The recent release from MIAMAI presented me with a challenge because well, despite being absolutely gorgeous….my tits would be out when I wore it. But I was determined to wear it because the texture is flawless and when paired with the Mahvi pants it was so completely awesome I couldn’t say no. But then – what to wear under it.

It was completely serendipity that I started slapping on undershirt layers – having in mind a disco – retro type theme when I ran into this tank from SOMNIA. Never might I ever have considered blogging Miamai which is as often concept fashion as it is off the rack wear, with SOMNIA – well known for their awesomely made basics and separates however, it’s a Studio 54 styled perfect match.

Now where is Misha or Mick? I wanna dance…

GO SHOPPING! 

Corset: Miamai_Luxure Corset Black Up
Sweater: :::Sn@tch Knit Shrug (Black-J):::
Manicure: Adam n Eve Manicure Silvery
Tank: .: Somnia :. Retro Tank Pattern 4A {US}
Lashes: Amacci – Eyelash Tattoo 6
Lipstick: -Belleza- Lily V2 Pale lip 1
Hairbase: Truth Hairbase – swedish
Hair: >TRUTH< Alessandra w/Roots – swedish
Shoes: Baiastice_Etienne Mesh Pumps-black
Earrings: Maxi Gossamer – Earring – ROHO 1 – SILVER -
Ring: Maxi Gossamer – RING – Roho – Large – L
Pants: Miamai_Mahvi Pants Sequined Blue S
Necklace: Maxi Gossamer – Roho – Medium – SILVER
Shape: Gidge ~Savoir Faire Shapes~
Skin: -Belleza- Lily V2 Pale 6 (cleavage)
Eyes: Poetic Colors -classic – broken string (m) bright
Poses: Status

I have stolen your clothes.

I know it’s clothes for boys but my romantic lover of period style costumes made the Etienne release from A:S:S irresistible. I considered putting it on a boy shape but why? IT LOOKS AWESOME ON MY ASS.

I ditched the gorgeously textured jacket because it is made for boys not for big hipped girls and I am a travesty at fitting prims.  I added instead a shrug from Sn@tch and I thought the Donna Flora Stefania jewelry was perfect for a Louis the XIV girl with green hair. There were a lot of those, yes?

“You see, until I met you, I had only ever experienced desire. Love, never.”

~Vicomte de Valmont, Dangerous Liasons

Your Shopping List:

Pants: A:S:S Decades – Etienne breeches – red 1 FOR CULTURE SHOCK
Sock: A:S:S Decades – Etienne socks – white
Sweater: :::Sn@tch Knit Shrug (Black-J):::
Vest: A:S:S Decades – Etienne vest – red (top)
Eyeliner: [PXL] KATE NAT Cat Eyes (Tattoo)
Lashes: Amacci – Eyelash Tattoo 4
Hair: /Wasabi Pills/ Cookie Mesh Hair – Deep ocean
Hat: A:S:S Decades – Etienne Tricorn – red
Boots: lassitude & ennui Prudence boots – M – black
Jewelry: Donna Flora: STEFANIA
Shape: Gidge ~Savoir Faire Shapes~
Skin: PXL Creations KATE NAT NE LEB C2
Eyes: Ibanez Liquid Eyes – Dire Wolf
Poses: Status

Gozii - a dress from Torn. Torn is a new store that opened in April featuring mesh clothing in a rainbow of colors and prints.

Mostly I am torn because I chose to feature a dress from Torn, a mesh clothing boutique owned by Torn Difference, but it’s not just a play on words. You know I am a sucker for community-building projects, so Harlow Heslop’s Pay It Forward Project has a lot of appeal for me. In an ideal world, it would have developed organically and not in response to conflict, but in the real world, conflict is the heat that makes the seeds of change sprout. There is one way in which I would love there to be a sea change in the blogging world and if this helps bring it about, I will be thrilled.

Nails from WTG and bracelets from Je Suis continue the black and white theme.

In my opinion, too many see blogging as a zero-sum game, as though the traffic that goes to a competitor’s blog is traffic that won’t go to one’s own. In truth, fashion blogging is more like Starbucks. When Starbucks first began opening their stores all across America, there was a lot of griping about it killing the small local coffeehouses. The reality is, though, that a Starbucks opening up near a local coffeehouse is often the best thing that happens to them. Starbucks is not just selling coffee, it’s converting people to the idea of high-end, specialty coffee and amplifying the market.

The Ashraya shoes are from Loovus Dzevavor, one of many gorgeous print pumps for The Ashraya Project. The photos were shot at The Flash Lounge - a wonderfully idiosyncratic black and white lounge that asks random trivia questions while you're there. Even while shooting with no one there but me, I could not resist answering. Yes, I answer the questions when I watch Jeopardy at home. Doesn't everyone?

How does Starbucks relate to blogging? Good fashion blogs generate more interest in fashion and in fashion blogs. People generally do not read just one blog, they read several. They start by checking out the blogrolls of favorite blogs in hopes of finding others with similar taste. They begin reading feeds and following fashion more closely. Blogging is the opposite of zero-sum, it’s more of a mutual-benefit relationship. This means is that traditional competition strategies are counter-productive. In a traditional business, you would never put up a sign for your competetor’s store in your store, but in blogging, inter-linking is critical to building your audience. There’s a synergy with competitors that creates an environment where what is good for one is usually good for all.  I don’t know whether doing good will generate enough good feeling to blunt the natural competitiveness that often fuels conflict, but it would be a great thing if it does. So, cheers to the Pay It Forward Project.

I love the delicate draping and natural look of the neckline. The bold, striking necklace & earrings are from Mandala.

Now on to actually Paying It Forward. I came across a new-to-me Torn storefront at The Ashraya Project and purchased this Gozii dress which I love for its beautiful draping and gorgeous neckline. It’s not just new to me, though. It just opened in April and is pretty new overall. I popped over to the main store and saw a lot of beautiful clothing with new shapes and styles. That link will take you to the Marketplace storefront where you can see the large and creative inventory filled with lots of gorgeous prints and fabulous tops, skirts and dresses. In the store, there’s a picture of some dresses that are “Coming Soon” that interest me. I love the color story and creative flair in the clothing and look forward to the store’s future with anticipation.

Hair from Dura and Belleza's newest release Lily complete the look. My bangs are hiding the red eyebrows that allow women of every hair color to enjoy this beautiful skin. The IKON eyes are a great new eye release and come in five sizes to suit traditional and fantasy avatars.

Okay, now this the Pay It Forward part. The hardest thing for bloggers to do is to criticize something about a design. We all know that great creativity and imagination are often accompanied by tender feelings and sensitivity. So we tend to focus on the positive and gloss over or only briefly mention the negative. However, that does a disservice to our readers and ultimately to the creators whose work we love, because if we see something that should be better and don’t say anything, then we are not doing our best for the creators either.

That’s why I am paying it forward by pointing out that there’s one flaw that made me hesitate to buy more clothing. I was so tempted by the fatpack of pencil skirts, but I stopped because it’s alpha on the inside. This is not the only store that does this. So many leave the inside alpha that we are coming to accept this as the price of mesh, but it should not be. There are a few stores that do texture the inside and their clothes are more wearable and more flexible. I don’t know the mechanics of creation well enough to know why so many leave the inside alpha, but even if it is more difficult and costs a little more to upload, I urge everyone to texture the inside. It makes your clothes so much more tempting and will win you more long-term committed customers who will value the difference.

Store info at Blogging Second Life
****SHOPPING LIST******

• Poses: Long Awkward Pose & Pose Anywhere HUD
• Skin: -Belleza- Lily V2 Pale 7
• Makeup Tattoos: -Belleza- Lily V2 Pale Red Brows Tattoo
• Eyes: IKON Horizon Eyes v2 – Pale Green (M)
• Lashes: LeLutka]-2011 lashes/curl/touch me
• Mani/Pedi: +:+WTG+:+ **Prelude** jeweled nail(L20)
• Hair: **Dura-Girl**03(Red)
• Clothing: Torn Difference{TD} Gozii_M_White
• Shoes: Loovus Dzevavor [[LD]] Major: Ashraya Pumps [Tracks]
• Jewelry: [MANDALA]SINRA earrings & Necklace
• ::je::suis::africain::bracelets light
• Location: The Flash Lounge maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dangsan/15/101/773

I’ll just ignore, but they keep saying we laugh just a little too loud
We stand just a little too close.
We stare just a little too long…

Damn. I thought we were being sly – too.

There is this great line from When Harry Met Sally, when Harry says “When you meet the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”

Of course, when Sally asks “Who is the dog?” he says, “YOU ARE.”

Which would of course, kind of make me love him more even as I stomped off in a ragey fit.

I am the dog A LOT. I stomped off in a ragey fit yesterday when I leaned my pose prop demos had gone beserk at Culture Shock (seen above in NOT BERSERK MODE) and I was the Dog for at least three hours last night.

But I’m lucky, because, just like in When Harry Met Sally, he loves me.
Even when I am the dog.

Available at Culture Shock – female pose prop scaffold

Pants: [Echo] Interlude Pants from CULTURE SHOCK
Top:Miamai_Sissi Jacket Bronze
Nails: [ PXL ] Manicure – Red #1 WhiteFrench
Lashes: Amacci – Eyelash Tattoo 6
Jaor: >TRUTH< Ebony w/Roots – swedish
rings: Maxi Gossamer – RING – Ketama – Large – R
MG – RING – Ketama – Small – L
Necklace: Maxi Gossamer – Celtic Cross – Medium – SILVER
Boots: [Gos] DARE Bootie – Black
Shape: Gidge ~Savoir Faire Shapes~
Skin: -Belleza- Lily V2 Pale 3 (cleavage)
Eyes: Ibanez Liquid Eyes – Dire Wolf
Pose Prop: STATUS – Female Scaffold – AVAIL AT CULTURE SHOCK

I suppose since Gidge and I both were at the Nzuri grand opening party, it makes sense that we both ended up blogging our lingerie today. Totally not a coordinated plan. It was a fun party and the lovely ladies who attended mostly wore lingerie since that is her store’s specialty niche. I DJ’ed for the party a fun set of burlesque and cocktail jazz music with some new remixes and modern electro-jazz. When Tracy Rubble, Nzuri’s owner/creator mentioned that Cell House Tango was one of her favorites, I had to add it to the set.

That was when we got raided.

Anyway, here’s the sexy and sassy lingerie I wore, named Sachi. I imagine in honor of Sachi Vixen of Adam n Eve. I like the wider straps on the bra. They really maintain their shape when I move. The garters so as well, for all but the most extreme poses. The shoes are some lovely orange mesh shoes from Celoe.

I am wearing the new Belleza skin named Lily which has a wonderful face. I have not had a chance to check out all the makeups it comes in yet, but trying it on for this post, I was very impressed. The jewelry is from Kunglers and the hair from Lelutka.

Store info at Blogging Second Life
****SHOPPING LIST******

• Poses: oOo Studio; Cell Block is from Reel Expressions
• Skin: -Belleza- Lily V2 Pale 7
• Makeup Tattoos:
• Eyes: IKON Horizon Eyes v2 – Pale Green (M)
• Lashes: Lelutka
• Hair: [LeLutka]-EXPERT hair – Rita
• Clothing: “Nzuri” Sachi Lingerie gold
• Shoes: [celoe.xylia.pump.oregon.
• Jewelry: (Kunglers Extra) Deorum

Nzuri held it’s relaunch party this past weekend and there was a lingerie party held to celebrate. I dithered forever at what to wear, because, while I LOVED everything, my pixel girl is a bit modest when it comes to lingerie and there was SO MUCH super sexy there, I had trouble deciding what to wear.

I settled on a practical bra and panty set with garters called Anya in a gorgeous red texture  and nice hand drawn details that make me admire the work that went into it. Perfect for blogging oh say – NEW SKIN.

And with that, let me introduce you to a beautiful new skin from Belleza called Lily. I love Tricky’s work always – and this one is no exception. It comes in 20 different makeups and six skin tones. I’m wearing pale. We blondes bitch and moan a LOT when brows don’t suit us, so girls – RUN DON’T WALK.

Lily also has red brows and dark brows  avail on the tattoo layer.

Beautiful work as always, Tricky.

Lingerie: “Nzuri” Anya Lingerie – Red -
Eyelashes: Amacci – Eyelash Tattoo 6
Eyes: Vision by A:S:S – Group gift (mesh) – Hazle
Hair: [elikatira] Here – Blonde 01
Poses: Gidge ~Savoir Faire Shapes~
Skin: -Belleza- Lily V2 Pale 7 (cleavage) NEW RELEASE
Poses: STATUS

Mami Jewell of Azul is known for her fabulous gowns made of sleek, shiny charmeuse, rich brocades, silks and satins festooned with flowers and ribbons and bows. She designs gowns for runways and pageants and for any woman who wants to feel like a star. She’s also very generous, producing three charity gowns for Culture Shock and for the Ashraya Project this month. With so much community involvement, I hope she has time for having fun. I decided to highlight the Phula dress she made as an exclusive for the Ashraya Project. When I tried it on, its flowing skirt made me think of a flower with its petals undulating in the water, so I headed for open water.

It’s a flirty dress offering flashes of leg with every movement. The black to white petals make me think of dahlias and the interplay of sunlight and shadow on the white and black turns it into a gray rainbow.

I added some sexy, strappy shoes from N-Core since this is a dress to show off legs.

The stunning Stefania set just released by Donna Flora works well. For a clear shot of all pieces including the ring, click here.

I heard on plurk today that there was a Fibromyalgia Fair going on and thought I had a bit of free time and should check it out. I was really pleasantly surprised, it’s a totally CUTE little fair with VERY NICE items for sale from creators I had heard of.

Basically, that’s a win to me. Also, for those of you who like a fun freebie, there were freebies at every station and many are cute and worth having.

I picked up this grocery bag pose prop item called FIRST NIGHT and figured, if this really hot lawyer chick I know is free, she could come over and I’ll make dinner and stuff.

Asking someone to come over, is asking them to come have sex. Asking them to come over and you’ll make dinner, means, there will be sex – plus you’ll cater. I AM SO DOMESTIC OMG.

This skin is FREE at the Fibromyalgia fair, from FELONY. That alone makes the TP worth your while.

Pop over and check out what is for sale and support a worthy cause.

You know, I went to the shops and got some stuff.

Style Notes:
Top: KOSH- DORA CAMISOLE -eggplant- Free at Fibromyalgia Fair
Skin: Adam n Eve Victoria Manicure Red
Pants: KOSH- CORDUROY PANTS -PURPLE- FREE AT FIBROMYALGIA FAIR
Hairbase: Baiastice_Hair base-BLONDE pale/porcelaine
Lashes: Amacci – Eyelash Tattoo 6
Hair Attachement: Baiastice-Yodi hair attachment-BLONDE (pale/porc)
Shoes: Baiastice_Etienne Mesh Pumps-black-
Groceries: CONCRETE FLOWERS- FIRST NIGHT KIT – at Fibromyalgia Fair
Ring: Maxi Gossamer – RING – Ketama – Small – L
Shape: Gidge ~Savoir Faire Shapes~
Skin: .::[ Felony ]::. Salome /Fawn/ Makeup 01 – FREE at Fibromyalgia Fair
Eyes: MONS / Shocking eyes – purple

]]> http://itsonlyfashionblog.com/2012/05/12/so-if-youre-free/feed/ 2 http://itsonlyfashionblog.com/2012/05/12/confection/ http://itsonlyfashionblog.com/2012/05/12/confection/#comments Sat, 12 May 2012 17:47:33 +0000 Cajsa Lilliehook http://itsonlyfashionblog.com/?p=15353 Continue reading →]]>

I feel like I am wearing a sugary, sweet confection in this fabulous pink and white ombre dress from Nyu. Nyu is a relatively new store, but one with well-developed fabrication and texturing skills which are evident in this fun and stylish dress. It is the donation item for the Ashraya Project and so is the fabulous posing chair from Behavior Body. Coming in several bright candy colors, the chair is a striking addition to your decor. Even better, it’s full of unique poses and mirrors. The chair is exclusive to the Ashraya Project. There’s no lag at the event, so your shopping will be easy and lag-free.

I adore this laid back pose. Like many pose props, it comes with an adjustment script to make it fit every shape. Just type /1a the chat line and you can adjust on the x, y and z axes for a perfectly placed pose. This pose shows of the fun tights from Izzie’s that I added. With their own subtle gradient, I loved how they look with the dress.

The shoes are Baiastice’ Etienne pumps. I loved the party pose from the chair and snapped a fun, low-angle shot inspired by the pose.  I didn’t shoot all 30 poses in the Behavior Body pose chair, but I did get quite a few more if you want to take a look, check out the Flickr set.

Perhaps my favorite detail of the dress is the asymmetric treatment of the bodice and the lovely half collar. The jewelry is from Maxi Gossamer, a gorgrous opalescent pink set that came with three lengths of necklace. I left the longest one off because I like the way the neckline frames the necklaces and a longer one would fall below that frame. All of the Maxi Gossamer jewelry is mesh, so it usually wears flawlessly.

Here you can see the necklace and earrings more closely. The chic modern cut is from Exile and the skin and makeup is from PXL Creations. I love the glossy lipsticks in this new Kate skin line. I am trying out some new eyes from IKON and love how natural they look.

22769 has released its mesh Ethnic/African inspired collection with awesome tube dresses and tops in different patterns, silk miniskirts and shorts and what i consider the best piece of the collection, a gorgeous turban called ”The Badu”.
The Badu, of course. Erykah docet.

Enjoy:

More pictures after the cut!

Turban, top, highwaist shorts and dress are all part of the fabulous new mesh collection.

I love the textures, the patterns, the colours of all of them, but, most of all, i totally fell for the turban, a great piece of art.

*_*

The tube dress in the following picture is part of the collection too, just less ethnic and more 60′ies

This dress is also the donation item at Culture Shock, which means that 100% of the proceedes will go to Médecins Sans Frontières.

Fantastic collection, isn’t it? It’s available at Culture Shock, but, after the weekend, you will also find it at the mainstore.

Have fun!

Ciao

CREDITS:

• Turban: 22769 – The Badu
• Top: 22769 – African Spring Top – brown
• Shorts: 22769 – Highwaist Shorts brown indian
• Dress: 22769 – Tube Dress Moroccan Night
• Jewellery: League – Wanderer Jewellery set
• Skin: Plastik – Aleria – Seahorse – Flush
• Tattoo: Sari’s – Henna Tattoo Set
• Make-up: Plastik – Aleria Makeups – Geisha – Gold
• Eyes: Mayfly – Deep Sky Eyes – Deep Honey Hazel
• Hair (with the dress): LeLutka – Rykiel – Dark Grayscale
• Poses: Miamai – from the Savage Beauty set
• Location: Africa

Last picture:

• Dress: 22769 -Tube Dress 60ies
• Skin: Glam Affair – Linn Light – Party!
• Hair (with the dress): LeLutka – Rykiel – Dark Grayscale
• Bracelets: Zaara – Kaya Turquoise
• Pose: Miamai – from the Strategies set

And here’s some awesomeness from Erykah Badu, one of my fav ARTISTS ever:
You got Me