The move is complete, the bags and boxes unpacked and I have settled into a chair to take a last look before crawling into bed.
The nice thing about moving in Second Life is that one does not have to look the part. I am wearing a mini-dress from 1992 that is the ne plus ultra of hot, sexy modernity. It’s revealing, edgy and definitely “designed” but not at all over-designed. It comes in a solid beige, a solid black or this print – and all can be found at The Dressing Room.
Well, I decided to go for it and move into the Brooklyn Carriage House from Trompe L’oeil. It’s smaller than the big brownstone I was living in and requires a lot less furniture, but I ended up buying some furniture anyway, because that’s what happens when you move. You need new things. Among the new things are this lovely vanity that’s also from Trompe L’oeil and a big blue velvet bed from there as well.
I added this glorious lounge/daybed from Mudhoney that can be found at this month’s Collabor88. The golden key embellishment at the bottom and the gorgeous tassels place it firmly within the Odyssey inspiration and that blue is a rich as the Aegean Sea.
I have been thinking about moving, downsizing from my lovely, but large, 5th Avenue townhouse and have been on the lookout for something marvelous. I think I found it at Collabor88 this month. I mean look at that red door! We need more red doors in our lives.
This month’s Collabor88 is inspired by the Odyssey and I am loving the many interpretations that designers are coming up with. I am fondest of those that are less literal – like this mini-dress from Tres Blah. It was a bit short for my taste so I added some leggings from Maitreya to avoid flashing my hoo-hah around.
So this carriage house from Trompe Loeil appeals to me as a new home. The only problem is that I will have to move. I hate moving – not as much in SL as in RL – but I still like to stay in one spot. However, I am pretty sure I will sign a lease on this place and move in shortly. I love carriage house apartments. When I was in college, I had a friend who rented a carriage house. It was gorgeous inside and the rent was reasonable, best of all, though, it was on an estate – so there were these magnificent grounds that he was able to use – so long as he scheduled with the owners. Lucky guy!
Queen Elizabeth I had it right some 450 years ago when she said “I would not open windows into men’s souls.” We all have opinions and we have a right to them — even if they are stupid, destructive and wrong. I think most of agree on that. Where we diverge is when our opinions move to actions that impinge on other people. That happens all the time in society. Much of politics is about building enough political power to be able to take our opinions and move them into actions that impinge on others whether it’s trying to prevent others from marrying whom they love or blocking companies from polluting our groundwater – it is about making our opinions trump those of others.
But there are places where moving from thought to action has no place. The particular circumstance I am thinking of is the effort people make to discourage others from giving to or supporting community efforts to help others in Second Life®. We all may have opinions about the relative merits of one fundraiser over another and we certainly should make no effort to support anything we disagree with. We might think this person is not doing enough to help herself or that person’s need is frivolous or distrust the circumstances or even doubt there is a real need. That’s fine. Skepticism is a healthy quality to have.
However, there is no Selective Service Administration drafting designers and ordering them to produce for this tour. Shoppers are not herded into venues to spend money against their will. Moreover, if you are a shopper and buy a pair of shoes for 250L at a fundraiser, you get a pair of shoes that would cost 250L or more at the store since designers often discount for fundraisers. You’re not donating, you’re shopping. You might spend a little more because you think it’s for a good cause, but you get a fair return for your money.You lose nothing. The only people who risk are the creators and if they have made the decision to contribute, that’s their prerogative.
There are a couple of fundraisers right now to help individuals with urgent family needs. The hair, dress, shoes, mani/pedi and necklace in today’s outfit come from one of those events, <3Ulaa. <3Ulaa is raising funds to help Ulaa Coronet to take her son to meet his grandmother for the first and final time. His grandmother is dying of cancer. For me, this is a compelling need and one that I think is worthy of my time and my lindens – and that’s my prerogative. If you don’t agree, don’t shop there. You will miss out on all sorts of adorability, but that’s your prerogative Continue reading
I had my seventh rez-day last month and have been blogging for six and half years, so I think I have a reasonable informed perspective on Second Life® fashion history. It is from that perspective that I think it is worthwhile to recognize the third anniversary of Collabor88 – a fashion even that, to me, is one of the true game changers in SL fashion.
When I began in SL, events were not nearly so integral to fashion marketing as they are now. Of course, there were events. The fashion year was punctuated by a few big annual fundraising fairs and specialty expos for shoes, hair and skin. There were also a few “Fashion Week” extravaganzas of runway shows featuring big season collections from 20 to 30 designers.
For marketing, stores predominantly relied on their groups, announcements in marketing groups like FashCon and gaming their traffic stats to get higher in search by using lucky chairs or camping. I confess I miss the camaraderie of lucky chairs. I can remember standing around for an hour or more waiting for a “C”, teleporting in friends to advance the letters, chatting with others who are waiting and even hanging out after my letter came out to help with finding a “Q” or a “Z” to hit that chair. Folks chatted with each other and friendships formed.
Mostly, we shopped at stores. We had learned the rhythms of our favorite designers. Donna Flora releasing every other week, Truth Thursdays and SN@tch Wednesdays. Digit’s secret sales on Sundays. It was seldom frenetic and only a new shoe from Maitreya, new hair from ETD, or new anything from Lelutka would launch a frenzy of people trying desperately to get into a full sim.
Pinwheel at LEA26 is a great new installation – where you can spend hours walking up and down the towers – a collection of triangles. All the pictures were shot there.
Then along came Designers United – an “inspiration” fair where a small group of designers created items organized to a theme – Vaudeville, Op Art, Narcissus, Jellyfish, Surrealism. It was exciting to see how different people responded to the theme. There’s something fascinating about seeing people start with the same thing, run off on their own and see where they end up. But Designers United is irregular, with the first in 2009 and the fifth in 2013.
The magic of Collabor88 is that it gives us this fascinating exploration of a theme, but institutionalized with a monthly schedule so we know when it’s coming and can plan, anticipate and swoon on schedule. In addition, Collabor88 has a color palette for their theme. This lets you mix and match items from different designers. In many ways, Collabor88 is a game changer. I know there were monthly events before Collabor88, just as others wrote about evolution and natural selection before Darwin, but for me, Collabor88 is the event that changed Second Life shopping.
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I’m not always a man…but when I am……I wear beards and messy hair and pretend I’m a hobo (a very clean and handsome one). lol
Wearing:
Belleza – Dylan – Pale 1
[INK] ZEUS – Black – Hair and Beard (Collabor88)
Caster Inc. – One The Can See Denim Jacket and Shirt
Suicide Gurls – Ne Zha Unisex Tattoo
Ikon Ascension Eyes – Midnight
Bloody Mess – Cigarette with no filter
I know Gidge blogged this dress from Fission a couple weeks ago. I had already put it on and styled it before I saw her blog post and I have not had the energy to change clothes. I do plan to change clothes sometime today. It’s been two weeks and even pixel clothing can get stale.
Sometimes life can change “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” and nothing is the same after that. Two weeks ago, that happened to my sister when she learned she had breast cancer. She made me promise not to freak out or worry, so I tried, but I did not succeed. When we all lost my brother to cancer; it was easier. I always assumed he would get cancer from chain smoking all his life and that’s what happened. But my sister does not smoke, does not drink except for a glass of wine now and then and, as a nutritionist herself, has always favored a healthy diet and exercise at a local gym. In essence, she did all the right things and still got got dealt the cancer card.
Except in Cali, out here we could use the rain and a lot of it! If only I could hand everyone one of these awesome umbrellas from NODE I could solve the drought. With a click of a button the umbrella opens up and rain falls from above. (side note: for picture effect I did post process a bit more rain into the picture).
UBER started yesterday and there are many great designers there, like Tres Blah, who is in my top 3 fav clothing makers. I love the partial tucked in shirt thing going on. Also the jean skirt is nice and there are many tones to choose from. I like that I’ll be able to use this skirt in many different outfits. It’s a staple really, like flour.
Tres Blah – Open collar Blouse – Pink (UBER)
Tres Blah – Denim Mini Skirt – Dark Wash (UBER)
[ MUDSKIN ]_Premium Group Gift @ 2014 July
Exile::Young and Beautiful (HAIR FAIR 2014)
++NODe++ umbrella v2 NO2
Happy Undead – Chained Flip Flops
Pose: LUXE. – WS1pose6 1
City Scene Built by me for shoot.
Which is pretty much how I feel right now. Truth released this really cute hair called Malibu for Uber’s grand opening. The headband is detachable and modifiable so you can actually tint it to any color if you want or you can use the pre-made textures and colors from the Hud.
TRUTH HAIR Malibu 2 – UBER event
[ MUDSKIN ]_Premium Group Gift @ 2014 July
IKON Utopia Eyes – Faerie Green
{Social Vintage} High Seas Pirate Corset (Group Gift)
Garage *Eyelashes v.20*
In RL I don’t think I own a stitch of orange clothing and to be honest, I don’t own much of it in SL but when I saw these adorable and cheap skirts and tops from *CoKo* at the Okinawa Summer Festival, I just couldn’t pass it up. Don’t let the vendor fool you, they are actually textured really nice.
*CoKo* side pockets Skirt -Fruit- (OKINAWA SUMMER FESTIVAL)
*CoKo* Tops -Orange (OKINAWA SUMMER FESTIVAL)
(Milana) Joan – Rainbows I (Hair Fair 2014)
Happy Undead – Chained Flip Flops
Slink AvEnhance Hands and Feet
Glam Affair – Oakley Skin (past gacha item)
22769 ~ [bauwerk] Somewhere beyond the sea Chaiselongue black
Botanical – ‘Twoey’ Carnivorous Plant
Nylon Outfitteres – CopyCat Art – Mother with Kittens (past gacha item)
Marukin – passion – gypsy princess 1 POSE