Tag Archives: Earthstones

Three Cheers For The Red White And Blue!

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posted by Gidge Uriza

I know I know, I WORE you out last year with nothing but red, white and blue the week before July 4. I’m letting you OFF the hook this year with a minimal invasion of Patriotica.

But you didn’t think you’d get away Scot-free did you? I have to look up that phrase! Scott free, scott-free, scot-free – I have no idea. It’s probably some sort of slur even – but they’re my people so I feel free to dog them 🙂

BACK TO MY TOPIC! July 4….putting it to the British Empire – Continental Army style………….We The People…………..

Well, it’s like this. There has been more than a bit of brouhaha this year about the wearing of the flag and while I don’t mind wearing stars and stripes prints I don’t care for wearing ACTUAL flags (which, I note IS NOT THE SAME)……..regardless…….to avoid the drama I opted to salute Old Glory and this important day IN Red White and Blue colors.

The pants and top are from the beauties at AXEL and are a super pick up any time of year. They come in a variety of colors but these holiday colors are perfect, aren’t they?

But now, the finishing touch – the JEWELRY! YAY EarthStones has once again created beautiful July 4 Jewelry! Last year the jewelry was amazing and once again Abraxxa has created lovelies PLUS SHOES! Wheee! Continue reading →

Fabrics

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When I first saw this dress at KA Designs I knew it was a must have because it reminded me so much of a dress my older sister had, one of my favorites. She’s enough older than me to have lots of cool retro dresses that she saved and one was very similar to this except it had capped sleeves and a brown sash waist. It was made with a blended wool challis that was so soft to the touch – imagine blending flannel pajamas with silk and you would get the approximate feeling of how soft and “pettable” this dress was. I am sure that is what explained the sly smile when she said is was her “best date dress.”

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Casual Friday In Latex

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posted by Gidge Uriza

The girly pink of this latex ensemble was of course the reason I plucked it up out of my inventory when I spied it. PINK LATEX? Are you kidding me?  Pink latex FTW!  I like the detail and styling even though this particular look might not normally be my style, I thought it had some whimsy to it. Continue reading →

Nyte'N'Day Take Two

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So having established that Nyte’N’Day produces new, current and luxurious styles, let me show you how Nyte’N’Day also rocks. Take for example, this top/minidress called Snap. Now how many people dare put something out in Blaze Orange? Not that many. Nyte has this luscioius and versatile dress out in several colors and also selles a lovely corset that could be paired with it as well. I decided to go a different route, though and grabbed the belts on the the jacket layer from one of Zaara’s old dresses.

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Marketing Matters

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Coco & Co. Tailleur Romy

I admire clothing designers. I have no idea how they have the patience to match seams and the control to do the fine detail work. Even though I understand the technical aspect of how clothes are made, it doesn’t matter. In addition to technical knowledge, skill, imagination and creativity, I utterly lack on essential ingredient and that is patience. I could no more spend hours on a drawing than I could climb Mount Everest. I can however, shoot a photo and even get rid of those white lines as needed to make an alpha cutout for a floor stand. So, typically I assumed that if the alpha displays in a store were poorly done (something I could do) then the clothes would be poorly done as well (something I could not do.)

Coco & Co Chausettes en Dentelle et Noir

However, today I was in a store that had clothes based on Chanel designs, clothes made with me in mind. Tweedy, nubby knits, tailored jackets, system skirts, all my fashion loves wrapped up together. The alpha textures displaying the clothing, however, were terrible. But, oh I did want the clothing. So…I put out a plurk question for designers asking if I was wrong to assume bad alpha displays = bad clothing and though there was some belief that what is worth doing is worth doing well (yes!) that in all honesty, my assumption was wrong and that the only way to tell was to buy something. So… I bought the least expensive outfit.

Coco & Co Ensemble Chemesier Caramel et Jupe Culottes

And the edges were perfect! Seams were matched! It was everything I hoped it would be and oh, no, I spent too much money. Here are three of the outfits I picked up – inspired by real life designs and absolutely scrumptious.

How to Avoid Ugly White Edges on Your Alpha Textures: There’s a handy-dandy tutorial by Robin Wood on how to make an alpha channel. The Solidify filter that makes it easy to have nice clean edges is free and can be downloaded from Flaming Pear here.  To be honest, there have been stores I have not purchased tempting items from because of bad alpha displays. The only reason I made the purchases today was that I was assured that it did not necessarily mean the clothes were bad. However, no one was going to guarantee they would be good since those kind of problems can mean not caring about details.

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Wig Wam GLAM – Naeko

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posted by Gidge Uriza

So I’m still working my way, SLOWLY, through all the gifts from the VIP hunt and trying to patronize the retailers who participated due to their overwhelming giftiness. At almost NO distance into the list (like umm, # 2 or #3) I hit Naeko and I’ve been STUCK there.

Sigh. I just don’t DO neko. I don’t like it. I don’t dislike it on YOU, as a matter of fact I’ve got a couple of friends who rock various degrees of neko at ANY given time. And it can be cute on them. But me, no.  I’d say it’s not my role play but it’s deeper than that. I sort of have a weird aversion – I don’t want to be a neko any more than I want to be a mech.

It just doesn’t do it for me…….AT ALL.

So I’ve been dithering and I swear to GOD I’ve been single handedly driving up their traffic numbers repeatedly going to Naeko and desperately trying to decide what I could buy and what I could DO with it, given my girly-princess, Barbie-wanna- be- brat nature.

And then I remembered DINEE! Continue reading →

Cajsa Wore Ivalde

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posted by Gidge Uriza

I remember it really well, the first time Cajsa showed up in Ivalde. She was wearing one of the colors of the dress pictured ABOVE and my first thought was “WTF? Where did she find clothes like that?” I was still peeling myself out of the shorty tank shorty skirt crew and trying to figure out where all the decent clothes were BESIDES Digit Darkes.  That skirt set burned into my mind, and the next time I saw her in something retro I asked her where she got it.

Ivalde. Continue reading →

Designer Showcase Network, Part 2

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Here is another example of the Designer Showcase Network at work – reminding me of a store I already know and showing me something new. It’s been a few months since I have visited Elate and this item from the  Designer Showcase Network reminded me that I like Elate’s design sensibility and inventiveness.  Most of what I have seen from there has been brighter than this subtle and reflective skirt and blouse – and seeing this new mood in Elate’s designs is exciting.  This morning’s example was the DSN introducing me to a completely new designer, this afternoon nudging my memory and showing a different side of a known store. I look forward to the growth and expansion of the DSN and don’t forget to check out the web site because it explains the effort made to make sure designers all reach the same number of people and that participants receive new items, from different stores. Continue reading →

Ad Parnassum

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So after shooting that lovely gown from ROC yesterday, I figured I probably should go look at the store. It’s in a store called The Secret Garden, shared with another designer of lovely women’s gowns. However, my eyes definitely strayed to the ROC side and just about popped out of my head when I saw this dress – called Jazmina.  Although closer inspection reveals it has nothing to do with my favorite painting in the whole world ever, it still made me think of Klee’s Ad Parnassum and I had to have it. Had to! The colors, as you can see are completely similar – and the stones are the same size, but other than that, the similarity is coincidental as I asked the designer Renena Olivier and she had not heard of the painting before. That is a portion of Ad Parnsassum in the back.

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