Tag Archives: Damselfly

MetaLES and Contrasts

Gallery exhibitions are like flowers, they bloom, and then they die, they exist only as memories.

I put on this gorgeous jumpsuit from Baiastice that was released at Collabor88 the other day. I had thought I might go check out the beach, but then on a whim, I headed over to MetaLES to see the new exhibition from Sina Souza. It is amazing! However, I could not help but notice that in mood the exhibit and my outfit were on opposite sides of a vast chasm. This jumpsuit is bright, colorful and fun-provoking.

Gallery exhibitions are like flowers, they bloom, and then they die, they exist only as memories.

The exhibition is striking, creative, sombre, and thought-provoking.

Gallery exhibitions are like flowers, they bloom, and then they die, they exist only as memories.
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The Arcade closes at midnight, do you know where your gacha is?

“ that fragrance which fills the soul with optimism and faith, the fragrance of the crushed beans beneath the jet of boiling water curving from the kettle, the smell of coffee.”

“…that fragrance which fills the soul with optimism and faith, the fragrance of the crushed beans beneath the jet of boiling water curving from the kettle, the smell of coffee.”

In Halldor Laxness’ extraordinary book Independent People, there are well over 150 references to coffee, most of them reverent. That is as it should be. Laxness was Icelandic and they are among the world’s greatest coffee consumers–along with all the other Scandinavians.

http://www.worldmapper.org/posters/worldmapper_1038_coffee_consumption_ver2.pdf

Although Swedish-American, I am closer to real Swedes in my coffee consumption. When I was a kid, I put coffee in my milk, sometimes now I will put milk in my coffee when I get a latte, but usually drink it black. There is no perfume in the world quite so warm and evocative as the smell of coffee.

So I was thrilled by the coffee shops at The Arcade. I took some pictures outside the other day, but today I am shooting inside where I combined elements from the RH Designs Coffee House and the PLAAKA Coffee Factory.  The building is from PLAAKA’s coffee factory. I just fell in love with the look of the crumbling old factory being repurposed to serve coffee. The broken down wall and patio appeals to my love of things old and worn.

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Long Styles from Hair Fair in the Frame

Hair Fair in the Frame

This new top and skirt from Hucci for Collabor88 is just the ticket for showing off some of the longer hair styles from Hair Fair. It’s short, cheeky and free of collars (or even fabric) to interfere with the hair.

I had college roommates from Malaysia who wore sarongs all the time. It was amazing how active they could be without their sarongs coming loose. They showed me the proper way to wear a sarong and even gave me several sarongs over time, but I never quite got the knack and always worried when I had my hands full that my sarong might come loose without a hand to grab it. No such worries with the Hucci sarong though. Pixel knots stay in place.
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Selected Short Cuts and Updos at Hair Fair

Hair Fair opened at midnight and in the overwhelming excitement of “shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen…beautiful hair” it is easy to forget the purpose of Hair Fair. It isn’t actually all about the hair. Well, actually it is, but the hair it is about it not made of pixels. It’s made of love.

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KiK at Hair Fair

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What Makes a Classic?

“Classic' - a book which people praise and don't read.” ― Mark Twain

Mark Twain once said a classic is “a book which people praise and don’t read.” I don’t think that is true. Most of the people I know have read many of the classics and the reason they remain classics is they are great stories. Many classics can be downloaded for free from Amazon and for Christmas this year, I put together a list of books I recommend that are free.

There are classics in design, too, such as the knife-pleats that make up the skirt in this beautiful dress from Gizza. Another classic, the empire waist, the inset belt at the waist and the rich embroidery on the bodice. However, the great thing with fashion is taking the classics and combining them into something new and Gizza succeeds at that.

“Classic' - a book which people praise and don't read.” ― Mark Twain

I figured that a perfect place to shoot a classic dress might be at the Parthenon, the pinnacle of classical Greek architecture, so I headed off to Greece, the sim, part of a cluster of islands celebrating Greek culture. They do not allow scripts, so be sure you are as you wish to be before you land.

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Well, that was easy!

Damselfly Marnie_001

Damselfly Marnie hair and Azuchi Suma dress

If you have been following this blog lately, you know that Hair Fair happened and while it was happening, I have been publishing interviews with Hair Fair designers. I got a notecard back from one on Sunday. It was from Shyla Honey of Damselfly and began with an apology because she had been out of town for two weeks and wanted me to know she had not been ignoring my notecard queries. I didn’t read the rest because I was in a bit of hurry.

I popped over to Hair Fair to buy the two of her Hair Fair releases I had not already purchased and pick up the gifts and shot my pictures of all her hairs. Then I opened the notecard back up and realized that the note was all she sent, reasonably assuming since Hair Fair was ending, I would not continue the interviews. Oh well, at least I have all the pictures.

I decided to wear this dress from Azuchi because it has that  huge ruffle across the bodice that normally conflicts with hair and Damselfly hair is often long and curly and exactly the sort of hair likely to cause problems with a bodice ruffle. Not that I was looking for trouble, but I chose it because a few design decisions were made that address that problem well. You will note that you get the full ruffle, it has gathers in it and makes the bold design statement, but it is crafted to lay close to the bodice, avoiding conflicts. It’s a bit of trompe l’oeil and it works well.
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Hair Fair 2014 Short Hair Part Two

Store info at Blogging Second Life
****SHOPPING LIST******
Poses: Ma Vie
Skin: [PXL] MIA Jazz NAT ~ Makeup 02 REB C2
Eyes: [UMEBOSHI] Eon eyes light Green (med)
Lashes: [LeLutka]-DIVA lashes
Mesh Attachments:
Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands – Casual
Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands – Relaxed
Slink AvEnhance Feet High
Slink Physique Mesh Figure
Mani/Pedi: FLAIR
Clothing: .Shi Fur Pullover {RedSet}
Peqe – Deviant Skirt
Shoes: MIAMAI_Regan pumps – Black Skin
Jewelry: [MANDALA]LEGACY-Maasai Earrings – Collabor88

Rest from Vain Fancies

I am full of relaxation today. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because stressful things ended, maybe it’s a new attitude. Maybe it’s just Friday.  Regardless, it’s a good thing to feel peaceful inside your own head.

I have several cool things happening on pixel Gidge today. The first one is this lovely bed, from Sway’s. You hear from time to time on plurk “Waaaah we’re sick of events waaaaa” and while maybe some are, many are not. However, there’s not doubt that I definitely miss mainstore releases. I miss having a lovely gauntlet of shops that I couldn’t wait for their next IN STORE release. Sway appealed to our love our Gacha as well as our desire to shop at mainstores by releasing a really adorable bed, the Dreamfloat hanging bed.  Continue reading

A Get Away Spot

When I was growing up my Dad’s friend had a trailer down on the river. There was a little community of ramshackle trailers of various ilk, and on the weekend, everyone would head down there for some time, sitting, relaxing, fishing, or whatever.

A lot of card games were played, and rather random foods consumed. Chips with strange dips, donuts and maybe a hot dog might make up your lunch. It just all depended on who you were visiting when it was time to eat something. Continue reading

Goodbye, Jimmy Scott

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The LaPointe & Bastchild leather jacket and miniskirt are must-have investment pieces. The jacket is generously fitted so that it is easy to wear a top underneath (and comes with its own top included) and it and the skirt are classics. With a HUD to change textures, there are more than a dozen colors all in one. The shoes are from Pure Poison and that travel bag is from Redux. All are Fashion For Life exclusives.

The world became a little quieter on Thursday when Little Jimmy Scott, the incomparable jazz vocalist died at the venerable age of 88. My parents were fans and I grew up listening to his music. He was not a well-known singer and I have bonded with more than one person over our mutual love for his voice and music and utter loss as to why he was so unappreciated. Even the New York Times agrees, saying he was “”perhaps the most unjustly ignored American singer of the 20th century.” There’s a lovely article with several videos of his music here.

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One reason he was so unappreciated is that his early label Savoy refused to allow him to record with other labels even after he was no longer with him. Like many artists of the 1950s and 60s, he was trapped by an abusive and exploitive record contract that kept him out of music for over 15 years – years he worked in as a cook, a nurse’s aide and hotel clerk. But he never gave up and never became bitter and was rewarded by a renaissance that brought him much deserved acclaim and a measure of justice.

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