The theme for Collabor88 this month is Supernova with a cosmic rainbow of brilliant colors at home in any nebula you care to park your starship. Milk Motion delivers a cosmic jacket paired with brilliant tuxedo pants at home in any galaxy.
What makes someone a style icon? It’s not simply beauty or looking chic. There are hundreds of beautiful, well-dressed personalities who will never become a style icon. On the other hand, there is the somewhat louche Vali Myers, the bohemian artist and dancer. Not a conventional beauty, her artful dishabille and raw elegance inspired no less than four collections in Fall 2013, from MiuMiu and Prada to Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton.
Monica Outlander was also inspired by Vali Myers. The connection makes sense. I can see Myers influence in Outlander’s own artwork. You can see an example of Momo’s art in the background of this vendor here. You can see some of Myers work here. This top and pants are called Vali in Myers honor and convey the elegantly undone bohemian aesthetic that is Myers iconic contribution to style.
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Growing up in Minnesota, it’s natural that I love to listen to a Prairie Home Companion. I always found so much that resonated with me in the stories of Lake Woebegon. I grew up in an even smaller village. We had only one business in our town, “the” resort. I just realized I have absolutely no idea what the real name of the resort was or is. It was just THE resort. There were a dozen little cabins and the cafe where you could buy hot dogs, fries and earthworms, as you do.
I have been feeling a bit woebegone myself and tuned in on the web and enjoyed listening to this song, a plaint about the cold to the traditional spriritual “”Down to the River”. It made me laugh and happy to be living in Oregon.
I generally don’t wear clothing that is super revealing, but I just loved this Spiky Fur top from Gizza – even with all the side boob and boy, oh boy, is there side boob. I had to wear it a couple sizes smaller than usual to keep it from revealing more than just the side. But isn’t it fun? and sexy? and irresistible? I had to wear it. It comes in black and white and I am sure you will be seeing the black one sooner or later. It comes in two pieces, the tank which is kept from blowing in the wind by a thin tie along the sides – so if you fit it right, it will be secure. The second piece is the fabulously wild shoulder spikes. I imagine you could wear the black spies with the white top and vice versa for even more flexibility.
While some prints will cover every square inch of fabric, particularly if they are printed instead of woven prints, other prints will end near the selvage leaving a border of the background fabric. This gives the designer the option of using the selvage end as a border. You can see that technique in this dress from DCNY where the print ends slightly above the hem. It’s an easy and clever way to add a design detail to your dress – though sometimes it does end up using more fabric for the entire dress because you cannot minimize wastage by cutting the skirt in opposite directions. I think it’s worth it, though, for the added element it brings.
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Jazz and blues music have long been popular in Japan where Japanese musicians have worked hard to transform and adapt these uniquely American musical forms into something new. Jazz musicians do not want to be the Japanese version of Sonny Rollins or John Coltrane, but find their own unique language of jazz. For example, Ryochi Hattori the rhythms and harmonies of jazz with the pentatonic scales and folk melodies of Japan. So it’s a pleasure to find a lovely Tokyo little blues club in Second Life. Thanks for the tip, Whimsy!
When I saw Gidge had blogged this dress, I probably should have changed into another outfit. However, I think that if something is really great, it is natural that a lot of people will want to wear it and blog it. We participated in the Same Damn Thing Challenge twice – supporting the assertion that even if people wear the same damn thing, they often wear it differently. Well, I guess the big difference is Gidge wore the purse and I did not. But I am wearing shoes! For all you know, Gidge could be barefoot.
I hate naming my blog posts…. so what the heck.. it IS mostly purple! My ensemble today was inspired by the awesome events going on right now. Namely, Collabor88 and The Seasons Story. I finally managed to get in to both yesterday and did a little Linden damage to my pocketbook.
First, this lovely dress by Tee*fy, Julianna, at Collabor88. Great for any party or just a night of dancing and fun. I’ve also been enamored with the high feet from Slink and was VERY happy to see these new suede heels from Slink, the Ilse, available for the high feet in the store yesterday. The stitching and button detail are perfect. The nail polish is a fun addition, from Nine Inch Nails (available on the MP) in Zipper.
Turn the page for more….
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I am not all of sudden adopting a new slang vernacular. Instead, I want to alert you to a stunning jazz album from Roberto Fonseca. The album is called Yo! and fittingly is an exploration of Fonseca’s roots and inspirations. It’s one of my favorite albums of 2013. I hope you take the time to listen. I am certain you will enjoy it.
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I wonder if the artists of Second Life® are chagrined to see their creative impulses and efforts reduced to a background for a fashion blogger’s photos. I also wonder about the relative support for art in SL. For retail events like Collabor88, there usually is a horde of people waiting for the clock to tick over to midnight, a collective “Open! Open! Open! Open! Open! Open!” prayer offered up to Commerce, the god of Second Life. Has anyone been unable to teleport into an art exhibit because the sim is full?
But Second Life is no different than real life. For many people, their choices in fashion and home decor are their forms of artistic expression and appreciation. Art for art’s sake is often a luxury – one that is disappearing from our schools and our cities. So, I do wonder about art in SL and the artists and how they feel. Is it wrong to use a piece of art as a backdrop? I don’t know. It might get people to go see the art, to appreciate the effort, the imagination, the inventiveness. Or maybe it just gets more people to go pose in front of it. Who knows?
I frequently check out all the LEA sims – one after another – to see what is new. I was struck by the constructs at LEA29 and how the lighting makes the visitor part of the art. This is not the best example, but for some reason every time I tried to take a picture from the other angle, I crashed. After three crashes, I decided that you all just need to go see for yourselves.
These pictures are from the central gallery. Asked about her exhibit, the artist FreeWee Ling said, “The central part of the sim is more or less a gallery space, but the rest is for a sort of uneasy paranoid landscape with the occasional alien showing up here and there. Like the little mobile cafe is currently manned by an alien chef bot.” The exhibit is not completely finished. She has a couple more days of work before it’s done, but you should go and soon because she only has the sim for the month of January. Don’t delay and miss this wonderful interplay of light, shadow and form.