worn:

!My Pinkie Skull!

See Me Long Shirt 1 Blacks (face print)

Not Your Hun mini skirt Black

Roots

00C10031 Corset

Whither Minx?

2010-09-18T15:50:00.002-05:00

This, THIS is how I feel.

No, not a fashion post... sorrryy all. I have a backlog that I simply MUST get to but there's a secret drama unfolding as we speak involving a dead old computer and a donated lovely but severely inefficient computer that just can't handle SL...

Basically, it's the graphics card at this point... VERY important and unfortunately just a little outside my budget at the moment. Ugh...

Ok, so just a few days out of my budget I guess... the plan is to be back in SL soon at FULL POWER so I can share and enjoy SL with all of you again.

The pic? Oh, just a fun sort of umm... mixed media? Is that what this is? It sounds right anyway. It started with a face shot in SL and ended with a mouthful of fangs I stole from some monstrous deep sea demon I found on google.

LOVE YOU ALL. Readers, designers.. all you SL artists and art lovers... I miss you all but I'll be back soon.

Thanks for waiting.

xoxoxo

Goth1c0 Dark Wishes

2010-05-13T21:22:00.004-05:00

Love LOVE loving this new outfit from Goth1c0 designer and owner Keishii Roo. I don't know even where to begin... honestly, I'm so totally excited for this I can't even sit still to type! Seriously.

Just, wow, I think the pictures really tell the story, but this new piece of classic gothic sexiness is really lovely. From the amazingly detailed texture satin lace on the bodice and front to the just perfect laces along the back. This is just some lovely work. Available in many lovely colors, the red just spoke to me.

Also, I really have to comment on one of my new fave skin shops, Vive 9, which is unfortunately sort of on hiatus I guess. The skin is called Po, and I'm really REALLY looking forward to Vive 9's upcoming revamp. Watch this one, seriously.

The hair is from Amrita, but I can't seem to find them anywhere in SL anymore...hmmm.

Not much more to say, I'm in love...

Worn
Goth1c0 Dark Wishes Corset Dress (red)

DV8 and Powers of Creation

2010-04-07T21:47:00.000-05:00

I wanted to come up with some clever title and launch into a witty post about some such topic or whatever. Seriously...

Of course, I know 'clever' is pretty much in the eye of the beholder and 'witty' for me anyway ends up being some random journey through whatever medications I might happen to be on when I'm actually writing.

But I've got nothing to rant about... my head's a blank. Mostly I think because I just don't think I can talk about anything else but this gorgeous newness from SL designers Powers of Creation and DV8.

I love it when a look comes together so easily, and the new Sheer Sin set from poc and +DV8+s Pandora Cyberfall hairs just worked so well I just HAD to start snapping photos.

Sheer Sin is an opaque-ish latex ensemble so snug and sexy and I swear it could be straight from Barbarella. There are multiple cut and layer options, from long sleeve and full coverage to a sleeveless hi-cut look for showing a bit more skin. OF COURSE there is Kai Heideman's just perfect latex textures with glossy shines in just the right places and honestly I have yet to see latex fashion in SL that can match his work.

+DV8+ has some newness out too, and my fave is this punky sci-fi gothy glowy ...just... WOW hairstyle. Where Kai Heideman's latex styles are near realistic, Vasha Martinek's clockwork steampunk insanity comes from a more fantastic place. I'd never heard of +DV8+ until I stumbled on one of the Twisted hunts umm last year? I don't know, maybe the year before WHATEVER it doesn't really matter, because it was love at first sight. The Pandora Cyberfall hairs are spiky flexy and soooo fun. I really love the glow and the deep hues in the hairs are brilliant.

It all just popped and worked together. Whaddaya think?

Go. Explore. Enjoy.

+DV8+Mainstore

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Lasombra/181/126/23

Powers of Creation

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Eliza/95/31/24

Discord Designs~Net Head

2010-03-29T12:38:00.005-05:00

So last week my internetz were totally messed up. I couldn't do ANYTHING... well, actually, it was worse than just not being able to log on. Ohhh yah... see, I could actually get online for a little bit. Email, music, youtube, Second Life; yah I could open the pages and do whatever and then with no warning at all POOF! the whole thing just stopped. Ugh.

See, if I just couldn't get online that would be one thing, but noooo, the internet fairies weren't happy with just leaving me stranded on some offline island. Nope, they had to tease me with the idea that everything was just FINE and then ZAP they'd sprinkle some of that techno fairy dust and bzzzt! pop! zappo! (sound effects are my own). Grrr...

Everything got fixed, of course, I know there's probably some techy description of the problem but honestly, I like the idea of techno sprites better... and this is what I'd imagine they'd look like.

Oh, can you say 'perfect timing?' Look what Kallisti Burns of Discord Designs left for me this morning! Very very cool... and of course some techno dreads are exactly what those little magical creatures living in my machine are wearing! Seriously tho, these are really fun and creative offerings from one of my favorite prim sorceresses in SL.

Discord Designs has a LOT of hair styles to choose from by the way, and is one of the few hair designers to have a huge selection of dreads and braided styles BEFORE this whole Avatar thing started. Definitely worth your time to explore her shop!

Worn

Hair. Discord Designs Nethead
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Synchronicity/218/152/36

Glasses. Grim Bros. Geeked Out Scientist Glasses
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Neptune/162/192/2

Wings. Bitter Thorns Black Cyberwings
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Virago/112/111/26

Boots. AVZ Wrapped Boots
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Laymon/128/133/27

Skins

Pic 1 Vive9 Carrot [apricot] Whispering
Pic 2 Vive9 Po [pale] Ash
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Vive/134/125/27

Pic 3 Minajunk Cyber04
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Koreshan/125/143/23

Miu-Piercing Corset

2010-03-23T10:04:00.002-05:00

Do you like a little pain with your fashion? Hmmmm?

Well, it's sort of inevitable actually... Fashion and pain have gone together since, well, I don't really know, but there's a LOT of really uncomfortable looking stuff drawn on the walls of the ancient pyramids of Egypt and I'm sure that somewhere in time there was some frustrated cavegirl complaining about how her sabertooth jumper just... well, itched something crazy.

It's still all about that choice though isn't it? I've got some heels that just ugh hurt horribly but mmmm they're so cute. That's how it works I guess. It's that sexy "ouch" that cute pain... and what's this? Oh! this is something new from Miu! Now THIS is really sexy, this new pierced corset.

The details are just really well done, especially in the ribbon that laces through the nicely textured steel hoops. It comes with two options, one with a shadow and one without, and has a menu driven color changer so you can customize to your hearts desire. Ummm... 16 color options I think?

I've got some other cute Miu looks in my inventory too, mostly cute clubby dresses, but there's a lot of denim and other stuff there too (although I haven't really checked out the denim yet... you should just SEE my to do list... ugh). It's definitely a shop worth checking out tho', and I'll be keeping my eye on it too.

Miu

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Asylum%20ST/202/195/27

+DV8+ Deathrock Iron Trifecta

2010-03-15T13:15:00.000-05:00

Shhhh.... I'm hiding from the holidays...

Well, not in RL... but here on the blog yus.

See, what happens is THIS: some holiday comes around like, well... let's say Valentine's Day and I'm just doing whatever and maybe I feel like I want to do a blog post. Happens... but then I remember VALENTINE'S DAY is coming up or even ST. PATRICK'S DAY and I stop myself and think.." should I do a THEMED POST?" hmmm... then I just sort of go back and forth.

ooo don't get me wrong... I mean, I've DONE them... there's the odd Merry XMas or Halloween post that goes up. I have nothing AGAINST them at all actually, it has to do more with the whole wanting to write something but having no real idea what to write and at the same time NOT wanting to be FORCED to write about something just because there's some holiday coming up. Basically, I'd rather stare stupidly at a blank computer screen than be given an assignment...

So what's REALLY cool is when I find myself WANTING to write something and get the chance to talk to Vasha Martinek, co-owner of DV8 Designs. Have you seen her new Deathrock Collars? Very cute. Awesome, actually, very simple yet gorgeous primwork, but with many options as far as textures, glow settings, and colors (in the Velvet texture only). There's a few styles too: Iron Trifecta (shown), Cuffed, and Candy.

Not to mention the total fangirl moment I even chatting with Vasha in the first place. Have you seen DV8? Please say yes... even if you just say it to get me off your back and then secretly you're actually planning on stopping by DV8 first chance you get. Bad, yes, because you're LYING to me (what did I ever do to you?) but GOOD because maybe you'll just totally fall in love with the pure goth clockwork craziness that IS DV8. Seriously, the store is full of glowy, punky, dark gorgeous hairs and accessories hanging temptingly from the walls.

So, whew! So happy to share... and I didn't even have to mention the 500 lbs Leprachaun in the room.

Shhhh..... (happy St. Patrick's Day!! be safe!)

DV8 Mainstore

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Lasombra/67/158/51

[Gauze] Bad Romance...

2010-03-05T12:32:00.001-06:00

So I think this was supposed to be a post-Valentine's Day umm... post.

I have to start by saying this isn't really a Lady Gaga post at all... might have tricked ya with the 'Bad Romance' title.

Nope, this is a post about t-shirts. Not just ANY t-shirts actually, I mean, these are Gauze t-shirts. Do you wear them? Love them? If no, please exit the call. This isn't for you fashionista glitterati divas. Nope, just a t-shirt post. Casual, comfy... oh, and you know how I mentioned Gauze? Wellll, that means they're from designer Yukio Ida. YES one of my faves and YES a designer and artist with an eye for those little details we all love so much in our Second Life looks. It's the creases, the little folds in the cotton... it's the comfy fit and the long cut (what, no midriff? Awesome).

Just because it's simple doesn't mean it can't be well made, and I think Yuki proves that point here. Oh wow, a post with a point!

Seriously tho', these are really nice... and pretty appropriate for those days when you don't necessarily need to get all crazy dressed up like... Lady Gaga I guess.

I've got three, there may be more soon I hope. Definitely looking forward to seeing more anyway. I'll have to stop using visual kei references about Yuki's work tho I guess. Punky? Oooo, I like where this is going.

WoRN

[Gauze]
T-Shirts (Bad Romance and You Make Me Crazy)
Caged Necklace
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Snatch%20City/226/226/31

Vive 9 Marianne ( Toast Light Freks)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Vive/129/172/44

Nikita Fride Designs Lust Hair (Cream Strawberry)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Nikita%20Fride/75/128/31

[][]Trap[][] Chromatic Skins

2010-02-09T12:00:00.003-06:00

I haven't posted in a while I know, and I could go off on some random story about how this is going on RL or that is happening or I've doing whatever, but really, I should probably just go straight into these skins.

I say this a lot about Selos Dae's skins: Skin as Art. Look through the posts, it's all there. Skin as art, skin as art. It's like a mantra, it's definitely a theme, and it's absolutely true. Skin. Art. Selos is an artist who makes skins. Oh, he makes lots of other stuff too, I mean, all really well made, but his skins are always so magical, so dramatic. Absolutely some of my favorites in Second Life.

So maybe these aren't skins for you models out there. No, these are for your sorcerors and sorceresses, witches and warlocks, ghosts, fae vampires... these are skins for you goths twirling under pixelated disco lights to your fave dark techno beat.

The latest? Ohhh, they're called Chromatic, and they're just lovely.

GO... you children of the night! LOVE THEM!

And that hair? dontcha love it too? It's from Nikita Fride Design, my new secret addiction... it's called Goth (ahhhh see the theme?).

Trap
http://slurl.com/secondlife/The%20Twilight/78/166/44

Nikita Fride Design
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Nikita%20Fride/75/128/31

Nightshade Designs: Thank God I'm Pretty

2010-01-09T02:01:00.003-06:00

This skin is 50L right now. Yup. fittee.

Oh, I bought it months ago, at full price I'm sure... I blogged it even I think.

I'm NOT complaining, I mean, after all I guess there's a whole new Emilie Autumn inspired look coming from Nightshade Designs... oh, hence the sale.

I shouldn't even be telling you about it, really. I mean, I LOVE this skin. Really lovely and honestly I think the best skin to come from Belladonna Mureaux's gorgeous little dark emporium (ok, not so 'little' actually; skins, hairs, gothic awesomeness EVERYWHERE). The thing is, if YOU love it and you go buy it then who KNOWS how many people will go and buy this skin... I seriously can't have everyone wearing this. So don't go to Nightshade Designs... well, you actually SHOULD I guess, it's probably just selfish of me to try to keep this to myself.

Let's all just agree to NOT wear it all at the same time? Ok? Promise?

OH! and dig these boots! Called Wrapped boots from AVZ... LOVE them, totally awesome.

Nightshade Designs
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Necrosis%20Noctis/206/82/2

AVZ

[][]Trap[][]

2010-01-01T14:10:00.005-06:00

Oh I'm soooo sleepy... Ya, New Year's Eve was pretty awesome... I DID somehow find myself logging on to SL tho' last night (errr, this morning) to take some pictures tho'.

I've been running around all week in this lovely skin from Trap designer Selos Dae. It was an Xmas giftie from his update group and oh wow so gorgeous. I think for sheer art, beauty and really creative skins there is no better designer than Selos.

From what I can see, it's still available to group members, so maybe you might want to think about joining. If you missed it well you should really just check out Trap for yourself, there's a HUGE range of exotic and artistic skin and other AV accessories just beautifully worked from the brain of one of the metaverse's really really real artists. Available for girls OR boys, if you're looking Definitely you MUST go to see Selos' other work, it's simply some of my favorite in Second Life, no doubt about it.

The hair is called Surreal and it's from Bishwear... top is from Gauze (another one of my absolute favorite shops!)and is called Stained...

Anyway, I could go on but seriously I'm soooo tired and I still have to go to work tonight. Ugh.

Yes, I need a nap.

Ok, so have a HAPPY NEW YEAR from Purely Visual!

Yay 2010!!

Trap skins poses and eyes

Bishwear

Gauze

Have a Twisted Xmas!!!

2009-12-23T13:14:00.003-06:00

Ah geez it's been a long time since I fired up the old blogger account and tapped away my insignificant insights on the SL fashion scene. I COULD go into a long story about this and that and all that stuff that's kept me away, but basically that would be BORING and useless and all that.

We'll just say RL is sometimes just full of distractions and honestly, I just haven't had the energy. There, that's about it.

ANYWAY... I knew I had to send out a holiday greeting to y'all out there in the world and thank goodness I've found some lovely xmas-sy themed goodies to share with ya!

Hmmm... what's THIS I found in my stocking (ok, yes, I sneak peaks at my presents)?

Well, there's the lovely twisted Cool Schmool ears and Frostical piercings from ElfPyre... really fun with their icicle primminess and ohhh, THIS is cool, the ears only have ONE attach point. Yup, you like your fae? Wellll, me too, and I've got some pretty cool ears in my inventory, but Daarc Dagger's attach to JUST ONE EAR. Specifically, the right one, which make them a snap to put on and leaves room for any other attachments you might want to play around with. The jagged frosties are sooo cool and I especially love the metal tips on the ears if you're looking for a little darkness in your midnight clear....

The dress is from Exxess Designs and mmmmm... well, definitely for you if you're going for the top of that 'naughty' list. Very VERY short, but sooo shmexxey and the prim work on the boots and fur hem is really awesome. I've been a huge fan of Exxess for a long time and this latest does NOT disappoint. Oh, and did I mention it's a dollarbie? No? Well, it IS, so you've really got no excuse.

Anyway, back to RL... some last minute wrapping and all that good stuff and I really have to find my Santa Hat...I know it's SOMEWHERE in the back of my closet and I really have to find it because my boyfriend's coming over and he... well... whatever..

Whether you've been naughty or nice, or even if your PLANNING on being one or the other have a happy happy holiday.

ElfPyre Productions

Exxess Designs

Moonshine Designs~ Fracture

2009-10-30T11:51:00.001-05:00

Oh, this is just awesome... and something new to love from Moonshine Design and Shelly Toonie.

Fracture... one of Shelly's latest (that's just ONE of Shelly's latest, there's been TONS of new stuff hitting the racks of Moonshine lately) and most definitely one of my favorite new tops. With a very sexy cut and some really nice detailing in the fabric, Fracture is a hot, very versatile look that works as a casual punky top or part of something maybe a little more gothic. Oh, seriously, just ask the werewolves that sort of surrounded me the other day while I explored Bentham Forest(oh, the sweetest creatures you'll ever meet, believe me).

There's two versions of the top, one with the lovely sun design and one without... it's a nice top that looks gorgeous both ways, but for me personally I love the design version.

Shelly continues to make some really nice and current designs that are still so very Moonshine. I love an artist with a voice of their own, and if you're looking for an interesting, eclectic, and very well made line of versatile looks, then Moonshine Design definitely deserves your time.

Go now!

Moonshine Designs

[Gauze] Ageha and Nephra

2009-10-28T13:27:00.002-05:00

Oh, geez it's so good to be back, and just in time for Halloween too!

That was really bothering me when I was sick, ugh. Seriously, how could I miss one of my favorite holidays, especially in my favorite of favorite virtual worlds.

Of course, to talk about Gauze's latest releases, I first need to share a bit about the Deader Than You Tour. It's sort of a hunt, kinda, but with a little twist. With contributors like Sn@tch and Nomine, as well as designers like DV8, Silent Sparrow, Otaku, of COURSE Gauze, and many more.... Basically, you follow the tour, purchase something that catches your eye, collect the bats and trade them in for new coolness from some of the more awesome gothic and dark designers in SL.

Anyway, so Yukio Ida of Gauze is of course there, and his contribution to the hunt is this lovely Ageha skin. Ageha means "swallowtail butterfly" in Japanese, and this really haunting skin features some interesting detail work in the makeup that evokes this very eastern image. There's two options for this skin, one with lip makeup and one without basically, but the most important thing is that IT'S ONLY AVAILABLE DURING THE TOUR. Now, Yukio Ida has been doing some really beautiful stuff with his latest skin releases, so if you're interested in collection some gorgeous pieces from Yuki's fantastic portfolio, I'd definitely explore the tour.

Oh, and then there's Nephra!

Gauze has a small but slowly growing hair section that you simply must check out, but his latest, Nephra, is available for FREE right now (jus' til November 1st tho')in Yuki's in a special Halloween color pack... Um, I'm not going to give away any exact locations, but there's definitely blood involved.

Nephra is a maddening, messy, flexi pigtail look that absolutely completed today's look. Yuki really does lovely work on his hair, from the texturing to it's natural movement, and not to mention the really fantastic styles he's managed to create.

Anyway, this being the time of treats, you should definitely treat yourself to these goodies from Gauze.

Go!

[Gauze]

Boingo! New HOtNESS!!

2009-10-26T13:17:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I've been really sick. Ugh, maybe not H1N1 sick, but sick yus... Haven't even logged into SL for a WEEK! Actually, I HAD to log in coz I had a tier payment due (xoxoxo to patient and understanding landlords!!) Well, that PLUS I mean, well, honestly, the blogs a little dusty.

I'll spare all the gory sicko details, but I will say that couches are really boring places, at least when you're awake and trying to focus on reruns of Friends through an antihistamine fog. Yay for long naps and fuzzy bathrobes. Yay for room mates that make chicken soup and boil water for hot tea.

I don't know, maybe it WAS the horrible Swine Flu... I didn't go to the doctor tho' to find out. I KNOW I KNOW, totally irresponsible of me, BUT, seriously, I HATE doctors. No one can ever hit my veins right when they draw blood, it's always cold there... whatever, so yus I have a laundry list of reasons WHY I didn't go.

Whatever, it's all pretty much over I think. The thing that REALLY bothered me though was all the outfits backing up for me to share with you. Seriously, between semi-blackouts and catching up on Californication there was that little voice in my head saying 'geeeez, ya really need to get bloggin' girl!'

So here I am, catching up, and first on the list is two outfits from Boingo. Bezo Abrazo and Cobra, specifically. Yes, they've been out for a couple weeks now at least but I really wanted to show these to you. Jeela Juran of Boingo has really done some lovely work lately, especially with this awesome distressed leather texture she's created. If I'd had more time, and this was a novella length blog, I could really go deeper into the giant number of variations you can create with both outfits, with different tops and layers as well as skirt options or pants. These are really sexxxy looks with a real fantasy feel.

More than that, Jeela has an interesting eye for lines and design, making these not only very interesting to look at, but truly original offerings. These are a LOT of fun, seriously, and the lovely leather texturing I think goes a little above some of the other leather out there.

Love it love it love it.

Boingo

Den-Dou~Vampires!

2009-09-26T10:29:00.001-05:00

Ohh... it's Fall already. Will I miss the Summer? definitely... I mean, I really DO love the sun.

BUT, let's look on the bright...er... dark side shall we? Ok, so OBVIOUSLY we've got Halloween coming up, my most favoritist of holiday's. Ohh, and yus, shorter days means LONGER NIGHTS, so there's plenty of time to let your dark side out to play.

Goth, Vamp, Demon, were-whatever... your time is NOW! And I've been hunting around SL for that perfect evening look. One of my new fave skins I grabbed from Den-Dou, and it's perfect for ohhhh, midnight snacks.

I have a few Den-Dou skins, and I've been really happy with the skin-maker so far. Denchu Dench's skins walk that line between very very detailed and realistic and something a bit more... almost painted I guess. Definition of hand drawn, I know, but still the effect is something almost anime. The result is a skin line that is both otherworldly and very real at the same time.

Oh, my fave part of her Vampire skins is the bloody bloody just fed options. Of course, the pack contains skins from 'Dawn' to 'Dusk', so you can pretty much follow this vampiress' story from the hunt to feeding time. YUM!

So, GO! Seriously, Halloween is just around the corner... or every day I suppose... depending on your, um, tastes.

Den-Dou

The Black Canary~Ephemeral

2009-09-22T10:08:00.000-05:00

So that's it then. Summer's over. Ugh.

Not that it was really all that great, I mean, the weather here's been really awful. Weatherwise, it could have really been a LOT warmer... seriously. It's felt a little like Autumn for a week already, sooo, just a little depressing.

Of course, Fall has a special place in my heart too. There's Halloween of course! And as much as I LOVE the sun, there's something special about long long crisp nights, with that cool brush of leaves moving against each other. It's spooky and beautiful all at once... so naturally I've been in a sort of 'dark' mood lately.

Perfect timing then to share Morrigan Denimore's 'Ephemeral' from The Black Canary. Another gorgeous primmy look from Morrigan, with some VERY lovely work in the ruffles and textures. Ephemeral was originally TBC's submission for Black Swan, but it's now available to YOU at his new shop location in Necrosis Noctis.

Ephemeral comes complete with skirt, bustle, high collar, stockings, garter and a cute hat (umm... not shown). It's a cinch to mod too, now that Morrigan has started adding that menu driven editing option that seems to be pretty much all over lately. Personally, I love the feature, and it really allows for serious customization especially for some of TBC's more androgynous designs.

So, definitely go and check this out, and DEFINITELY explore Necrosis Noctis if you haven't been there before. There's a LOT of new shops and the feel is definitely gothic.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Necrosis%20Noctis/113/159/43

Moonshine Designs~Beckon and Winsome

2009-09-10T12:08:00.004-05:00

Loving these cute looks from Shelly Toonie!

Summer's not over people! I mean, it's STILL warm out right? It's still good weather for some sun on your shoulders! I know, I know, all the stores have out their candy displays and Halloween themed outfits. I haven't seen a costume aisle yet anywhere thank gawd though.

Don't get me wrong; I LOVE Halloween. I LOVE the Fall. But while it's still warm out, well, let's look at two new looks from Moonshine Designs perfect for a backyard party or a day in the city. Okay, well technically FOUR actually. Beckon and Winsome come in two different skirt options, appropriately named I and II.

Of course, it's Shelly's eye for color and excellent textures that I love most about these looks. The designs are really fun as always, but will you look at that bow on Beckon? Moonshine Designs features some really lovely primwork on all of Shelly's outfits, and she really works to keep her releases fresh and different.

So, I'd pop over there STAT for some really gorgeous designs with a fun, summery feel.

Moonshine Designs

SLink~Sachara Elven Ears

2009-09-08T11:06:00.004-05:00

[Sort of a disclaimer here: Last week I posted a review of these totally lovely Sachara Elven ears and erroneously credited them to Faery Sola instead of SLink designer Siddean Munro. While I've never really claimed to be any sort of journalist, I absolutely SHOULD be able to get facts straight. So, apologies were sent round after the error was pointed out, all is well, and this is a repost with all info up to date.]

I've been all about ears lately. I mean, I've always had a little thing for fae fashion and accessories in SL, but lately it's just been nuts. I've been picking out hairs that I know will fit around prim ears, looking for cool weird eyes and basically hanging around in every wooded magical sim I can find. It's a thing, definitely; only the most recent in my long string of obsessions that pretty much define my SL experience. Call it short attention span or whatever, SL is mostly just a series of 'Aha!' moments for me and the latest and most awesome 'Aha!' is Siddean Munro's Sachara Elven Ears from SLink.

These are my first SLink pieces, so I'll definitely need to go back to Siddean's shop to see what else is there, and I really don't have anything to compare these to; so let me just try to distill the basics in a few key points:

1. Lovely shape and texture options. It's the shape options that first struck me. Each pack comes multiple fae styles, from long to 'outy' to short to pointy. One pack, and multiple options to really customize your look. That little fold and whirl in your ear is textured on nicely, which avoids that sometimes 'too smooth' look that some elven ears have.

2. JEWELRY! Okay, so not the first jewelry I've seen on fae ears, BUT, still very lovely. There can be some sizing editing issues, most specifically with the nose-ring version shown above; but, I have sort of a tiny AV and it may have just been me. They're not impossible to edit at all though, and with a little patience moving a few prims around they fit perfectly.

3. Okay, the third thing really can't be put into just one bullet point, mostly because it sort of involves point two too, so let's talk about customization.

Each set of Siddean's ears comes with a HUD customization tool that is one of the most in-depth I've seen ever. Okay, so the basic customization is all there, you can change gem and metal colors on the jewelry with a simple click, we've seen that before, and even skin tones can be changes with some presets that Siddean has loaded into the HUD. BUT, customization doesn't stop there!

This is so cool. There's a notecard included that walks you through matching the Sachara ears to whatever skin tone you're wearing at the time. YES, there's com boxes to click or unclick in preferences while you're doing it, and it might take a little time if you're not familiar 100% with options available to you in the viewer. With a little patience though, you can match your ear skin tone directly to the skin you're in, no matter who the designer. Once you've loaded the skin, you can save it to your HUD as well to be a one-click option for future wears.

Love it love it love it.

I didn't see them at the SLink main store, but you can find these featured at Studio Sidhe here.

Nightshade Designs~Charmant

2009-09-01T16:29:00.003-05:00

So, I managed to accidentally permanently delete a good portion of my inventory.

ugh...

I thought I'd be smart, sort of clean everything out in bits and pieces. So, to start, I sorted by the word 'demo' and just started sweeping through. Lots of 'shift' then click sort of thing. Apparently, some of my folders must have been caught up in everything coz now they're just gone.

So NOW I have to go to all the designers I bought stuff from and ask for them to replace them.

HA. No, I'm just kidding. This one's on me I guess, just being stupid.

ANYWAY, luckily, something that was NOT deleted was Belladonna Mureaux's Charmant dress from Nightshade Designs. Nightshade has been one of my fave goth shops in SL for a while, and once you see Bella's well made skins, hairs and most definitely her darkish sexy designs I think you'll know why.

Charmont is one of Bella's latest, and I think you can snap this up in her riotvend at her mainshop in Necrosis still. Simple, yes, but with little lovely touches in the fabric textures to give these cute lolita styles just the right touch of realism and substance. I really love this look, with its muted shades and lace edges... so cute.

Anyway, I've got to get back to see how much damage I've done to my inventory. You should head over to Nightshade in the meantime. We might even run into each other whilst I scramble to replace a few things.

xoxoxo

Nightshade Designs

[Gauze] Shiva!

2009-08-27T08:16:00.005-05:00

Absolutely gorgeous.

Every once in a while someone pipes up with that whole phrase about 'if you can't find it in Second Life just make it yourself..' which is great, sure, but not terribly realistic for a lot of us. For me, well, I know I could probably learn a lot of the tools and tricks that go into making cool stuff, but I just don't have the $$ for all those software programs and whatever that it takes to actually build something. I'm a consumer, plain and simple, and until something else changes, well, that's pretty much the way it will be.

So, those of us who can't build...well... we hope. Hope feels like the right word. Those little wish lists we keep in the back of our minds. All those items in our inventory that make us go 'AWESOME... now I just need to find something like...'. It can be frustrating sometimes, maybe you find a hair designer with perfect textures and really nice construction but ugh, just not the style you were looking for. Maybe you find a little shop full of gorgeous clothes but 'full' just means 3 or 4 outfits. We want MORE! It's the nature of the beast, the curse of consumerism. We sit at our keyboard staring intently, trying to telepathically (or sometimes just dropping a card in the suggestion box) send our wish list to that designer, that builder... whoever.

Usually it's an exercise in frustration. Usually we just have to adapt our wishes a little bit, maybe accept the fact that we can't always get what we want and all that. Sometimes though, sometimes our little telepathic daggers hit the mark...

Okay, so I can't take ALL the responsibility for Yukio Ida releasing more skins from his Shiva release.

Um.. honestly, actually I guess I can't take any credit at all, BUT, well, I'm very happy.

We first saw Shiva at the Harajukubox Skin Fair a few weeks back. There were just two tones then, and Yukio hinted that there might be more on the way, but I had no idea how soon. Cue Jedi Mind Trick. Ahhh, 5 new tones released for Shiva, and since the HBox fair skins aren't available to the public anymore, these are an awesome opportunity to grab some of Yuki's best skin work ever.

Covered with weirdly gorgeous tattoos, Shiva features new bases from Gauze that are really lovely, and hold up well under scrutiny. I've always loved Yukio's design style, and while I think his clothes have always reflected his talent and creativity, I know skins can be challenging and his latest I think truly put him in a higher level for interesting, bizarre, beautiful and artistic design in Second Life.

To sum up:

1. Shiva~awesome skins from one of the most interesting and creative designers in SL.

2. Telepathy~maybe it works.

Now of course the problem is that when you really really wish for something and you finally get it... well, for me that just makes me want MORE.

Coz I'm spoiled.

So, the rest of you go check out [Gauze], I'm going to drink some more coffee and practice mind control.

Illuminati [Gauze]

xoxoxo

Oh, and by the way... you MUST check out Truthseeker Young's 'Voices:Orion's Arm' art installation at Extropia Odyssey... it's absolutely gorgeous and not a horrible way to spend some time in Second Life...

We wouldn't trash the classroom if they hadn't built the school...

2009-08-24T12:16:00.003-05:00

So I've been kinda busy lately.

I think, sometimes, change is good. I mean, it's ALWAYS good, mostly. Okay, maybe not ALL the time, change isn't always good, I take back what I said before. Well, not the FIRST thing, because that's got 'sometimes' in it... so yah, sometimes change IS good.

It's good when you decide you need it, anyway, and I think I've needed to change a few things in my SL. It's important to keep the whole experience, um, stimulating, right? Of course, having had the chance to meet and feature some of the best talent in SL keeps everything pretty positive here at Purely Visual. Still, sometimes you've got to just go and do something. For me, well, it was all about land.

I think I have a rez-day coming up, maybe that's the thing, I don't know. Anyway, I've gone pretty much my whole SLife without actually owning any property and lately it's been something I wanted to do. I'm not going to go through the whole process I went through, searching land, looking for good prices and do-able prim counts. You've done it, I'm sure, so why bore you. Shopping for a house was pretty much the same thing anyway. The important thing was budget... I mean, I wasn't going to try to set up some sim-wide fashion zone or anything, nope. Starting small. I needed a house big enough to maybe set up a studio and just hang out or whatever.

Blah blah... so I found a good, inexpensive house from Damani. Pretty simple, some locks, security... little tricks like that. It was pretty close to what I was looking for, so I grabbed it.

And then I trashed it.

See? Before and After.

It started with the textures. I like putting together mashup textures, I've used them sometimes for some of my photo shoots. Anyway, I'd just seen Torley Linden's tutorial on uploading transparent textures when I suddenly realized I wanted to make some windows...

Yah, those 5 pane weird things are my first... then I made the clear glass brick (colorful or no) for some floors and doors. All the textures I used I made myself in Gimp, although the floor is a brush I lifted from DeviantArt.

In the end it ended up like wandering around in one of my own photographs. I have to apologize to Damani designer Damanios Thetan for trashing the house though.... Sorry. It's not you, it's me.

BUT, on the other hand, it's a lot of fun... and a change, a good one, for me anyway.

Anyway, maybe I'll have a housewarming party or something. If you happen to be where I was, and maybe looking for some land... well, stop by Damani and check out what they've got for houses too. Oh, or cats... or weather... or furniture...

xoxo

Damani

Moonshine Designs.... hardly basic...

2009-08-13T08:46:00.006-05:00

This post took two weeks.

Oh, you'd never really know it, it's not too much different from any of my other blog posts. Scroll through the history, there's a tone, a theme; it's all connected. No, this post won't look too different from what you've seen before, but it still took two weeks to do.

Why?

Honestly, the photography. I couldn't take a decent pic to save my life.

Soooo frustrating. Ugh. It wasn't the clothes, it wasn't the skins or hair. There was always just something, well, off about everything over the last few weeks.

Super frustrating actually, because it's the picture taking that's pretty much my favorite part of Second Life lately. I can't book a vacation and head out to the airport to go places like Bryn Oh's Immersiva or Baron Grayson' Crucible sims. I don't have an album on a bookshelf from my time lounging on beaches while dragons fly overhead anyplace in Real Life. No, it's all in Second Life. All of it. It's like some dream place in a children's book where it's so real to them but the boring grownups don't believe in it at all. I love having photos of those dreams, I love the fact that Second Life has some places and is populated by designers who can add to my little imaginary fantasy.

So, that makes picture taking pretty important. More than that, it's how I try to share cool stuff I've found inworld with all of you. Sometimes, apparently, my brain just won't cooperate with that. Maybe I needed a break. I mean, I DID stop by a few clubs and listen to some awesome music. On the other hand, I spent a ridiculous amount of $L and spent who knows how long constantly changing hairs and whatever. Well, let's just call it a vacation and leave it at that (Wow, so THAT puts a scary thought in my head. How do you take a vacation from a fantasy world? Third Life. Whoa.)

There are a ton of pictures from the last few weeks, stuff I wanted to put on the blog but ended up just deleting at the last minute. Some of it I still have, maybe I'll play with them later, make some screensavers or posters or something. It was an epic struggle, fighting with sliders, changing facelights or removing them altogether, messing with the sun.

Then, the other day, for absolutely no reason I can find... well, it all came together.

Okay, so what was I struggling to share? Well, lots, but the first thing I want to share with you is this simple, sexy and gorgeous top from Moonshine Designs. Shelly Toonie's 'Basic Tanks', well. Ok, I have a serious issue with the name here. 'Basic'? Hmmm, well, call them basic if you want, but they're anything but boring.

I've always loved the texture work Shelly does with fabrics, and while her new tanks might not have any patterns or designs, the texturing is really very gorgeous. The simple wrinkles and folds where the fabric 'stretches' is really nicely done, and subtle while still adding enough to make these a lot of fun to look at (if you're like me and obsessively zoom into fabrics to see how far they go. I'm sure there's a disorder name for it. Whatever.). Oh? and Sexy? YUS, VERRY. With sheer options for each tank, you can show as much or as little as you'd like or just add an interesting accent to another outfit. Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous.

Worn:

Pic 1

Moonshine Designs Basics Tank Marigold
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Imogen/186/128/2

[Gauze] Elf Ears
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Snatch%20City/228/228/2

Snow Rabbit S@R w003 medium beige skin pink
http://slurl.com/secondlife/tricolore/176/207/36

Pic 2

Moonshine Designs Basics Tank Pitch Sheer

Bizarre Hair Xtreme Messy Blonde
http://slurl.com/secondlife/0031%20Marktplaats/195/248/22

Illusions Abyssal Ears: Elfin
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Carnivale/208/94/33

[Curio] Lumine Juxt
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Curio/128/130/38

Ce Cubic Effect Waist Scroll Khaki
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Chantilly/119/128/29

Tokushi Natural Fae Wings
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Skittle%20Beans/189/189/43

[Gauze} Harajukubox Skin Fair Wrap up

2009-07-29T14:02:00.001-05:00

You ever have one of those times where you feel like you're hiding out but you're not actually?

There's a lot of life, and when you add a Second one to your First, well, commitments can be weird. Seriously, take Purely Visual for example. I love it, it's pretty much my reason for enjoying Second Life. Oh, yes, I mean, there's friends and all that, but everything: fashion, friendships, styles, looks ideas, it all filters through this blog eventually.

So it's tough sometimes when I can't actually get here to blog, or get the time in Second Life to do photos, or even keep myself from being distracted long enough by some random sim or shop or LM to do either. in the meantime, days go by without a blog post, review items get dusty in my folder, and that little pearl of guilt starts to grow deep inside (justified or not).

The big news since my last post was the Harajukubox Skin Faire this past weekend. A lovely little skin showcase featuring blog faves like Gauze and Trap. I'm sure you went, at least, I HOPE you went. It's over. i actually got the chance to spend some time there this weekend, and it was really nice. It's smaller than events like Hair Fair and I think a little more intimate. You don't get the chance often to look at skins from different creators side by side, and Harajukubox really provides that unique opportunity.

And oh what lovely goodness Yukio Ida brought the the Fair. Gauze and Illuminati creator Yukio Ida has always had a skin line in his shop, ranging from neko to Visual Kei. It's his most recent creations though that really shine, and I think these are the best I've seen.

Actually, I did get a sneak peak of some new bases he had done a month or so back, so I did have a sneaking suspicion that there was going to be something really cool in the works. Wow these are awesome. I got to try 3 skins: Shiva, a skin fair exclusive but simply gorgeously weird tattooed skin in a light Creator or darker Destroyer tones. Not available post fair but still I'm sure a nice indication of things to come. Then there's Lamia and Glitterdust: both slightly more traditional skins with colorful makeups and some of the nicest body shading I've seen from Illuminati. These are really lovely skins with some interesting makeup choices and a range of tones from very pale to a richer tanned glow. Each tone has 2 different makeup choices as well, making these easy to coordinate with your favorite magical mystical look...

Anyway, loving these, and looking forward to this new direction from designer Yukio Ida.

Illuminati [Gauze]

Beliria Lumley Designs~Wings!

2009-07-21T13:48:00.001-05:00

I think I just have to stop looking for things in Second Life. Well, not things, I mean, then what would I write about? No, I guess what I mean is I have to stop looking for specific things in SL.

Of course, that won't really work either. See, the problem is I can't seem to find what I'm looking for most of the time in SL. Grr, this is hard to explain. Ok, so I actually CAN find what I'm looking for in SL MOST of the time, it's just that I don't know that's what I'm really looking for until I find it. So, I HAVE to look for the specifics, I guess, even though usually I'm doomed not to find them.

Clear? Read it again, it took ME a couple times to get through it. Ugh.

To sum up: I have to look for something I really want even while knowing that it's not going to happen but something else wonderful might. I can't skip the first step though, coz then the whatever other thing I find becomes that first thing and wow we just keep going around, don't we...

So it started like this. I was logged in and I remembered this awesome feathery coat I bought a long long time ago. What's that designer doing now? I asked myself. So I went through and found the profile and got an LM for a new shop she had and, well... lovely, but nothing really hooked me. Hmmm... but NOW I had feathers on the brain.

Feathers became wings became me popping through Search using different terms and landing here:

Wow, gorgeous angel wings with a little difference. The lovely feathers each move beautifully, and, unlike your traditional wings flowing from your shoulders, Beliria Lumley's wings, from Beliria Lumley Designs 'natch, attach along the arms, making for a lovely silhouette and and avoiding those embarassing angelic moments when you accidentally whap! some poor passerby in the head with your wing tip. These are simply gorgeous, and I'm so happy I didn't find what I was originally looking for and I managed to run across what I was really looking for in the first place.

Really fun, and a shop I hope to share more from in the future.

Worn:
Wings: BLD BM Wings (Black and White)

Skin: Nomine Ultralight pierrot lunaire

Hair: *~*Damselfly*~* Katlynn Black Pearl (Cool)

Outfit: Ripped Oasis Silks (Black)

Goth1c0~Giger and the Bitch

2009-07-15T15:32:00.002-05:00

I spend a lot of time making pictures in Second Life. If you've read the blog before you might have checked out my flickr stream. Yah, most of it's blog related, lots of fashion shots and backgrounds... but, I like to just play too. Actually, I spend a lot of time just playing with photos, lots of time. Enough time, actually, to get an odd remark from a friend every once in a while like 'sounds like work to me' or 'are you getting paid for all this?' and blah blah.

Hmm... well, so the photography might be making me a little anti social, but I'm always curious about what sorts of things we can make in SL. Work? Yes, but it's all about that 'flow' thing. Paid? Heh... well, apart from the odd profile pic request and even some advertising I'm not exactly what you'd call 'professional'. Actually, sometimes I just like to scroll back to some of my older pictures in the stream and see what I've learned. It doesn't HAVE to be about money or whatever, it's just fun. I'm hardly the only one doing it anyway, Flickr is an absolute treasure of beautiful images from and inspired by Second Life.

Now, think about your favorite designer. I'll bet they're not at the same level they were a year ago or six months or maybe even weeks (depending on when their epiphany hit). Nope, odds are they're much better. They've grown, or at least they've found new ways to make that thing in their head come to life in Second Life.

Of course, there's always commerce with designers. I mean, they're in business, right? Even with that though, I think there is still that love of making something new, trying a new trick and experimenting. For someone like me? Honestly, it's a hobby. For a good designer, it's an art and a profession.

Which brings us to Keishii Roo.

I've always been a fan of Goth1c0, Keishii's gothic twist on fashion ranges from the lolita-esque skirt and look to some things a little more punk. Everything so very Goth1c0 and so very sexy and fun. So I know sort of what to expect when I TP there or visit Keishii Roo's blog. I have to say though, Kei's latest, Giger leather pants and The Bitch mini dress, are my absolute faves from the shop. There are some similarities in the textures on both of these actually, but used to create two very cool looks that remain very distinct from each other.

Kei's Giger leather pants are schmexxy, and the alienish texturing on the legs give these a really awesome, stitched look. What can I say about The Bitch? Oh, so sexy and scandalous, with patterns that really make this an..umm... interesting and fun minidress with a lovely, satiny feel. Each are available in a range of colors, and you definitely need to see these up close.

Anyway, my new faves from a designer who isn't afraid to experiment. Good business? Maybe, but I think the attention to detail and interesting ideas reveal an artist still working to get those little pictures out of their head.

Worn:

Pic 1

Pants: Goth1c0 Giger Leather Pants
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Gemmed/186/248/22

Top: *Sheer* Torn Nylon

Bra: *AnneRose* Happy Spring
http://slurl.com/secondlife/ANNEROSE/128/4/40

Gloves: [Gauze] Stained fingerless gloves
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Snatch%20City/238/220/31

Belt: Sn@tch Oblivion Belt
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Snatch%20City/123/212/30

Boots: [Gauze] Miyaku Stomps
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Snatch%20City/238/220/31

Skin: Curio Lumine (Nightshade)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Curio/128/130/38

Hair: RocX Mistaken
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Epilais/22/45/2510
Bangs from UnVeil

Pic 2:

Mini: Goth1c0 The Bitch in White
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Gemmed/186/248/22

Skin: Nomine Ultralight Pedrolina
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Nomine/203/50/49

Hair: Bishwear Vidal
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cecil/138/86/77

Fab.Pony~Bikinis!! or In which our heroine finds herself enjoying an afternoon at the beach...

2009-07-10T13:51:00.002-05:00

Oh, I know, I chatter on all the time about how much I love summer. The sun, sometimes a vacation maybe... warm weather.

Well, at least that's what I look forward to. Summer's gotten off to a sort of weird start where I am. We had some real heat followed by temperatures in the 60's (um, that's fahrenheit by the way) and just a lot of rain lately. Ugh. Of course, that's the real thing about Second Life... can't make it to the beach? Well, just teleport to one!

VERY useful for the winter, but it works just as well for those sometimes un-ideal days that make up just another summer in the midwest.

So, it was perfect timing when I found out about Fab.Pony's latest releases: swimsuits! Tatianna Faulkes' Fab.Pony has just come out with a very sexy, cute and colorful line of bikinis. If you've never been to Fab.Pony, Tatianna's designs are a lovely collection of retro-eighties chic and bright colors. I've always loved Tatianna's taste in patterns and colors, 'vibrant' I think is the word I'm looking for.

Anyway, today we're looking at Fab.Pony's Zebra, Elika and Wild Child bikinis. It's always the little touches that I think make a look come together, and Tatianna has added some fun primmy accents like tassels and rings. Another nice thing is to find a bikini in SL that isn't a g-string. Elika comes with a still sexy boy short for the bottom, and it's a nice reminder that coverage can be fun and sexy too (hint hint).

Fun, and just in time for those little SL retreats we all sometimes need.

Fab.Pony Mainstore

Elfpyre Productions~More Drudishness

2009-07-09T15:14:00.001-05:00

Checked your bag lately?

I'd say 'baggage', but there's all kinds of negative stuff that goes along with that word. Nope, I like bag better. Handbag, magic bag, baggies filled with questionable substances... they're all much better than 'baggage'. Anyway, the bag I'm talking about isn't even real, I'm going for more of the 'metaphorical container of your imagination' type of bag.

Mine's a mess. Occupational hazard maybe. Maybe just part of the whole attention span thing. Maybe I'm dizzy from the heat. Whatever.

I'm sure it's mix of RL and SL, because what we find and love in Second Life is still seen through our own personal filters and ideas. So, when a designer puts something up you like, well, most likely you have a totally different reason for loving that piece than the creator does. Oh, you both landed in the same place, that's the way I look at it, but you have your own route.

Hmmm, soo, my route's been a little crazy lately. Not crazy bad, just, a little hectic. Fun, but just a little bit shy of frantic.

So, it starts a little while ago with a post I did on Elfpyre Productions 'Drude' Ears and skins. LOVED the Drude ears... had to look up a little history on Drudes on Wikipedia (yes. I know. Hardly the most reputable source for research, but seriously, it's not like I was writing my dissertation on it. Anyway, Germanic witches... cursed people and possessed them I think. I didn't take notes. Either way, it was funny, because I'd just started watching Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere series. Actually, there are no Drudes there, BUT, it has some lovely accents and a really cool story full of magic and lovely accents. Oh, and the accents were lovely.

(Ohhhh, new dream sim! Someone should totally do a 'London Below' sim. Wait, actually, I haven't even searched to see if there IS one in Second Life. Note to self: do that.)

So, yes, Neverwhere. So, no drudes at all, but, it kept me in a magical mood whenever I found myself thinking about it, and usually before I logged in too.

I loved photographing the Drude ears, and they were such a simple but original twist on some of the fae styles in SL, I wanted to feature them again. Lucky! Yes, Daarc Dagger has just released some new pierced versions of her Drude ears. These are really original, and the touch script color change feature lets you match with any of Elfpyre skin tones, along with a few that haven't been released yet.

So, anyway. Check your bag to see what you can bring into Second Life, even if it's just a different point of view. I'm going to hunt for London Below.

Catchya later!!

ElfPyre Productions

Grim Bros~Bone Dress Mesh

2009-07-01T11:40:00.003-05:00

So I had a conversation the other day about the sometime lack of diversity in design in Second Life.

Well, it actually started as a conversation about Hair Fair, and hair styles, and then just style in general. I think the basic thing is that most of the time Second Life isn't anything like what I expected it to be when I first decided to rez and explore our favorite metaverse. I mean, YES there's some amazing things going on in SL, and that's what usually inspires me to share on the blog. On the other hand, well... let's just call it 'user error'.

It's not always 'bad' designs either, I"m not trying to be an uber-critic or anything. Usually though it's that some designs are just plain, well, boring. I guess, in the end, I always thought there'd be more space ships or something. This IS a world of the imagination after all, right?

I think Cutea Benelli of Grim Bros gets that too. I'm not sure if she came to Second Life looking for space ships, but she definitely came here looking for something; and what she couldn't find, she made.

So, on the one hand, you have a designer making victorian and steampunk designs for the discerning SLifer (possibly ALSO hunting space ships)... on the other hand, oh my god, these are insane! YES, I'll bang my art hammer again. YES I think this is another lovely example of the 'story' in SL. YES Cutea's Bone Mesh Dress is possibly one of the weirdest and definitely one of the coolest outfits in my inventory right now. This is definitely art as fashion. Call it 'virtual wearable sculpture' or something, although that's kind of a mouthful. Whatever, maybe just wearable sculpture.

This is a really well-made dress, though this might not be your first choice for that pool party this weekend. Lots of primmy goodness, and the dirty, rusty metal feel is a lovely touch. From the steampunky wired spine to the really cool prim skirt it really is all about the details, and I think Cutea's designs are really gorgeous examples of the absolutely not boring potential of Second Life. I mean, LOOK at the details, just look. I'll wait. There are 3 different options for the hat, and there's also a skirt layer that I didn't use for these pics, I think it works either way.

This is really awesome, and if you're getting burned out on the same old stuff from shop to shop... well, maybe take some time to visit Grim Bros.

Dress Grim Bros Mesh Bone Dress

Skin: Nomine Pierrot pedrolina

[][]Trap[][] Ghost Hakama

2009-06-27T07:46:00.000-05:00

Oh good grief I have no idea where to start with today's post. Yes this is Trap's Ghost Hakama, the sort of spiritual sibling to Gauze's Ishiko Kimono I mentioned the other day. Yes this is another lovely release from Selos Dae, a designer with a sensibility that lives someplace between mystic dream worlds and gorgeous nightmares. Yes this is another showing from Trap, a shop that just could never put out too much in my opinion, a shop I watch impatiently and obsessively for the next bit of awesomeness to bear the Trap name.

Simply, I'm in love with Ghost Hakama.

You know how I'm always rambling on about stories and settings and all that? Well, the truth is, it's never a project with Selos' designs. As soon as I put GH on, well, I knew the scene exactly. I knew I needed ghostly mists and shadows. I knew which poses to try. It was simple. Actually, it usually is with pretty much anything I've seen from Trap. Selos makes it easy to find the story I guess, I don't know how to better explain it.

I have a secret passion lately for prim fur, not sure why... it doesn't really go with my whole summer obsession, but I guess things like that really don't matter in SL when you get down to it. The fur trim on the sleeves and collar give the open top coat a lovely silhouette, and the textures along both the coat and primmy pants are just lovely.

Nomine's Heretic Vampire skin seemed to go well with it, a gorgeous, grotesque and sexy skin that fits nicely in the misty, dark atmosphere of Baron Grayson's Templum de Obscurum sim. I know Nomine's been a source of some lovely goth and dark designs in SL for a while, but I've only recently started really playing there and I can't wait to see more.

[][]Trap[][] Ghost Hakama

NomineVampire Heretic Skin

Moonshine Designs~Crush and Posh

2009-06-26T09:28:00.000-05:00

Have a favorite sound?

As in, do YOU have a favorite sound, if I wasn't being clear before. A sound, you know... not like a whole song or anything, but a noise. Honestly, it's not something I spend a whole lot of time thinking about, but Moonshine's new releases kind of got me thinking.

Crush and Posh. Posh and Crush... Shelly dropped these just in the last week or two and they're awesome. We'll get to that. First, we'll talk about 'shhh'.

Oh, should we be whispering now? Shhhh... as in Crushhhh and Poshhh. Yah, I got the folder and once I started cropping the pics and everything I found myself mentally reminding myself which one was which. So basically the little voice in my head was saying 'posshhhh... crushhh' over and over and I ended up mostly fixating on the 'shhh' sound (oh, have I not mentioned before how easily distracted I am? sheesh!). As in the shhh in the middle of Moonshine or the shhh at the beginning of Shelly. It's a nice sound, not too far from the noise we make maybe when we're trying to describe an ocean or something. Heyyy... there's a 'shh' there too!

Okay, well, I didn't mean this to be some kind of paranoid fantasy about language, but there might be something to it.

ANYWAY... Posh and Crush, Crush and Posh; two of Shelly's latest and definitely two of her cutest. Between Posh's matching skirt and vest to Crush's cute off the shoulder top with 3 different ways to wear it I can't possibly pick a fave now. Moonshine's styles seem to live comfortably somewhere between boho summer cute and sexy punky glam. Shelly Toonie's primwork is gorgeous as usual, and I've always loved her work with lace netting and layered skirts and Posh does not disappoint. The textured fabrics are really nicely done and oh wow the cut is just awesome as usual. It's summer after all, and it's the season of shoulders bared and browning in the sunshine.

Not only that, I finally FINALLY got around to buying some Nomine skins, and the pedrolina skin I thought went well with my new hair from RocX. RocX doesn't have a huge selection yet, but I'll be keeping an eye out definitely for new stuff from this awesome punky SL shop.

Anyway, Win all around!

Worn:

Outfits
Moonshine Designs Crush and Posh

Skin pic 1:
Den Dou Giselle Light Set Emo 2

Skin pic 2:
Nomine Pierrot pedrolina

Hair:
RocX Mistaken Hair

[Gauze] Ishiko Kimono

2009-06-25T15:16:00.001-05:00

I'm not lazy. Seriously, not lazy. This whole thing lately of the infrequent random posts, it's not from laziness or malaise or whatever else that might be.

First of all, Summer's finally here. My reason for being, my favorite time of year. I love the green and the sun. I love all that summer stuff that goes with it: night time walks with friends, maybe an afternoon on the patio risking melanoma under the sun. Distracting, yes... but it's a love. Honestly, I'd leave Second Life altogether during the summer if it weren't for the fact that I'm always a least a few minutes from thinking about this beautiful other world and my friends and the artists who frequent it.

See, I'm not an 'either/or' person. Oh, I might be able to lean one way more often than the other sometimes, but I can't just leave either world totally behind.

Yukio Ida's Ishiko Kimono is a lovely example of why I just can't hang up the old blog for the summer. Seriously. So not only is this just another gorgeous Japanese inspired look from Yuki, it's the result of the inspiration and collaboration that just makes SL so fascinating to me. Inspired by Aemilia Case's hairstyle of the same name, and a 'sister' design to Selos Dae's Ghost Hakama , Ishiko is a strange, ghostly and gorgeous addition to the Gauze catalog.

It's really lovely, and Yuki has included a notecard regarding geisha AOs which is really lovely, especially if you want to really get the full effect of this exotic look.

So, yah, really happy to have gotten the chance to see this.

[Gauze] Ishiko Kimono

Cutie Land Interol Hair (blackberry red)

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cutie%20Land/90/92/22

~{The Black Canary}~ Temperance

2009-06-18T09:56:00.001-05:00

Fave song from So You Think You Can Dance last night!

Ok. The Post.
So my latest obsession has been shadow viewers. Hence the absence. Hence the lack of posts.

I love blogging, I love writing. I love the tapping of the keyboard while I bop to my IPod. So why would I choose to force my poor computer through endless reloggings and grrring in frustration as, well, they just won't work for me.

It's not the viewers, actually, I love Kirsten Cinquetti's 'S17'. Sadly, I guess my graphics card can't actually handle shadows, but I still think it's a gorgeous viewer for photos. I'd heard some good things about Boy Lane, but it just didn't work for me. So, maybe there's a new graphics card on my wishlist for Xmas, but until then I may just have to learn to live without shadows in SL.

Actually, different viewers bring up something else I've been thinking about. Photography. Specifically, SL photography. Even more specifically, SL photography and blogging. I think I've learned a lot since I first rezzed. Oh, you know... changing time of day, antialiasing (that's 12 points Scrabblers!), screen resolution. When I shoot an outfit for the blog, I do try to maximize (or should that be 'Ultra-ize'?) settings to really feature the item or items at their maximum potential. Except for some cropping and framing I do outside, everything happens in SL.

I love a lot of my pics, sometimes they just work. Of course, I can get a little obsessive, spending who knows how much time exploring Flickr like a drooling fangirl staring at the really gorgeous compositions that can come from SL and learning a little more each time about tools I could use. Shadow viewers are the latest, and there's been a lot of stuff popping up on Plurk lately too to get my interest.

Ohhh, and that's not even ALL. Nooo. It was also Morrigan Denimore's Temperance, the latest from his shop The Black Canary.

A little j-rock, a little Victorian, Morrigan's designs always make me think of dark cobblestone alleys somehow set in a cyberpunk Tokyo dystopia. I needed shadows... I had to have them, I mean, The Black Canary just screams shadows. So for 3 days.... I'm totally serious, 3 days I loaded and reloaded, grrred and ignored the slowly cooling cup of coffee on the counter trying to find a good shadow viewer. Well, the Bad news is I don't think my computer can actually handle real shadows in SL right now. The GOOD news is, Kirsten's viewer is still very nice and I've got a few pictures with it and I'll be playing with it more I'm sure.

Temperance? Gorgeous. I did have to take a little time to mod it a bit, Morrigan's designs are intended to be unisex and so sometimes fitting is necessary. Still though, it's worth the effort, Morrigan's prim ruffles and chain bobs are really nicely done, and while my AO sometimes pushed a primmy part or two through my virtual body, the Temperance's effect is still very dramatic. A lovely addition to The Black Canary's catalog.

Oh, epilogue I guess. The top two photos were taken with the latest LL viewer. This one is my Kirsten viewer experiment.

Worn:

Outfit: ~*{The Black Canary}*~ Temperance

Hair: [Gauze] Sadi (black white tips)

Skin: Den-Dou OD4 Giselle-Light /02 Emo

ElfPyre Productions~Have you seen a Drude?

2009-06-12T14:26:00.002-05:00

This one starts with a question.

What is a Drude?

Well, for the long answer, go here. Otherwise, it's a demon from German Mythology... part of the Wild Hunt... lives in dreams. Ohhhhh.... Wait a minute, Second Life is a dream, isn't it? And who can't say they've run into a demon or two, something from mythology or legend here in everyone's favorite shared virtual dreamworld?

It starts with the question because it started with the ears, actually. Elfpyre Productions' Daarc Dagger left me a little present and they are her 'Drude Ears'. These are really lovely, and the scripted color change feature allows you to match them with any of Daarc's newest skins. Oh? did I not mention the skins? Okay, well, I'll get to that in a second.

So I've got this hat. Gorgeous. See it in the top picture? Yah, really nice, isn't it? I got it from Cipher not too long ago and I've been playing with it on and off ever since. See, it needed ears. Hats and neko or elven ears can be a little weird sometimes. They ALWAYS cut through somewhere and sometimes it looks awesome while others not so much. I was doing ok, I mean, I've got these great neko ears from a bunch of different places, but I wasn't 100% on it. Not that I HAVE to have ears with the hat, I mean, just look at it, but sometimes I get a picture in my head and I just have to do something to get it out, which usually means hours spent attaching and detaching from my horribly disorganized inventory so I can see if it really works. Anyway, where we ended up is a pretty awesome place, I think, and my Cipher hat now has friends in my inventory.

Okay, tangent over. Back to the skins. 'Hard at work.' That's Daarc. Well, maybe not NOW, but that's probably just because she's just finished a massive redesign on some of her skins and I'm lucky enough to be able to share them with you. Daarc's bright, insane makeups have always been some of my faves in SL, and Elfpyre's updated hand drawn skins still feature her bizarre sensibilities. The shading on the bodies is really nicely done, with an almost animated feel to them. Daarc's skins aren't what you might call photorealistic, but I don't think that's the point. Elfpyre's skins and accessories play safely in the land of the fantastic, and they work there. Ok, 'safe' maybe isn't the right word, but there's a comfort there. These are fantastic skins for a fantasy world, and Daarc I think has created some really lovely additions to the dream.

Also also also, before I forget. I've been spending a lot of time at Groll Inn, Groll Greggan's gorgeous build in La Cuesta. It's really beautiful, and it reminds me of something like Arthur and the Invisibles or Labyrinth. There's a bit of Groll's sculpture behind me in the first pic, and the inn and island are both built so well.

You can visit Groll Inn here.
Worn:
ElfPyre Productions
MoonGlow=Taste the F*#$ing Rainbow!
RosePetal=Back Stab
DawnMist=Requiem for Ruina
Drude Ears

Dirty Lynx
Kashu Boa

.+*Cipher*+. Cylinder Hat [Belt]

Tyranny Designs

2009-06-10T15:59:00.002-05:00

You know those little pop up surveys that show up every once in a while when you're about to log in? The ones where they ask if your Second Life experience is getting better and all that? Do you ever respond?

I do, every once in a while. There's no real criteria for when I decide to or not, sort of a random boredom response maybe that just creeps up on me every so often. Usually lately I've been saying 'yes' actually, not like last year when my computer ran SL at a horribly slow pace that made me want to just give up. A lot of the time though, I'm pretty zen about the little hiccups that sometimes slow me down in SL and make every session a collection of relogs and 'brb's.

The real truth is, SL is getting better for me, but not necessarily because of whatever the latest LL upgrade (although, technically, I guess it has to be connected). Nope, SL just seems to be getting closer every day to the potential I hoped I'd find when I first rezzed. Basically, it's just easier to find really nice quality designs here. Sims, skins, clothes or accessories, maybe it's the tools have gotten better or the designers are learning new tricks, but I'm finding real new beauty in SL almost every day I log in lately.

Hmmm... example? Okay, here's some new skins from Tyr Rozenblum's Tyranny Designs.

Skin shopping, well, I'm really weird about it. For one, I've got a short short list of skin makers I love and follow and pretty much wear day to day when I'm just being me. It's hard to explore skins: they can get a little expensive, and I swear to god I've been to skin shops and tried on skins that looked gorgeous in the shop but started looking a little off once I left. I don't even know if that's possible, really. It could just be me. It could be my monitor or how much coffee I had to drink that day. Still, I'm always on the watch for new and interesting skins, centering my chi and arming myself to go out and spend some time just tping and playing with demos.

Tyr Rozenblum's Tyranny Designs is a lovely little shop nestled on Abandoned Isle. Skins, clothes and accessories line the walls, and let me tell you about the skins.

Awesome. Absolutely lovely bright and sexy makeups really got me at first look, but the bodies themselves hold up under scrutiny as well. Tyr released some new skins this week, and I wanted to share a few with you. Foam, Booberry and Melon Baller all come in a range of tones (1-5 I'm pretty sure...) with fun makeups ranging from super-sexy to just plain cute. The color palates are so vibrant, I just can't take my eyes off them.

I'm so happy to have found Tyranny, and I can't wait to see what's next.

Skins
Tyranny Designs

Pic 1
melon baller Tone 4

Pic 2
Foam Tone 3
booberry Tone 1

Discord~Fu Dan

2009-06-08T12:57:00.001-05:00

So, another shop from my huge AO expedition last week. Yeah, so basically another example either how cool it is to find something when you're looking for something else entirely or just more proof that I have like no attention span whatsoever.

Whatever, let history be the judge.

In the meantime, look at THIS. So, not to be confused with Kallisti Burns' cutting edge hair shop Discord Designs, Discord is designer Orange Meili's contribution to fashion and art in Second Life. Orange's creations range from boho-punk to elven armor and the hand drawn textures and bright colors are absolutely gorgeous. There's some lovely prim work too, from the really well done buckles on the belt and ruffles that make up Fu Dan to the simply fun boots with scripted texture change features.

I actually bought some armor too... well, it was gorgeous and the details are amazing. I have some more thoughts on that but maybe a followup, yes?

So, wow.. oh! and that's not even all! Discord's mainstore location in Nightmare City is just crazy too! Really really beautiful build with lasers and steampunk architecture. Well, maybe not steampunk... something industrial anyway. So gorgeous and mysterious.

So yah, definitely go, and don't forget to really explore, there's deals and vendors around every twisty corner.

Worn

Outfit/Boots
Discord
Fu Dan Pink Set
Soku Hi Boots

Hair
[Gauze] Relia

Sn@tch~Slick Leggings

2009-06-05T14:51:00.002-05:00

So it all started with the leggings.

It had to start with something, right? So basically, it came down to the fact that I just wanted to rawk something awful. Lots of coffee maybe. I don't know. Every once in a while I come onto SL with just WAYYY too much energy and I load the IPod with lots and lots of rawk. Then, naturally I attack my inventory, looking for just that right thing. Wow, look at that! Slick Leggings from Sn@tch and Ivey Deschanel. Awesome. Bring it on.

Hmmm... what else... well, okay, put on my Dark Drow skin from Snowflake, and of course THAT skin just goes so well with my neko ears and tail, which go awesome with the Kagami hairstyle (including cap) that I blogged the other day. Well, this outfit sort of builds itself, huh? Hmmm... what else? Ohhh, of course my fave belt at the moment which ALSO happens to be from Sn@tch, the Oblivion Bondage belt and then let's add the Evangeline choker and some bracers from Cipher. Hmmm, oh! Black Bolt halter from Renegade and let's go!!

Sn@tch's Slick leggings are just that, Slick. Slick sexy and slick cool. Love them, and ooo an excuse to put on my Dirty Ego shorts from Sn@tch too. Geez, there's actually a lot from there...

Ivey's new leggings are lovely, with some nice hand drawn details texturing the leather and zippers, and the prim flares are easy to mod.

So yah, Sn@tch rawks. Check it out.

Sn@tch Slick Leather Leggings and Oblivion Bondage Belt

[Renegade] Black Bolt Halter

Snowflake Skins Dark Drow

Sadistic Hacker Kagami (purple/black)

.+*Cipher*+. Strap Choker++Evangeline++ (black)

Moonshine Designs~Dulcet

2009-06-03T16:28:00.001-05:00

Shelly Toonie of Moonshine Designs is a little bit obsessive. Of course, most of my favorite designers are, it's an occupational hazard maybe. I'm not talking about obsessive as in "pull-out-that-shoebox-of-pictures-of-your-ex-boyfriend-every-night" obsessive either. Noooo, I'm talking about obsessive "did-I-make-that-right-oh-god-I-should-totally-do-that-other-thing-I-wanted-to-try" obsessive.

Wow. That's a mouthful.

Anyway, on the occasions I've had the opportunity to chat with Shelly, she seemed perfectly normal. Underneath though, there's a little crazy.

It comes out in her work. When I found Moonshine Designs latest, Dulcet, in my inventory I thought "heyyy, this sounds really familiar." Hmmm, so I IM'd Shelly and yes, I wasn't imagining it. Ohhhh, but this is different, a reworking... ah! Two reworkings actually. Two updates on Dulcet, a previous Moonshine release and wow so many lovely ideas worked into it's two versions: Cross and Twist. Cross is a lovely cute peasant style top and skirt with Shelly's signature beautiful fishnet lace prim work and lovely texturing in the fabric. Twist takes a sexy two-tone halter and matches it with cute short pants. The awesome prim belt comes with Twist, but it works really well with Cross's skirt as well.

Anyway, a lovely reworking using some of Shelly's coolest tricks and an awesome addition to a consistently changing and growing line. Go if you haven't; go back if you have.

Moonshine Designs

Sadistic Hacker~Kagami

2009-06-02T15:08:00.000-05:00

Ugh, my brain's been blocked lately. The whole thing. I'd call it 'writer's block' but that's not really appropriate. It's not that I didn't have anything to write about or anything. Well, actually, I don't usually start a post until I've done some photography, so maybe that's what the problem is. I mean, I've been having trouble getting photos done the last few days. I can't blame ALL of it on Second Life, but the truth is, it's been a horrible lagfest for me the last couple days (at least, I HOPE it's SL and NOT my computer). I still have to take a lot of the blame myself. I dunno, there's no shortage of stuff to blog, I just wasn't feeling it maybe.

I wasn't, that is, until I decided to pop over to Sadistic Hacker.

Now, here's the thing with me and hair in SL. I'm addicted. Hairs in SL are the first things to make me go spending irresponsibly and endlessly play with looks, colors, whatever. I have a few fave hairmakers, you've seen some of them featured here, and I like to pop by every once in a while to see if there's anything new up. Honestly, Sadistic Hacker doesn't have the largest selection yet, and I wasn't actually expecting to see anything new hanging on the wall. Then... oooo, Kagami!

I love hairs... I love hairs with hats. What bothers me most sometimes is that so many hairmakers will make the hair with the hat but not a version without it. What if you want to take your hat off I wonder?

Oh, too immersive? Whatever, call it a personal thing. In real life, hair isn't the same static thing it is in SL. It has a life of it's own, and we color it, style it, tie it back, make it straight, or adorn it however the mood goes. Of course, SL has all sorts of restrictions, not the least important of course is that it's not actually real, so we miss some of those fun (ha!) bits of RL translating into everyone's favorite metaverse. Hats, well, they're usually a pain, just because there's only X number of attachment points and how much patience do I honestly need to fit everything on perfectly?

Sadistic Hacker at least offers a few options. Kagami is a long, straight style that comes with a 'naked' version and and one with a lovely knitted cap. Oh yah, and it's texture change; the simple little menu gives you six texture options along with resizing script for the whole head or just individual prims. Kagami works well with or without the hat, and along with some standard colors there's some fun punky styles like black/purple.

In short, awesome, cute and versatile... at least enough to pop me out of this funk I've been under the last couple days.

As promised, more Snow Rabbit skins, which I think is my new favorite for clean, cute and quite realistic styles.

Snow Rabbit medium beige skin purple-pink

Sadistic Hacker Kagami (Moca and Black-Purple)

[Bizarre Hair] & Snow Rabbit

2009-05-28T16:20:00.000-05:00

So it all started with an obsessive need to change my AO the other day.

It happens every once in a while, I just want something to change... maybe I saw some weird twitch I didn't see before. Maybe the poses were a little hard on some of my outfits; skirts cutting through legs and all that. Either way, I was on a mission.

Of course, that's how my little adventure from shop to shop started, and that's how I ended up looking at a wall of VERY interesting hairs from designer Mystica Matova. The shop was Bizarre Hairs and mmmm, what an interesting selection.

Okay, so not the biggest selection, but some very lovely textures and movement in them all. I grabbed Xtreme Messy but there were a few other of Mystica's fun, interesting hairs I wanted. Oh! and then I turned around to find her Chique neko tails and ears on the other wall. Scripted, yes, with animation controls but also adorned with some lovely metal work. There's a warning too, of course, about NOT rezzing these on the ground because of a built in copy bot protection. I know this is a sorta controversial trend that we've seen pop up across Second Life, but Mystica's interesting styles are not to be missed, however you feel personally about the practice. They're that good.

I also ended up for some reason at Snow Rabbit, Shirousagi Noel's skin and accessories shop. Funny thing. Actually, a friend of mine showed me the shop a few months ago, so I'd been before. At the time though, I remember feeling a little 'meh' about them. Still, I tried on a few demos again and I dunno, everything was different. I'm blaming my original feelings on a slow graphics day or something, because Snow Rabbit is totally awesome! I'm sure I'll be wearing this for a while. Snow Rabbit skins are lovely, delicate and simple skins that remain still very lifelike. First impressions, well, they're only first impressions and maybe sometimes it's best to just put all that aside sometimes and take a second look. 'Meh' turned to WOW and a happy me!

So, yes, I DID manage to find some new AO animations, but mebbe I'll save that for another post. I guess the moral of the story is there's always SOMETHING to look at in SL. Or maybe it's a meditation on self-imposed attention deficite disorder. Whatever. I was looking for one thing, found something else. Another good day in Second Life.

Worn:

Hair, Tail and Ears
[Bizarre Hair]
Extreme Messy Black
Chique Neko Tail and Ears (black)

Skin
Snow Rabbit Medium beige skin purple/pink

Embryo's Un Jour~Bird's Nest

2009-05-26T12:25:00.002-05:00

Lately, about 90% of my time in Second Life is spent just pretty much exploring; and NO, exploring is NOT a euphemism for shopping. It's more like scouting locations I guess. I mean, so a lot of my photography is done within th safe confines of my studio. I load my favorite poses, maybe make a background or two and there's my 'mood' for the picture. I still like to do a lot of photography 'in the wild' though, so I end up popping around SL... maybe following a SLurl from Koinup or someplace.

Now Embryo, well, that I picked up in a group chat someplace, or maybe it was Plurk. Whatever, thank you whoever, I'm sorry I totally forgot who said it. Anyway, Embryo is gorgeous, and I ended up using it for my last post. It's absolutely gorgeous, Lizzie Lexington has some really lovely photos of the sim here.

Anyway! Right, totally beautiful...ohhh wait, what's that over there? A SHOP!

Un Jour to be exact, and full of win!!

Wow, look at Bird's Nest. Is there a word for it? Avante-garde Couture? The 'nesty' skirt and veil are absolutely chaotic primmy messes and I fell utterly in love with the really well made feather boa with a peacock highlight. Bird's Nest is pretty versatile too, mix and match different attachments for a different look.

In short: totally fantastic, and a really nice example of 'wearable art' in Second Life. Embryo and Un Jour are definitely worth your time, and I seriously need to go back there to play.

Worn

Outfit
un jour Bird's Nest

Hair
[Gauze] Destroy

Skin (pics 1 & 2)
Nightshade Designs Emilie Autumn Skin

Skin (pic 3)
LionSkins Forbidden 4

Philotic Energy and Silver Wheel~Stuffs and Stuffs

2009-05-21T14:13:00.002-05:00

I'm not even sure how to start here. I wanted to talk about how a look might evolve. Y'know, sort of a step by step from the whole digging through your inventory to actually making decisions on what to use for the day. There was going to be a whole paragraph on picking and changing, taking an hour to decide on an outfit, that sort of thing. How does this hair look with this skin? Hmmm, which makeup? Wings?

I take forever to get ready some days. Ok, so some of it has to do with my horribly messy inventory. It can take a while to sort through some of it. Add in sometimes just trying to remember the name of something so I can search it and pull it up too, and you've lost at least 20 minutes there. I don't know which takes longer, actually... the search when I know exactly what to wear or the search when I have no idea at all. Even just a little bit more stressful when I've got a blog post to write up (just one more of those 'grrr' moments I give myself.)

Every once in a while though, the planets will line up and something really cool happens. Maybe call it synchronicity; it's that time when you've got just enough of an idea and somehow your inventory seems laid out beautifully in front of you.

It started with Silver Wheel's new piercing from designer Arianrhod Gehlbard. Puncture comes as one piece with a nose ring, lower labret and vertical lower labret spikes. VERY easy to mod, and really lovely and simple. No bling here at all, which is nice, but then again this is a no bling blog.

So I had this piercing, what next? Ohhhh, Philotic Energy's Delphini, of course. Actually, I bought this the other day when I started playing with some lovely angel wings from DBS. Oh, y'know, I was wandering the store, not really looking for anything. There it was, Delphini, and the first thing that pops in my head is 'oohhh, my WINGS'. It works, and Aemilia Case has a lovely selection of punky sexy styles.

The rest just happened, I guess. I've been addicted to my Snowflake Skin for the last few days for some reason, and the lips worked so well with Puncture I had to keep it.

Either way, it worked. The experiment is complete. Oh, wait, that would have been in reference to a post from my original idea. The 'experiment' thing. Yah, I was going to go into a thing on experimenting with styles and compositions, about how Second Life is beautiful because of its potential. Whatever, don't worry about it.

Anyway. Go. Enjoy. Landmarks to follow.

Worn:
(Silver Wheel) Puncture

Philotic Energy Delphini (Jet Black/White Tips)

*Snowflake Skin* Dark Drow

DBS Angelical V Wings

Sn@tch~Suburban Goth

2009-05-19T15:23:00.002-05:00

Oh, Summer puts me in a mood.

Okay, so it's not 'officially' here, whatever that means (okay, I KNOW what that means, but just go with it.) The temperature's been rising, and the Sun decides to hang out a little longer every day. If Summer isn't exactly here yet, it's definitely phoning ahead.

On one hand, it does make me a little dizzy. Well, not dizzy dizzy, but sort of distracted. You know that feeling where it's like you're constantly 10 minutes behind everyone else? Yah, that's what I've got. Of course, the other hand part is that I just want to get up and go! It's that conditioned excitement that's followed you from school. Remember? (okay, so maybe not sooo long ago for me, but whatever, I know I'm right) Remember watching the clock on the wall of 8th period English with Mrs. Blah Blah? Ohhh, there's a party tonight... awesome let's go! Summer in suburbia.

That's the feeling. Maybe stop by Starbucks before we go over. Who's throwing the party? Oh! There's a band? Awesome! Punk rawk party this weekend!

Me? Oh, I'm gonna rock out with Sn@tch's Suburban Goth baggies. With red or white stitched bases, these primmy fun skater punk jeans are really cool. There's a pair of prim cargo pockets and awesome suspendors that hook right onto the belt. The attachments work really well together, and modding was so easy.

Also, I have to mention Renegade's Pitch Lunar tank. I've never blogged them before, but I've always had a huge selection of Renegade's tanks and tees, the designs and fabric textures are really awesome. I wear them a lot when I'm wearing, well, jus' my normal day to day SL self. If you haven't been there, check it out.

Anyway... Rawk!!

Sn@tch Suburban Goth

[Renegade] Pitch Lunar Tank

.+*Cipher*+. Strap Choker ++Brightness in the Dark++ (Black)

[Detour]Flux Sand Mix

[Curio] Lumine~Juxt

[Gauze] Destroy!

2009-05-15T09:23:00.000-05:00

So this is what happened:

I've had a lot of RL stuff to do this week so I haven't been hopping on SL as much as I'd like to. Normally, I'll get on at least a little bit once a day, take some time to chat and take some pictures... then I'll put together a blog post and get it out. Pretty standard.

Well, this week's been different. I mean, I've been online and inworld, but only a little bit. So, instead of having time to really play with review copies and put together post for a look or whatever, I've been kinda just playing with the ideas for the review copies and posts. I know, totaly nonproductive, I feel horrible.

Anyway, I woke up this morning with a need to blog, my fingers were itching. Instead of just one look today, I've ended up with snapshots I've been playing with all week. It's a little random, but there IS one common thread. [Gauze] released new skins this week and last, and NOW we've got a new hair: Destroy.

Can I say it? Shouldn't I? Ok... I will. Love these!

Destroy is a bizarre, beautiful mess of a hairstyle that works on sooo many levels. There are some really nice flexi strands hanging from the piggy bunches. I tried them with everything too! From ganguro rocker (courtesy [Gauze] and Amerie's Naughty)to Hollywood Blvd popstar (Emery, naturally), and of course something a bit more goth (featuring a lovely coat from Grim Bros and my fave goth skin from Nightshade Designs).

So yah, really cool, and really well made. We haven't seen a lot of hairs in the past from [Gauze] designer Yukio Ida, but his texturing skills translate well. Can't wait to see what's next!

[Gauze]

[Gauze] Illuminati Skins~Sadness

2009-05-12T12:38:00.000-05:00

What can I say? Loving these new skins from Yukio Ida's Illuminati line. Sadness is Yuki's followup to last weeks Ganguro skins, and a lovely addition to his revamped skin line.

I go on a LOT I know about stories in Second Life, how it's really in a lot of ways a place to explore or create something like a dream world. Well, in any good story there's a least some kind of arc, right? There are events that shape our characters, moods that drive whatever happens next. You've got your 'best of times... worst of times..." stories and comedy. There's dark fantasy and drama, wins and losses.

And there can be Sadness.

Yukio's latest skin release comes from his brand new skin bases and features some lovely subtle touches along the body and of course a tearful, tragic, gorgeous face. Tears come in 'bloody', 'soft', and makeup... soft being clear tearstains.

Sadness is available in 5 skintones, from Dusk (a deep glowing brown)to Rozen (a ghostly pale). All the shades are lovely, and of course the tear effects are have different effects that are quite interesting depending on the tone.

I'm loving Yuki's new bases, and I can't wait to see what's next from [Gauze] Illuminati Skins.

[Gauze] Mainstore

~{The Black Canary}~ The Old Soul

2009-05-08T14:09:00.002-05:00

Cold blows the wind over my true love
cold blows the drops of rain
I never had but one true love
and in Camville he was slain

I'll do as much for my true love
as any young girl may
i'll sit and weep down by his grave
for twelve month and one day
Cold Blows the Wind
Ween

This is just beautiful.

I know, I know, skipping my usual preambulatory rant and roundabout thing to go straight to the heart of the matter. The Black Canary's latest, The Old Soul, is beautiful.

I did have a whole thing worked up in my head about what to say too. Even grabbed some lyrics to add some mood to today's piece. The Old Soul is a beautiful kimono from Morrigan Denimore, with some lovely touches that really create a feeling of real story about it. The texturing is flawles, and while Morrigan recommends a Geisha AO for the full effect, it was very easy to fit. I really love the monochrome characters highlighting this kimono, and the graphics are beautiful. The prim skirt, collar and obi belt all fit very nicely, and the torn fabric touches do a lot to sort of tell the story.

There's something really ghostly about The Old Soul too, my mind instantly sprang to old Japanese ghosts haunting some ancient forest. Of course, I don't actually know any of those stories so I jumped to the next best thing, Ween's Cold Blows the Wind which is a beautiful story about lost loves and cemetaries.

Simply, I just had to share this really lovely design from Morrigan Denimore. He seems to be able to surprise me every time I see a new release and it's a pleasure.

The Old Soul is available for boys too, so don't feel left out. If you haven't visited The Black Canary before, I think it deserves your time.

Worn:

~{The Black Canary}~ The Old Soul

++Nightshade++ Designs Tainted Innocence

[Detour] Placebo Black

Exxess Designs~Wild Thing

2009-05-07T11:23:00.000-05:00

I've always had a short list of designers whose work I really really liked, but just never got around to actually owning anything. You know, sometimes the $L balance is too low, or maybe you just aren't in a shopping mood. Or maybe you ARE in a shopping mood but just not for that thing today.

I'd heard of Exxess Designs before the Digital Alchemy Nile fashion show a couple months back, but I'd never really gotten a close up look at anything from Exxess designer Layja Vidor. The show was a success, and I loved her 'Nepthys' look so much I just had to have it. Exxess moved to my short list of 'must see more' after that show, and finally I got around to visiting again about a month ago.

What a lovely shop, so much cool stuff. I wandered around, tried some of the hairs and looked at all the shiny prim outfits on display. I finally decided on 'Wild Thing', dropped some $L and scurried off to play.

So, let me start by saying first, I really loved this outfit. Okay, out of the box, I loved it...BUT, ahhh, well, there were a lot of prims to mod. I'm used to it, of course, I don't think there's much in SL that doesn't require at least SOME tweaking, right? Some outfits are harder to mod than others though... maybe you can't shrink it anymore or something just doesn't match up. Anyway, it happened with me for Wild Thing. Ohhhh, but no problem at all, because Layja Vidor includes a notecard in her folder that gives information on how to have your new and lovely Exxess outfit customized to fit just you! April was nuts, so it took me a month to send over my measurements and proof of purchase to Layja via notecard. It was a lovely exchange, and Layja sent me my now fitted outfit really within a day. Wow.

It was perfect, and a lovely service from Layja for her customers.

On to the outfit. The primmy belted skirt and tassles are really lovely and very realistic, and with custom fitting there's nothing that cuts through my AV when my pose changes. Wild Thing comes with boots, legband, belted mini, bikini bottom and top, and awesome prim wristbands. Schmexy, tough and really well made, perfect for a night on the prowl...

Worn:
Exxess Designs Wild Thing

Snowflake Skins Dark Drow

[Detour] Rawr! White Mix

Grim Bros.~Injector Spine

2009-05-05T15:44:00.001-05:00

Sometimes, SL is just a happy accident waiting to happen.

You'll be wandering around, minding your own business. Maybe shopping, maybe people watching... maybe you're just wasting time. You pass by a shop and something through the doorway catches your eye. Wow, you think, that's pretty cool. You pan up to see the shop name overhead. Ohhhh, I've heard of THAT before... so happy to have found it.

We don't have 500 satellite channels in Second Life with 24 hour commercials telling us where to shop and how to find the coolest stuff. Oh, sure, there's blogs and advertisements that you might run into to give you some thoughts and maybe an LM or something, but the system isn't nearly as big as it's First Life counterparts. So, we end up with a model of shopping that's as much exploration and education as it is an exchange.

It happens to me all the time. It happened to me last week actually, when I stumbled into Cutea Bennelli's Grim Bros. Grim Bros features some of the most bizarre, interesting and truly lovely victorian style steampunk cybernetic fashion in Second Life. Cutea's 'Injector' spine jumped out at me first... wow. Mebbe it's becuase of all the Wolverine trailers on the TV lately, all that metal and muscle pornography... Who knows, but this Grim Bro release is meticulously crafted and has a gorgeous chrome sheen. It's a beautiful accessory if you're looking for something a little more than just a cute pair of earrings to accessorize that post-apocalyptic ensemble you're putting together.

Worn

Grim Bros Injector Spine (Shine)

Belt/Gloves:
.+*Cipher*+. Rad type 2 belt
Gloves ++Martially++ Belted
Top:
[Gauze] Stained Halter Black
Hair:
[Detour] Flux Black
Skin
LionSkins Forbidden 3

~{The Black Canary}~ The Iris (Tomoyuki)

2009-04-30T14:36:00.002-05:00

[Ugh, WHY DO I HAVE TO DO THIS? This blog is in NO WAY affiliated with the RunwaySL blog or magazine. So I've got to put up this disclaimer, because RunwaySL continues to repost my blog putting themselves as the author. Oh, and they won't respond to my emails. Whatever, property of Minx Arashi. grrrr]

Ok... on to the post:

they're like dreams but they're not dreams they're real ya know you feel as though you're alive when you're dreaming, you think you're alive when you're dreaming~Dream Song, Ministry.

I wonder what someone from 100 years ago would think of places like Second Life. What will people 100 years from now think about it? What if you were suddenly whirled back in time by some weird whatever time *thing* in the universe and you found yourself in some early 20th century town and for whatever reason you're trying to explain Second Life to them? Wow, how do you even start?

I'd skip over the whole 'internet' and 'wireless' thing, personally. Easier to start with what a thing is than have to explain the rest of the century to them. Of course, you might explain it differently, but I personally lean toward a little more wordy and misty eyed approach to things. The first thing I'd have to compare Second Life to though is a dream. Kind of a shared dream, really, but still pretty much a dream. Lucid, definitely, if you're looking for a definition.

Everyone LOVES to talk about their dreams. Admit it, you do it. You've had that thing with that guy dancing at that place with the elephants and fuzzy alligators. You wake up, totally confused, and latch onto your roommate to tell them about that insane dream you just had. Yeah, me too.

Anyway, I find that when I'm doing compositions for the blog or just for fun, most of my location choices end up being very strange, dreamy places. The lighting is a lot of fun there usually too. I like the idea of Second Life as a dreamworld, some of its most beautiful places are fantastic, glowy, moody places. I love doing photography there, and I love when a designer shows me something that let's me do that.

Morrigan Denimore's The Iris is a gorgeous, dreamy short kimono style dress with some lovely texture work. Seriously, the artwork on the obi and bow are really fun to look at. The Iris comes with a matching set of boots and the whole look is a lot of fun. It's a lovely profile and some lovely prim work overall. The monochrome patterns made me think of mysterious, misty Japanese forests, so I had to find one.

Anyway, really gorgeous, and a lovely piece from The Black Canary.

~*{The Black Canary}*~

.+Cipher+. Prayer Shrug and Zip Up Skirt

2009-04-29T16:25:00.003-05:00

So it starts like this. I went to this shop with awesome prim jewelry I don't know how long ago. I don't even remember going there, right? So I'm hanging out with a friend of mine the other day and suddenly I'm like "wow, I really love that vest" or something. Not a direct quote, but you know, your friend shows up in something really hot and you MUST KNOW IMMEDIATELY where it came from.

Cipher, she says, I told you about it months ago. Hmmm, so I forgot about that I guess. Anyway, I apologize for the whole forgetting thing and then pop offline for whatever RL thing I had to do. So of course, whenever I get back online I decide to go check it out, I mean, the vest was REALLY COOL after all, right?

Wait a minute! There IS a .+*Cipher*+. LM in my inventory. How did that get there? Whoa, I've got jewelry from there already? Nothing, no recollection whatsoever. So, anyway, I TP over there and went a little nutz with my $L.

Okay, so really really nicely textured leather, we'll start with that. From the shrug jacket to the zip up leather skirt, there's a lovely muted texture that works nicely in any light. The chrome on the belt and the eyelets on the shrug collar are just gorgeous.

Now, as for the skirts, well, couple things there. First, I love them, the attention to detail on the zips and the leather are very nicely done. There's no glitch pants, so most skirts come with an underwear warning if you don't want to flash everyone the next time you're out clubbing. Skirts are a single attachment, so I did find that my AO would sometimes make my let cut through the sides sometimes, but the belt attachment did help cover that sometimes and it may not affect you depending on your AO. I did try playing with just some other glitch pants I had in my inventory to minimize it and that helped too. It's a minor annoyance from an otherwise gorgeous piece of design I'll totally forgive.

Anyway, if YOUR friend hasn't told you to visit .+*Cipher*+. yet, I'm telling you now. There's a lot of awesome primmy goodness to choose from.

Worn:

Skin: Tainted Innocence

Hair: [Detour] Placebo D. White Mix

Top: .+*Cipher*+. Shrugs Jacket ++Prayer++ Black

Skirt/Belt: .+*Cipher*+. ++Zip Up++ & ++Rad++ Type 2

Boots: [Gauze] Eclipse Boots

House of Nyla~Miss Burlesque Sets

2009-04-28T10:49:00.003-05:00

I wasn't sure where to start this post. I mean, usually it's a pretty straightforward process. There's an outfit, and it makes me think of something. Then I write it out and submit for your approval. Boom. That's it.

Oh, I can find a lot to say usually, I mean, good design should generate that. Beauty is rarely just a surface thing. A lot of designs are beautiful not just because they are, but because of the story behind the design, where it comes from. I like to look at things and find out about them, or dream up stories to go along with them.

House of Nyla has a great story. Nyla Cheeky's Second Life project is fairly unique, actually. With designs ranging from the truly avant garde to something like today's Miss Burlesque sets, House of Nyla has some of the most interesting and colorful costumes, masks, and lingerie in Second Life. There's a twist though! Nyla's first life persona sells them too! Really interesting, like I said.

So, you can visit Nyla's inworld from the landmark below, or, if you like, you can go here for a first life look at her selection on real world models. One of my favorite questions to ask designers and artists in SL is if they have the same sort of job otherwise. Usually, well, it's no. Oh, they might be a clothes maker in SL but a graphic artist or something RL, but I've only met one or two who is doing the exact same thing in both worlds.

Not that they need to, really, I mean, I've met so many people who have found talents they never knew they had in our virtual world. I've discovered a few things about myself even. Nyla Cheeky's SL experiment shows that talents can be shared between both worlds, and that's something to think about.

Nyla's Miss Burlesque sets are just the latest gorgeous example of her tastes for colorful and theatrical style. Perfect for a show! Fun, sexy and so well made, Miss Burlesque comes in 8 colors (Purple Haze and Miss Bee shown). Each set comes with three tophat variations, along with stockings, panties, bra, garters and corset. Nyla also has some matching crocodile skin heels if you're looking to accessorize more. Each piece is very well made, the textures are nicely detailed and brightly colored. Loving these, so different.

House of Nyla deserves a visit definitely, there's a huge range of fun and sexy designs to choose from.

House of Nyla

Boingo! Nightsong Latin Dress

2009-04-27T12:31:00.000-05:00

So, summer is coming up soon, and I can't wait.

Yah, I know, we've talked about it. My favorite of the four seasons; sunshine and warm long days. I love it.

I love it for other reasons too though.

Ok, so I've got a little confession to make: I'm kind of a reality show addict. I mean, I don't watch ALL of them, ugh... I'm an addict with some standards I guess. It's not those '11 strangers in a house' type reality show either; nope, strictly competition stuff. Love it. America's Next Top Model, Project Runway, and of course, So You Think You Can Dance sorts of shows.

SYTYCD only comes on in the summer though. I wait all year for it. It's a really fun show with awesome music, the costumes, wow awesome choreography, and gorgeous people. Oh, and don't try to push that Dancing with the Stars show on me. Yawn. All fake, and really really tacky. Seriously, it's annoying.

Anyway, it's so awesome I Jeela Juran of Boingo! just released her Nightsong Latin Dress. Inspired by those sexy sexy cut dresses the professionals get to play in, Nightsong is perfect for that tango, rumba, or paso doble under the stars on a warm summer night. Hawt! The cut is dead on, and the texturing is lovely. A really nice release from Jeela Juran.

Oh, and rumor has it Jeela's considering a line of these dresses, so keep an eye out for more.

Boingo Headquarters

[Gauze] Illuminati Ganguro Skins

2009-04-23T11:45:00.000-05:00

I have a list of places I'd love to visit before I die. Well, before I get too old I guess; there's no point in going someplace if you can't have a little fun there, right? Oh, I've done Cancun, so that's off the list. Brazil looks like a lot of fun. I'm sure I need to see Australia too. Europe, of course...um, specifically Greece and Ireland. Spain too I guess. First though, I've always wanted to visit Japan.

Oh, there's that whole rich history thing. Geishas, smoky temples, samurais and weird haunted forests... I've GOT to see that. Of course, there's the cities too. Every time I see a picture of someplace like Tokyo it just looks so cool. All the lights, all that neon, it's like something out of science fiction. There's so much of the new mixed with the old. It's weird and beautiful, totally exotic but with something just soooo familiar. Zen Buddhists compete on bizarre game shows. Robots are replacing fashion models and learning to read minds. Where else IS any of this? Nowhere. Sure it's been imported in diluted form over to the West. We copy the game shows, Gwen Stefani carts over her Harajuku Girls (of course, I LOVE Gwen, don't get me wrong!), we remake their movies into something less.

Whatever. It's a strange place, with a whole history of discipline and regiment but still at the same time a free craziness that's just colorful and full of life. Maybe it comes from seeing the end of the world and coming through it. I don't know.

Anyway, it's gorgeous, and Japanese art and culture has been Yukio Ida of Gauze's inspiration since he first set up shop in SL as Illuminati Designs. His latest skin releases are gorgeous Ganguro skins inspired by one of the more beautifully weird subcultures in Japan. Manba, Banba and Ganguro are the first in a total revamp Yuki's been doing on his skin line, and absolutely I love the choices here. The makeups are perfectly ganguro and all those little bits like anatomy and shading are VERY well done on these hand drawn skins. I love these to pieces!

Shown (clockwise from top left):

[Gauze]
*Illuminati* Female-Dusk-Ganguro
[Gauze]
*Illuminati* Female-Ginger-Manba
[Gauze]
*Illuminati* Female-Peach Banba

Nightshade Designs Blacklist~Drusilla

2009-04-22T16:47:00.003-05:00

Moods are funny sometimes. Musical tastes, those midnight snacky cravings, a Friday night cocktail, well, they're all sort of moody decisions. I might want to listen to Her Space Holiday one day and Mindless Self Indulgence the next. Maybe I want a shot of something fruity tonight or maybe it's just perfect for wine. Whatever, it depends on my mood, right?

Same thing with finding what I want to wear today in Second Life. I've got LOTS of jeans, but there's also a ton of cute looks, interesting designs and fun hairstyles I could put together too. Lots of possibilities. Of course, all I'm doing is picking a look for myself.

Designers know all about mood too, most shops and sims are just dripping with it. You've got your Rodeo-Drivesque shopping strips and sci fi marketplaces, gothic castles with wares hanging from the walls and medieval storefronts filled with chainmail and weapons. Even more, most designers have their own definite feel as far as what's offered for sale. That doesn't mean it's all the same though, and that doesn't mean there aren't little moodswings now and then.

When a designer has a moodswing, well, something new pops up. Maybe it's a one-off, a fluke, a random interest that creates something just a little different and surprising. Sometimes though, it's almost a redefining moment. It doesn't have to be completely different, of course, but sometimes a designer approaches their usual looks with just a slightly different point of view.

Belladonna Mureaux's Blacklist line from Nightshade Designs is like that. Yes, it's still some of the very gothy sexy looks we've come to expect, but it's a more focused point of view. Focused enough to deserve it's own subtitle anyway. Drusilla is the latest from the Blacklist line, and this is my favorite so far. Belladonna has gone for latex this time and it works really well in this sexy, lowcut long gown. Latex is usually hit or miss in SL, it's a hard texture to get right in a world where there aren't really any reflections, sometimes latex can be disastrous. Drusilla is really nicely done though, and I hope we'll see more latex from Belladonna in the future. There are some really beautiful lines in this curve-hugging, evilly sexy dress, and the matching gloves are perfect for completing the look.

Soooo, light some candles, put on some suitably sexy mood music, and slip into something dark and lovely from Nightshade's Blacklist.

Nightshade Designs

~{The Black Canary}~Charisma

2009-04-20T15:33:00.002-05:00

Okay, so I know it's not really like this, but I sometimes like to imagine SL designers sort of Leonardi Da Vinci style hunched over some huge canvas creating their designs by candlelight. Of course there's a big quill dipped in ink. Of course there's the soothing sounds of some minstrel playing some tune. Well, maybe not all designers; I mean, there's your create it and shuffle it off to the vendor types out there just copying copies of earlier works: sometimes their own, sometimes someone elses, but whatever.

I like to imagine designers working that way just because sometimes there's so much real art in what they're doing. Da Vinci was a scientist, engineer, biologist and all that stuff, but his drawings and designs were a little more interesting to look at than say... well, your laptop owner's manual for example.
I think what it comes down to really is love.

We're lucky to have designers who love their creations; I think the good ones love them more than we do. It's their love and our chance to celebrate it. It has to be love, especially when something appears that's so well crafted, so interesting to look at, and so fresh and original.

Morrigan Denimore of ~{The Black Canary}~ I think has a lot of love to share. There's a consistency in his work; but also an evolution. Evolution is another side effect of love; taking the best of what was and reworking it into something new. Morrigan's new release, Charisma, has all that. Not only is this a meticulously crafted look, I personally think it's the best I've seen from TBC so far.

From the gorgeous textures on the cute short jacket and prim sash to the really nicely done prim collar and flowers, not to mention the lovely translucent bloomers, Charisma has everything we've come to look for from Mr. Denimore.

So, maybe there's no candle burning computerside (who wants to clean all that wax off your mouse anyway?) but I still like to think there's a notebook someplace filled with scribbles and sketches not only for that whole technical angle, but also a sort of love letter or blueprint to art in SL. We still have that flickering halflight from the monitor, and there's still that mad designer working, creating and evolving most importantly. It IS art, it IS fashion, but this is something so fun and well made... well. Whatever.

Purely Visual is MY love letter to design in SL, and I'm happy to be able to share this with you.

XOXOXO

~{The Black Canary}~ Charisma

Tukinowaguma Hair Styles Spiria B

:+:Studio Sidhe:+: Elven Anklets

2009-04-17T10:28:00.000-05:00

So, it's been a weird week.

For me, anyway. Of course, there's only weirdness if you're looking for it, so maybe I'm making too much of things. Still, it feels like I just HAD to do today's post. The fates were guiding me toward it. Here's the breakdown:

1. I've had this urge all week to break out my wings in SL, but just can't find the time!

2. Faery Sola pops on early Wednesday morning to let me know about a new release. Elven Anklets, specifically. They're unisex, for all you fae girls and boys out there. More on that later.

3. Thursday morning I'm watching America's Next Top Model from the night before, which my room mate had to tape for me because I was working. Allison (my fave!!) aka Creepy-Chan mumbles from her bed after an early morning wake up that she looks like a 'woodland creature'. Hmmm... seeing the pattern?

Ok, maybe not. Maybe it's just my own personal weirdness. I mean, this subliminal urge to go fae? Faery's distinctly fae release? Creepy-chan's definite message meant FOR ME to think about woodland creatures? Hmmm? Whatever, there are forces in the universe bigger than all of us.

Either way you look at it, Studio Sidhe's latest are perfect for springtime. FINALLY the weather is changing and all we have to do is wait for all that green to come out. Faery's anklets are really meticulously detailed and colorful. There's a scripted sizing feature built in for customization, and while these were made specifically with SLinks prim footsies in mind, they work with just regular foots as well.

I've always been a huge fan of Studio Sidhe, with its huge range of really detailed and imaginative accessories, fae or no. Still, if you're feeling a little buzzy from the warm sun and maybe hear the rustle of some woodland feet, maybe it's time to explore your fae side. Faery's Elven Anklets are a great place to start.

Lovely lovely lovely.

:+:Studio Sidhe:+: Elven Anklets (unisex)

*Analise* Tattered Work Camisk (Green)

Tukinowaguma Hair Styles Funky (Platinum)

Sn@tch~Do You Dred?

2009-04-16T17:30:00.003-05:00

Dreads dreads dreads. Dreads.

Oh, did I mention dreads? Yah, two days in a row now. Yesterday of course we looked at Kallisti Burns' take on the style with Yannick. Today, Ivey Deschanel of Sn@tch asks us the question, Do You Dred?

Do You Dred is a bit different actually. I mean, it's hair from Sn@tch, not something I've seen before. DYD is a really cool long style, with options as far as bangs and top knot to let you customize it from the cute 'Betty' style bangs to a more severe v shape. There's a swept look or you can just go bangless. Pretty flexible.

Something here too that deserves mention. First of all, I love a cool dread style, it's not something I'd actually do in RL though. Dreads are kinda high maintenance if you know anything about them. Second Life is there to let us play with ourselves, right? We can try the things we might not be able to in our first lives. So why is it that you'll hear little mutterings around the metaverse that styles like dreads and even braided styles like the ones Discord Designs is famous for are too ethnic? It bugs me, especially when I see something really cool and interesting like what we've seen this week. Of course, I guess it's ok that I can be confident I won't run into too many people rocking the same look as me; but on the other hand, it's a little sad that so many SLifers still find ways to limit themselves in a world that's supposedly limitless.

Now, the fact is, I know that enough of Purely Visual's readers aren't really hung up on that sort of stuff, so I'm probably preaching to the perverted already. Do You Dred is NOT an ethnic style. It's a very lovely addition to Sn@tch's already very cool line of goth, punk and raver style accessories and clothes, and something for ANYONE looking for an interesting and fun way to play with your avatar. Really well made, very customizable, and... well... just rockin'. I love em.

So if oyou like em, go grab em. Don't let anyone tell you what you should or shouldn't be able to wear. Get on down there. Now!

Love you.

Sn@tch City

Discord Designs~Yannick

2009-04-15T12:32:00.001-05:00

Second Life is a lot of things; playground, business place, art forum. Basically though, it's a tool for expressing yourself.

There are so many ways to do it too, that's the really amazing thing. That's the thing that makes Second Life really special. No matter what you're looking for, no matter what you want to share, there's something here to give you that chance. It's awesome really, it's the reason we log in.

That's where fashion comes in, really. You don't have to be a fashionista to be a part of that whole thing, it's actually pretty simple. It's your look. Maybe it's not the way you look in your first life, but it's something inside, something that makes you you, only here instead of there. Easy.

Want to share something cute and fun? Wellll, Kallisti Burns of Discord Designs just dropped Yannick on us. Yup, a bobbed dread style, really cute... l-o-v-i-n-g it!

So, we've seen Kallisti's braidwork before, dreads are something a little new, but these are still so very Discord. A huge range of colors lets you add a fun punky twist to your look, and it's another way you can shine out that little bit of you inside. These are really cute, and Discord Designs is a shop that deserves some of your time.

Discord Designs

~{The Black Canary}~ Temps de Catedrali

2009-04-13T13:40:00.000-05:00

Spring is here. Well, sort of.

If you're anywhere in the Midwest, it's still kinda gray and wet. We even had some April snow last week. The irony of course is all the springy type stuff in the stores now is all bright flowers and sunshiny happy. I like the idea of spring, kind of the waiting room for summer I guess. Summer's what we're all waiting for anyway, right?

Now, I love the sun. I love the long warm days and laying by the pool. I love wearing shorts and sandals and all that good daytime stuff. On the other hand,I also love the warm nights, that summer wind stirring through the leaves. Summer night time is for parties, and exploring the city. I love the night. There's a lot of beauty in those evenings, and the weather finally cooperates so we can all go out and play.

I'm pretty sure Morrigan Denimore of The Black Canary likes the night too... his deliciously dark sensibilities conjure up images of dark midnight romps through gothic castles. Temps de Catedrali seems like the perfect look for some dark Alice exploring her slightly gothic Wonderland. Lovingly crafted, truly, TDC has some really cool touches like the cathedral embroidered along the skirt and gorgeous lace work. A high, tight collar and matching bow with prim cross complete the look. There's a lot of gothic lolita styles in Second Life, absolutely, but Morrigan seems to always have something interesting to add.

So, while we wait for the trees to fill in and the cold cold rain to dry up, get ready for summer. Those warm nights will be perfect for all sorts of evil fun under the full moon.

~*{The Black Canary}*~

[Love Soul] Here There Be Bunnehs...

2009-04-10T09:42:00.001-05:00

So, it's Easter this weekend.

I know, I know, not EVERYONE celebrates it the same way... I mean, there are LOT's of interpretations and all that. Whatever. For me personally? Well, it means I have to get all prettied up for one of my bi-annual trips to church with the family. Oh, and chocolate; and coloring eggs! (all boiled last night, we're coloring them tonight and watching a movie).

You might have a similar plan, maybe not. Whatever, I can't judge. Either way, there's bunnehs. Creatures of mystery, skulking around your house and yard secretly placing little surprises for everyone. What do they want? What is their real agenda? Hard to tell, with their little mysterious noses twitching inscrutably beneath their deep, cute eyes.

Yah, well, bunnehs are cute, and I had to have SOMETHING for the Easter weekend post wise, since most of my 'free' time will be spent hanging around with family and mooching off the buffet table (a reward for sitting quietly in church, I guess). Anyway, I found THIS in my inventory, had it for a long while. I wanted to do a standard blog review on it but honestly, I don't even know if it's still out there.

So, ok, I went to [Love Soul] (where I picked this up like last summer I think) and looked EVERYWHERE. I found Honey Bee Wear and Kitty Wear but I just couldn't find the Rabbit Wear outfit. Weird. They're ALL horribly cute, and I almost bought Kitty Wear while I was there but I'll save that one for another day.

Anyway, so I guess there's a few ways to look at this post:

1. It could be a review of an awesomely cute Bunneh look from [Love Soul]
2. It could just be me thumbing my nose at you because I have this and you don't.
3. It's just a little HAPPY EASTER post just in time for the weekend.

Okay, so maybe it's still out there, if it is, GRAB IT. If it isn't....

Happy Easter!! XOXOXOXO

Worn
[Love Soul] Rabbit Wear Black

Fukmi/Tuli

2009-04-09T16:46:00.002-05:00

I use a lot of strange words sometimes when I'm blogging an outfit. I use words like feel and comfortable. I use words to describe parts of an outfit that can't possibly be experienced the same way we do their real life versions.

I mean, I know you can't really feel the fabric... I know there's no way to really feel snug or to enjoy a silky touch. I know the difference between what's real and what isn't, geez.

On the other hand, go to a tropical sim and everyone's in their swimsuits. Go to a winter wonderland and look at all the furs and heavy coats. So I can't be the ONLY one thinking this way, right? Maybe it has something to do with our brains. Well, DEFINITELY it has something to do with our brains, duh, but I guess there's a switch in their someplace, something that knows how cold or warm it is, even if it isn't. Whatever, there's probably a whole heap of literature on this somewhere.

Anyway, with all the different looks and styles in Second Life, sometimes it's nice just to dress comfortably. You know, just taking some time to wriggle out of your harnesses or bustles or that horribly uncomfortable evening gown you've been wearing all day and just throw on something normal. There's LOTS of interesting fashion in SL, definitely, but thank goodness for those designers who put together something normal. Of course, we still have our standards, no? It needs to be comfortable AND well made, nothing less. Oh, and cute. I mean, we're still going out and about, right? Leave the pajama bottoms and swishy pants for RL, let's wear something with interesting textures and fun designs... but still casual.

Ohhhh, look at THIS... so cute, so fun.. but still very comfortable... we have a cute halter from *Fukmi*. Love it. Casual, yes, and still very sexy. What? Sexy without a bared midriff? Yes, it can be done, and designer Fukmi Sideways has a lot of fun, sexxah, colorful designs. This is really simple, but still so nice and fun to wear. Looks comfortable, don't it? Tuli's new Worn Denim Mini works nicely with it, and just in time for Summer (ok, so it's still technically Spring, but, a girl can dream, can't she?). I'm loving the frayed seams and the little painted details. VERY awesome.

Something else too, I feel like I should mention. I hadn't been back to Detour for a loooong time. Oh, early on in my SLife, I stopped there, I think to check out a hair I'd seen blogged. Whatever, at the time, it didn't really do it for me. It happens sometimes... it's not even a quality thing necessarily. Styles, looks... you know what I mean. Anyway, I'd moved on. Just stopped back there last week after who KNOWS how long, and wow. As in, WOW, I mean it. New styles and WOW, really nice quality. I grabbed a few and now they've made it onto my little list of designers who can't put new stuff out fast enough. Once again, proved wrong, and happy to have it happen. Detour's new styles are very cool and sexy.

Anyway, call it casual cool. Call it summer sexy... whatever. I love it.

Skirt
[]::Tuli::[] Worn Denim Mini
Top
*Fukmi* Kiss of the Skully Halter (Blue)
Skin
[Curio] Juxt
Hair
[Detour] Placebo D. Sand Mix

Elixir~Latex Dress Uniform

2009-04-07T17:43:00.000-05:00

Minx fun fact: I'm kind of a movie freak.

I mean, probably not as big a freak as some people; but, my room mate and I like to sometimes have movie nights and invite a ton of people over. Y'know, margaritas in the blender. Popcorn. Snacks. The whole thing. We like to watch a pretty wide range of genres too: scary movies, comedy, science fiction, even kung-fu stuff sometimes. We'll do subtitles even, but we usually avoid really sad dramas and serious ones. I like them, and so does my room mate, but those we'll watch usually with a smaller crowd. It's a party, right?

So, yah.. movies. I like to compare Second Life to movies sometimes, it's a pretty short jump really. The whole visual narrative thing I guess. While, yes, sometimes SL can be almost a bad porno, there's plenty of room for space opera too. That's what jumped in my head when I saw Elixir's latex 'Dress Uniform'.

These are really my favorite types of outfits to blog. Costumes, looks that put you someplace else... looks that conjur up worlds and fantasies. Looks that make a story. Khorus Magne's latest does just that, and does it well. The latex texture is lovely, but the real star of this one is the cool epaulets and sashes that really make this something interesting to play in. There's optional particle effects for the shoulder attachments too, so you can get a real glowing sci-fi thing going on too. It's awesome. I mean, I don't know what it's for exactly, but who cares! It's still a lot of fun.

So suit up and go explore that alien planet. Make sure to watch out for the carnivorous plants and the mysterious indigenous lifeforms.

I'll make the popcorn.

Elixir Dress Uniform

*Snowflake Skin* Ebony-Burgundy

Sadistic Hacker Ciel (Gold)

Moonshine Designs~Sheer Tops

2009-04-06T14:07:00.002-05:00

Shelly Toonie is dangerous.

So, not really dangerous like you wouldn't trust your cat with her or anything. I don't think she's actually violent at all. I mean, I can't be sure really, but I usually have a good instinct on these things.

Nope, not dangerous like that exactly, but wow, look at her latest release. Moonshine Designs Sheer Top sets are a reworking of an older Moonshine Design release and again, wow. I'm not going to spend much time on the original Sheers, I mean, they were really nice, but what's the point.

Shelly's updated sheer tops are gorgeous. I still have one of the original tops in my inventory, and while the basic idea has stayed the same the execution is really breathtaking. Sheer includes the eponymous top, along with a matching cross halter style bra and... well, here's the really dangerous part, a short short prim skirt beautifully crafted. This is not an outfit for you if you're shy. Still, the lovely sheer top with it's really detailed embroidered designs is absolutey stunning and enough fun to wear to make you maybe get over your giggling, blushing self.

Love it!

Moonshine Designs

[Gauze] Ouka Saki Some ni Keri

2009-04-03T16:28:00.000-05:00

You know how sometimes you're just minding your own business, scrolling through your inventory and then suddenly you spy a folder you haven't opened in a while? Click. Sometimes you find some maybe some scary freebie and promptly delete it. Sometimes you find some stuff maybe you thought you lost and go ahead and put it in the correct folder. Sometimes though, just sometimes, you find something really special.

It's a pretty common really. After you've been in SL for long enough your inventory can just become this horrible unwieldly mess. If you're like me, you have a couple favorite standbys and just search down to them and put them on so you don't have to fight your way through your the rest of the disorganized chaos. Still, it's nice sometimes to kinda rummage through the clutter to look for something different to play with.

Ouka Saki Some ni Keri isn't something I'd forgotten about, actually. I've known it was always there, a special gem. I've photographed it before, not for Purely Visual but still, I always wanted to kind of re-explore the outfit. My graphics card is a lot better than it used to be, after all, and I like to think I've learned a little more about SL sliders to maybe bring out some new details that I wasn't able to capture before.

Ouka is not something new from Yukio Ida, it's older. Ok, older doesn't sound right, it's classic. Yes, much better. It's a beautiful design that still really shows Yuki's skills with textures, mood, and stylings. We've seen some new releases from Yukio Ida's now rebranded Gauze shop, but Ouka Saki Some ni Keri is still one of his loveliest designs, and a very special find.

If nothing else, it's an excuse to check out the new Gauze location at the new Sn@tch City sim.

[Gauze] Ouka Saki Some ni Keri

Lionskins Forbidden 20

Discord Designs~Katja and Lydia

2009-04-02T16:08:00.008-05:00

So, it was just a couple weeks ago I got to play with Boingo's Leather Sets, a really cool sexy ensemble with lovely texturing and a very post apoc feel. Loved them. A collaboration between Kallisti Burns of Discord Designs and Jeela Juran from Boingo, these were an awesome example of what can come from two minds looking for something new and creative.

Of course, at the time, there were rumors that Kallisti wasn't really done with the project. Oh, no... not her. No, Kallisti is one of those obsessive designers SL seems to create every once in a while. You probably know one or two yourself. They endlessly link prims or build or whatever it is designers do while the rest of us are living our carefree SLives. They're either under or over medicated or at the very least supporting some kind of caffeine addiction.

Anyway, so Kallisti kept on working. If you remember, the original Boingo set came with hoods with some hairs options, but at the time there weren't any full sets of the hairs. Well, the wait is over... at least partially over I guess. This week Kallisti started dropping full versions of the hair sets featured in her collaboration. Today we're looking at Katja and Lydia, which go with the Boingo Rogue and Valkyrie styles, respectively. Don't go thinking you need one for the other though, Katja and Lydia stand on their as hairstyles just fine. Lydia is a cute, short shaggyish cut if you're looking for a more messy, casual feel. Katja is pulled back tight from the forehead and moves to a long, beautifully crafted braid. These are both really nicely done, and of course come with Discord Design's signature scripted sizing menu.

So, WIN! And get over to Boingo to check out those leathers if you haven't already!

Discord Designs

Boingo Headquarters

Snowflake Skins Battle Angel and Dark Drow

2009-04-01T08:56:00.001-05:00

I think that how we each decide to define Second Life has to do with what we bring into it. Coders and programmers might look at the metaverse as kind of a technical exercise. Video gamers might see it as a huge game. Artists might use SL as a new forum for their work. We can be whoever we want, of course, but who we want to be comes from where we started.

I've always seen SL as a sort of story machine. I never played video games too much and I don't have any technical expertise at all, but I've always been a reader and a movie freak. I've even been known to pick up a comic book or two. So, when I found myself in a world where pretty much everyone communicates in text in a really interesting visual landscape, well, movies and books were the only real experience I've had that even came close.

We're all really in a story, whether you look at it as a video game or comic book or whatever. Even you strictly business types get to play a role, since you pretty much have to accept it on some level; especially when chatting land prices with an 18 foot tall dragon or neko cyborg.

There are a lot of stories in SL. We've got our Star Wars sims and Gorean sims, you can play as a knight in shining armor or a futuristic bounty hunter. Each sim has it's own theme sometimes with pieces inspired by if not outright borrowed from someplace else. For the immersion, well, we've got designers making skins, attachments, weapons, hairs, accessories and everything to make the world a little more real.

Snowflake Skins aren't all that new to the metaverse, Snowflake Chaika's creations have been inworld since 2007 at least, but they still deserve mention as beautiful and imaginative examples of adding to the story of Second Life. What's interesting about Snowflake isn't their realism, these aren't haute couture runway skins. These are skins straight from the world of anime. Tones, shading and makeups are straight from the painted pages of your fave mangas, and if you're a fan of the genre, these are the skins for you.

What's really cool about these skins is that while more 'traditional' skinmakers have seen their work sometimes maybe fail under the increasingly realistic glare of the latest and greatest windlight viewers, Snowflake's won't. Realism isn't the point here. The Battle Angel and Drow skins are beautiful because they're so unreal, not in spite of it.

Snowflake Chaika also has a shop called Bleach with some anime inspired hairs to add to your look. Not a huge selection but what is there is really quite nice too.

So enjoy! Pop in your Akira DVD and log in. Snowflake Skins are gorgeous examples of just another possibility in everyone's favorite metaverse.

Worn:

Pic 1:

Skin: Snowflake Skins Battle Angel (light tan)

Hair: Bleach Apocalypse (Black)

Bodysuit: Graves G87 V-Body

Pic 2:

Skin: Snowflake Skins Dark Drow

Hair: Emo-tions Wildlife Hair

~ChaosLotus~Power Bangles and Ducky Earrings

2009-03-31T09:36:00.001-05:00

There's a lot of different ways to look at Second Life. It's a creative medium. It's a business platform. It's a game. It's pornography. It's an escape. It's dangerous. It's boring. It's enabling. It's empowering... fill in your own 'it's' if you like. There are probably a lot more I'd never even think of.

I like to write a lot about what I think Second Life is; all the little parts that make it my own little experience. The most important 'it's' though is really the simplest. It's fun.

Seriously, it is. If you're like me, you came into SL with really no idea of what to do next. Lot's of exploring in those early days. What kept you coming back though was just how much fun everything was. Even you designers and builders, yah you; even if you had your 20 point 5 year business plan put together before you ever even selected that first noob AV, you've got to admit this is a pretty fun place. It can be sometimes hard to see, sometimes there's a lot of drama and just boring downtime, but it's the fun that makes your time here worth it.

Maybe your fun comes from stringing prims together and making something new. Maybe your fun makes you dress up like a vampire and chomp on virgin blood. Maybe your fun involves poseballs. You might like shopping or dancing or whatever. The cool thing is, all of that can be true for you and there's still some new adventure to have here. SLifers are tourists and townies all rolled into one. We live here, sometimes work here, but there's always something somewhere you haven't seen or done yet.

Oooo, here's something new and fun! Agnes Periapse of Chaos Lotus gives us her Power Bangles and Ducky Ear rings. I mean, cute is fun, right? Put a pair of Agnes' rubber duckyish earrings on. Cute, yes, with an added scripted customization feature to accessorize with anything else you want to wear. The Power bangles are so cute and random with bright colors and interesting patterns. These are really well made, and fit really well right out of the box. Another WIN too is I didn't see even a speck of bling at Chaos Lotus; so not only is there a pretty wide range of accessories to choose from, it's perfect for all you purists out there.

So go! Have fun! It's why we're all here.

Bangles/Earrings:
~ChaosLotus~ Ducky Earrings and Power Bangles

Hair:
Bleach Samson (Blonde)

Skin:
Curio :GP: Classic (Carbon)

[Gauze] Myaku Stomps & Nightshade Designs Bonerific

2009-03-30T10:19:00.003-05:00

There's always been a long relationship between music and fashion. Google it, I'll wait.

There's CD compilations of New York's Fashion Week, MTV music gods and goddesses get kids all crazy for the latest look. All the entertainment channels follow artists up and down the red carpet at award shows. It's all over, and that's just first life.

In Second Life, you can hardly pop into a sim that doesn't have it's own 24/7 soundtrack piping in whatever. Oh, sure, sometimes it's pretty random, but a other times there's a careful selection coming through. Thank god for that too. It's as much about mood and immersion as it is about a marriage between sound and picture. I don't want to hear Kenny G when I'm wandering around a vampire sim, and I'd much rather put some Nine Inch Nails on my IPod when I'm shooting pics for a post. There's a relationship.

Music isn't just the soundtrack for our Second Lives either, a lot of times it's an inspiration for the builders and the artists who put the whole thing together. Yukio Ida of [Gauze] uses music a LOT as inspiration for his designs; his Myaku Stomps are a perfect example. YES these boots are made for stomping, but Myaku comes from j-rock insanity Dir en Grey. Um, they're twisted, see for yourself here. Anyway, the stomps are really gorgeous, totally detailed and with scripted colorchange laces for added customization.

Another win too is Nightshade Design's Bonerific set. Sexy, simple and with just this totally Suicide Girls feel Bonerific is totally hot and fun. Seriously, I had a Suicide Girls soundtrack playing while I did the shoot. Anyway, we don't always wear thongs hiked up over our hips in RL, why is every pair of undies in Second Life designed that way? Whatever. Anyway Bonerific comes with cute panties and matching cami and socks. The little skull and bones (THAT'S where the name comes from you perv!)are really fun too. Nightshade has a really diverse selection of punky goth styles and definitely deserves some of your time.

So get over there! Crank up the music! Wear headphones if you don't want to bother the cat... fill up your Ipod with fun tunes or just enjoy the SLections piping through the mall soundsystem. [Gauze] and Nightshade has all this stuff just for you. Take what you need and rock to the soundtrack of your Second Life.

Boots:
[Gauze] Miyaku Stomps
Underwear:
Nightshade Designs Bonerific
Skin
[Curio] GP Juxt (Lumine)

Powers of Creation~Peggy Sue

2009-03-27T10:20:00.004-05:00

I don't know very much about the 50's. I know a little, of course. There were a lot of fallout shelters, communists, Howdy Doody, Bettie Page, bad science fiction, black and white t.v., Mr. Bungle films, rock and roll, the missionary position, martini hours, beautiful cars, and duck and cover. Oh, those poor 1950's people.

Seriously, I think we have it a lot better. Of course, since I don't really know that much at all I'm making a totally uninformed judgement call, but, whatever. Look what we've got though! All this cool stuff, so many toys to play with. Ok, so instead of communists we've got terrorists, maybe our cars aren't as cool looking. On the other hand, Spongebob Squarepants beats Howdy Doody totally, and I'll take a Jager-bomb over a martini any day.

They never had latex in the 1950's either, but that didn't stop Kai Heidemann of Powers of Creation from bringing Peggy Sue to life. Yah, Peggy Sue, like the song from the guy. You know his name right? No? Well, it's Buddy Holly, and if this was the 1950's I would have had to dial my rotary phone to call my sorority sister to help with the name if I couldn't remember. NOW all I have to do is Google. Even better, I probably wouldn't have been able to even write this blog then either; I would have been too busy pickling fish for my hardworking yet distant husband so we could stock the bomb shelter from the impending atomic armageddon. Right, think about it.

Anyway, back to the dress. Peggy Sue is an interesting twist on SL latex fashion, a very 50's cut complete with a cute sunhat and scripted petticoat for colorchanges. Also, it's 'smart', so it moves with you and helps avoid that immersion breaking prim cutting through your leg. The hat is scripted too, with a colorchange menu built in. And, of course, Peggy Sue is just all about polkadots, which are just totally cute. It's really an interesting viewpoint on an otherwise standard SL staple. More than just for the fetishists, Peggy Sue is a really fun, sexy outfit and a creative departure from Kai.

Enjoy!

Powers of Creation

Mina Junk~New Newishness

2009-03-25T11:03:00.000-05:00

THIS is a special post. THIS is a post I was hoping I'd be able to do for a long time. So, well it's not like I had a specific post in mind, I guess... I mean, ok, so it's not the post exactly I've been waiting for, but the release. Except I didn't know what the release was going to be, so I can't really say that I've been waiting for that either.

Hmmm, where to start? Ok, we'll start with favorite designers.

We've all got them, you know I've got mine here. They're the designers you scan the feeds for, they're the designers whose shops you TP to whether or not you've got any $L at all just to see if there's something on the 'new release' wall. You obsess over them, you take forever trying to accessorize and mod to get that perfect fit. They're really a part of you, actually, since they're the designers you choose to let you express yourself in Second Life. You might have them under your 'picks' in your profile. You might have an entire folder dedicated to them in your inventory. They're that one person in Second Life you feel closest to who may not even be on your friends list.

There's a dark side too, of course. Your fave designer is probably the reason you're broke all the time. They may be a whole bunch of other people's favorites too and you have to fight lag and people standing on your head to get through their shop. Maybe their group chat is a constant barrage of spam and really annoying chit chat and fangirlesque non sequiters.

So, yah, faves can be an excercise in passive aggression. For me? How do I make myself crazy about my faves? It's impatience. For me with some designers it feels like Xmas Eve all the time. You know the feeling: an-ti-ci-pa-tion. It's a special kind of sado-masochism that infects my whole life. Where's the new stuff? How can you have a life of your own? Why aren't you making something for ME?

Yah, so, it's all me, I know. My own problem. I hate Xmas Eve. Now, Xmas morning is something different!

New stuff. New releases. New cool new releases dropped on my doorstep ready to try. For me, it's Xmas morning, courtesy of Mina Jun. Celebrating a new Mina Junk store opening in the Japan Sim, Mina's put together complete AV box sets, each with a unique look but all with Mina's specific cute point of view and colorful stylings. Well, five points of view to be exact, but all completely Mina.

Each box includes a skin, hair, shape, eyes and outfit built around a 'Japanese flower theme.' Full AVs yes, but these are NOT noob packs (well, maybe for the discerning noob, but who's ever met one of those?). I've always loved Mina's skins, but clothing is something new here. My absolute personal fave is the flapperish Tsubaki outfit, but there's also Sakura, Kiku, Ajisai and Sumire to choose from. Oh, did I mention the included female AO? There's also a scripted couples couch too. There's too much newness to show here!

A couple notes, there are a LOT of prim attachments on these, so you might need to spend some time modding if you decide not to use the included shapes. Other than that, well, the colors are gorgeous and the styles are all so much their own and very very cool.

These were definitely worth the wait, and I'd love to see more clothes and accessories from Mina, here's hoping it's soon.

Mina Junk Japan

Discord Designs~Shurelia

2009-03-23T14:44:00.001-05:00

There's something really interesting happening in Second Life. I think we're all getting better at it.

I mean, it's all cyclical right? It's a different world than it was when I first rezzed, and of course it's different from when all those first SLifers first crept out of the ocean (and the Lindens saw that it was good...). Change is good, change is fun. Change is pretty much how the rest of the universe operates, so it's not like we should expect Second Life to be... well... static or something.

It's really disappointing sometimes to pop into some designer's shop you know from way back and see that not much has changed. Something has to change, doesn't it? At least, it should, especially if they actually care about what they're doing. I've seen designers scrap entire lines just because they figured something new out, because they suddenly realized wow! I can do THIS now!

Maybe it's not even that, maybe you don't need to just throw stuff out, but it's always fun to see something different from a designer. Sometimes it's just good to know that your fave designer is always thinking of the next thing. We are, right? We, the users, the consumers... we're always looking for the next cool thing, so isn't it nice to know someone else is?

If you know anything about Discord Designs, you know that recently there's been some pretty interesting new stuff coming from Kallisti Burns' shop. ForEVER I've been in love with Kallisti's braided styles, her prim work has always been amazing. Most recently though, there's been some really lovely longer flexi styles on the Discord shelves, and it's a direction Kallisti seems to have figured out pretty well.

Shurelia is one of Kallisti's latest; long... well, superlong really, with really nice texturing and very natural movement. There's the little Discord touches too that make this not just your average long style. Twin, metal tipped braids hang down from the back, breaking up the style and adding a fun edge.

Really well made, and definitely Discord... Shurelia is gorgeous and sexy, and an interesting new direction for Kallisti.

Discord Designs

Sn@tch~Oblivion Boots and Belt

2009-03-21T20:54:00.001-05:00

So what are YOU doing this weekend?

You have a party to go to? Maybe a date? Pizza and a movie? Popcorn? Paintballing, Malling? Hmmm... wait, maybe you've got a WoW campaign to wage or you've decided to conquer a little more land in Tiny Empires. Maybe there's a martini with your name on it. Maybe it's something a little more, um... illicit.

I mean, whatever, it's your life... I'm not judgemental at all. I'm not here to tell you what you should be doing. Nope, PV isn't a blog about dogma... no commandments here. I give hints, suggestions maybe. You might get a little nudge from me... geez, maybe even a little inspiration. We're not talking accepting-Jesus- Christ-as-your-personal-savior inspiration, nooo, that's not me; but maybe you'll find something interesting here and keep it for yourself.

So what are you going to DO? THAT'S the question, right? Well, what's going on? I guess you could ask me back.
Well, THAT'S easy. Ivey Deschanel's Sn@tch City has finally opened, you could check that out maybe. Why? you ask, why would I want to do that? Well, geez you're being difficult, why WOULDN'T you want to go? Ugh, you say, I've had a really crappy week... my boyfriend's been crabby, my job sucks. Oh and that stupid lady with the yippy dog just keeps me... Wait wait wait, I say smiling, well that's EXACTLY why you want to go to Sn@tch City. Look at these.

I show you my totally awesome Oblivion Belt and matching boots and your eyes get wide. Wow, those are really cool, you say, where did you get them? I roll my eyes a little bit, because sometimes, seriously, you really don't listen to me AT ALL. They're from Sn@tch... I mean, HELLO!

It's all in the details, right? The Devil, the little conversations.... details details details, and Ivey's Oblivion accessories are detailed and them some. Instantly this is my new favorite belt, first of all. Of course I made the mistake of telling a friend about them and now I can't stand to hang out with her because she's wearing it all the time too.

Ugh... look what I just did, I told YOU about the belt too. Why do I always DO that? I give the best stuff away..

Whatever, go to Sn@tch City, fine... buy the f**king belt if you want...Oh sure, buy the boots too while your at it, they're only totally f**king awesome.

I hate you.

awwww... you know I'm just kiddin', right?

xoxoxo

Sn@tch City

Boingo~Leathers

2009-03-19T10:59:00.000-05:00

We live (sometimes) in a 2D world.

Deep down in it's electric heart, Second Life is basically Pac-Man with a chat feature. Oh, I mean, it's a lot more than that, obviously... but the comparison is there. Let's say, Pac-Man is the Neanderthal to Second Life's Homo Sapien. It absolutely looks 3D, sometimes it even acts 3D; but the DNA hasn't really changed all that much from it's squonky, beepy ancestor.

So how did we get from there to here? Well, duh, evolution.

Second Life probably wouldn't be as popular if we were all little pie-charts binge eating yellow lights. I'm just saying probably, for all you retro junkies out there, so back off. For the rest of us, we like our worlds a little more immersive, a little more complex. To evolve a little 2D world into a 3D illusion, call in the programmers, artists and designers!

These are the people we count on to flesh out our little world here. Adding everything from stylish clothing to neo-tokyoesque skylines, it's the designers who make SL more than just mindless clicking. It's lighting, and textures and the overall feel that really does it; and it's all totally subjective. A designer is really only speaking to you. Oh, there might be others with the same taste, but it's still a very individual experience.

Every once in a while you hear grumbling about how there's nothing new in SL. The styles have been done, the cuts, the textures... all the shops have been explored, all the designers are tapped. Maybe nobody's speaking to them, maybe they just haven't found that next perfect thing because they haven't looked hard enough. I was thinking something similar not too long ago, actually. Not about SL style, I know there's plenty of that. Specifically, it was about leather.

I'd taken a friend shopping, she wanted a new look. Mostly we were looking for clothes, she was fine with her skin and hair, but her warddrobe was a little, well... oldish. The cuts were fine, but I think maybe the textures just weren't holding up the same as they did when SL was a little less impressive graphically. We popped around, I picked out some looks for her... but in the end I wasn't really able to help her with what she really wanted: Leather. And NO I'm not talking fetishy harnesses and strappy outfits. Just some leather pants. Well, and maybe a skirt.

Now, I'm more casual usually in SL. Jeans, maybe a jacket... it's easier to move around and honestly I got tired of people looking up my skirt. So I know where I can find cool denim pants or skirts, but I had to apologize when I couldn't find her any leather she liked. I told her that honestly I hadn't seen much better (and this was good, btw). We said goodbyes and I thought to myself, leather's been done, I guess... oh well. Then I moved on.

Turns out, no, it hasn't. I was wrong. I'm thinking I need to log in and let her know too. I've got a love/hate thing with being wrong, of course. I mean, I hate it. Me? Wrong? Pah! Whatever... still, it happens. I love it too, because I get to find the thing that proves me wrong.

So who proved me wrong this time? Jeela Juran and Kallisti Burns apparently. The skanks! Ohhh, no seriously... they're awesome! SEER-EEE-US-LEEE. I mean, wow... Right now at Boingo you'll find Jeela's leather sets and let me say again: Seriously, these are HOT. It's the textures, for starters. I love a distressed leather look and these are just really really awesome. It's worn in all the usual spots, and the little touches like creases and wrinkles really bring these to life. Not only that, the wearing options are totally awesome. With either full pants or a dangerously revealing one leg option and top options that include a really well made leather bra, vest or shrug, the clothes themselves are really really fun.

Kallisti Burns of Discord Designs made matching hooded hairstyles for these too, not only scripted sizing options but also a colorchange feature. There's also a hood down attachment if you want to just wear your own hair too, although there's rumors that Kallisti is working on full versions of the hairstyles featured with the Boingo release.

Wow. So, to sum up. 1. Designers save the day again! 2. If I'm wrong, I'm only wrong for a little while. 3. Get over to Boingo for a really cool leather look.

Boingo Headquarters

[][]Trap[][] Koi Skins

2009-03-18T10:08:00.000-05:00

Laurie Anderson has a really interesting quote about art. If you don't know her, well, she's kind of an avant garde musical performance artist; sort of the lost love child of Andy Warhol and Annie Lennox. Totally weird. I love her. She tells the best stories...anyway, right, Laurie Anderson on art:

As an artist I'd choose the thing that's beautiful more than the one that's true.

I think it's an interesting idea. I think it sums up Second Life pretty well, actually, even though she said it back in 1985... before SL was a twinkle in Mr. and Mrs. Linden's eye. Isn't that why we're all here, to experience a little bit of all that 'beautiful'?

It really IS art, you know, Second Life. It'a an art machine pretty much. Kind of like that quote by whoever about how the most beautiful part of the painting being the frame; Second Life is like that. The best part is we all get to be a part of it... we may not all be artists or designers, but we're all definitely contributors. We have to be, so much of the art and design inside the metaverse wouldn't make sense anywhere else. The skills might, but the end result definitely wouldn't. It's a contextual universe. Artists in SL, even if they're RL artists or designers or programmers or whatever, have a really unique way to share their art with us. Even better, we get the chance to really collaborate with them, reflecting their designs back in our own way.

Of course, now it's all spilling out of the frame; look at all the words, blogs, photography, points of view, drama, laughter and community that comes from it. First life might be 'the truth' but there are reasons we choose to visit SL.

You can't say that there's a single artist that drives Second Life, but for me at least there is art that is absolutely the coolest, most beautiful and most inspiring. Call it a 'short list.' It's art that just clicks. Selos Dae I think is a 'short lister' for me. His skins, specifically, are unique, alien and gorgeous. I was soooo excited when I heard there was an updated Koi line coming out I started harassing poor Selos about 2 months ago. We saw these originally as a limited edition skin released last year and I'm so happy to see an expanded line. I'm not the only one either, considering the fact that the blogosphere has pretty much blown up on these over the last couple days. There's some cool new twists over the originals too, including a wider range of colors throughout Trap's standard tones and some cool 'underwear' layers to cover up your naughty bits.

It says a lot about a designer when they can generate that kind of excitement. Trap skins features some of the most innovative, daring, sexy and really truly beautiful designs in Second Life. These are special, and an awesome example of what we can experience only in the metaverse. It's not art stuck on the wall someplace. This isn't the Mona Lisa or the Sistine Chapel... this is art you can 'touch', wear and make a part of yourself. This is art you can play with.

[][]Trap[][] Mainstore

Fukmi Designs~Skully Wears

2009-03-17T15:22:00.001-05:00

Second Life, really, is kind of an experiment in potential.

We can all play, right? We can all be a part of it, there's no rules, no guidelines... it's not a game really in the traditional sense. It is a social experiment though, and not just in the way that we're all being social and experimental. There's just so many ways to approach it, it's amazing.

I had no idea what I was in for when I first rezzed. Alts? Oh I had plenty at the beginning. I think I made a new one every time I logged on for about a week. Totally clueless, always trying to find that perfect name or that perfect look. I didn't know anyone, and honestly I was really confused every time someone exploded into a particle field of flowers or hearts or just ran around screaming I WANT TEH SEXXXX! Very confusing. Very frustrating. I certainly wasn't going to spend any money here, what a horribly chaotic place. I seriously hated it. I mean, what WAS all this stuff, and why would I want to talk to any of you people?

Then, it was a Saturday I think, something clicked. Suddenly I understood teleporting and how to avoid giant prim penises. I got past all that frustration. I'd finally got past all the mindless roaming from place to place. The thing was, I'd finally got the plan. It wasn't this plan, I was still a long way from blogging, but it was a plan definitely. I don't remember what it was specifically, but I do know that I finally saw the point. I'd made a friend maybe, maybe I finally figured out how to fit that horrible freebie outfit. Either way, it was something solid, I saw the potential. I saw the options.

Wow... I think I spent about 20 hours online that day, my room mate was totally unimpressed. Probably a little pissed too, I totally hogged the computer. I finally crashed, sooo exhausted but I could barely sleep coz I was thinking of what I wanted to try next.

I think there are probably some residents who pop into Second Life that first time knowing exactly what they want to do. Maybe they came from another virtual world and have some experience. I don't know, I think that most of us though came in the same way. There's Second Life, and then there's it's potential.

When I consider fashion designers, I look at pretty much two basic things. It breaks down to what they are doing, obviously, but also why they are doing it. We'll take 'to make money' as a given, I mean, there's definitely that. After that though, what's left? Even if they don't come out and say it, I think for most designers theres a simple joy in seeing something they've made come to life. It's that little area between design and business where art lives. It doesn't have to be mind-blowing even, not everyone is out to change the world. It can be something simple and fun.

Fukmi Sideways is really interesting that way. Artist? No, not if you ask her; but I think she gets that little thrill all designers and artists get when something she only had in her head suddenly runs across the screen in front of her. It's all about potential, and I think Fukmi Designs is a really good example of someone coming into this little world, a programmer in RL, and put together outfits that I think are as good as many of the so-called artists in Second Life. Fukmi's got a real eye for fun colors and sexy cuts too, along with knowing that variety is an AWESOME business model. Her Skully Wears Plaid outfits come it a selection of tops along with short pants or skirt options; none of that one box one look stuff here. I'm really loving her textures and seriously these are just some eyecatching looks.

A LOT of fun, check it out.

Also, watch for Fukmi's shop appearing soon at Ivey Deschanel's Sn@tch City Sim... opening soon.

Fukmi Designs Mainstore

Fab.Pony~Rita

2009-03-16T08:51:00.001-05:00

I really love the 80's... retro, sure, but there's something just so futuristic about them.

Maybe it has something to do with the music. Maybe that's it. It could be... all those synthesizers and sci-fi hairstyles. Maybe it was the movies; I mean, there are a LOT of sci-fi movies from the eighties. All that neon, movies like Liquid Sky and songs like Tainted Love, designer drugs, the space shuttle; sounds like the future to me anyway.

Okay, so I can't say I really LIVED the 80's... I'm an outside observer, I'm an alien anthropologist. Whatever, thank god for DVDs and CDs right? Anyway, everything moves in circles, right? I missed the fun stuff the first time around but we can be pretty sure they'll be back. I think they're sneaking in already anyway. Band like Freezepop and The Killers: totally eighties.

Of course, in Second Life, it doesn't even matter. SL is ALL TIMES. SL has the past and the future, and usually all rolled together. You've got your gothic lolita cyberpunk pirates. How about a samurai punkette schoolgirl? She's there too I'm sure. Take what you want and put it anywhere you please, that's Second Life. So when I saw Fab.Pony's 'Rita' rompers I had a few choices. I mean, do I go totally eighties glam or follow the future route? Is there even a difference?

Turns out, 'yes kinda' there is, but also 'not really'. I put on Rita and I was consumed with a need for neon. Had to have it. This was an outfit screaming for urban nightlife. I needed wet pavement reflecting streetlamps. 7-11 nightmares at 3 AM... Ugh, I hate to steal a line from Tyra, but this is totally 'fierce'.

Something interesting about Tatianna Faulkes' designs is she manages to keep everything sexy without being slutty; showing that it doesn't have to be a midriff-baring butt grabbing barely-there outfit to be feminine at all. Rita is actually really versatile too, I could have easily put on a nice piled up hairdo and been Absolutely Fabulous with this instead of a neo-punk night timer cruising the strip at midnight.

Either way, this is really fun, and definitely a new favorite from a designer who does some nice work. Each outfit comes with a matching sash or PVC belt option with scriped resizing features, and either one really changes the tone of the overall look.

Stop by, check out the shop... Posha Beach is lovely this time of year.

Fab.Pony Mainstore

Moonshine Designs~Cha Cha Tops

2009-03-13T11:07:00.001-05:00

Y'know what? I'm starting a revolution.

Yah, it's a revolution against Winter. Winter is the enemy. Shoot to kill. Make it go away, I'm done... I'm tired of the cold mornings. I'm tired of sweaters and coats. I'm tired of long underwear and wool socks. Oh, sure, they were fun a few months ago, but not anymore. All the cool things about Winter are OVAH! This isn't one of those things where you can just slip Spring in there either. I'm in Chicago, Spring sucks too. Nope, Spring won't do it... give me Summer right NOW.

If you surrender NOW we'll make it quick, I can't promise painless necessarily but definitely quick. We don't want one of those long drawn out deaths, Winter has to GO.

I mean, think about it. SUMMER! Sun on your shoulders, open toe sandals, laying out... maybe the beach if you're lucky. Yah, Winter has Xmas and all that, I guess New Year's Eve is a lot of fun; but seriously, Summer just rocks all over Winter, I don't even know where to start.

Whatever. Anyway, it's all Shelly Toonie's fault. Not Winter, no, I don't want to get that kind of drama started. She's not responsible at all, I checked. Shelly's responsible for my rage. Shelly's responsible for my really really needing Summer right now. It's her Cha Cha tops I guess. The colors, yah, that's part of it. The cute ruffles, totally not helping. It's all just soooo summery and cute I can't stand it.

I mean, wow... these are really cool. Not only because of the really well done textures and super-cute styling, but Cha Cha is extremely customizable. The ruffles come in two attachments, top and bottom, so colors can be mixed and matched for at least... well, a LOT of combinations, I'm not in the mood for math. Anyway, Cha Cha's hitting the Moonshine Designs' shelves Monday March 17, so we can just put the revolution on hold til then. Of course, you don't have to wait til Monday to stop by, I mean, there's LOTS of Moonshiny goodness all over, so you may want to check it out anyway.

Hear that Winter? You've got the weekend to skeedadle. Otherwise, come Monday... well, just don't let me catch you around.

Moonshine Designs Mainstore

Discord Designs~Boo

2009-03-11T12:03:00.008-05:00

She might seem shy in person, it's no lie
She's always nervous
But the verdict is she's worth it
She gets crap but don't deserve it
She look like Emily Strange
Always ravin' 'bout her favs
Wanna conquer her like Kang
When you kiss like Cassie Lang

~Nrrrd Grrrl by MC Chris

This is a Nerd's World.

Oh, don't deny it, you know you're one too. Surprise! We all are. Oh, yah, you're different right? You're cool? What.Ever.

Not everyone denies it, which is cool, coz it helps cut down all that dramatic weirdness that comes up whenever someone's acting like something they're not. It's just sooo much easier if you just relax and embrace your inner nerd. Maybe you're the kind of nerd in SL who just wants an avatar a little bit funnier, sexier and cooler than RL. Maybe you're the kind of nerd in SL who really really needs retractable fangs and a tail. Maybe, just maybe, you're the kind of nerd who wants to spend every waking hour compiling scripts and building replicas of Mos Eisley except this time all in pastels. Don't even get me started on you Plurkers and Tweeters. It's all true, Second Life is a nerd's paradise. I don't care if you're the queen of haute couture. Guess what... yah, I won't even say it.

For me personally, well, I always suspected I was a nerd. I mean, the books, the movies, a music collection that includes MP3's like Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits... it all had to mean something, right? Yah, so when I first started playing in Second Life was when the truth actually came out. I can't say it was really a moment of self-realization or anything. It was my room mate. It went something like "what are you doing?" and I said "playing Second Life"... a pause... and she says: "Nerd."

It's a long story, I won't bore you, but since then I've pretty much embraced the whole nerd thing. I do secretly suspect that the 'nerd' accusation might have been whispered behind my back for years... no proof of course, but whatever.

I had a whole set of pictures already done for today's post but ended up tossing them. I just couldn't get it right. I think I was going for a dark gothic type thing but it just didn't fit. Just so ya know, most of these posts get started after the photography is done; I get to play with different moods, get a feel for the look. For this, I had this whole set of photos done, and then that little voice in my head whispered "neeerrrrrd." So I had to start over. Kallisti Burns' Boo from Discord Designs is definitely nerd hipness. What it is ALSO is proof positive that Kallisti's been holding out on us. Yah, always one of my favorite prim designers in SL, Kallisti's taking a break from working and re-working her really nice braided styles to give us Boo.

My two fave things about Boo: 1. the metal prims holding up the tails, and 2. that little tussle of hair dangling along the neckline. It's a lovely RL touch to a a very cute punky style. Of course, the resizing menu is still there; find your perfect fit and set it. Lot's of colors to choose from too.

If you're in Discord Design's Subscrib-o-matic group you might have seen these demos come out this week. If you're NOT, well... just do it, I mean, what's taking you so long?

Either way, really nice work and cute styling from one of my favorite SL nerds.

Discord Designs Boo

[Gauze] Stained

2009-03-10T09:01:00.001-05:00

I just realized it's been almost an entire week since the season premiere of America's Next Top Model (Cycle 12) and I haven't used it once in a post! Not that it's an addiction I'm proud of. I mean, admitting to watching reality TV at all is enough of a stigma I'm sure I've lost all kinds of credibility already. Seriously. Look away, I'm ashamed... okay?

Of course, it IS an excuse to mix some margaritas every Wednesday night and pop some popcorn... maybe have a few friends over and spend an hour watching Tyra's celebration of herself over 12 or 13 model hopefuls in their caricaturish drama blowups. It's an homage to vanity, seriously. Sooo, why do I watch it?

Oh, I know, because every 'cycle' there's at least one or two girls that really stand out. It's all editing, I'm sure, but there's always your 'queen bitch's' presented for your booing and hissing pleasure (don't spill your margarita!) and then there's the cool girls. There's always at least one. It can change too (editing again!); you can start out just hating one girl and by the end of the season you finally get her. It goes both ways of course, someone you love week one can show her 'true' colors eventually and you end up screaming at the screen throwing pillows while lime sour, triple sec and tequila squirt out your nose. Oh, it's happened (I'm looking at YOU cycle 11 season finale).

ANYWAY, I've got an early favorite this season, which is rare. I usually wait a week or two to decide, but week 1 winner Allison is ohhh so interesting. It's been the thing the last few ANTM cycles to have at least one or two gimmick contestants. We've got our 'plus-size' models (which seriously, is totally ridiculous. Have you SEEN these girls? 'Plus-size' to ANTM is like an 8, gawd) and there's been an Asperger's model (Heather Kuzmich, my FAVE from cycle 9). We've seen homeless model's and legally blind models... whatever. ALLISON is different. ALLISON likes blood. Totally awesome. I mean, I like blood. We're not talking liking blood in a cutter way or anything, but wow... Allison's a girl with a dark side. And, she's totally gorgeous with her pixie shape and huge Christina Ricci-ish eyes... I'm probably going to take a stab (HA!) at making a shape of her...

Anyway, she's a girl after my own heart. It's an edge, and I LIKE edges. Yukio Ida understands; he's on the edge. Oh wait, I guess I should mention... Yuki's been putting his Illuminati store through a little bit of a rebranding lately. Soo, apparently while his unique and artful skins will still be Illuminati, his clothes are now going under the name Gauze. Still a work in progress, and the climax I guess will be the grand opening of his new mainstore once the Sn@tch City sim is complete; updates to follow, I'm sure.

So, new from Gauze is Stained: a very simple, sexy halter with matching gloves. Yuki's always done some of my favorite texture work in SL, and it's really amazing to see how much he's done with so little; the more than appropriate gauzey material looks so real, and the cut is daring and sexy. The colors are deep and beautiful, and there's a whole range to choose from; ivory, black, red (shown), purple and more.

It's gorgeous, it's dark, fun, sexy... it's all sorts of things. Love it.

Worn:

Top:
Illuminati [Gauze] Stained Halter and Gloves
Hair:
Sadistic Hacker Corvus (Deep Red)
Skin:
[Curio] Lumine (Rosette)

Blackstar~Lost

2009-03-09T12:13:00.003-05:00

Blogging, fashion or otherwise, is a real process. A lot goes into it. Obviously, especially for blogging fashion, you need a subject, something to photograph and ultimately review. That's just basic. That's a given. That's why we're here. Of course, the clothing is someone elses, the photography is working sliders in SL and maybe doing some post-prod editing like borders and stuff. Boom and boom. Done.

Well, not exactly... because we still have to look at all the other stuff that goes into a post. Words have to come from somewhere, right? There's caffeine, of course. I mean, caffeine is pretty much the battery from which all literature flows I think... it's the opium of the 21st century (no offense to Mary Shelley). We can't forget MUSIC either. Thank god for sites like Blip.fm for a totally random mix of faves from around the world (I happen to be listening to Pussy by the Brazilian Girls at the moment...oop, just ended... what's next? Wow, it's Waterloo by Abba. Totally nuts.)

Okay, so we've got our pics, we've got our little caffeine buzz (brought to us today by Full Throttle energy coffee drink), there's some random song coming up again, and I've decided to sit down in front of the computer.

So maybe my recipe for a blog isn't exactly like everyone elses, but I'll bet it's pretty close. I'll bet it's not too far off from just about anyone who enjoys creating something (or doesn't enjoy it, all you tortured artists out there :p). The basics might all be the same, but the end product is yours alone. Izzy Dench from Blackstar I'm sure has her own process... sure, it might not be too far off from half a dozen designers in SL, but where we land is with outfits like 'Lost'.

Cute, sexy, and most importantly, really well made, Lost comes with a grungy ripped tank and a prim skirt with some really really amazing detailing. You've got little skulls hanging from a well-crafted chain and a belt I wish I owned in RL.
Lost also comes with stockings and socks on the pants level in multiple options, although the look worked better on my AV without. Lost is punk meets Mad Max; grungy, schmexxy, fun and almost scandalously short. The itty bitty skirt certainly isn't something new in SL, but you'd have trouble finding one better made than this. Of course the skirt is mod but also comes in multiple sizes, which is awesome because I usually find it hard sometimes to shrink a skirt down to my dimensions... no prob with Lost.

So yah, a WIN. Whatever Izzy's doing, I'd love to see more from it. Blackstar is the place to watch for grungy punky styles, so pay attention... there's lots more like this, but plenty variety to choose from.

Blackstar Main Store

Goth1c0~L'Oscurita Della Luce

2009-03-06T08:38:00.010-06:00

I believe in magic.

You kind of have to, don't you? Isn't Second Life pretty much exactly like the stories we heard when we were little? That fantasy world, that place where all sorts of mystical and magical people and creatures ran around doing their mystical and magical things. It's that magic place. The Labyrinth is real, you really CAN go over the rainbow, and of course Fantasia really wasn't a dream. Let the unbelievers stay Muggles, we've finally got our dream world.

I think everyone believes in it just a little, even the most techie scripter or serious business owner. Something happened, some story you read or movie you grew up with put a little seed in your head and here we are. Fashion is a really limiting word sometimes, because it seems to just define cut and color and style. Which it totally IS, of course... I mean, goth is goth and glam is glam. It's not like Second Life is just one fantasy world after all.

That song your listening to, the book your reading now, and how you choose to make your avatar are all a part of that same thing. I believe in magic because of books from Ursula K. Leguin and movies like The Neverending Story... and that's probably why I like Keishii Roo's L'Oscurita Della Luce from Goth1c0. I think it's the classic gothic style mixed with a very contemporary punk sensibility that brings this sexy, interesting and just so witchy look to life. Keishii Roo really nailed it, and why not? She's been a fixture in the goth/punk fashion scene in Second Life long enough to know how.

The dress comes with sexy stripey stickings and the prim cuffs and skirt have some lovely detailing that holds up pretty well under close scrutiny. Overall, it's a sexy look without being trampy, and perfect for your next coven get-together. Of course, it's probably not strictly just for witches... there's plenty of room for you vampires or emos in Second Life too.

Dress:
Goth1c0 L'Oscurita Della Luce

Boots:
+*susie*+ Goth/Punk [ODEKO] boots

Skin:
Nightshade Designs Obsession (Ruby)

Hair:
Tukinowaguma Hairstyles Anzu (Black)

Necklace:
+SPICA SHOP+ Long Volcanic Glass Necklace

Powers of Creation Very Petticoat

2009-03-05T14:03:00.003-06:00

You know what's really hard to find? A comprehensive history of latex fashion. Seriously, I looked. I mean, ok, so if you google a search for it some sites pop up, but a lot of them I didn't really want to click on because they just didn't look...um... safe.

Not that there aren't some very at least 'not horribly pornographic' sites on the internetz about latex, Wikipedia of course has an entry even. Wikipedia's pretty safe, I guess, but really short on any kind of historic relevance. Now, I don't have any statistics, but my guess is that the fetish community in Second Life is probably a larger percentage than out in the real world. Obviously, there's a lot of places on the planet that just don't have the time to indulge.

Now, it might be that the percentages are closer if you compare them to the number of fetishists in the industrialized world, but that just brings up questions like what has technology actually DONE to us? Not really going to go any deeper into it, any observations I have would be totally unscientific anyway. I was really only looking so I could find a hook to start my blog post, so I guess this will have to do.

Either way, it's here... in FL and SL. Out here in the real world, well, you can just buy it, shine it up and wiggle into it... there's that satifying snap and squeak and you're a fetish goddess. In the metaverse, though, you're pretty much dependant on the skills of the designers themselves. For that, and for latex anyway, Kai Heideman's Powers of Creation is pretty much the best you can do. Kai's 'Very Petticoat' skirt has poc's signature beautiful textures and adds a bit cuteness to an otherwise very VERY sexy ensemble. I'm also wearing a simple poc tube top and even though these are from two different boxes, the textures still match VERY well. The skirt comes with a scripted feature for recoloring the lace petticoat and multiple glitch pants depending on your mood. The top comes in short or longer styles if you want to bear a little midriff too. Really versatile, very sexy and absolutely the best latex wear in Second Life.

So, for history? Well, I don't know where it came from but I'm really glad it's here... Enjoy.

Powers of Creation

Sn@tch~Post Apoc Picnic

2009-03-04T14:33:00.005-06:00

There's a pretty good chance all this will be gone soon. Seriously, it's all over the news. End of the world and all that. It's a little depressing actually. I mean, from what the talking heads are saying, it won't be a big blinding flash of light or some biblical Xtian style Armageddon. Nope, looks like this is going to fall under the 'not with a bang but a whimper' heading.

Too bad too... I mean, wouldn't something like zombies or alien dinosaurs be a LOT more exciting? Now THAT'S an apocalypse! Nope, we get the dollar. The world is going to end because of MONEY. What's THAT? Money isn't even REAL... it's like... ohhh I don't know. It's a metaphor.

Whatever. There are much smarter people than me who can sort all that out. For the rest of us, well, if there's going to be an end of the world then at least we can have an end of the world PARTY.

~quick side note here... my room mate and I actually ARE planning an end of the world party for the Winter Solstice in 2012. Why 2012? Look it up. There's a movie coming out even. So, well, you're all invited I guess. No matter how it all turns out we can really only do it ONCE so we might as well do it right~

So, does Ivey Deschanel know the world is ending? I think she might. It explains her oh so cute Post Apoc Picnic outfit. Post Apoc comes with a shmexy netted skirt and multiple top options; purple, red, black... a dangerous net and a couple others. Of course, one of my favorite things about Sn@tch's releases is just the huge number of wearable options in each pack... you get a lot for your $L. Sexy, fun, gothic and yah, I'd wear it for the end of the world.

Of course, you don't HAVE to wait for the apocalypse... we could all be wrong. Maybe it's NOT all over. Maybe everything will turn out ok.

If it DOESN'T though, and you're planning on getting your own party together. I'd run out to the store before that spinach dip costs you $100 a pint.

Just Sayin'.

Worn:

Outfit:
Sn@tch Post Apoc Picnic (Black)

Skin:
[Curio] GP Lumine Dahlia

Hair
DV8 Juju (Bleach Blitz) Twisted Hunt Exclusive

Ideal Illusion~Elegance

2009-03-03T08:53:00.005-06:00

Story has always been something I've tried to talk about when it comes to fashion. It's important. Story is mood, style, attitude, character... all that stuff. They're all parts of any kind of story: love, horror, science fiction, quasi-politico victorian melodrama, whatever. There are a lot of these kinds of stories in Second Life too, and it's the designers and artists that help us make up our own.

What's fun is when a certain look or a certain designer shows me something that just totally clicks, there are looks that just create their own story really. That's what happened when I saw Satori Triellis's 'Elegance' outfit from Ideal Illusion Sexy, gothic and very cool, Elegance somes with vest, prim collar, tails and buckles, and matching skin tight velvet leggings with some very lovely textured patterns and a strappy effect that works very well. Satori does some really nice work in her prims and everything is very easy to mod.

So, yah, that was the first part of the story... I added Illuminati Designs 'Eclipse' boots just because they matched the strappy effect on Elegance so perfectly, and of course Sadistic Hacker had the perfect jrock/cyberpunk style Vermillion to complete the look. The skin, naturally, is Nightshade Designs 'Emilie Autumn', which I just LOVE TO DEATH.

So there it was, a story. Look, setting, mood... all there. Designer not only as clothesmaker but as a storyteller. It's what we're all here for anyway, isn't it?

Satori doesn't have a huge selection in her shop, but what's there is just gorgeous. I'd check it out.

Stories are important in Second Life... if you're interested as well, I've started a Flickr group dedicated to the art of story in SL. Join here.

Worn:

Outfit:

Ideal Illusion Elegance for her (black)

Boots:

*Illuminati* Designs Eclipse Boots

Skin:

Nightshade Designs Emilie Autumn

Hair:

Sadistic Hacker Vermillion (spider black)

Nightshade Designs~Dark Jester

2009-03-02T09:22:00.004-06:00

Evil is in.

It's true... it's everywhere. You've got your Twisted Hunt going on, there's evil sexy styles featured on the the new Nocturne blog feed. It's everywhere. Evil is sexy, evil is hot... and evil is Nightshade Designs' new Dark Jester skin.

So why so much evil? I mean, what's the deal, right? Well, honestly.. it's just more fun I guess. Look at 2009 so far: Heath Ledger wins Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars for his Joker. Joker's pretty evil. Tyra Banks has like a million shows she's either in or producing. She's evil. We love it, and honestly, in a virtual world like Second Life where 'pretty' seems to be the norm, it's just about time we all started embracing the ugly evil potential there.

Of course, it's not sooo ugly now is it? Belladonna Mureaux's extremely evil Dark Jester passes boring pretty into something very different. It's not just that this is a gothic horror themed look,nope, it's more than that. The beautiful makeup effects are genuinely well made, with a very visceral, blood colored smeared makup effect around the eyes and ghostly clownish skin tone. Scared of clowns? Yah, well, then maybe this isn't the skin for you. It's seriously beautiful though, something really lovely and fun to wear.

And EVIL, yes... Celebrate it. Embrace your dark side. Smear some facepaint on those cute pink bows and put on those chunky boots.

I mean, pretty is easy, no doubt. Pretty is boring. Beautiful? Well, sometimes you have to sell your soul for that.

Nightshade Designs Mainstore

:+:Studio Sidhe:+:~Flower Bangles

2009-02-27T08:26:00.000-06:00

I am totally into these bangles. Like, almost hypnotized into. Seriously, I mean, just look at them. Is that like a cat or something in there? I could be, I mean, is it supposed to be there? Do you see what I'm talking about?

Maybe it's not actually there. It could just be an optical illusion... y'know, like when you used to make faces in the clouds all summer? It could be something like that.

Whoa, see what I mean? You can totally get sucked into these, right? Wow. Hypnotic. Totally. How is that even possible?

Seriously, this is Second Life, right? It's two-dimensional. It's not real at all (wow, now there's an argument I don't want to start!). So how how how is it even remotely possible to make something like this? What can I even say to add to this?

Simply, Faery Sola makes some of the absolute best accessories in SL. I'm always blown away by her detail and prim work, and of course Studio Sidhe is a bling free zone, which is always WIN! Faery's 'Flower Bangles' are so real you can almost feel their cool touch on your wrist, and the painted designs are just perfect.

So... just go there. I'll grab you by the arm and take you there myself if you're nervous.

The artist: Faery Sola. The Place: Studio Sidhe.

:+:Studio Sidhe:+:

~Discord Designs~ Avril

2009-02-26T09:30:00.000-06:00

I think real artists are never really happy with themselves. I know it sounds cliche, the whole 'tortured artist' thing. Maybe they're not all about to slit their wrists in a fit of existential torment or anything, but most artists I know just are never 100% happy with their own work. Nothing's ever finished, and even if it is, it's more like 'well that's about all I can do' instead of 'YES, PERFECT! I may now retire...'

Of course, it doesn't matter at all if we're happy with their work. We. Us. The consumers. Nope, we can compliment them or throw all our money at them and a lot of times, it just doesn't matter. Even worse, usually we don't understand WHY their so unhappy all the time so we just call them divas or something and write them off as artistic weirdos.

Personally, I think it's awesome. I want my artists to be unhappy. Not like suffering unhappy or anything, I'm not a sadist, but unhappy enough to keep working to make their work better or different. Unhappy artists are innovators and explorers.

Kallist Burns is one of those. She's awesome, artistic, fun, witty and creative... but she's unhappy enough to be constantly looking at her work and portfolio and finding ways to make things better. Which is great, because no matter how good her work has been in the past... well, I've been a huge fan for a while, and mostly featuring her unique and VERY well made braidwork. Avril is something new.

First, of course, Avril is NOT braided, but I think it's a really good example of something else in Kallisti's work. Art, building, all that stuff are more than just about technical skill and personal obsession. There's a character in the work, a feel and a mood. Styles don't need to resemble each other overmuch to be recognizably something. Avril is a really lovely, shaggy shoulder length style that just screams rockstar. Simple but filled with character. It's got a personality all it's own; a little bit of Kallisti I'm sure.

Technically, I can't really call this a departure from her normal work. Discord Designs has had many straight styles before. It is, though, something new and very very cool. It's a total rockstar afterparty feel with texturing that's very natural and enough flexi bits to keep the hair feeling authentic. Of course, the menu driven sizing menu is really cool too and makes modding a snap. Avril is a very real-world style that anyone can wear. It's casual cool and fun.

So yah, love it. Avril is a new experiment from Kallisti, and if there's more on the way I can't wait to see it.

Worn:

Hair
Discord Designs Avril (Midnight)

Skin
Curio Classic Nightshade

Tank
Sn@tch goth army Bauhaus tank

Skirt
Sweetest Goodbye Tik Tak skirt

Jacket
Muism Skinny Biker Jacket Black

Gala Phoenix~Newness

2009-02-25T10:56:00.006-06:00

It's nice to share.

Look it up, seriously. It's nice to share. Share with your sister! your mom used to shout, be nice! Wikipedia even has an entry on it. Yah, it's THAT important.

Second Life is kind of an experiment in sharing. I mean, sure, there's the whole economy thing. Of course there's buying and selling... not exactly sharing there... but every once in a while a designer or artist decides they want to share something with the rest of us. When we're lucky, they're sharing something beautiful.

Now Gala Phoenix, well, her mother taught her well. Last week Gala decided to share some of her new skins with group members. Some? Okay, a TON of skins. And of course they're gorgeous. The timing was perfect for me too, since I'd just recently started playing in my Curio folder and wearing some of Gala's older skins. Still lovely, still cute, still fun. Beauty seems to be the standard for Gala's skins, and her attention to detail and just lovely makeups are just soo much fun.

Freckles? Yah like em? She's got em. And not just a few scattered about the nose like a few skin designers. Nooo, Gala's 'Frex' options have a very natural full-body covering. Maybe not liking freckles too much? Well, whatever, but you'll be happy to see really nicely drawn and shaded textures along the skin... naughty bits and all. The new skins come in tones like Acorn, Sundust, Moonbeam, Petal and a few others, with freckle and plain versions for each along with 7 or 8 makeup options.

Sharing is nice, definitely... but even if you missed the gift, Gala's skins are definitely worth your $L. With a huge range of makeups from clean and cute to sexy glam, Gala Phoenix has created a line of skins that I think add a lovely touch to our shared universe. It's a vision I'm glad she's let us take part in.

Gala Phoenix Skins @ Curio

Powers of Creation~Sexy Science

2009-02-22T11:00:00.009-06:00

Naming stuff is hard.

No matter how inspired or creative a designer seems to be, sometimes the hardest part of a new release is just coming up with a NAME.

There's a lot of places to find them, of course... some designers have releases named after a friend or partner. Sometimes their named after a favorite song, or even maybe the name comes from whatever inspired the outfit to begin with. Sometimes... well, sometimes it's just totally random.

Poor Kai Heideman... He ran out of names.

Oh, ideas? He's got a TON. Some of the best latex and fetish clothing in Second Life? AB-SO-LUTELY. Names? Wellll, I guess that's a bit of struggle. He even blogged about it here, if you don't want to take my word for it. Honestly, there are worse problems he could have. The lovely textures and designs at his shop,Powers of Creation, make it pretty easy to forgive him.

Today we're looking at 3 outfits: Watch My Back, Dirac and Fermi. As far as names, well, Watch My Back makes sense. WMB is a full-length full-body latex 'hobble' style with a dangerously sexy open back laced from hem to neck. The gorgeous shiny latex texture is just perfect, and Kai manages to put the system skirt to good use.

Soo, then there's Fermi and Dirac. Ummm... what? Yah... physicists. Now, Fermi I'd heard of, there's a whole government lab out by me that's named after him. Dirac? I don't know, maybe I'd heard the name before. Who knows? Anyway, they're both pretty important names in the whole science world; this, I'm pretty sure, is the first time they've been associated with fetish wear. (of course, I COULD be wrong. Is there such a thing as a physics fetish? 'oooh, make my molecules GLOW!' or 'YES YES, I'm MELTING DOWN'). Either way, while MAYBE Kai was grasping at straws as far as coming up with names, it really doesn't matter. Dirac and Fermi are some lovely releases with a lot of options. There are a lot of different ways to wear both, with bodysuit and catsuit cuts and just some different color combinations. Each outfit comes boxed really with so many different looks it's almost 2 or 3 different ensembles in one.

Love it... it's not about the name anyway. It's about quality, cut and design, and whatever Kai wants to call it, it's sexy.

*Powers of Creation*

Illuminati Designs~Filth in the Beauty & Jolly Tank

2009-02-19T16:04:00.016-06:00

So today's post took about a week to do.

Well, its not really that it took a whole week... more like it's the result of a combination of things that happened to me this week. Not totally rare, actually... I mean, I usually do a post and then add a little bit of whatever's on my mind at the time. The thing is, generally it's the look that gets the thoughts going, not the other way around. I'll play with an outfit and take some pics and while THAT'S going on the first little bits of a post start percolating. This post is backwards. It's inside out.

So how did this happen?

Well, I'll try to start at the beginning. I guess it started with Yukio Ida from Illuminati Designs dropping the Jolly Tank on me last week. Kind of a new thing from Yuki, who might be a little better known for his more exotic visual kei inspired costumes and weirdly gorgeous skins. Jolly is a simple, but really well made, sleeveless top with prim collar. Inspired too from Japanese fashion, just a bit more punk than his usual releases, the texturing along the fabric has a really natural feel to it, and looks sooo real. There's some very nice detailing along the collar too, with laces and just a bit of mesh on the shoulder.

So, I have this top... oh yahhh, and there's a caveat, right? It's not released yet. 'Oh yah?' I said,'when's it coming out?'. A shrug. An 'I don't know'. Hmmm... So what can I do? I've got this really cool top but do I post it? I mean, what can I do? Well, what I did was file it quietly away in my inventory for a 'post to be named later'.

THAT didn't last long... I decided this week I had to share it. So I'm going through my inventory for the perfect ensemble for it. Maybe a skirt with stripey tights... maybe some big boots... it was a project. ANYWAY, so after I FINALLY have a nice ensemble I get an IM from Yuki AGAIN. 'Oh here..' or something like that. Oh, JEANS... a folder called 'Filth in the Beauty' magically appears. 'Wow', I say, 'awesome... so when's it coming out?' Do I even NEED to tell you? I do, I can tell. 'I don't know' he says. Now, one of the things you might not know about keyboards is this: you can't stab anyone with them. Seriously. I looked around. I think this may be one of the secret reasons computers are so much more popular than pens or pencils. We're not just saving trees here, we're saving people.

So OF COURSE the jeans are gorgeous. A really lovely ripped look and prim cuffs that look just beat up enough to feel like that favorite pair of jeans. The texturing is especially nice, especially along the seams and stitching. There are even some cute patches.

So there I am, I've fallen in love with this new direction from Illuminati. It's different, yes, but made with the amazing attention to detail that Yukio Ida puts into all of his clothes. I love them both, and of course the jeans look perfect with the tank; but I have no idea what to do.

In the meantime, there's Plurk. You know Plurk, right? I think, a million years from now, when alien archeologists are digging through the ruins of our planet, they'll find proof that the reason we're all dead is because of Plurk. It's horrible, I love it... anyway, so Plurk. I spend way too much time there, philosphizing and carrying on really serious and important conversations with other creative minds and intellectuals. Oh yes, it's what we do. So anyway, I'm popping through plurk 'profiles' and run across Ivey Deschanel's page. Wow, the hair. Well, it's a great pic actually anyway, but the hair! Perfect, it was one of those moments... all the sudden I saw the top and the jeans and the shirt... I'd pulled a Gala Phoenix skin out of my inventory and DONE! There it was... I knew exactly what I had to do.

So, here's the pic, and the post. Jolly and Filth in the Beauty should be out this weekend, I had a late update... so no, they're not there now, but maybe they are. Still, I'd stop by Yukio's shop anyway. Illuminati is one of my all time personal faves in SL, and even if Jolly and Filth aren't maybe there, there's PLENTY of gorgeous goodness for you to explore.

There are a few morals here too I guess... there should be, after a story that long anyway. First, artists are totally unreliable and frustrating (actually, kinda like drummers I guess), but I love them anyway. Second, an overly caffeinated Minx writes REALLY LONG posts. Third... well, Plurk is a horrible, addictive, possibly planet-destroying timewaster that I could not have finished this post without.

I love you all.

Worn:
Jeans/Top:
*Illuminati* Designs
Filth in the Beauty
Jolly Tank Top

Skin: :GP: Classic~Carbon

Hair: !BooperFunk! Wormies~Noir
(bangs from House of Heart)

Sn@tch~So Last Year

2009-02-18T14:06:00.004-06:00

So last year...

As in: oh gawd, that's SO last year. Like, look at those shoes... look at that hair... Really? I mean, really really? Hmmm... I don't think fishnets have EVER been out of style. They're either current or retro chic as far as I'm concerned... Sexy and ironic all at the same time. There's real history too, with fishnets, from the Flapper Jazz divas of the twenties to the goths and ravers of NOW... well, I don't know, maybe the name is a commentary? Fishnet could just as easily be called 'so next year.' *Shrugs* Look it up, the fishnet has a long and lovely history in fashion.

Of course, Sn@tch's 'So Last Year' is all sexy and no irony, even though the name might be. Fun, definitely, but THAT'S something I've come to expect from designer Ivey Deschanel... but who doesn't want some fun with their sexy?

It's not so much SLY is as sexy and fun either, it's the totally AWESOME selection of styles in the release. Maybe THAT'S why it's called what it is... maybe Ivey decided to jam an entire year's worth of schmexy lingerie into a single pack. I don't know. I actually could have solved this whole mystery by just chatting her up but honestly, it's more fun to just make stuff up.

SLY has multiple cuts on multiple layers; from the g-string bottom or booty shorts to bikini tops and baring boybeater style cuts. There's two versions of stockings that go along with it too. Great selection, love it.

As for the name? Who knows. It had to be called something I guess. Doesn't really matter... it's a sexy number and a rose is a rose is a rose and all that.

Worn:

:::Sn@tch::: Mainstore So Last Year

Nightshade Designs Emilie Autumn Skin

*Illuminati* Designs Mainstore Eclipse Boots

!ElfPyre Pro!D!u!X!ions!~ PUnked

2009-02-17T08:37:00.002-06:00

Daarc Dagger from ElfPyre designs is weird, and I LOVE it!

There's a LOT of weird in SL. Lots. Funky avatars. Strange sims. Odd dialogue. It's all there, weirdness. There's a range of weird, of course: Good weird and bad weird.

Bad weird, well... it's just annoying sometimes. Bad weird is the stuff that makes Second Life scramble to do some PR fixing and image maintenance. Bad weird is the stuff that makes us shake our heads and sigh while we try to explain this obviously demented virtual universe to our skeptical RL friends. Bad weird, well, sucks.

Now good weird, well, THAT'S a lot more fun. Good weird is the sims and events that make us laugh and share LMs. Good weird is the stuff that makes Second Life a more interesting a beautiful place.

So yah, Daarc's got her finger on good weird. She'd never admit it, of course, but Daarc's designs are a little bit of that weird art that I think adds to the unique world that we all love.

Example? Well, here's ElfPyre Productions' True Love skin and Punked prim ears. A really interesting and weird skin... NOT for the type-A modelesque clones running around Second Life STILL. True Love is bright, colorful and definitely weird. The Punked ears are scripted, so you can change the tone and even the piercing sets to match your mood. It's a look that's easy to have fun with, and a very interesting offering from a designer who definitely deserves your attention.

So yah, be weird. Be good weird, anyway. Hollywood beautiful's been done. Beauty in SL is pretty much cliche at this point anyway, isn't it? Try something colorful and adventurous... try something ugly/beautiful, weird/beautiful.

Worn:

!ElfPyre Pro!D!u!X!ions!

Punked Ears

True Love Skin (Super Pale)

Goth1c0~Agent Provocateur

2009-02-16T09:55:00.004-06:00

My inventory in Second Life is a mess. It's horrible. I try so hard to keep it organized, spend an hour or so trying to put together folders sorted by outfit or designer or even layer. There are 'top' folders and 'skirt' folders and 'jeans'. There's folders sorted by hair or skins or accessories. The problem is, I've tried so many times in so many ways to sort through everything, it's still a total disaster.

In the end, it's hard keeping everything straight, but I keep trying anyway. I keep trying because every once in a while I'll find an outfit or a landmark to a shop I haven't stopped by in a while and I'll find something and go "WIN!! Looky here!!". It happens a lot. It happened last week when I remembered Goth1c0 and popped over to take a look.

Goth1c0 designer Keishii Roo has been doing goth for quite a while in Second Life, and I'm happy to say she's a gracious and creative designer. One of her latest releases, Agent Provocateur, is a fun, sexy punk ensemble that goes beyond just funky patterns and cuts. It's punk, yes, but it's punk with a classy edge to it. I really love the textures; the jacket comes with little touches like safety pins and skulls or it can be worn without to show a sexy midriff baring turtleneck top with some really nice detailing in the fabric. The skirt has a nicely drawn belt feature and could really be worn with anything, if you're not feeling so rock and roll. Seriously, I put this on and started looking for a new band to sign.

Sexy without being slutty, daring without being over bare... agent provocateur is a really interesting and unique look from a designer with a huge range of goth and punk styles. I'm a fan, and can't wait to show you more from Keishii's line...

Stay tuned!

Worn:

Outfit: Goth1c0 Agent Provocateur

Hair: 0 Style Ayase (Raven)

Skin: Nightshade Designs Angelina (bloodred kiss)

~{The Black Canary}~ Divine Right

2009-02-11T09:32:00.004-06:00

There's a lot of 'pretty' in Second Life. Pretty model skins, pretty dresses, pretty prints, pretty flowers. (You're very pretty, Pretty-Pretty). A lot of pretty well made stuff too. So many options.

Of course, one of the reasons we love Second Life so much is because it opens up so much of the world to us; there are so many ideas and stories we haven't heard before, so many styles... so many different ways to see pretty. When we're lucky, we find designers and builders looking to share maybe a slightly different idea of beauty and style than maybe we've seen before.

Honestly, I didn't know too much about the whole gothic lolita culture before logging into SL. I'd seen it, of course...well, maybe not exactly, I mean there's no small number of goths and punks here around Chicago, just not sooo many of the lolita type. I do know the scene is much bigger in places like Japan... just watch Japanese cartoons like Hell Girl or check out Gwen Stefani's Harajuku Girls for that. I've only started exploring the fashions and styles recently in SL myself, so maybe the social commentary part is a little lost on me, but the fashion... well... this is fun.

We're used to seeing neo-victorian loveliness from Morrigan Denimore of The Black Canary, and his latest release, Divine Right, fits nicely in his existing catalog. YES, this is definitely gothic lolita... while some of his previous work might not be strictly so. Morrigan has managed to create within a genre without limiting himself to a narrow definition. Even better, there's a definite learning curve here too. I've loved The Black Canary's textures and primwork since I first laid eyes on it, but Divine Right is so well done, so real, I have to say this is not only my favorite piece from TBC, but probably Morrigan's best work. The lace trim long the skirt and the folds and sheen in the satin are just lovely. A prim bow and fun flouncy skirt keep this outfit so interesting to look at.

Definitely a gorgeous and fun lolita look from a designer to watch.

Worn:

Dress:~*{The Black Canary}*~ Divine Right

Hair: **Amrita** [Danae-Doll] Soft Black

Tukinowaguma Hair Styles~New Stuffs

2009-02-10T08:38:00.007-06:00

I look for a couple things when I'm shopping for hair. First, there's the whole originality thing... or at least variety. There are a lot of the 'same old same old' hair designers working in SL. Working hard, YES, absolutely. Hair is hard to make... but the creativity of the styles I think is something not enough hair designers are spending time on. I'm not even talking about crazy weird styles or anything. They don't have to be, but even flipping on the 'makeover' episodes of America's Next Top Model will show you a range of styles that some of even the best hair designers in SL just don't think of.

(Yes, fine... I watch ANTM. Ugh... it's horrible. They've been running this whole marathon thing on the weekends I guess building up to the new season starting soon. I have to say that YES more than one or two bottles of wine have been opened to watch the whole train wreck. I hate Tyra... I swear, but I CAN'T LOOK AWAY. Whatever, call it research. :p)

ANYWAY, we're talking about fashion here, right? Second Life is all about possibilities, and I love designers and hair makers who really push not just the whole technical part of content creation but also the design. That's the second thing I look at.

Third, well, quality. How does the light hit it? How does it move? Is it real?

Tukinowaguma Hair Styles has been consistently one of my 'go to' hair shops in SL, just because they feature a huge variety of well made, unique and beautiful hairs. Today I'm wearing Queque, Yard and Natty; 3 new styles from Tukinowaguma. Lovely textures, very exotic styling and Tukinowaguma's signature 133 color change feature that's as easy as clicking on style and opening the selection menu. Each hair comes in usually about 4 or five shades, so the color changes can change the effect depending on which base you're wearing.

I love these hairs, the textures and movement from the flexi bits is VERY realistic I think and the range of styles goes from sexy everyday styles to more dramatic haute couture perfect for any runway.

Tukinowaguma Hair Styles

Nightshade Designs~My Bloody Valentine

2009-02-09T12:08:00.001-06:00

There are a couple things virtual lingerie has over it's real life counterparts. First, fitting is a breeze... no need to mess around in a dressing room coz it fits well here but not there. Second, you don't have to worry about the pervert dog grabbing your underwear off the floor and ruining it... yah.. ok, it's not MY dog, it was HIS and well... whatever, we've made peace.

Anyway, with Valentine's Day coming up this weekend, romance is in the air, both RL and SL and it just seemed fitting to feature Belladonna Mureaux's 'My Bloody Valentine' set from Nightshade Designs. Simple and sexy, MBV is a panty and bra set that comes with thigh highs in deep crimson loveliness. The sheer platform bra has some lovely texturing, and some nice scalloped lace along the top. The matching thong is sooo cute and the stockings have a nice fishnet texture as well. Very cute, very affordable... and naturally just in time for that most confusing and emotionally chaotic of Hallmark holidays.

I'm also wearing Nightshade's 'Emilie Autumn' skin... a sexy homage to, you guessed it, Emilie Autumn... Who rocks by the way, and if you don't know her music just go here. Punky, goth while not too 'undead' or anything, it's a gorgeous skin and I've been wearing it a LOT lately. I always love when a designer brings a little of their love into their art, it let's us know just a little bit more about them and since this IS the season of LOVE... well... nuff said.

The hair is Tukinowaguma Hair Style's 'Hilary' in white. Soooo cute and over the top... Hilary has a menu-driven color change feature that offers 133 different shades per tone.

Change of topic a bit here, but if you've been paying attention AT ALL, you've heard about the horrible fires in Victoria, Australia. Over a hundred dead and it could get worse. There are a number of designers working to try to raise money in SL to help the recovery effort once everything's under control. If you're interested in donating or helping at all, Aemilia Case of Philotic Energy, Faery Sola of Studio Sidhe and Shelly Toonie from Moonshine Designs all have special items and kiosks set up. Kallisti Burns from Discord Designs is working to be set up with something by tomorrow too... It's an awful time, and if any good can come from it it will be that we have the opportunity to help and come together...

If you know about any other designers or benefits going on inworld to help the victims and families in Victoria, Australia, feel free to leave a link in the comments section.

Worn:

Lingerie: Nightshade Designs My Bloody Valentine

Skin: Nightshade Designs Emilie Autumn

Hair: Tukinowaguma Hair Styles Hilary (White)

Poem: SEX GODDESS OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE by Maggie Estep