hopscotch | A Passion for Virtual Fashion

“The nutcracker sits under the holiday tree, a guardian of childhood stories. Feed him walnuts and he will crack open a tale…” ~ Vera Nazarian

When I was growing up, one of the biggest holiday thrills was going to see the Nutcracker at the ballet. The costumes, the music, and of course, the amazing ballet dancers, thrilled me and made me feel like a most cultured and fortunate girl. Years later, I would remember this when I took my niece to see the Nutcracker and we got a backstage tour from the conductor of the orchestra, who was a friend of mine. The dancers, who filled the stage, were small bundles of muscle and sinew and dramatic energy. The costumes hung from the racks, limp, now disembodied. And the magic of the sets was revealed to be truly a trick of the eye as the exposed plywood in back revealed fake walls. Nevertheless, I will never forget the magic of the performance.

When Tobias Convair told me he was making this mesh nutcracker as his gifr for the KittyCatS & Friends Advent Calendar, I was thrilled. He has made it modifiable so you can use it for decorations on your sim if you upsize it, as a mantelpiece if you downsize it, and as a prop for dancing if you put it in your hand. It’s a beautiful piece of holiday work, today’s gift in the calendar.

I struggled to find a girlish ballet outfit for my Clara and ended up wearing a gorgeous little tutu from Charming Meiler, leant to me by Liliandra Baxter when I begged her for help. The dress was not enough alone so I used the miracle of layering and system pieces to dress up the outfit. An undershirt layer from Devyn Grimm from a bazillion years ago (and still gorgeous to this day), bloomers from Ivey Deschanel, and little full-perm bows from BabyCreations, which I placed myself, customized the look.

Chiaki Xue just released this new cute hair a week or so ago, and the ponytails are in keeping with Clara, a little girl who receives a Nutcracker from Drosselmeyer. In some productions, an actual little girl dances the part but oftentimes it’s an adult woman, so wearing this luminous skin from Shyla Diggs is not entirely a mistake.

I want to remind you that once a door is open on the KittyCatS & Friends Advent Calendar, it remains open, so you can get any of the past gifts if you haven’t already gotten them. The calendar does distribute only one per avatar but these gifts are copy so if you grab one, you can use it over and over.

See a version of Clara dancing with the Nutcracker after Drosselmeyer has given it to her here.

Hair: *Dura-Girl*58(Coffee) by Chiaki Xue for Dura *

Skin: -Belleza- Lola Med 2 Br by Shyla Diggs for –Belleza– *

Eyes: Egozy.Eyes (Blue) by Nicole Button for Egozy *

Dress: ::{u.f.o}::Swan Lake, Act1 –white by Charming Meiler for ur.favorite.one

Undershirt: Chaospire “Lacepetal” Camibloomers Top (White) by Devyn Grimm for Chaospire

Bloomers: :::Sn@tch Late Boomers (White)::: by Ivey Deschanel for Sn@tch

Choker: *BOOM* Precious Bow Choker carnation by Aranel Ah for *BOOM*

Bows: Princess Bow Pink by BabyCreations for BabyCreations

Hands: Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands – Elegant by Siddean Munro for Slink

Nail appliers: Maai Slink * Fingernails * Darling by Snow Wolfhunter for Maai

Tights: .:*Millicent*:. pantyhose salmon by Lia Setzer for Millicent

Shoes: .:*Millicent*:. Ballerina shoe by Lia Setzer for Millicent

Prop: +CONVAIR+ Nutcracker Soldier by Tobias Convair for Convair, GIFT available exclusively in the KittyCatS & Friends Advent Calendar *

Poses: ~La Petite Morte~ The Nutcracker Suite Masha by Voshie Paine for La Petite Morte and *~*HopScotch*~* Scenes de ballet by Chandni Khondji for HopScotch

Thank you, sweet Liliandra Baxter for lending me your dress!!

Now that everyone has submitted their Christmas list to me, all I can say is… “You can’t always get what you want.” This particular lyric comes up in my life more often than not. Certainly in times like ours, it’s easy to feel we are being cheated out of things. It always seems the other guy is winning out: the neighbor gets a new car when the radiator on yours goes out, a co-worker gets the promotion you wanted, your friend meets the love of her life while you are still sitting at home alone on Saturday nights. We are always dissatisfied with something it seems.

The holidays are coming along now and you have to say to yourself, am I going to be happy with what I get and do? Am I going to open a gift and be thrilled simply that someone gave me something? Am I going to be happy that I was able to make a batch of cookies or make someone smile for a few minutes rather than having done the whole Martha Stewart perfect holiday thing? Am I going to enjoy the moments now and not think about what 2012 will bring, good or bad? I got all I need; what more could I want?

I am in that mode of thinking. It’s been a rough year for many but here we are. The earth is still rotating and gosh, SL is still chugging along despite everyone’s prognostications about its demise. When I make my Christmas list, it will be with this in mind. And my list-making outfit is shown here. A hand-knit bolero sweater from miu Villota tops a great striped henley from Rob Moonites. (He has a whole new set—for good boys and girls at his store.) Comfy black leggings from beanster Potato are tucked into Eponymous Trenchmouth’s festive Ugg-style boots (on sale for a mere 99L at his NEW store—check that lm).

Nena Janus gives me my Christmas red lips and glowing skin. A casual style from Truth Hawks completes the look. The scene in which I took my lead photo was constructed by Chandni Khondji, who has a plethora of holiday-themed scenes available for photographing. If you are currently planning your holiday photo, I would strongly recommend you check her store, which has scenes for all needs. Finally, my Christmas hat was a personal gift from Kermit, who bops in and out of SL to drop his creations on his friends. He has a great sense of humor (I will never forget the Halloween bat that picked me up and flew with me). Thanks, Kermit!