Do any of you still watch Project Runway now that it has moved to Lifetime and added 30 minutes to the show? I confess that I do, though with less and less enthusiasm over time. You would think with 30 extra minutes, we would see more of Tim Gunn, but we don’t. Instead we see a lot more fighting and arguing in the workroom. They try, the scream, they holler, the flounce and they sneer, but they will never be Wendy Pepper. This week, though, one of the designers had an amazing Make It Work moment when she lost her money at the fabric store and had to work with the money other designers had to donate to her. It was a low cost challenge in the first place, so she had only $11.50 and was certain she was going home, but she dried off her tears and made it work and won the challenge. I didn’t have nearly the difficulty making this work. I love the Zaria bodysuit, leggings and miniskirt but I wanted a more formal look and decided to make it work by adding a full length skirt and allowing the Zaria miniskirt to function as an embellishment at the waist. I love how it turned out.
Tag Archives: Di’s Opera
My Interest is Piqued
Peqe has a marvelous mini-collection at Modavia Fashion Week full of classic, a gray rainbow of modern silhouettes in black, white and gray. I was distracted, though, when the emcee pronounced Peqe as in peck, where my inner ear had always though it would be pronounced like peek or pique. Thankfully, I don’t have to know how to pronounce it to wear it. One of the design details that show that Inex Hax, the designer is better than most doesn’t show in my pictures. With the bold triangle at the front, most would either repeat the triangle at the back or leave the back plain, instead she made a broad, bold vertical stripe. It’s a small thing, but it shows that she doesn’t settle for the ordinary and banal.
Fall walked in without knocking
Fall walked in the door the other day and it didn’t even knock. There I was all hot and bothered the day before and then the rain came and the chill air of autumn walked right in. I knew it was coming. It sent a postcard a couple weeks ago, but still, I think it should have knocked. I loved Autumn in Minnesota when the leaves turned with the bright lemon-lime of the birches, the fiery oranges of the maples and white oaks, the rich reds of the sugar maples and the jeweled garnet of the sumacs. I loved the crunch of the leaves on the deer paths snaking through the woods and the flashes of color among the white birches. Here in Oregon, autumn brings back the rain and the leaves are too damp for crunching or for rolling about it. The color palette is more yellow and green than the technicolor palette of Minnesota, but still there’s the welcome relief from heat and the richness of the fall harvest to sweeten the transition. Hankering for some real fall foliage, though, I set out for Salt Flats, the home of Zigana, a delightful home decor and texture store, where the fall foliage reminded me of my childhood tramps through the woods. Thankfully there is a path, because the heels on those gorgeous ankle boots from Paper Couture are not made for tramping.
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Exploring in Style
I went over to Anarchy sim the other day to explore the glorious castle that was built there. It was so lovely on the outside, I decided to stay outdoors, especially since I had the cutest jacket in the metaverse to keep me warm. Do you think I exaggerate? I do not! Look at the peachy cuteness with the perfect little belted bow, the pleating buttons, the pouf of fur collar and the adorable piping. Those are design details that win!
If Beau Brummel Were the Designer for Star Wars
If Beau Brummel were the designer for Star Wars, I think Darth Vader might have had a cute little number like this and we would have been so much happier with the Empire. After all, if you must have evil overlords, they should be sharply dressed evil overlords.
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I Am Easily Amused
Seriously, I got far too much of a kick at wearing L’Abel at La Perla – an la-diculous la-incidence that more mature people would not even notice. Oc course, I am one of those people who can get fixate on a word and play with it, pulling it apart, removing the wheels and inspecting the undercarriage. I keep a dictionary for bathroom reading. My college offered a Linguistics major and though it was not my major, I spent many hours in the Word Room where my incipient love of words deepened into a life time love affair. L’Abel is a perfect store name for me, a neologism that references the creator’s name (Neferia Abel) and makes light fun of the emphasis on labels and branding in fashion marketing. It’s sly, clever and witty. Speaking of sly, clever and witty, what about that hat?
Ball Gowns and Lighthouses
Ever notice that fashion editorials never seek to explain why they picture a model standing in a muddy plowed field with a hoe while wearing a lovely lace gown by Givenchy? They don’t explain because they don’t have to, that’s their magic. So, I am not going to explain why I am spinning around on a beach with a lighthouse in this gown. I just am, it’s a pretty place, the air is fresh. ‘Nuff said. The gown is one of the 45 limited release colors to celebrate the redesign and reopening of the Azul store. Get thee hence and pick up one, two or more of these limited release colors – and have a gown that after September no one will be able to purchase one just like you.
Vogue + Dire Swamp = Fashion
I fell in love with the rich textures in this outfit the minute it came out on the runway at Modavia Fashion Week. I oohed so loudly my cat thought it was his lunchtime. That rosy brown plaid is stunning and one of the see-it-to-believe it pieces that walked those runways. There’s something rugged and wild about it that made me hop over to Dire Marsh to shoot it. It is such an evocative sim.
So Much Goodness
Shinichi Mathy, of Shiki, released a sweetly feminine collection at Modavia Fashion Week. Using a gentle palette of blues and greens with dainty and delicate prints, there are threads from his native Japan woven into this collection. From the straight lines of his gowns to the delicate textures and fine fabrics, you can see him paying homage to his culture in this collection in ways as subtle and delicate as the clothing itself. This one is called Japonesque.
The fabric in the Kyoto dress show a much more direct inspiration. I love the soft, organic colors and the subtlety of this print.
The Motomachi Girl dress is beautiful gown that hugs the figure. I love the sheer batiste bodice and collar and the soft, natural green.
And then there is the Ginza Party Girl dress, an explosion of blue fireworks and femininity that like much of this collection draws your eyes to the neck and shoulders.
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Getting out of the studio
Having spent the past week watching runway shows and snapping pics mainly in my Glow Box, it was fun to get out of the studio and snap pics in-world again. You will be seeing them soon, these were shot on the 4th before Modavia Fashion Week and busy, busy, busy days. I love the casual outfit and the gorgeous top from Malt and have been eager to share it with you.