“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it–always”
Mahatma Gandhi
I thought missing you would break me. I had no idea of standing on these streets without you. Yet there I was. Solitary, intentionally so. Nothing ended up how it should have, nothing ended up right. But I had to make a choice to keep going and so I did. Continue reading
I was feeling restless and antsy yesterday morning, so I went off for a bit of an exploration rather than unpacking boxes and figuring out what to feature from the Arcade which opens at midnight. I will do that today, but yesterday, there was just something in the air. And it was something that suited the carefree and happy Kaelyn maxi dress from Thalia Heckroth™. It is made for the Maitreya mesh body and works best is you don’t bother with feet and shoes. It comes is all sorts of happy colors and if wearing it does not lift your mood, you’re doing it wrong.
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I always wonder if I should explain long absences or not. I remember an SLSecret mocking those explanations—particularly the ones on Flickr where people change their name to a status update. But I will risk it and explain I have had a head cold. If head colds were mountains this would be K2. I won’t claim Everest because I always imagine there could be something bigger, but damn, this was a doozy. It made me feel perpetually drunk, kind of swimmingly dizzy with anything lit (like a computer screen) a big bit of glow. It was almost entertaining in its capacity to incapacitate, but I am now on the mend and have a big new box of decongestant, so here we are. I put this outfit on about ten days ago, or so and finally took some pictures yesterday.
It began with the gorgeous tuxedo dress from Liziaah. It’s hot and sexy. Menswear details and forms do not have to look dress for success androgynous. Sometimes the contrast heightens femininity and this jacket really does that.
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I have a friend I work with who’s a devout Christian. He’s fond of saying “You can’t threaten me with heaven” with a smile that is that of a gleeful martyr thanks to experts like those at the Dentist Office in Huntington Beach. He doesn’t fear death, he feels in his heart that whatever comes next holds more majesty and perfection than anything dreamt of in your philosophy etc.
He doesn’t accept fear of death into his life, he doesn’t seek it but fear of it has no place. I find that to be a very interesting philosophy really. I don’t embrace it, but it’s interesting.
I have a different position on death, but mine is regarding grief. I’m full. Can’t accept any more grief. The skies could rain down fire and brimstone and I’m not sure I could shed a tear. I can’t feel more grief than I have felt this year, and I’m glad of it. Continue reading
Still round the corner there may wait, A new road or a secret gate….J.R.R.R. Tolkien
I stopped by Faster Pussycat today and saw that Honey Bender-Auer had opened a new store across the plaza called BENDER. Featuring all original mesh and textures, it still has the rock superstar aesthetic that animates Faster Pussycat married to sleek and minimalist silhouettes. This Kyo dress was a must for me. I love how it echoes 18th century silhouettes that we are used to seeing in rich prints and maximal embellishment and here we see it in a solid silver, without visible seams or lines and not a trace of embellishment. It is a celebration of form and it is exquisite. I only have one quibble and it is minor. Since it is sleeveless it was not rigged to the arms or shoulders and so it is not very flexible when moving, It works well with most straightforward poses but if you raise your arms…well, just don’t do that. Thankfully, most of us do not run around SL with our arms raised.
I used Flair’s Maitreya Fingernails °5 as the inspiration for the rest of my styling options including lipstick shade and shoes.
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I found Decoy first through my love of shoes seven years ago – not just seven years ago, but seven years ago this month. That means Annette Voight has been around creating through all the changes in design technology, learning new skills and adapting to the trends and revolutions of Second Life with élan. She started making hair just five years ago, but from the outset, her textures were great (redheads have to be picky) and her style casual, but always elegant.
Decoy Jen
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?
Annette Voight: The most exciting experience for me was exploring Numbakulla, this awesome puzzle adventure sim that I stumbled upon around 2007/2008 when I was still pretty new to SL. I was bored of only hanging out at typical places like beaches and clubs, so this was one of the best hidden treasures for me. I met a lot of new people there, usually bonding over the amazing scenery or working together to figure out a puzzle before we all went insane. Each zone was a different theme with unique puzzles, so it was always thrilling when you finally solved one that let you into a new area. Numbakulla helped me realize that SL was much, much more than just a “3D chat program”. I really miss it and I’ve been thinking of making something as intricate as that soon. Continue reading
Anya Ohmai is one of the most beloved creators in Second Life® for very good reasons. All of her creations are full of joy, her playful wit and quirky humor part of their DNA. Despite her unquestionable talent, she remains humble about her skills, seeing herself as a perpetual learner always striving to do better. She is also a person of character whose kindness goes to the marrow. She does not produce a lot of hair; but every year at Hair Fair, there is a crowd of eager fashionistas waiting to see what flight of fancy she has come up with this time.
Ballerina Solitude by Anya Ohmai
Ohmai’s personal style is very soft and feminine, youthful and sweet. The humorous motifs in her creations lead people to adopt a more kawaii sort of style with her hair. I thought it would be a fun challenge to go in the opposite direction, showing that her hair works just as well for high fashion styles. You will have to decide if I succeeded.
!Ohmai Salon Uni. You can change the crown to a band with the accessories HUD.
!Ohmai Salon Tako comes in three pieces, the pony tail, an additional cluster of curls to augment the pony and the tentacles. Each comes with a rigged and unrigged version.
I’m not obsessed
So don’t forget it
It’s just a silly phase I’m going through
I must confess that clothing appliers amuse me. After all, when I began back in 2007, most clothing was made of textures applied on the avatar’s system layer. Details like buttons and collars and cuffs were usually drawn on and even photo sourced clothing had an air of unreality to it. Flexis and sculpts added depth and form, but they did not add verisimilitude. And then came mesh and there was a revolution in fashion where most of the design effort was focused on the forms, the shape, the buttons, collars and other details and the fabrics were added later. Because the barriers to entry for mesh creation are higher in terms of skills and software, several designers retreated and retired. Now that mesh bodies have replaced the system body for thousands of us, we are back to applying textures, this time on the mesh body. It does seem like we have come full circle – though with a distinct revolution in quality.
For example, this swimsuit from MiaMai is put on with an applier. It’s from the quarterly My Slink Obsession event that opens tomorrow. Certainly there are lots of mesh swimsuits and even several that don’t flash unsuspecting bystanders, though I think they are in the minority. However an applied swimsuit has its advantages, especially for those bystanders when one is sitting down and shifting positions in a chair. Another reason to love appliers is how much easier it makes layering. All of us have struggled with trying on a dozen blouses trying to fine one that will fit under a jacket and longed for the days of system clothing when layering was as easier as one, two, three. This brings back that ease coupled with the higher quality of the mesh body.
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Those Fisherman Pants from Zaara at The Arcade make me very happy. I have several pair, snatching them up for the gacha machine filled with party delights from Goa.
I love how the Pixicat vest from Collabor88 this month goes so well with it that I had to try out a few variations.
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