Author Archives: Cajsa Lilliehook

About Cajsa Lilliehook

Santino Rice's little ditty "It's only fashion" seems a perfect title for my little fashion blog as you and i know that fashion means the world to him. Co-founder of It's Only Fashion and Blogging Second Life.

Jazz Nights

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The little town of May’s Landing alongside The Chamber Society is a beautiful 1920s social club, one on the risqué side of town. 

Collabor88 is celebrating its second anniversary with a huge showcase – two stories featuring all the regulars and all the guests from the past year. It is the biggest Collabor88 showcase yet and best of all, it features the clothing from one of my favorite fashion eras, the 1920s. I first fell in love with the 1920s during my summer visits to my great aunt who was kindly called “a character.” She had been good friends with F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald and she and her husband partied with them at their apartment on Summit Avenue in St. Paul. However, time moved on and they and she did not.

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This lovely dress from The Secret Store is materials ready – and so lustrous in the moonlight.

How could a child not adore her, this 70-something woman dressed in rich, beaded and embroidered flapper gowns and gold and silver encrusted pumps with her hennaed hair in a bob with a flower on the side. She told wonderful stories of that era. Stories of speakeasies, parties and jazz. She taught me songs, dances and filled my head with stories of their parties, of meeting Charles Lindbergh before he disgraced himself, of Louis Tiffany and of course, Scott and Zelda. She loved that era and never left it. Yes, she was a few bubbles off plumb and probably looked ridiculous dressing in fashions sixty years out of time, but for a child – she was incomparable. Besides, she was family and families love their odd ducks.  Continue reading

Garden Delights

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Gizza has released a gorgeous lace dress perfect for summer days. I am wearing without the higher waisted full skirt flexis and the rose at the waist, opting for a more casual look using the mesh skirt and flexi leg prime. I like this closer fitting, dropped waist, simpler, sleeker and chic.

The lovely braided hair is from Iren. I picked it up at Hair Fair last month.

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I Am Ready to Collabor88

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My computer is back with a new hard drive, so it’s kind of like starting with a blank slate. It is certainly the cleanest clean install of Second Life I have done as it was the first application I installed. So there I was in-world again after my short hiatus and ready to Collabor88. But first, I had to log in as the LoveDonnaFlora avatar and transfer all the funds to Squinternet after the Love Donna Flora event. All in all, the event raised  $12,619.45 to help support Squinternet’s struggle with cancer. There may be some more coming in after the event, but it is likely to be small and will, of course, be transferred to Squint regularly.

Speaking of Donna Flora, the dress I am wearing is a perfect Collabor88tion of MiaMai’s Monica Outlander and Donna Flora’s Squinternet. Again, Monica executed Squint’s vision, marrying her skills and sensibilities with Squint’s exuberant love of vintage. The result is a dress that seems to have a third collabor88tor in the mix, Gustav Klimt. The blend of fabrics were surely chosen by Squint after consulting with Klimt. And who could be a better collabor88tor for the 1920s. It’s not well known, but Klimt designed some dresses with his lover Emilie Flöge, the couturier. His dresses hung from the shoulders, without a defined and corseted waist and were very bohemian in their aesthetic.
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AVENUE June and July

As the three year 100% coverage of my laptop nears its expiration, my computer has needed repairs yet again. This time it will get a new hard drive. Meanwhile I am locked out of Second Life®, but I have to at least appreciate that it died while under warranty, not after. I thought I might share some articles I have written recently for AVENUE.

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The June issue of AVENUE focused on Pride events and the Stand 4 Love campaign. Several people shared their coming out stories and many creators from the LGBT community were highlighted.

zibpage60One of the creators highlighted was Zib Scaggs of Zibska. I wrote this profile of her focussing on her rebellious creativity and spirit. I discovered we shared a love of ska, a love she incorporated into her store name and I incorporated into the article, Rebel In Me.

dutchie262My other article focussed on Froukje Hoorenbeek, the furniture and home builder who produces many gay-friendly furnishings. Talking to her, I discovered she creates a story that inspires her builds. She shared her process and it was fascinating. Of course, I called the article The Storyteller.

 

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The July issue of AVENUE was full of bright tropical colors and some fabulous style shoots that made my shopping list overflow. I did two stories, one on Akeruka, the skin and shape store, and one on another home decor store, floorplan.

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Talking with the skinners KaoZ Koba and Agony Helse of Akeruka, I learned that they  visualize whole characters, so I imagined a scenario bringing their cast of characters together in a dramatic situation in the article Akeruka: Skin Deep.

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In The Stuff of Life, I profiled Tegan Serin of floorplan. She’s one of those people who helps us turn our houses into homes, making the stuff that replaces the sterility of perfection with stories, personality and life.

So please, check out my stories and the many other great articles at AVENUE.

Oh, those monthly events

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The monthly events faMESHed and Collabor88 always come through with something wonderful For example, from faMESHed there is this gorgeous dress from NYU. The bodice is particularly lovely making its name “Bodice Dress” so appropriate.

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Giulia is Elegance Personified

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The Giulia dress from Baistice for Love Donna Flora is elegance personified. Sissy Pessoa does such a fabulous job with making textures that hug the body and catch the light. She finds beauty and elegance in simplicity, stark and unembellished. I added gorgeous scarlet silk gloves from 5th & Oxford.
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Why We Love Donna Flora

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I know why I love Squinternet Larnia. I love her because whenever I found a sim that was cool and I wanted to share it with someone, she dropped everything to come look. I love her because she was always ready to come dancing or exploring. I love her because she always asked how I was doing and wanted an honest answer, not a glib okay. I love her because she is funny, quirky and stubborn. I am really counting on that stubborn nature now.

But why do we love Donna Flora? I suppose it could be because she is a generous and charitable creator who was there with her support for every event and charity that asked.  I suppose it could be longevity. It could be her skill, the ability to make things that look and fit well. However, I think it’s more to do with how her wild and creative designs speak to our hearts. Seriously, if you told me there was a dress with pink satin, black tulle covered with giant pink peonies and big, gold flowers, I would roll my eyes and laugh at the idea. But then, take a look at this dress. It is exactly that and should be a hot mess of kitsch and instead it a hot melange of romance and glamour. It is pure genius. And with genius, we have two choices, love it or hate it? And we love it.

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Cats and Whimsy

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I fell for the whimsical dress from CIA Designs that is on sale at Love Donna Flora as soon as I saw those cats peeking over the black line. I love polka dots in the first place and polka dots and cats and this entire feeling of fun and whimsy is charming.

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I decided to go shoot my pictures at  Continue reading

Love Donna Flora Musical Benefit

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A huge musical extravaganza has been organized by Duncan Bradders at the lovely Zenzibar club on Zenshi. Opening at 2 PM SL with Dj Nathan and Maluy as host, there will be a full seven hours of music and dancing to celebrate Squinternet Larnia and raise funds for her health care needs.

The benefit will be streamed at the Love Donna Flora! sim as well, so if you cannot get to one place, you can go to the other.

The Grid Needs More Green Shoes

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Siddean Munro asked me if I thought making her mules in the colors of the Italian flag for Love Donna Flora would be cheesy. I said of course not, because after all, the grid needs more green shoes. What luscious shoes these are, too. Available in Italian Red, Green and White at Love Donna Flora.

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Green it is! My favorite color, I love the rich, bold green in this top from Milk Motion for Collabor88. I could play with the colors of the flowers, but I loved it just plain green.
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