Tag Archives: Glam Affair

We Are Made of Star-Stuff

We are made of star-stuff.
“The amazing thing is that every atom in your body came from a star that exploded. And, the atoms in your left hand probably came from a different star than your right hand. It really is the most poetic thing I know about physics: You are all stardust. You couldn’t be here if stars hadn’t exploded, because the elements – the carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, iron, all the things that matter for evolution – weren’t created at the beginning of time. They were created in the nuclear furnaces of stars, and the only way they could get into your body is if those stars were kind enough to explode. So, forget Jesus. The stars died so that you could be here today.”

― Lawrence M. Krauss, A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing
We are made of star-stuff.

Carl Sagan said we are all star-stuff and shooting these pictures for this post made me think of him. The keke glitter constellations and the anc. mist clouds made me think of galaxies and nebulae. The windswept magical dreaminess of the Papillon dress from Moon Amore only added to that. It comes with a color change hud that allows wearers to choose colors for the bodice, skirt and embellishments. This particulate texture has a field of clouds that inspired the direction I took with the shoot. The fluttering of butterflies are optional. You can wear the skirt with no butterflies, with just the butterflies on the skirt or with the long kite tail of butterflies. As you can see, I went for maximum butterfly. The outfit also comes with a gift of balloons, but left them out. The balloons come in a range of pastel colors to coordinate with the dress.
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Because I Can

15 Aug 20_011I went to the beautiful The Trace Too to shoot some pictures. I love this sim so much. I wandered into the water even though I was wearing a long skirt, because I can. These colors don’t run.
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The Sea of Love

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Mami Jewell of AZUL probably designs more gowns than anyone for the Miss SL competitions. The Linette gown was designed for Miss Indonesia Mio Linette and it comes in twelve standard colors and two limited edition colors. When I walked in the gown the ebb and flow of the feathers at the bottom made me think of the gracefully flowing fins of a beta fish, so for fun I headed to Borinquin Zyn’s underwater tableau where there are underwater animations. Below the cut, you can see a video I made and see what I mean about this lovely gown.
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Symbiosis

Oxford English Dictionary definition of Symbiosis

Oxford English Dictionary definition of Symbiosis

The relationship between designers and bloggers has generated a lot of conversation lately — and that is certainly preferable to allowing anger, frustration and resentment to bubble beneath the surface. For me, though, many of these discussions spend too little time reflecting on the symbiotic relationship between blogger and designer and that leads to an unnecessary and misleading polarization of the issue. Bloggers and creators should not be polarized, because they need each other and their relationship is symbiotic, not parasitic.

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Don’t get me wrong. I roll my eyes when I see increasingly prescriptive demands from creators, but I understand where the motivation for these demands originate. There are more and more and more bloggers everyday. It is clear that several, though not most, people who decide to blog see it as an opportunity to get free stuff. There is plenty of evidence for this from Flickr posters soliciting “blog sponsors” without regard to their own aesthetic to the fact that I, a blogger who has made exactly two projectors for sale, get random notecards asking me to add people to my blogging team. Hah!

If you are sending me a notecard, you have not looked at what I make. If you have not looked at what I make, you don’t care about the quality or creativity or any of the other reasons someone would want to blog another’s items. You just want stuff.

I do not disapprove of a blogger contacting a designer. I have myself. However, I only do it when that designer speaks to me with their creations. When a designer’s work stands out from the crowd. When I have worn it and blogged it and know I love it.  When their work suits my taste and the way I think about clothing. Yes, then I will read their profile to learn how they recruit new bloggers and follow their instructions. I may be one of the “old guard”, but I still follow instructions. The key point though, is that I only ask if their work is something I would still wear and still buy, if and when I can afford it, whether they added me as a blogger or not.

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That shirt

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That shirt! You know the one I mean. We all have one. The shirt we have owned since forever, that repeated washings and years of wear have softened the fabric to a perfect level of comfort. It is the adult equivalent of a blankie. A shirt that ends up in every load of laundry because after a hard day, we put it on the minute we get home, as though putting on a hug. We have forgotten to turn it inside out a few hundred times and the fabric is pilling and snags are visible here and there, but we don’t care. It is our favorite shirt and we will keep it until it falls apart on our body.

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Whatever sizing and substance the fabric once held is gone. It conforms to our body like a second skin, a cozy, comfy, second skin that says “You’re good enough. You’re smart enough. And doggone it, people like you.” We have that shirt in our first lives, but now we can have it in our second as well, thanks to Vinyl’s Little Toast (sukoshitosuto) and any doubts whether this distress and well-worn look was not deliberate can be dispelled with a look at some of the other options on the texture hud.

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Yup, that’s deliberate.
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Good News

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I was very happy to read an update from Ziki Questi with the good news that Kylie Jaxxon is alive and as well as can be expected when living with leukemia. She is getting back on her feet and is deeply appreciative of all the community has done to keep her sim going during her absence. The fundraiser will continue as it is to raise funds for The American Cancer Society. Please read the update yourself for the good news.

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I do not know Kylie Jaxxson, but I love her sim. From it, I imagine her as someone who finds beauty in simplicity, in the raw and unadorned flotsam of life. I imagine a kind of serenity coupled with an ease with herself, that feeling comfortable in your own skin acceptance that is so rare. I could be wildly off the mark, but I don’t think so. I think we reveal ourselves when we create and landscaping is one of the most elemental forms of creation. There is something so relaxed and comforting in the simple tableaus at The Trace Too that I feel they must be drawn from the designer’s inner self.
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Same Damn Dress

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Gidge and I popped over to Nº21 because she had seen a dress in the EloquenceSL Shopping Guide she had to have. When I saw it, I had to have it too, so we decided to do a “Same Damn Thing” challenge, or in this case, Same Damn Dress. I love the same damn challenges because it gets at the heart of what makes fashion exciting and creative. We are all individuals who make decisions about styling so that even when we wear the same damn dress, we look different. So, if any of you want to style this same damn dress, post your links below for the giggles.
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Read Any Good Books Lately?

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Foxes has released this beautifully fitted and textured dress in a mind-numbing 24 different versions from sparked to ombres to solids with standard sizing and sizing for specific mesh bodies. Obviously, the Foxes creator has given up on sleep.

The long list for the  Man Booker prize was announced yesterday and I have only read one of them. That is one reason it is my favorite book list. It goes beyond bestseller lists and borders, elevating excellent fiction from all over the world. Usually by the time the next list is out, I have read my way through the list. It is changing, though, until 2013, the authors had to come from the Commonwealth and now it is open to authors from any country so long as they write in English and their books are published in the UK. For the first time there are five American writers on the list. Will this change the complexion of the list? I don’t know. I hope not.

I have been on a lucky streak lately, reading several good books in a row. Right now I am reading The Sellout by Paul Beatty, an hilarious satire of post-racial America. The protagonist’s father is killed by the police in what is supposed to be a ridiculously senseless and satirical example of police violence. Unfortunately, reality has surpassed satire on that score.

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Hair Fair Designers — Alice Demonia

I wore my first Alice Project hair three years ago this month. Alice Project holds a special place in my heart for scaring me the first time I put on an all white hair that I applied a texture to. I am certain there was an involuntary squeak or two before I realized I had not broken it and just had to add the hud and click. We are friends on Plurk and I don’t think I will be telling any deep, dark secrets if I tell you she has a wicked, sardonic sense of humor. And as you can see from her favorite photo, “Nobody parties like Alice Demonia.”

Hair Fair may be closed, but you will be able to find these styles in the stores. I have some remaining profiles to do, so on we go.

Alice Demonia by Vanity Mirror 2013

Nobody Parties Like Alice Demonia by Vanity Mirror – 2013

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Alice Project Strawberry

It’s Only Fashion: What’s the craziest thing you ever did in Second Life? Most exciting? Silliest? Is there a story you can share that captures your Second Life experience?

Alice Demonia: My Second Life has been pretty boring, I think, hahah. When I first started, I did the standard exploring and trolling and laughing at various sex related sims. That’s probably the most excitement I’ve had. Nowadays, I’m notorious for AFKing at my friends’ platforms or sims for days. I tend to just sort of set up wherever I am, if they’re open to that. The Flickr photo I’ve included is the product of one day where I logged in at a friend’s and everyone just decided to start throwing down things around me, lol. Continue reading

Hair Fair Designers — Helena Stringer

Our Lady of the Bugs was the first hairdo I purchased from The Stringer Mausoleum, long ago for Halloween 2008. Her work is instantly recognizable because it is wild and exuberantly creative, full of wit and a dollop of kookiness. It entertains as well as adorns.

Helena Stringer - Pixel Mythos - Bats by Moonlight - 1

Helena Stringer – Pixel Mythos – Bats by Moonlight By Helena Stringer – 2015

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The String Mausoleum Kitchen Magnet, Luxuria GigaWatt Bodysuit, Sn@tch Latex Gloves, Glamistry Echium Heels

It’s Only Fashion: What’s the craziest thing you ever did in Second Life®? Most exciting? Silliest? Is there a story you can share that captures your Second Life experience?

Helena Stringer: The Craziest Thing I have ever done in SL® would probably be taking the reigns of Media Manager for a rather large event, 2 weeks before it was to open. I learned a lot, and was rather successful at it. There was over 200 designers in that event, and I managed to get each of them covered at least 2 times, by a team of 60 bloggers. I did this while being in 13 Events/Hunts/Rounds myself for my own store as well as running the Main Site for the Event, which had a tem and daily postings. Would I do it again? Probably, I am crazy like that, haha. Continue reading