Tag Archives: paper couture

Raid My Closet Part II

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It was easy deciding what to wear for this second installment in the Raid Your Closet Challenge. There are pieces I will never throw out, no matter how old they are. Among them are most of my Paper Couture designs. This dress is from September 2011 and is still available. I chose it because it highlights how much more experimental and effective the Lu sisters are at working with the system layers. This skirt has a bit more shape and body than the usual system skirt – not because of the skirt glitch that gives us all donkey booty, but because they often made full skirts with system pieces. They took the system skirt beyond the skin-tight pencil skirt and played with form. They weren’t the only ones, but they were certainly the most successful. They have not released in over a year. I hope that means they are taking their experimental, boundary-pushing, technology-testing ways to mesh and are preparing to surprise us all. I hope that’s why we have not heard from them in so long.

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Chinoiserie and Marie Antoinette

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The recent release of the Shelby Doll Dress from VoguE put me in mind of Marie Antoinette. She was a huge promoter of Chinese art and the style of Western decor infused with Chinese sensibility called Chinoiserie. Chinoiserie is a French world meaning China-esque, a cultural appropriation that has produced amazing design in home decor and fashion.

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Fields of Flowers

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Monica Outlander has been in a design frenzy lately – releasing a huge collection of formals just as the month of fashion draws to a close. While Spring fashions have been strutting the runways of New York, London, Paris and Milan, Second Life designers keep their designs closer to real time and the real seasons, but there’s an element of spring in this one dress from MiaMai with its glorious floral abundance. While her collection includes some fabulous mesh gloves that are full or quarter length, for this dress she provided gloves with the dress in the same fabric for a bold floral push.

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VoguE at Borobudur

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I missed the BOSL VoguE fashion show earlier this month – since my computer is hating groups of more than 3 people – I am missing all the shows. Still, I saw the collection on the VoguE web site and am in love with the bright, colorful exuberance. The collection is being released for sale one by one over several weeks for those of us who missed the post-show sale and one of my favorites from the collection was released this week. Is this just not a festival for your eyes?

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Still Hungering for Mesh

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FaMESHed is a monthly showcase of great original mesh content. I have no objection to designers who work with templates to produce new and original versions of more generic designs. I am glad there are options for great texture artists to work in mesh even without the technical expertise needed to produce original mesh work. Still, there is something exciting about an event where you know that every item is an original work. I was pleased to see Rebel Hope participating this month and am in love with the fabulous wool dresses that have been released in advance of the fall season.

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The dress is beautifully made with a gorgeous flat self-binding edge around the bodice. This accentuates the shape and highlights the neckline subtly. The fabric is a gorgeous herringbone weave in a light summer wool, making a perfect fall dress that could be worn as a jumper for a blouse or paired with a sweater or jacket – or on a warm day like today, worn on its own. My shoes are from Celoe – a lovely fawn color with a slender heel and a pointed toe. I know podiatrists probably love the round and square toe fashions in shoes of today, but I very much prefer the pointed toe in general. It just feels so much more dressy to me.

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One Dark Alley You Don’t Want to Avoid

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Lost Angel made a fabulous Dark Alley couple’s pose set for Vintage Fair. It’s one that evokes Sam Spade and Brigid O’Shaughnessy and love, greed, betrayal and all those other old-fashioned values of the noir detective. Happily, I was able to still use the poses and just delete the one I was not using at the time. I did think about inviting someone to come pose, but figured that would just make me crash – since that was the way my viewer was behaving.

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Do you believe InMonster(s)?

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I love finding a new (to me) store at events like Vintage Fair. It’s a double bonus when their designs are fresh, high fashion styles that make me happy. InMonster certainly does that. There’s so much to love about this dress, from the bright scarlet lace to the structure cap sleeves. I definitely will be keeping my eyes out for more from this high fashion brand.

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I’ll Eat My Hat

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People sometimes use the expression “I’ll eat my hat” to indicate disbelief or improbability. “If that horse wins, I’ll eat my hat.” or “I’ll eat my hat if she’s telling the truth.” The assumption is that the bet is safe and no one will be eating a hat soon. But you know, some hats do look good enough to eat – like this one from Bliensen & MaiTai. I decided to wear it, not eat it, because I love how it looks with this fabulous mesh dress from Kunglers.

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There are so many reasons to love the Gisele dress from Kunglers. The sheath dress is always a flattering cut and the deep notched neckline adds a hint of sexiness. Most exciting, though, are the fabulous leaves that were painted on. Kunglers hallmark look is combining organic inspiration from their native South American flora with high fashion design. This dress is instantly recognizable as theirs.
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SL9B – so much to see

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Here I am standing right in front of a striking kinetic sculpture of light and magic just down the street from our Blogger Carnival. I spent a few hours wandering around a few of the sims last night, barely scratching the surface, but there was so much to see. I dressed for exploring in this loose, casual top from Tea Time with leggings from Maitreya.

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Peek-a-boo, I see you.

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More color than a rainbow

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Azure Electricteeth of the brand Tee*fy has created an adorable babydoll that is so cute it triumphed over my usual preference for a more tailored fit with snug, body-hugging waists. Part of its deliciousness comes from the tiny spaghetti straps that are sliding off the shoulders – a bit of cheeky fun. She adds a strapless alternative to the folder in case you want to layer or something, but who would want to cover up that charming detail? But even more, it’s the color! She made this dress in enough colors for two rainbows. Yes, 15 different colors from rich, vibrant primary colors to tender, romantic pastels, there’s a color for everyone.

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