Gidge and I did a bit of shopping yesterday morning with running stops at Fifty Linden Friday stores and ending at Collabor88 where we both felt like doofuses when we saw the second building full of items. I said, “How many times have I come here and never noticed there were two buildings? What a dork!” and Gidge, like me, said, “I never noticed it either.” While we both pondered what wonderful creations we may have missed in our neglectful visits in past months, we busily ran around picking stuff up. Of course, later we learned that it’s just this month that there’s the second build and we have not been missing out on half the collection every month! That makes me feel better. I saw a couch and Christmas tree there that I absolutely adored and wanted so much and for only 88 lindens I thought i could splurge – even though I don’t have a house to decorate. So I put it in my little photobox and slapped on a couple textures from Distressed Textures to make it look like i have a house and voila, there it is! There are five sits on the couch and three on the floor with a nice mix of feminine and masculine poses.
This tree made me laugh. It reminded me so much of this fabulous dried tree branch I used to have that I painted white and potted in a vase with some cement. It arched over my couch at a nice safe height, just high enough to not snag your hair even in an updo. I left it mostly plain except for a few epiphytes, but at Christmas would string it with white lights. I loved it, unfortunately, so did the dog my former roommate babysat for her boyfriend. In the epic battle of dead tree versus 185 pound rottweiler, the tree lost.
I also picked up this lovely top and skirt from Tres Blah at Collabor88. I saw Moo Money wearing it the other day – though hers was in peach – and thought it was just so lovely that I wanted my own, though I chose a different color so as not to be a total copycat.
The shoes are a new release from Kalnins Footwear. I recognize that the new Kalnins releases are more expensive than their older shoes, but I think the ease and flexibility of the new skin coloring hud is alone worth the increase in price. I love that it shows me a preview of an increases in the color values before I click on it. I also think they stand up well in comparison to other shoes that cost as much or more for a single color while these shoes are almost limitless in your color choices. You can select the metal, the heel, trim and the body colors of the shoe and mix and match them as you please. The thing is, I want designers to be motivated, to keep on creating, to stay in Second Life – and for that we have to be willing to support an economic model that can sustain and motivate creators. Sales events like FLF and Collabor88 should be seen as introductions to stores and designers, not as a replacement for retail shopping altogether.
I added a skin from the With Love hunt from C.I.A. I was familiar with C.I.A.’s innovative and exciting fashions, but did not know they made skins. That’s one of the ways hunts should work, increasing our awareness of designers and what they do to whet our appetite for more. The hair is from Dura, and yes, it’s boy hair. I don’t care, I love it. I tint it a bit because they don’t have a red I like, but with a dash of peachy coral added to the original color, it’s perfect. The jewelry is another thing I found at Collabor88 – and this design is out in 7 different colors and as always, EarthStones work is impeccable.
****STYLE NOTES******
- Poses: Status Shooz poses plus Art Dummy Edge of Winter Couch Poses
- Set: plain box with Distressed Soft Organic Textures, Art Dummy The Edge of Winter Couch and Tree
- Lashes: [LeLutka]-2011 lashes/curl/touch me
- SkinL [CIA] Sofia skin NATURAL – Red lips – freckles for With Love Hunt
- Eyes: Poetic Colors classic – forest morning (m) bright
- Nails: [ PXL ] Manicure – Nat #3 WhiteFrench
- Hair: **Dura-Boy**19(Sienna)
- Dress: Tres Blah -tb- Amor Fati Dress
- Shoes: Kalnins Footwear – Scarlett
- Jewelry EarthStones Icicle Set Minty