A Little Bit Independent

A little bit independent in your walk
A little bit independent in your talk
There’s nothing like you in Paris or New York
You’re awfully easy on the eyes
A little bit independent when we dance
A little bit independent toward romance
A bit of sophistication in your glance
And yet you’re easy on the eyes

I spend a lot of time in SL, a “social space,” alone. I am kind of an independent girl. I like to shop alone (because I like to get in and out); I blog alone (no one shining their facelamp on me); I live alone (no one else’s prims to clean up after). And I can have a BIG closet all to myself.

I got this cute outfit out of my closet today to show you the skill that Nyte Caligari has. She has combined great system pieces with a brilliant sculpty on top AND an alpha layer around the torso that takes the mesh breasts out of the equation so the top fits everyone. Nyte has been in SL a long time and she has stayed up with the new design technologies that SL offered so she can make a kickin’ outfit like this and make it look easy.

My skin is one of Apple May’s newest and I am very charmed. Her rosy cheeks are presumably the “doll like” part of this skin but they are not overwhelming. I love the gentle glow of the skin, the soft highlights on the lips and brow. Apple does not overdodge, which I see on a LOT of skins. Apple has improved her skins leaps and bounds and she is going to be placing herself in the top skins soon, based on this offering.

Whenever I’m with you alone
You weave a magic spell
And though it be a danger zone
I only know that you’re swell
A little bit independent with your smile
A little bit independent in your style
But how can I help but love you all the while
When you’re so easy on the eyes
~ “A Little Bit Independent” by Fats Waller

Hair: **Dura-Boys&Girls**13(Black) by chiaki Xue for Dura *

Skin: (AMD) Ava – Tan – Doll Like *Kelley* by Apple May for Apple May Designs *

Outfit: Nyte’N’Day – Elle – Fuchsia by Nyte Caligari for Nyte’N’Day *

Earrings: *CentoPallini*Le Catene Key Bracelet & Earrings/Silver by caran Juran for *CentoPallini*

Nails: [ Love Soul ] Posing nail*Oval-Metallic* by BlueStarRUI Villota for Love Soul

Shoes: SLink Aveela Stilettos Black by Siddean Munro for SLink *

Silver Lining

“Too many people miss the silver lining because they’re expecting gold.” ~ Maurice Setter

It bears repeating that SL definitely has its problems, but there are many wonderful things about it. I would say now my biggest gripe about it is everyone else griping. I am tired of the complaints. Considering how the larger world is having problems, the death of Avatars United or a few crashes seems really not a big deal. For example, I log into SL and see this beautiful dress from Nicky Ree and the day is made more lovely all of a sudden.

Nicky exercises all her best skills with this dress. For example, she makes a gorgeous, translucent system piece on top with a lovely flower motif to cover the critical parts. She echoes those flowers in the system skirt (showing also her skill in lining up two pieces like this—no small task). The system pieces, incidentally, have razor sharp edges—no ghosting, no pixelation. Then she paints it with a glistening silver texture, translucent and shimmering all at once. And the dress has her characteristic silhouette—sleek and elegant.

My hair is up in a pretty hairstyle from Britnee Hadlee, who has been on the grid for quite a while, making gorgeous hairstyles of all kinds for ladies. Skin is Tuli Asterias’ newest offering for The Dressing Room. Once again Tuli gives us a pink eyeshadow, this time echoed in glossy pink lips. And instead of prim lashes, I opted for monica Outlander’s tattoo layer lashes. Finally, a pretty necklace from Hibiscus Flossberg from her new gacha machine. Go pump some lindens in—some pretty things to be gotten.

Sail on, Silver girl,
Sail on by
Your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way
See how they shine
~ Paul Simon

Hair: Ava/Stinky by Britnee Hadlee for Simply Britnee *

Skin: []::Tuli::[] The Dressing Room :: Helena 03 by Tuli Asturias for Tuli, exclusive to The Dressing Room *

Makeup: Miamai_LesMakeups_Lashes 11 by monica Outlander for Miamai *

Dress: *DNR* Stacy Gown Collection Silver Grey by Nicky Ree for Designing Nicky Ree *

Necklace: PD Orchid in Amphora Necklace Exotic Pink Sil by Hibiscus Flossberg for Puarangi Designs *

Nails: [ Love Soul ] Posing nail*Oval-Pearl* by BlueStarRUI Villota for [ Love Soul ]

Tavi Tavi Tavi: An Homage

The news has flown around the internet that Tavi Gevinson is the blogger to read if you want to read about fashion. Only 14 years old, she has become the blogeuse célèbre of fashion, beating out The Sartorialist and Jak & Jil to get a spot in the New Yorker and on their website.

Everyone is curious why Tavi is so popular, but I get it. She is just a girl, in a house in Oak Park, Illinois, who likes to clip photos out of her magazines and make collages and revel in the beauty of her chosen media–fashion. She reminds us not only of our passion for fashion but our passion for something bigger than ourselves when we were young. She reminds us of that plunge into some subject so deeply that it becomes our adolescent obsession.

In homage to Tavi, I wanted to kind of cop her “look,” which is a combo of high fashion and thrift. I have to say, my look came off more thrift than haute, but this is MY homage, ‘k? First I start with my shape, which I shrunk drastically to match Tavi’s RL 4’10”. Then a dress from Canimal Zephyr, which had that sort of thrift-store prettiness and girly, not sexy, shape that Tavi favors (for reason—she’s 14).

Then I put on a bunch of accessories because Tavi does accessories. First the shawl comes attached to an obi that I have modified so it doesn’t show made by cyam Amat, revealing a sort of thriftiness. Then we have the Tavi glasses, modified to remove the little bow in the middle but I left the cute stars on the corners. The armwarmers—she may or may not wear them but they are fun enough I think she would. I layered two pairs of tights—layering is Tavi’s specialty.

I chose Gala Phoenix’s skin because it’s so youthful and as I looked at myself, I really did see Tavi and her freshness in this face, especially her bee stung lips and gentle coloring. The hair, from BlueStarRUI Villota tries to replicate her fading red dye job. Tavi does a lot of hair experimenting on a shorter bob like this one. And the flower poof from Lapipi Camel? Totally Tavi. She loves bows, barrettes and flowers.

Finally, Tavi loves shoes. She has platforms and slippers, pumps and sandals. This is where she doesn’t hold back. I chose Cerberus Noel’s newest shoes to fill the role because their funky, fashionable and youthful square toe and color changable-trim (orange to highlight the arm warmers) plus the fantastic big buckle. The bowed leg warmers from Radio Signals adds the final touch with their whimsical and warm scrunchiness. I did modify the bow to be more olive than was presented in the color change menu that came with the bows.

I’m just a “Style Rookie”:

Hair: [ Love Soul ] Hair*031-A*Strawberry by BlueStarRUI Villota for [ Love Soul ]

Skin: :GP: Sundust [Dark] June-Pure 3 by Gala Phoenix for Curio

Dress: Canimal – Fallen (earth brown) by Canimal Zephyr for Canimal

Hair Ornament: Lapipi.:.Be w/ me hair flower.:.PINK (left ear) by Lapipi Camel for :::Lapipi:::

Glasses: [LP] Cute Nerdy Girl Glasses (Stars) by Sakuradawn Lei for Lazy Places (Modified)

Shawl: Rin Otome Shawl & 9type Obi-Matcha by cyam Amat for PopFeel (Modified)

Armwarmers: *Sari’s* Armcandy Armwarmers Orange by Sari Telling for Sari’s

Tights: AMERIE – Gacha_09 by Amerie Spittler for Amerie

Stockings: *aN* TornFishnerTights FOREST by Amerie Spittler for Amerie

Leg Warmers: ~Scribble~ Stocking Stuffer (Brown Legwarmers) by Radio Signals for ~Scribble~ (Modified)

Shoes: *GF* Square-toe Shoes “Sophie” -brown- by Cerberus Noel for G Field

Autumn Heat

I am waiting for that little last burst of summer before autumn really kicks in, when the air is warm with a touch of chill, the sun is golden through the leaves and summer gives us her final burst of beauty before leaving. It hasn’t come but when it does, I know what to wear.

AvaGardner Kungler has just come out with this wonderful dress, a combo of abstract texture with a beautifully rendered silk top. Leave it to AvaGardner to create the top asymmetrically with two pieces of silk criss-crossing and wrapping around to the back. Her texture work is superb with shadows and puckers correctly rendered and a sheen that is there but not so overt we are conscious of it. The mini skirt moves well with the avatar and lines up PERFECTLY. (She took on a challenge with her horizontal stripes and knocked it out of the ballpark.) I was looking at some of the real life stuff from fashion week in New York and realized that drawing it in SL would not be very easy. I think AvaGardner could pull it off.

I show this dress with the smokin’ hot skin from Tuli, her latest line. (Check out my new profile photo in-world–I wear the same skin.) I love the lip colors available on the tattoo layers, but I am still worried about expecting all customers to use clients that employ alpha layers. I tried another viewer—Impudence this time—so I could get the alpha layer. I still crash in it more than Snowglobe, especially when I take photos, but I like it other than that.

The necklace is from Julia Merosi, who has set up shop on Bax Coen’s sim and is making lovely jewelry. This necklace has color changers that can change different sets of beads so the combinations are endless. The earrings are from Bella Bombast, who has quite a great collection of jewelry and fashion with African influences. And my shoes? Ms. Siddean Munro loves my feet and I love hers. This sexy pair comes with two huds—the standard one for changing skin tone (totally easy to use, even for dorks like me), nail color and shoe size and then another for changing the color of the gems.

It was Indian summer, a bluebird sort of day as we call it in the north, warm and sunny, without a breath of wind; the water was sky-blue, the shores a bank of solid gold.
–   Sigurd Olson

Hair: >TRUTH< Cindy Streaked – burgundy by Truth Hawks for >TRUTH< *

Skin: []::Tuli::[] Audrey (tone 3/br) :: 05 with []::Tuli::[] Audrey t3 – dark 8 matte by Tuli Asturias for Tuli *

Dress: (Kunglers) Sandra – apple dress by AvaGardner Kungler for Kunglers *

Necklace: ::je::suis::boheme::necklace by Julia Merosi for je suis…

Earrings:  -=UZURI=- Dalya Ear Rings by Bella Bombast for UZURI

Nails: [ Love Soul ] Posing nail*Oval-Natural* by BlueStarRUI Villota for [ Love Soul ]

Shoes: SLink Mikaela Shoes Bronze by Siddean Munro for SLink

Purple Passion

Purple is the color of royalty, of modernity, of nature and spirituality. It’s also a very great color to make a simple suit suddenly seem bright and fashionable.

In this case, Neferia Abel uses purple to great effect for this suit and culottes combo, washing plum over this tailored tweed ensemble. She takes what seems a very simple pattern and makes it work by adding studied shadows and details. Frankly, I am not always thrilled with a monochromatic look in an outfit but Neferia uses this to her advantage,  weighing silhouette against pattern against color to make a great design.

Tuli Asturias’ Dressing Room offering for this week seemed a perfect fit to this suit. With the purple eyeshadow and neutral lip, it suits this look well. The shoes are a very generous group gift from Cerberus Noel and are pretty enough to get the fat pack.

“She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.” ~ Proverbs 31:22, Bible, New International Version

Hair: LH_hair11_ley_white_L by Falastear Aeon for Little Heaven

Skin: []::Tuli::[] The Dressing Room :: Helena 01 by Tuli Asturias for Tuli, available exclusively at The Dressing Room *

Outfit: -L`Abel-Valja plum set by Neferia Abel for L’Abel

Earrings: [ glow ] studio – Glamour Earring Silver by Jocelyn Anatine for [ glow ]

Nails: [ Love Soul ] Posing nail*Oval-Pearl* by BlueStarRUI Villota for [ Love Soul ]

Shoes: *GF* Bow Strap Shoes “Kate” -plum- by Cerberus Noel for G Field

I Love Emerald!

I want to see how many hits I get off that title in a lame grab for traffic. Ha! What I really mean is I love the COLOR emerald. The viewer debate—I am kind of over it. I really REALLY hope they get the alpha layer in Snowstorm. And fwiw, I like Snowglobe :p

The good news is (and there is some) that I am seeing lots of old friends showing back up on the grid. Today I show you a creation from Vindi Vindaloo. Lots of you “newbies” won’t know who this lady is, but she was probably one of the first who made fashion creation a viable consideration in SL. At one time, Vindi Vindaloo was what you aspired to. Her business models for advertising, driving traffic, and creating content were all smart and lucrative. Then Vindi dropped off the grid for a while (to welcome her gorgeous son into the world). But she’s back now and better than ever, creating her own graphics and sculpties.

I show this terrific outfit from Vindi, showing her European fashion sensibilities. I love the longer skirt with the leggings underneath and the green stockings. The texture is rich and sophisticated in its color palette and glistens with emerald and amethyst.

I wear a pretty skin from Twilythula Sorbet that has the same color ways as the outfit. I really like how this looks with the outfit and the tone of skin against the emerald. My boots are from Cerberus Noel’s terrific collection.

“The road to the City of Emeralds is paved with yellow brick.” ~ L. Frank Baum

Hair: [ Love Soul ] Hair*031-B*Mocha by BlueStarRUI Villota for [ Love Soul ]

Skin: .:Twilythula:. PaNina Berry/Tan by Twilythula Sorbet for .:Twilythula:.

Outfit: (Vindi) Scent of Autumn Green/Pink by Vindi Vindaloo for Vindi Vindaloo

Ring: *KUROTSUBAKI* flower ring by sato Yifu for *KUROTSUBAKI*

Boots: *GF* Short Lace-Up Boots –Moss by Cerberus Noel for G Field

Boxed In

Sometimes I just feel boxed in.

Especially when I have lingerie to model. I just don’t want to do the same boudoir chair, the same dark background thing. I hauled out this pose box, made by Katey Coppola, and went nuts. What’s sexier than a girl in her own gift box, especially when she is wearing new lingerie from the doyenne of lingerie, camille Yosuke. With its lace details, pretty floral pattern, it’s sexy but not vulgar. I especially like camille’s stockings—the gray look so silky. You know they need to be rolled off carefully when removed.

Tuli Asturias’ skin from The Dressing Room (no longer available—sorry—best get there while the gettin’s good), is a sexy way to show off this lingerie. And pretty little bowed slingbacks from Cerberus Noel complete this lovely look.

Sometimes a box is just a box ;)

Hair: Maitreya Zoe – Peroxide Blond by Onyx LeShelle for Maitreya

Skin: []::Tuli::[] The Dressing Room :: Gina 05 by Tuli Asturias for Tuli *

Lingerie: Elsa Blue Liberty Set by INSOLENCE by camilla Yosuke for Insolence *

Nails: [ Love Soul ] Posing nail*Oval-Pearl* by BlueStarRUI Villota for [ Love Soul ]

Shoes: *GF* Ribbon Slingback Shoes –silver by Cerberus Noel for G Field

Posebox: GLITTERATI – Sci-fi Hallway by Katey Coppola for Glitterati

Feel Good

SLCC is over but I didn’t miss it all. I heard from many friends who are in Boston and got to see Philip’s speech (from the horse’s mouth rather than through everyone’s analysis). I even got to do a presentation, though this time it was from THIS side of the screen rather than from the dias as last year.

I feel a bit better about SL after hearing Philip speak. I think I needed to know they were actually setting down a list of priorities and goals for those priorities. Some people are not going to be happy, but as the old adage goes, you can’t make everyone happy all the time. I feel pretty good about things just knowing something is being done, so I “feel good.”

That being said, have you been to Pixel Dolls lately? Pixel Dolls was one of my first indulgences in SL, and it proves the test of time. I got this dress yesterday and love it. Dolce Blackflag  reuses and reconsiders her beautifully drawn system pieces in different combinations and with a variety of prims. Her pieces are sexy and Victorian all at once with an abundance of romantic laces, brocades, pearls and buttons. Whereas true Victorian would have the body cinched and covered, Dolce shows off the sexiness of skin and femininity with her fashions. In this dress, she combines a beautifully rendered system piece with black pearls that hold the top barely shut. Lacy sleeve prims are echoed in the skirt,  netting dripping down in an almost ragged fashion. It’s much like a RL fashion collection–she has a definite vision and voice in her work and she uses a set of motifs and styles throughout her work.

I wear with the dress leggings from LeeZu Baxter, who delights us with the same sense of sexiness and fashion. These burlesque tights include chains around the knees (!) and garters that stretch from the thigh to the calf. Boots from Eshi Otawara complete the outfit—one of her own sculpties. She’s selling colored versions of these at the Shoe Fair for an unbeatable price. Can you beat a boot with such a pretty flower and such a whimsical (and structurally unsound) heel? I’d kill myself wearing these in RL but in SL? No problem! It’s all good ;)

Love forever love is free
Let’s turn forever you and me
~Feel Good Inc. by Gorillaz (Rhythms Del Mundo remix)

Hair: Luxi – Black (skull) by Rosie Lavochkin for Deviant Designs

Skin: :: DUTCH TOUCH ::kEIra:: Olive – Delight CL1 EBblack by Iki Ikarus for Dutch Touch

Dress: (PixelDolls) Duchess Pearl .  White by Dolce Blackflag for PixelDolls

Leggings: [LeeZu!] Burleske Tights /black by LeeZu Baxter for LeeZu!

Earrings: *kraftika jewelry No 130 Earrings by Anuitka Barthelmess for *kraftika

Nails: [ Love Soul ] Posing nail*Oval-Metallic* by BlueStarRUI Villota for [ Love Soul ]

Boots: Lady Silverer Boots by Eshi Otawara for Eshi Otawara, other colors available at the Shoe Fair * (I asked her to make silver custom for me :P)

Shimmer

I have been in SL long enough that friends can go quiet and wander off to do their thing and later IM to “catch up.” I love catching up. An old friend IM’d me, gave me the rundown on his SL, and came up with the great title for this blog. Thanks, Tristan ;)

And shimmer this dress does. The Dressing Room offering from AvaGardner Kungler, this beautiful piece is done in her typical elegant style. You can FEEL the silkiness of this dress, see the shimmer of the light playing on it. It’s a simple dress, rendered very nicely. I pair it with shoes from N-Core, a delicious pair being sold at the Shoe Fair this week. (Yes, I did a LOT of shopping!)

I am showing it with the group gift skin from Tuli Asturias for the Audrey series. You will be seeing more of that in the coming days. It is, as with all of Tuli’s work, absolutely gorgeous (and perfectly suited to me *ahem*). I mean, look at the makeup. *sigh*

Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other’s gold.

Hair: ((JUNWAVE))YUKO*D-BROWN* by LGM Jun for ((JUNWAVE))

Skin: []::Tuli::[] Audrey (tone 4/br) :: VIP group exclusive by Tuli Asturias for Tuli

Dress: (Kunglers) TDRB – Silk dress by AvaGardner Kungler for Kunglers

Earrings: Bliensen + MaiTai – Vintage Earring by Plurabelle Laszlo for Bliensen + MaiTai

Nails: [ Love Soul ] Posing nail*Oval-Natural* by BlueStarRUI Villota for [ Love Soul ]

Shoes: N-core TRESOR XtremeHeel “Brown” by Claire Messenger for N-core, and available at this year’s Shoe Fair

Polka Dot Princess

The princess, the girl who has everything, who can wear anything, who will wear anything and wear it as she pleases… that’s what I want to be sometimes.

It’s easy to be a princess in this dress from Kimmera Madison. With its sculpty puffs and bows, it’s not something just any woman can wear. Kimmera has always managed to make her textures so real with the right highlights and shadows and a richness in the material that is not easy to replicate. Our princess is definitely not wearing off-the-rack.

I show it with a lovely skin from Lorac Farella that I spotted in her remodeled store/sim. I love the subtlety of the skin, which could serve a blonde as well as a brunette. The lips are luscious, the eye makeups subtle and sophisticated, and especially nice is the collarbone, which is not a “stain” as I see on so many skins, but a drawn beautiful feature.

“Being a princess isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.” ~ Princess Diana

Hair: MIEL SUN HAIR – brown 5 by Mika Nieuport for MIEL

Skin: Pulse Skin Trinity/M 2 by Lorac Farella for Pulse Skins *

Dress: Tres Beau “Polka Spot” Brown by Kimmera Madison for Tres Beau *

Nails: [ Love Soul ] Posing nail*Oval-Natural* by BlueStarRUI Villota for [ Love Soul ]

Jewelry: Ear Candy ~ Chocolate Diamond Necklace and Earrings by Maeve Mortlock for Ear Candy

Shoes: [Armidi Gisaci] Barcelona Slingback  – Bole w/Gold by Nicole David for Armidi