Lick My Boots*

The post is all about the boots. That is really what I am going for here. Check it out.

First let me tell you about this cute outfit. Another offering from Aurora Vuissent, my latest low Linden find, this outfit has great highwaisted tweed pants with a cute halter top. Keep ‘em coming, Aurora. I’ll be back!

OK, the boots. Now, before you go clickclickclicking on that slurl, I have to tell you up front that the boots are located in a shop that would not be to everyone’s liking. If you are at all offended by sexual content on SL, then do not go to the shop. My intent is not to bring you into my secret fantasy life (of which there is none) or expose you to potentially offensive materials, of which there are plenty in the shop. However, if you can shield your eyes, hold your breath, and step past the uh.. other accoutrements, the boots are right inside the door on a vendor and you can get in and out in a minute.

That being said, Yhis Khorana provides boots with a multiplicity of charms. First of all, there is the beautiful shape to the boot, the great building, the terrific textures, AND a menu that allows you to custom color parts of the boot as you wish. I clicked around and was able to make my boots wholly black with red trim and black laces but you can combine sections of the boot (the toe, the heel, the shank) in different colors as well as the metal and laces. You can also do other things with these boots related to the above-mentioned uses (am I the Queen of Euphemism or what?) but really, who needs that? Yhis states in the explanation notecard that additional textues will be offered later. I encourage Yhis to get the boots out of ponyland and into the rest of SL—s/he’ll make a killing!

Finally I top it off with a very nice domme sort of hair from Morgan Kincess. I would encourage you to clickclickclick through on that slurl. Last time I was at Digital Eyes, Morgan had an amazing art gallery with a great exhibit of RL photographs from another artist and a perfect build for the show.

*Azia made me do it!

Hair: Digital Eyes * Fayandria Ponytail Black by Morgan Kincess for Digital Eyes

Skin: []::Tuli::[] Bella (fair/br) F.Y.L.O. red by Tuli Asturias for Tuli *

Outfit: VUI. High Waist Pants (black) by Aurora Vuissent for Vui

Boots: MB – MMMBoots! by Yhis Khorana for Maison Broceliande

Pure Class

You know, class isn’t about looks or size or money. It’s about attitude. It’s about how you project yourself to others. It’s about how you feel about yourself.

That’s why I was glad to do this particular blog using a new shape made by Xme Xue. In a world of beautiful avatars, it’s great to have one that is beautiful in a less conventional way. Wearing it, I feel like a complete woman—curvy hips, full breasts, and plump features. The shape is proportional—we don’t see a tiny waist with ridiculously huge breasts and hips. We see how a woman looks when she is plus sized.

I am wearing a great outfit from Sysy Chapman. Understated yet fashionable, the outfit does come with a belt that disappeared into this shape, but who cares? It also comes with a turtleneck which I further dressed up with a great scarf from Onyx LeShelle and earrings and bangles from Fallingwater Cellardoor. Shoes were a great buy from Siddean Munro.

Finally, let’s talk about skin on shape. I hear people talk all the time about how they have to tweak their shape to fit a skin. Something seems wrong with that to me. The shape should be good enough to fall within the norm of most skins. The skins should be good enough to fall within the norm of many shapes. I have seen skins with lips that are too large and overlap my lips (which are pretty full already). Or they were tested on a sour puss face, so they don’t conform to a smiling face. Tuli Asturias’ Bella skins seem to fit over every single shape I try them on. I never seem to find a fit problem. And Xme Xue’s shape is so luscious.. well it’s a perfect fit here.

A touch of class:

Hair: Cake – Dakota – Burgundy Hair by Stumbelina Ophelia for Cake

Skin: []::Tuli::[] Bella (fair/br) F.Y.L.O. red by Tuli Asturias for Tuli *

Shape: Maggie by Xme Xue for Ample Avi

Top: SYSY’s Tweedy the tops by Sysy Chapman for Sysy’s *

Pants: SYSY’s Iloa pants black by Sysy Chapman for Sysy’s *

Scarf: Maitreya Voluminous Scarf * Dark Cobalt (Spine) by Onyx LeShelle for Maitreya

Bracelet: (Shiny Things) Ruma bangles – silver by Fallingwater Cellardoor for Shiny Things

Earrings: (Shiny Things) Pyra earrings – silver by Fallingwater Cellardoor for Shiny Things

Shoes: SLink Winkles Heeled L Black by Siddean Munro for SLink

City Girl on the Cheap

I spend an inordinate amount of time in SL in mismatched clothes, crazy hair on my head, whack skins on my body, one shoe on and one shoe off. And sometimes I am wearing a posing stand on my head (which is subject for another blog). Usually when I get the call to run somewhere, I start just dumping things on. I see a folder, wonder what that was again, and throw it on.

Today when Raven called me to help her with something, I hastily rummaged through my inventory. I found a folder that said “*Kookie* 50L friday outfit!” Hm. Lessee what that comes up with. I dropped it on myself and watched as I transformed from crazy bag lady to cute urban chick. A dumpy sweater (with one of those center bell-shaped prim things) was replaced by a cute cowl neck turtleneck. Pink stretch pants from the 70s were replaced with cute polka dot leggings. Army boots were replaced by cute little flats.

And a crazy pink alpha hair was replaced by this nifty hat with hair. And I paid 50L for the whole nine yards!

The skin, which you can barely see (but look at those beautiful eyes) is Tricky Boucher’s newest Alyson skin. You will be seeing more and more of this as the days go on. It’s gorgeous!

Grab me a latte:

Hair: *Kookie*  Kate Hair – antique grey by Kookie Lemon for *Kookie*

Skin: -Belleza- Alyson SK 5 by Tricky Boucher for Belleza *

Top: *Kookie* Stud Knitted sweater / dusty ash / gloves by Kookie Lemon for *Kookie*

Pants: *Kookie* Ladybug Leggings grey by Kookie Lemon for *Kookie*

Scarf: *Kookie* Stud knitted scarf –  dusty ash by Kookie Lemon for *Kookie*

Shoes: *Kookie * Ella Petite flats Noir by Kookie Lemon for *Kookie*

Mad Maxine

One thing that has always thrilled me about SL is the fantasy aspect. Not just “fantasy” as in running around as an elf or a fairy (though one can do that). But also the fantasy of dressing up in clothes that are artistic and expressive. You saw me two days ago as a jeans and white shirt girl. Today I am Mad Maxine.

The lingerie for the Johanne series, named after Joan of Arc, is an ensemble of beautiful work and exquisite details. First there are the system pieces, which are perfectly rendered with clean edges, straight lines and delicious textures. Then there are the very intricate small details—the tiny feathers hanging off the neckpiece, the perfect shaping of the corset, the seashells and spines lacing up the shoulder straps and across the decolletage, the fabric draped across the front and the perfectly sheer stockings.

Thea Tamura, who was in the shop when I bought this ensemble, told me that she loves making wearable art, she loves working with the textures and prims to come up with a piece that is in her mind. I would call it sculpture myself, with gilding and draping. Her textures are so rich, so evocative, that it’s almost overkill to have so much in this outfit. It’s like you are getting a meal of rich creamy chocolate and nothing else.

Thea shows her outfits with outre hair styles, including mohawks. This is exactly how I would have styled this as well. I should have gone off type and made it “pretty,” however I relished the opportunity to show this great hair from Aemilia Case and the beautiful skin from the Tasha2 series by Mallory Cowen that includes an eye makeup that is not “standard.” Earrings from kikunosuke Eel finish the outfit, matching in sheen and color perfectly.

Luster:

Hair: PE Xantha Sambuca Black Tipped by Aemilia Case for Philotic Energy

Skin: LAQ ~ Tasha2 – 07 [Nougat] Glow skin by Mallory Cowen for Laqroki

Lingerie: TTF – JOHANNE – LINGERIE by Thea Tamura for TTFashion

Earrings: [MANDALA] Soul Jewelry set (Cream Gold) Female by kikunosuke Eel for [MANDALA]

Boots: BAX Prestige Boots Brown Leather by Bax Coen for Bax Boots *

China

Today’s post is not about fashion per se but about art, the simple but evocative art that can be seen, combined, considered, enjoyed in SL.

First of all, I take you to China, a beautifully rendered piece of orientalist walk-in art made by aston Leisen. Painting a 3D space with “watercooler” strokes, aston has turned a landscape into an evocative environment. To suit this environment, I chose an equally artistic outfit and skin.

Jojorunoo Runo sells a variety of inexpensively priced clothing pieces that I would consider mostly experimental. This piece, for example, has a sculpty prim piece that cuts into the avatar and barely covers the nipples (I will admit I moved it to just cover). With belts that wrap down the front and around the back and little cuffed shorts, it’s less a dress than a sort of futuristic coverall shorts. The tweedy texture is a great touch (rather than something more fantastic) as it plays against the daringness of the cut of the outfit with a very conservative flavor.

I received skins from from LeeZu Baxter the other day and found myself in a quandary about how to show them. Made as a set for the Inanna series in collaboration between LeeZu and Lion Jonesford, they are not your typical “pretty” Barbie Doll skins and are definitely not for everyone. I found the eyebrows particularly difficult to tame, and I ended up making a special bald head to have them render to my satisfaction. I would be hard pressed to use the shape that was included with the skins—it’s simply too outre for me. These are not skins for the newbie or beginner.

That being said, the collaboration between the two artists is an exciting one. Here you see eyes with wrinkles and folds, a juxtaposition of almost perfectly realistic skin with pores and sheen against painterly eyes and eyebrows, applied with broad quick dark aggressive strokes. This very “artistic” skin seemed appropriately shown in this sim. LeeZu and Lion ask, in making these skins, what do we want? Realism or art?

To walk into a painting:

Shot on location at China by aston Leisen

Hair: booN HTU132 hair black by boo Nakamura for booN

Skin: INANNA-VERNISSAGE SUN brigitte red by LeeZu Baxter and Lion Jonesford for LeeZu/Lion Skins *

Outfit: ~*RunoRuno*~ UNDress Dinner Black by Jojorunoo Runo for *RunoRuno*

Shoes: (Shiny Things) Saturday Flats – black by Fallingwater Cellardoor for Shiny Things

The Fashionable Gentleman

SC put together a look this week that I insisted he blog. Based on what is walking down today’s real life runways, the look is composed of elements found on SL—all adding up to one great-looking man. ~ Harper

As Harper knows,  I’m interested in RL fashion that translates to SL. The RL menswear Spring/Summer 2010 shows are history, and next summer mens accessories seem to be reaching their golden age. There were more than a few interesting belts trucking down the menswear runways à Milano. And more interesting ways to wear them. I pinged on how Raf Simones is styling with belts cinching or snaking around classic suits, blazers and, well, everything else.

Running to my inventory, I threw my Rfyre* black double belt over SF Design’s new Westminster Suit. The shape and layers are great to style up with different accessories. Opting out of a tie, I added the scripted Afghan stole from :sey, creating a layer of tamed-down John Galliano. The shoes are an elegant, classic, Hermes Men’s Formal Shoes in black leather from Styles of Edo. I love anything with the name Hermes in it.

A wardrobe should be curated a mix of a lot of elements that work together. I got good advice from a RL fashionista friend from a major brand–“…anyone who wears head-to-toe anything looks like a Sales Associate at the store.”

“Hot” off the runway:

Hair: “Petrelli” Hair by Krius Misfit for Sinistyle

Skin: Noah Stubble Tan by KaoZ Koba for Damiani

Suit: SF Westminster Suit and Coat by Swaffette Firefly for SF Design

Scarf: :sey, Afghan Stole, Paisley by Risey Araifor for :sey:

Belt: Rfyre, Men’s Double-Wrap Belt, Black by SC Tracy for RFyre

Shoes: Hermes Men’s Formal Shoes Black Leather by Edo Tone for Styles of Edo

Minimalist

I have been reading William Gibson’s Pattern Recognition, an exciting, albeit not new book that I put on my iTouch so I can sneak peeks while I am running around. I am enjoying the book greatly, following the path of Cayce Pollard, an advertising consultant, as seeks the maker of a series of video clips released on the Internet.

Cayce dresses in minimalist fashion, wearing only black usually and everything with labels ripped off. I am inspired by her fashion “sense,” though I am not replicating her look with this one. Actually, I bought a couple great pieces recently that need a plain canvas to stand out, so this is what I put together. (I may try to replicate a “CPU”—a Cayce Pollard Unit, which is what her friend calls her basic ensembles but it is a challenge in SL, where everything is so bright.)

Here I show a white shirt, beautifully hand drawn from Salah Axel. I was taken to Salah’s store by a connoisseur of men’s wear in SL, and I was intrigued by the basic white shirt. A staple in RL wardrobes, it’s almost non-existent in SL because it’s so hard to draw white things in SL. Salah pulls it off with subtle shadows and well constructed prim collar and cuffs.

I paired it with jeans from Yaszi Mornington. Yaszi’s jeans for men are some of my favorite in SL, and they fit equally well on women. The wrinkles, the proportion and the saturation of the colors are spot on. I especially like how he has done the sculpty prims at the base, though I would question lining the insides with a gray texture. I compliment them with heavy duty boots from Khai Sinister (that cyberpunk thing I am floating on right now).

I top it all with a simple ponytail from Parvarti Monday and a natural make up from Tuli Asturius. Sometimes you don’t need that much—Cayce finds it unnerving to be overdone herself. The interesting thing is that when designers strip it down to the essentials, you can see whether they really have the chops—textures become highlighted, shapes stand out. You can’t hide behind gimmicks. Both Parvarti’s simple hairstyle and Tuli’s plain skin show their clear talents. I don’t feel any less beautiful because I don’t “bling.”

Stripping it down:

Hair: fri. – Allison.2 – Jealous Red by Parvarti Monday for fri.day *

Skin: []::Tuli::[] Hope  (fair/bl) natural by Tuli Asturias for Tuli

Shirt: *Connors* Dress Shirts –White by Salah Axel for *Connors*

Jeans: Meriken Co. Jeans #201 by Yaszi Mornington for Meriken

Boots: <TheAbyss> NAU Combat Boots [Unisex] by Khai Sinister for <TheAbyss>

Written while listening to “Norway” by Beach House.

Nesting

I just want to say, I didn’t like the chickens. Birds creep me out up close, even virtual ones. So when my friends Aki and Callie kept talking about the bunnies, I didn’t know what to think.

I would get to Aki’s place and threaten to kick the bunnies off the platform. They were suspiciously cute. They would blink their eyes and hop around blithely, trailing a floating list of data behind them like so many pellets. Turns out Aki was working on the the textures for the bunnies and beta testing. She made them cute but not so unbearably well that I felt good kicking them. In fact, I grew to like them.

So finally when they came out, I couldn’t resist the madness generated by the enthusiasm for the Ozimals sim (and Callie showed me the little bunny chateaux she made for her store with Barnesworth Anubis, veLveteen, that were almost unbearably cute). And then it spun out of control.

First I got Eb and Flo in the Bunny starter kit (one male and one female). This is Eb (Dutch – Amber, Dark Brown Eyes, Upright Ears, Classic Shade, Sagittarius with Cancer Rising, likes Vampire Weekend, really cold MGD out of the bottle and sitting back for a good college ball game on a Sunday afternoon):

Here is Flo (Harlequin – Chocolate Magpie, Light Green Eyes, Half-a-Lop Ears, Classic Shade, Taurus with Scorpio Rising, likes sticky sweet sangrias, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, and really hot showers).

I rezzed their baskets, birthed them, and enjoyed watching them hop around. However, I nearly killed them setting their maintenance at Food 1, when what I got in the box was Food 2. I didn’t quite understand it but Aki talked me out of hyperventilating one night when I found them both black and struggling for air by reminding me to set them back to Food 2. Food 2 is breeding food, but I didn’t think much of it. They were just babies, after all. Hopping around innocently. Snoozing and dreaming of things like rainbows and carrots.

This is Food 2. Looks benign, doesn’t it?

Then Ozimals announced they were selling funky alien bunnehs at the Rezzable Greenies’ sim with their part of the cut going to Haiti relief. So I picked up Iggy (Dutch – Blue, Light Brown Eyes, Half-a-Lop Ears, Silky Shade, [europa] Alien Bunneh, likes red Twizzlers, hops around humming “Sex Bomb” like Tom Jones, and cops an attitude about Gossip Girls though he secretly loves watching):

I dropped Iggy into place and came back later to find no Iggy but a little basket. Apparently Eb and Flo had been up to no good and a baby was born!

Here is Ozzy, as she was named (Harlequin – Chocolate Magpie, Dark Brown eyes, Upright ears, Classic shade, Pisces with Cancer rising, likes Radiohead—which is the only reason I kept her in the end, carrots in cheese sauce, and reading William Gibson novels):

However, Iggy had gone missing. I did all the prescribed actions on the website for Ozimals (clearing cache and restarting the sim) but my alien bunneh had up and left. I filed a ticket and within 24 hours, he was returned to me, safe and sound, by the Ozimals folks, which goes to show tickets don’t evaporate into the ether.

With an increasingly large brood to take care of, I rushed over to veLveteen and bought a little hutch (which had a sort of Brady Bunch feel to it with the brown paneling) and a stump hideaway. (All these accoutrements are totally unnecessary for breeding the rabbits. However, if you want to make them feel at home and do the things that pet owners will naturally do, you will buy many many of them to spoil your little pets.)

And that is the end of my story… or so I thought….

Turns out when I took that photo of Flo today, she had a hard time looking me in the eye. And why is that? She was knocked up again! (Hard to tell—she hardly showed. But then, they all just kind of blink at you dumbly—who knows what they are thinking?) I came home to find another basket on my doorstep!

If you look closely, when you click the basket to birth the baby, you have to wait a full hour. Grrr… So I went dancing at Scoutlounge while the baby did its thing and came home just in time to see the basket poof with a new baby bunny in its place. This was taken within moments of Peaches’ appearance (Harlequin – Chocolate Magpie, Dark Green eyes, Half-a-Lop ears, Classic shade, Aquarius with Taurus rising, likes the Wiggles, mashed carrots and her blankey—she’s still a baby after all):

Checking scripts, they are taking up between .030 and .045 ms each, which is tolerable. Each bunny (including Ozzy and his 8 eyes) is 11 prims and the food is a total of 2 prims for water and food (running at a negligible .005 ms total). They do not bite, hard or otherwise, bling, make noise, leave pellets, or sniff any new person’s crotch.

Multiplying like.. well…

All bunnies distributed by Aeron Constantine of Ozimals.

Very important accessories made by Callie Cline and Barnesworth Anubis of veLveteen

Stray rabbits, fine tunes, interesting conversation can be found on Sunday nights at Tiphares, owned by Aki Shichiroji.

For My Friends

As I talk in Skype to my friends (one in Manhattan, one in Copenhagen and one in Canada), I am quickly trying to write this blog while I watch them rez buildings and listen to them discuss art.

So while one of them baited me, I tried on clothes. He didn’t care for this outfit but another friend did, so this is for you, Mr. Canada. I like it too. monica Outlander has been making beautiful clothes at a furious rate on SL for the past year or two, moving from simple dresses to much more complex ensembles, like this one, including sculpties. What is so terrific about this outfit, besides the sculpty cuffs is the sculpty halter top, which fits terrifically.

I show it with hair that Mr. Manhattan adores from Queue Marlowe. We all love the shape and textures. He thinks this is my “new look.” Ms. Copenhagen didn’t weigh in but I won’t be surprised if she runs over to Analog Dog to get a copy in blonde.

Thanks for making my Friday evening great, dear friends :)

Hair: lykke cinnamon by Queue Marlowe for Analog Dog

Skin: []::Tuli::[] Bella (fair/br) F.Y.L.O. copper by Tuli Asturias for Tuli *

Outfit: Miamai_Garbo by monica Outlander for Miamai Fashion Creations

Ballroom Romance

If I wanted, I could do a daily blog just about evening gowns in SL. There is such a preponderance of them that the content alone could occupy a person for a year. Why evening gowns? Well, first of all there is the prevalence of couples dancing in SL, particularly at popular spots like Franks and Phat Cats, Bogart’s and Bubbly. It’s not enough to wear a big prim skirt anymore—you have to be really dressed up. Second, the flexi prims that can be put on skirts are just too cool not to make into formal gowns. To see them move, to imagine yourself dancing—it’s one of the most evocative pleasures of SL.

Mami Jewell has been focusing on the evening gown market for a couple years, and her work is growing in excellence. She has included the vital elements of great gowns—beauty, elegance, and sexiness. I saw this one in her store last night and it was a must-have. With its beautifully rendered system top (complete with satiny pulls and wrinkles) and its graceful flowing skirt, this dress is the epitome of all that is right about Mami’s designs. Turn around and the princess neckline easily flows into a low cut back (but not so low I am embarrassed, as I have seen with some gowns). The ribbon tied around the neck is the perfect accompaniment to this gown, accenting the back and tying up the design.

Miu Edman has a few hair styles that I have come to find serve as staples in my wardrobe. This is one of them. This stacked updo with its romantic tendrils works well for most evening gowns, adding height and elegance to any ensemble.

Ready to dance:

Hair: :MIRONE: ADIE V2_cherry by Miu Edman for :MIRONE:

Skin: []::Tuli::[] Bella (fair/br) VIP exclusive by Tuli Asturias for Tuli

Dress: -AZUL- Ingrid Turquoise by Mami Jewell at –AZUL-

Earrings: (Miriel) Countess Earrings – Silver/White Pearl by Miriel Enfield for (Miriel) (No longer available :( )