So last night an RL friend of mine from up-state New York finally joined Second Life. He's been trying to find an MMO to RP in for a while now after leaving EverQuest II, and I sent him the information about Cyria and its RP. He's really good at dark or evil nobility and dark/evil in general, so his interest was definately perked by the traditional gothic romance novel style of Cyria.
I didn't snag a before picture, but he was your standard preppy blonde male that I believe is the most yuppy looking duck walker in the bunch you can select at creation. Wiegraf didn't get to spend a whole hell of a lot of time in the newbie area, mostly because we teleported him straight away. After making him a temporary shape so he didn't look quite so newbish, Beetle, Aradia and I took him out for an actual make over.
First stop was to get a better skin, as we don't have a whole lot in the way of male skins since we three are female. Splitting half the cost with Aradia, Wiegraf got to select a skin from The Abyss. For those who live under a rock, the male skins are absolutely fantastic even though they are quite a bit more than what I'm used to for skins. Definately worth it.
Wiegraf got Scorpio Dystopia C4, which has scarring over the one eye. A bit of pop eye adjusting will probably make that look like his eye was clawed out, but I didn't really get into much advanced customization just yet. The skin itself is quite pale compared to the other types available, though its not drop dead Goth white.
After that, we went through a couple of hair shops because Wiegraf wasn't finding anything that really fit with what he was going for. He found something that suited him at Sirena's, selecting the Dante style in white tips, which also includes a black with white tips version. All of Sirena's hair styles have built in face lights, which I often forget about since I have a number of styles by her - take them off, and the world goes a bit darker, and I never remember to re-equip my other face lights.
The next stop soaked up the majority of our time during the trip, due to render times and sheer amount of products to go through. One of the best ways to help a newbie look fantastic is a trip to Bare Rose's HQ, which is also a great place to pick up a newbie's first AO since they have a basic male and female freebie available.
Its always at least mildly busy at Bare Rose, to the point of where the sim has shut down scripts even though a few scripted items are available there. Even though it was a bit later at night, the place was still quite packed so the rez times ran a bit long; Wiegraf and Beetle didn't even render for me until after we'd walked over and got the little newblet his first AO. Needless to say, it was tough to advise Wiegraf of anything quickly due to the fact I couldn't see anything but blurs for products.
After a small obsession with some of the newer armours available, Wiegraf got the Noble of Dawn set. There are actually several versions of one outfit in each set, typically containing what seems to be the default colour scheme of black, pink, red, green and blue in some form or black and white/light and dark variations. Noble of Dawn is one of the later, even though there later was a Noble of the Dusk added to the menswear, which was more like the former colour scheme mentioned.
Yes, that's a spinal column in the background and yes, that's sinewed tendons sticking up out of that lava. This image was taken when all was said and done, and we were down in the Cyrian dungeons watching Lucia work her magic on the latest addition to the castle. Every dark, creepy castle has an ominous dungeon, and Cyria is no exception...well, aside from the fact ours has a comfortable observation platform...with fluffy pillows...
The second outfit that Wiegraf selected was the Ethereal New Heaven outfit for the male avatar. I've been wanting to see this set on someone for some time, however it wasn't quite fitting for Masi or even Tobin to get, so I was quite content that someone finally will be wearing it around me. Unfortunately, I completely forgot to mention to Wiegraf that sometimes you have to manually unequip something, so he's still got a bit of the collar from NoD on.
This was taken in Shapes by Zada's main store, where we got Wiegraf a pair of Eyefidelity Realeyes in Mahogany. Ignore the rainbow in the background...it totally throws off the dark evil lord look that the black version of ENH is going for!
This also comes in white with the same golden accents on it, for a good noble/bad noble combination. I'm curious as to what it would look like if one mixed the two schemes together, but didn't want to overload Weigraf's brain at that point.
Today we went back to Bare Rose to get him some armour. He was torn between three different sets, but I like the look of the Lord Black Bizard the best, plus it comes with three different coloured of cloaks. I'm note sure how the set looks outside of Windlight, but damn it's shiny!
Its kinda creepy how his hair seems to be part of the helmet until you get to the white tips, and realise its actually part of his hair. Now all he needs is some sort of fancy sword to look incredibly knightly, though I'm not quite sure if I want to go into the whole scripted vs. non-scripted weapon talk just yet.
The cape is fairly simple, and of a thinner variety than what most of the capes in Bare Rose sets are. It comes in red, blue and I think the other colour was green but I may be wrong about that. Honestly, I like it more than I've liked the fuller Bare Rose capes, it just seems a little bit more natural in the way it moves than the others have.
I suppose its more than late to mention that the Cyrian setting is sort of medival feudal, hence the lordly sort of formal clothing we were looking into for Wiegraf, and armour. Depending upon what role he takes, he may also be getting a sort of rogue set of outfits as well...trip to Fairy Grove Creations, yay!
Last night I also finally settled on a basic look for my Passion Crystal Hunter style. It's got pieces from several different sets I've bought over the past few weeks, and I may be adding some sort of stockings to it once I decide which ones I like best with it, if any at all.
Starting at the top, the hair is Style 2 in Red with Black Tips by Wrong. I don't really think the hairstyle is going to be a super set thing, mostly because I have a ton of different hairstyles, especially after buying up a bunch during Wrong's Easter sale. >.>
The shirt is from the new Bare Rose Scout set, as are the gloves and the nifty skirted utility belt. I didn't really dig the pants from the set for my costume, so I am using the Crimson Hunter Armour panty by DeFleur...not that it is visible.
I'm using the *Hexed* Gothica boots here, though I may be purchasing the Leather Cavalier Boots from *~* Illusions *~* for this costume. I've not decided yet. It will probably depend on whether or not I use a pair of stockings or not.
The cloak is the small black cloak from the Crimson Hunter Armour set, and its actually semi-sheer. Along the back attaching it to the Scout armour are little gemstones, so its still quite pretty and feminine. I tried the longer one but with where the attach point looked best, it was way too long and I didn't feel like modding it much.
I got a Yuffie costume at some point, but I forget where it is from. I plan on making my own weapon of a similar style, mostly because I've always liked her little, okay massive ninja star thing. I may also figure out a way to use the staff I have and the cape, but it might take a bit if attachment re-ordering...
So my newbie make over was successful, for what it was for, and I have my own costume finished now. Rather constructive day!
Ads
Last night was the Vampire Ball at Nocturne. Everyone dressed up extremely fancy for it, though its often hard to take snapshots when everyone is dancing and moving, and there are poseballs scattered everywhere to allow for multiple people dancing together. I don't know why, but I hate having poseballs in images, even though they are a common item seen in SL. I will edit them out if its fairly easy to do so, otherwise I just won't take a picture that contains them.
The music was provided by Zan Eldrich, and was mostly of the Gothic and/or Industrial style - a few of the darker alternative rock songs got slipped in. He also weaved some of the vampiric standards in, and he even was able to find Sanctum Sanctorum by The Damned, which used to be extremely rare. The Evil Manipulative Daniel years ago spent something like two months helping me try to track down a copy of my own, back before music downloading was more than hours and hours of a dial up connection getting a song in bianary from an alt._____ newsgroup. He also played Bloodletting by Concrete Blonde, Deception (Ravnos Theme Song) by the Cruxshadows, The Vampire Club by Voltaire, Cry Little Sister done by GERARD MCMANN not the god damn Sisters of Mercy, Zan and a couple of other super vampiric songs.
Zan, who is consistantly super tall, dark and spooky was even more spooky and seemed quite a bit taller than usual. Something about nearly max height gentlemen and top hats makes me feel like I'm using my super short starter avatar again, though I imagine I'd feel like I was about the size of a gnat if I had actually been using it. I totally forgot to ask him what he was wearing, though I do know that cape is a Lucia Cyr creation...the cloaks she's created for her Cyrian nobles and vassals is quite unmistakeable. They are not for sale, and please do not bother asking her if you may buy a copy - they are part of the Cyrian role play in Ave Maria, for specific characters. She does, however, produce items with a similar dark theme in her LostHaven shop.
Beetle was there as well, somehow making vampire mix well with clockwork doll. She wore the First Princess outfit from Bare Rose in Red, though you can't really see much of it here, with a pair of boots from Draconic Kiss. Her hair was from Goldie Locks - in case anyone missed it, Cyrians are hair freaks - and is the Aphrodite style in Black with gold ornaments.
I should probably mention her eyes, since they are quite visible here, and not entirely normal. She picked them up at Atomic Kitty, which is also where we got our 'trendy' ear and tail sets from. Beetle has a lot of really neat eyes, and she typically has one coloured blue and the other coloured green; I actually got the idea for my blue and violet eyes from her.
The fan came with the set, from what was mentioned, and has a very nice animation to it. A lot of times, they hand pose ends up going into the fan itself, making it look like the fan is cutting the fingers off of the hand. This one doesn't do that, and I am almost tempted to buy the set for the fan alone!
For the majority of the night, since there is a nightly themed contest, I wore the Evening Together gown from LVS & Co. I really do like the look, and it reminded me so much of Mina that I figured it was completely appropriate for the theme. After PatricLoren won the contest, though, I decided I wanted to see what the other part of the outfit's set looked like...
...totally vampiric Cabaret ring mistress look. Except I lacked a bullwhip and a chair...
I'm not sure which I would like better with this outfit, the ShoeFly Gladiator heels in black or the black Gothica boots by *Hexed*. I may just try and find some non-decorated boots, maybe a pair of equestrian boots in black, just for this look.
The other thing I might change here is the hat, which is from my . I might tilt it so its covering one ear instead of resting atop both of them. I may also go pick up the La Petite Morte hat from Snatch for it. I discovered later on that it also looked pretty killer with those sexy pinstripe pants I found the other day.
All and all, the Vampire Ball was really fun, and I was glad I actually got home at a decent hour from work so I could go.
Since I mentioned ShoeFly, I have a little story to tell. I had bought a pair of the Gladiator platform heels in red latex, however due to one of the many horrible bugs that a merchant could have occur, the invis prims weren't working on them. I sent a quick note to the own, CCTV Giant, and went off to bed.
The next time I logged in, CCTV had sent me a new pair of the shoes along with an explination of what caused the first pair not to work right. A complimentary gift was included as an apology for the mix up, even though it wasn't really CCTV's fault. I already was becoming a fan of ShoeFly, but the awesome customer service from the owner has totally sealed it for me. Needless to say, if you're looking for shoes - especialy ones with sound, check this store out.
And now for the final part of my RFL adventures - the formal wear section, with a minor stop in the lingerie department. Some of these would work well in fantasy as well, however I think they're a bit more modern than the other things featured in the Fantasy bits.
For some reason, Blogger decided to break its formatting options with this post, so the names of each sub-section aren't over their images in some cases as they were in the prior RFL posts. I'll try again later to fix that.
A Bunch of Nonsense
This little number was another Devlish Cupcake contribution. The dress is a bit weird for my tastes, but it wasn't a whole lot of Lindens, and they were going to charity so I decided to snag it early on.
While it looks pink, this is actually the red version of the dress. I had to try on the pink version just to assure myself that this was red, and compared to the pink, it definitely is.
A little unnatural, that jagged change into the white skirt area is apparently intentional. I adjusted the skirt prim several times before finally getting it to look alright with the rest of the outfit. This is another outfit that I'll keep on hand in case I end up going to a rave-themed club or something similar.
This is available at Devlish Cupcake's RFL booth, though I can't recall which of the four sims it was in. Their sign is really noticeable, so you can't miss it if you are looking for it.
The hair used in this image is another Goldie Locks creation, this time its Lynn appearing in Russet Red. I've got a large amount of Goldie Locks hairstyles, if you hadn't noticed already. There was quite a lot of it that I liked, and it was largely inexpensive compared to some other hair places I found near my rez day.
They Called Her the Wild Rose...
Generally, I avoid florals like the plague. Mostly because they usually entail some sort of pastel colour scheme, which is so not what I tend to wear. This outfit, however, was for charity, and for once it was all about dark colours and flowers. I really like the way the skirt for this dress looks too.
Presented by Awesome Design as their RFL contribution, this takes the little black dress and fancies it up with a fresh wreath of roses around the top of the bodice and the upper arms. The arm roses are actually prims, while the bodice has roses painted about its top.
I really like what was done with the skirt of this dress. Black chiffon fading into a nice dark red tone, uneven due not only texturing but the layering of the skirt itself. I'll probably end up making or finding a few additional bodices for this skirt, just because I like the way it turned out.
In hindsight, I probably should have worn the black Gladiator heels I have from Shoe Fly, but I really was digging these boots still. They're just not quite the same as a fashionable pump shoe with this dress, though I suppose I know now for the next time I wear this dress.
Lil Club Princess
I'm a huge fan of Bare Rose. It was one of the first stores I was taken to, and I've come to adore the quality work for a decent cost. Especially for male clothing - everything on the male market seems to be quite pricey compared to its female counterparts, but Bare Rose has some great male looks at the same price a lot of their female wears are sold.
This is Cassis, an outfit that makes me think of classic princesses being modernized for a night at the local dance club. Clubs have about the same kind of drama that noble courts used to, when you stop to think about it, so its only fitting. The front looks much like the gathering used on some of the more famous princess dresses, though a friend did say it looked more like a reverse bustle to her.
I didn't quite have the kind of hair I wanted for with this dress, but Hyacinth in Russet Red from Goldie Locks was a decent fill in. I thought I had one of their hairstyles that had roses in it, but I think that might be on the one of the alt accounts I have. At least it looks good with those Gothica boots - they're turning out to be quite the favourable addition to my non-existent shoe collection!
So I'm picky about shoes...I can't help it!
She had fire in her soul...
Something about Digital Darkes' Goddess Heart gown makes me think of the Santana/Chad Kroeger song Into the Night. Its got that same kind of style that a lot of sensational flamenco dresses have, though quite a bit more edgy than most seen on the actual flamenco dance floors in Spain. I actually went and watched the music video, mostly because so far I've only heard the song randomly, oddly enough, in conjunction with a particular person.
The neck may look a little odd to most people at first. It actually is just a simple ring encircling the neck, with the fabric of the dress threading through it once before twisting back down the body. This helps create the dramatic keyhole effect down the center of the bodice area of the gown but it causes a bit of uneven texture around the neck itself.
The fiery fade effect lends even more of a dramatic effect to the Goddess Heart gown, though I think it would have been a bit more eye catching if it drifted into a golden yellow a bit more than just slightly about the edge. I really didn't have the shoes needed for this, so the Shoe Fly cork wedges filled in again - I need a vibrant pair of shoes for with this outfit, as black heels just didn't look quite right.
I also need to find hair to match it. The one pictured here, Style 4 in Red with Blonde Tips by Wrong, just doesn't quite have the vibrancy needed to handle this dress. I may actually see about finding a darker skin for with this dress, and using Style 4 in Black instead, since I have it for my Tifa outfit.
Interview with the Vampiress
Mmmmm, underbust corsets. I've dressed in a manner very similar to this in RL, however the corset wasn't mine so I had to return it. Now I have my own, in SL at least!
This was from LVS & Co's RFL booth, and I just couldn't resist it in the slightest. Its called Formal Evening Together, and it actually has the dress, then a corset/thong/garter set with it for an entire evening's use. The stockings that came with it are fairly nice, plain with a sort of embroidered top edge...not that they're visible in this image.
In order for the outfit to look right, the skirt has to be adjusted down to just below the edge of the black corset, which is on the jacket layer. Once it is lowered - or raised in some cases - it makes the corset look even more realistic, seeming to flow out from beneath the black material. The skirt itself is rather full, and the patterns on it make it appear to have more layers than it actually does. The skirt hides any shoes unless moving forward quite a bit, so boots or heels will work with it. I think I might find some ankle boots, like the Victorian buttoned kind, for with it though.
For this outfit, I chose the Style 4 by Wrong in black. Though not really like anything she wore, the outfit reminds me of Mina from Bram Stokers' Dracula and the subsequent novel Mina that goes into what happened to Mina after the familiar story ended, after all, she did still have quite a bit of vampiric taint within her. If you enjoyed either the films or the book itself, I suggest reading Mina though it can be a pain to find sometimes.
All for the Kiss of a Gypsy
When I found Evie's Closet for the first time, this was the dress style I wanted the most from the shop. I have a massive thing for all things Gypsy in RL, especially after most of my friends compared me to them prior to having the rheumatoid arthritis kick into overdrive because I rarely stayed in the same place for more than six months at a time. I've been to every continental state except for the Dakotas (and after the drama incident in EQ2 involving a South Dakota boy, I don't wanna go there!), which apparently isn't something a lot of people can say.
For RFL, Evie's Closet released an alternate textured Romany Kiss dress as a gift for anyone who visited the booth. As far as gifty items go, this was a steal because of how gorgeous a dress this is. It took all my will power not to buy all four colours of the dress when I walked in and realised what the shop was.
The skirt was slightly confusing at first. I put it on with just the glitch pants, and it didn't look right compared to the promotional images; if you don't put on the special leg prims, it doesn't get the same effect. They're darker, like the glitch pants, which helps create that darker burgundy colour in the center of the skirt. I'm often amazed by how different techniques create different effects the same way they do in real life, which gives me hope for some of the things I've thought about trying to create.
I used the slightly messy short style Native by Damselfly for with this dress, though I want to find a messy braid or partially tied back hair for with this - something that looks like its been tussled by the wind. I might find one that would work with all five colours of Romany Kiss, because I want to eventually own them all.
The Kitsuneko Doll
Well, not quite. The various attachments for this costume and my nine tails don't get along quite yet, though I'm working on various other attachment points for the tail. Aradia Hextall coined the phrase Kitsuneko because I have nine foxtails but tend to run with a Neko style and crowd outside of Cyria.
Ironically, I was just at Passionate Neko Dreams the other night, debating on getting some of their other fashions. I wasn't much in a doll mood that night, but this was a special Relay For Life Dollie costume so I decided to snag it for later use. Unfortunately, SL and I decided to have an argument at that point, as it did not dispense the requested item. Saur Holt got it squared away quickly, though I'm not surprised the typical vendor bug hit RFL at all.
There is a cape that comes with the set, however I didn't want to wear it. I'm finding that I generally don't like capes in SL, but then again, I'm extremely picky about my cloaks in RL so that's not too surprising. The corset for this costume comes on two different layers, which is always a plus in my book because of the tattoos.
Now, I haven't worn too many doll costumes before, and I wasn't expecting the bows on the skirt to be stationary. I noticed as I tried finding a pose for the costume that the skirt was floofing without the bows, and couldn't help but giggle at how odd it appeared at first. Seeing this does help with several things I was trying to do with various prims and flexi prims though, so I'm glad I noticed it. I'm not sure how often I'm going to use the skirt, since its not exactly my normal style, but I am quite impressed with how full and tu-tu like it is.
Lacking conventional doll shoes, I'm using ETD's Triple Strapped Mary Janes again. I've looked at a lot of flat soled mary janes, and just haven't found any that knock my socks off. Maybe its just because I don't like flat shoes in general, or maybe I'm just looking in the wrong shops. Personally, I'm all for running around barefoot constantly, however in the cold of winter where there is actually snow, that doesn't work quite right.
I didn't have much that would work well with the hair bow that was included with this costume, so I used the closest thing I had - Ceridwen in Russet Red from Goldie Locks. It still didn't match up exactly with the bow, so if I can't find any suitable hair, I'll be moving the bow down from the crown. I'm not sure if I like the bow that much, but only because it reminds me of the ginormous bows my mother used to put in my hair when I was a little kid. I was a tomboy...with a giant chiffon bow holding my hair up, it just totally went against the image I was going for.
A Little Italian Lace
This brings us to the last of the formal outfits I bought during my 'official' RFL trip. Designed by Haute Style & Co, the particular black lace pattern over the satin used to create Ginnalli reminds me of a few dresses I saw on an Italian fashion school's website. Several different dresses, one of them sort of like this one, used a similar pattern of lace over various pieces of the designs.
I used the Jasmine hairstyle from Sirena, though I think it would look better if the style came in a darker shade. The downfall of red hair that is unless its close to the same shade as a piece of clothing, it will look discordant and out of place. The other downside is that most reds are split into two or more packs, and you either end up with the brighter set or the darker set, or having to buy both.
Ginnalli actually looks really good with the Gothica Boots, though that may just be because the skirt largely hides the rest of the leg. I might try wearing the black Gladiator heels with this dress, though I don't much like exposed calves. I might also try wearing the bodice with something else...like jeans; I really like the way its cut around the chest and neck area.
Naughty Nymph
Lastly, one of two lingerie purchases at RFL, though my inventory started having issues loading so I don't have any images of the other RFL set. I've been searching for a black bra that was cut in a fashion I liked, and I just happened to find it at the clothing fair.Persona had a set by the name of Greta available in black. It has the classic demi-bra cut that I like, a matching thong and it was at a reasonable price for two pieces of under clothing. Its surprising how expensive even just a set containing a bra and thong can run in SL - it makes Victoria Secret look cheap!
I couldn't just do a straight bra and panty image without feeling a little ah...Playboy bunny-ish, so I decided to show off the new belly dance jewelry I bought at the Dark Eden booth. It came in a couple of different tones, but I liked the Goddess Chant set in silver the best, and most of my other gypsy stuff is silver.
Wind-blown hair suddenly looks like a bed-tussled bob when the Damselfly Native hair style is paired with a set of lingerie like this. I was really surprised by how my perception of the hairstyle changed after looking at this pose in the Greta set since I'd never thought of it that way before. Now I look at the Native style and just giggle slightly whenever I see it.
And that concludes my trip to the Second Life Relay for Life Clothing Fair, at least the time there that I officially set aside for blogging. I still am running back to the fair to grab a couple of things as I give in to temptation, and have to alt it up a bit to snag a few things I saw that are better suited on a different avatar.
Right before I logged, the count for Lindens made this RFL season was just short of five million Lindens. I hope that they pull in over five million before everything is taken down, but I'm fairly sure they will. Not everyone could rush to the fair during the work week, so there's still plenty of Lindens to be donated.
And who knows, maybe you're helping a fellow resident receive the treatment they need to fight cancer.
This part of my SLRFL post is going to be about the fantasy clothing I found. I was so torn on what all to get, since I'm a huge fantasy nut, and our sim mostly leans towards that kind of style. Everything was at a great price, and most had at least some if not all of the proceeds going to RFL so...I justified all purchases as charity ventures. ^.^
Elven Enchantress in Crimson
Fairy Grove Creations came close to owning my soul. They had a lot of different outfits that I wanted. All of them work with the theme of the Cyrian sim, and they're all fairly pretty in design.
The first outfit I bought from them was the Crimson Elf Enchantress. You can barely see it, but it comes with a spell book that has its own held pose built into it. Just like the stave you see a bit if, it can be used with the Spell Fire system, though there are SF enabled and non-scripted versions included in the set.
The only thing I dislike is that the shirt is on an undershirt layer, which means no tattoos without it looking odd. The corset is absolutely gorgeous though, and I've been tempted to contact FGC about purchasing the undershirts from the outfits I bought on other layers.
You can't really see them, but the outfit comes with a nice pair of matching boots. They're the standard adventurer style in shape but use a crushed red velvet similar to what is seen on the skirt. Its got accenting similar to the skirt waist embellishments, as well as a bit of the look from the jewelry.
This is a really nice coordinated set, and its available for a bit cheaper than usual (I think, I can't recall the main store prices) at the RFL booth FGC has. Really wish the corset was on more layers...
This next outfit was released at RFL by Avilion Mist as their contribution. Initially, I wasn't going to get it because it was purple, which is usually reserved for accents, however it was a special edition, and really gorgeous as well.This actually has ten different pieces to it. There is the shirt, which is shown here, and an undershirt for those who are a bit more modest than I am. There is a skirt layer skirt, however it wasn't fitting right so I didn't wear it for the image - the glitch pants were enough for a simple pose, especially with how full the skirt is.
Though they look like part of the scripted capelet, there are sheer prim sleeves that attach where the shirt ends. They're fairly sizable sleeves too. They look much like the skirt, with a sort of glittery effect to them.
Now, there are two seperate head pieces. One has just a long, flowing veil down the back, beneath most hair while the other has a veil over the face. Both have the silvery circlet that you can see here.
The hair is Avalon (Chained) by Goldie Locks. I really like the style but its one that lends itself more towards elegance and such than towards daily use outside of an RP sim. Still, it goes well with this costume, though I'm considering getting a different colour to match the dress.
The Crimson Huntress
One of the many outfits I picked up at DeFluer - hey, they're mostly 200 L$ a pop, which is a huge discount on a lot of them - was the Hunter Armour in Red.This outfit is actually quite versatile. There are twenty eight parts included in the package. There is the armor shown here on the shirt layer, a bikini top on a shirt and an undershirt layer, and a chainmail undershirt for starters. Then there's a choice between just the armor on the underpants layer or adding the leather leggings over them. There's an armor skirt, and two different versions of the hip armour, the lower of which is shown here as well as a belt. Then there's a full chain skirt or the partial chain skirt like I chose for the image. All of the leg armor could be worn, as it was here, or only part of it can be worn and different boots used. There are three different kinds of cloaks, the regular long one shown here along with the shoulder armour and gloves.
There's so many ways to wear this outift, though there are six shown on the promotional poster at DeFluer's RFL booth and main store. And I'm quite sure they'll mix well into other fantasy costumes or even every day use.
The style of this particular RFL gown reminds me of Romeo and Juliette due to its cut, however the colours are far brighter than they would have been back then. Created by Evie's Closet and used for their primary donation item, this dress is a lot more light and flowing than an image can show.The hair is again by Goldie Locks, only this time it's Sienna in Russet Red. This is another one of those styles that I don't often use on a daily basis, as its just a tad too elegant for my everyday wear. When I first started SL, I used an extremely short avatar, and this hair used to get stuck in the floor weird which is part of why I never used it. Now its a good length, and really is made for people over 5' tall.
Devotion - shown in Blaze - is one of the few empire waist dresses I've liked in SL, as most usually move weird no matter what you are doing. This one flows quite a bit more than I expected, making the satin folds shift in an interesting manner. Its almost as supple as flexi hair, as you can see by this image, but not quite enough to make it annoying while walking.
There are actually two RFL boards up for this outfit in Evie's booth, and it was fairly crowded when I stopped by, so there's good reason for it. I've actually been trying to remember the name of this place for ages, after stumbling upon it with another character. So glad to have found it again!
Snowbound
I think I may end up using this as the armour for the Drow set up I got at Onigiri the other night. I need to go get a few hair styles in pure white, rather than the blonde I used here, but the armour has potential Drowness.This is another reason why Fairy Grove Creations nearly owns my soul. I was really torn on the different colours offered since there was no red or crimson in sight for it. In the end, I went with the White Celtic Sentry which has a scripted sword that can be used in the Spell Fire system.
The developing trend between myself and FGC is that they make all their corsets and shirts on the undershirt layer, which deprives me of my lovely tattoos. I really do wish they'd offer more versatility with this, since not everyone is adept at skins so their tattoos are built in.
And I'm not quite sure how I feel about the shoes. They're far too thin in my opinion, though I honestly haven't put forth effort to widen their look. I realise they are designed to look like certain plate armor sabatons, but I really don't dig how skinny it makes the feet look. Hopefully its something silly like the design used larger than size 0 feet, which is easily altered as opposed to having to widen the prim parts of the shoes.
The hair is from Damselfly, its called Storm and this particular version is in Voodoo. They're scarcely seen here, but the tips are a nice red colour. This looks like Storm from the X-Men's hair, and I really couldn't convince myself to get it in Red. My inner Comic Geek was too angsty about it, so we settled for the happy medium of Voodoo.
And that does it for my fantasy costuming bing. Well, I did buy more today, but that was only after figuring out that DeFluer had some really good deals running for RFL featured items only. I've gone off to acquire the various bits from her that I've thought of getting before, but never quite convinced myself to get.
On to the formals...with a minor nod to lingerie!
I decided that I am going to break up my Relay for Life review into seperate posts. It will make them more readable, and allow me to group everything into seperate catagories that match a general genre. It took me the better part of two days to make it through the entire set of sims, which includes the several hours of 'downtime' we experienced due to the gray texture issues. Despite that, the relay hit the 4 million mark this afternoon which is a huge accomplishment as far as collecting Lindens goes. There are still two days of the fair left, so they may very well break 5 million or more before its all said and done.
Several vendors have RFL vendors set up in their home stores, or have donation boxes for RFL set up. Elikapeka Tirimisu has three set up that she will make matching donations off of, so hurry over to ETD and donate!
There were a lot of signs up at the fair, but this one impacted me the most. It was in the Avilion Mist RFL shop, right there in the center of all the clothing and shoppers. I couldn't get a good image of it, due to lighting and texture issues, but this sign was beside a beautiful sword that was bathed in a sort of glittering holy light. It was very much so like the Excalibur images people have created, and tied the modern day trials back to the forgotten myths of old. Its also in a really awesome font that I just can't stop looking at, heh heh.
For the entire modelling shoot, I wore Totally Betty's Delicate Rose Makeup Skin, an RFL skin that is quite pretty, though its a very soft make up, so a lot of its details are a bit missable. Its only 100 L$, and there is a matching natural skin for the same price. Skins are often way more than that, so its fairly much a steal.
We'll start with the casual, gothic, punk and/or Neko bits first. Now, I arranged everything into outfits, and there were a number of single piece items that I've not got images for. I spent roughly 5k L$ at the fair all together, though I didn't keep exact track because it was for charity...a charity that I may eventually have to use, heh.
The Artiste
This first outfit is a mixture of several pieces I bought at various vendors throughout the fair. I want to have a number of red and black tank tops available to me, and this was for charity after all.
The hair is from Deviant Kitties, the style is called Latha and this is the red with white tips version. Its a fun hairstyle I use a lot more than I expected I would. It was purchased long before RFL, so don't expect to be able to buy it there.
The shirt is by Mischief, and it is available at their RFL booth. Its called Frill Camisole and this particular one is in Cherry. Its got a number of layer options and style options, which is always desirable in practically any and all clothing.
Around my neck is Callie Cline's Tomboy Signature Charm necklace with the black cord instead of the brown. I was a tomboy as a kid, so I was impartial to it after seeing the name...I may have to merge my other two neckpieces into one necklace...
The gloves are by Pushbutton Industries, and are also available at RFL. They're the Bindi Armwarmers in Gloom, and even though the image is at an odd angle to view it, there is a very stylish mehndi patter on the topside of the gloves.
Sitting pretty on my hips is the RFL Belly Chain in Black Iron, by Dark Eden. While the chain doesn't work if I'm wearing most skirts, it is tail compatible with jeans and other non-prim legwear. There's a fair amount of detail to it that is lost due to the size of the image, and from what I can tell its only available at DE's RFL booth.
Artfully torn and paint-splattered, the jeans are from Wrong's Look One and aptly titled "Spattered Black Jeans". Yes, that's a hole in the knee, you're not imagining it. It came with a t-shirt, however I rarely wear them in RL, so I've not bothered with them much in SL. I basically bought the set because it was for charity, and I liked the jeans. >.>
Go figure that after spending three months or so searching for boots I like, I start finding pairs all over after finding the initial pair. These babies are the Gothica Boots in black by *Hexed*, a boot that appears to have been released at RFL. They are very awesome, and actually required very little adjustment unlike most SL footwear. They're hard to see, but there are fashionable little rings on various places, a couple of which seem to be glowing due to the boots texture.
Now, this outfit makes me wanna figure out skin design just to make a skin that looks like my old RL ren faire guild's body paint. I used to hang out with the Wildes in San Diego during faire time, and largely the guild wore white body paint with black stripes along with bits of leather and fur. When I say bits, I mean bits - the Wildes are a Visigoth group, and often wore just enough to cover their private bits.Another DK hairstyle, this is Havok in Red with White tips. Its a messy short bob with a bit of long hair hanging in the middle of the face. Sometimes that little bit of hair gets annoying, sometimes I love how it looks.
I got this at Gritzi's booth at RFL. It actually comes with the corset, two different skirts, thong, long pants, stockings, gloves, collar, heels, tail and ears. All of them coordinate, so you can vary the look without having to purchase more items. The entire set is called Wild Cat - Complete II, and since it does include its own ears and tail, you don't have to worry about being a Neko to dress to the 9 lives.
I don't particularly like the shape of the shoes. I really don't like the way some extreme high heels make the foot look, it just seems kinda cartoony to me. Your feet don't really look like that in RL, they don't magically flatten when you put on a pair of arch-breaking pumps. I may end up trying to take them apart and retool them to work with less foot sheering, because otherwise they're not going to get use at all.
The shoes and collar also bling. I'm not quite sure if this can be turned off or not, but I don't know all the various channels bling scripts use, and there's no notecard included with the set to tell me what channel to use, if it turns off at all. It will be a pity if it doesn't, because its a really nice collar as far as non-scripteds go.
Next we have a super-goth outfit that comes in leather and vinyl, all in the same package. The Spiderweb by Pixel Passion includes two different sets of the top, hotpants and pants for two different looks. I'm wearing the regular version in this image, though the vinyl version looks just as hawt too.
This is another instance of the "I want the pants, but its in an outfit" moments. Luckily the Devilish Cupcake set came with multiple colour varients so I now have several pairs of awesome pants, and several bright baby dolls for if I ever go to a rave in SL.The hair is from Goldie Locks, and was also bought long before RFL. This is Hannah in Russet Red, and its got a braid in the other side that you can't see from this angle. I think its about the trendiest hairstyle I own...
The baby doll is actually three seperate pieces. There's a tanktop-like shirt, the prim flow skirted bit and then small tie prims that rest above the straps of the tank top. I do kinda like the idea behind it, however the colours are just different than anything I wear on a regular basis. This is in Lava Girl, which is about as red as the set gets.
Another thing you can't see is the little fairy drawing on the right thigh of the capri. These are a pretty high capri, and there were cuff bits included that didn't work with the pose. They're a really nice jean pattern though, nice seems and everything.
The shoes are from ShoeFly, which has been running a number of discounts this month. These are Pink's Summer Wedge, and are sorta like a style of shoe I have in RL. I haven't actually found an exact match in SL yet, but these'll do for now.
A lot of people are going to laugh over this post, but I am willing to bet most people who read this and grew up in America were at one time poised before the TV screen, waiting for the man in the sweater to appear and teach them something new in his magical wonderland.
On March 20th, the man behind Mr. Rogers would have turned 80 years old. As part of a celebration called "Won't You Be My Neighbor" Days, the day has been selected as a day to wear a sweater in rememberence of one of public television's most influential childhood icons. While Mr. Rogers did have his flaws, he did spend nearly 40 years (1962 - 2001) teaching children not only standard academic things but also how to be better people and make the world a better place for not only themselves but everyone.
So dig out those SL sweaters, loves, and celebrate.
So I have been at the Relay for Life clothing fair the past few days, however I've not gotten much done in the way of posts because I don't want to contribute more to the already lagging sims by donning the new threads.
Unfortunately, today the region was struck by a bug that is making people, items and vendors not rez their textures at all or very, very slowly. It took 30 minutes after a region reset for the shop I was in to rez to a point where I could browse and buy. They seem to be working on it, so stay tuned for that final write up.
~Lexia
This is reposted from the Facebook SL Fashion group discussion board. A truly horrible situation, and the secondary vendors in this case are as victimized as the vendor whose property was stolen.
This is a fairly serious issue in Second Life, not just the fashion industry though that is where a huge cross-section of theft occurrs. A content theif takes advantage of other people not only by ripping off their work, but in this case taking advantage of the familial trust of another shop vendor.
It seems there may be more than just the shoes mentioned in question of content theft. Vanya and Brett had no idea that the objects that Seven Farella was putting up for sale were built using stolen textures and sculpt maps. They have since shut down the seVan sim to go through the inventory and make sure none of the remaining content that was presented by Seven was stolen. Both have made apology posts, and posting textures to make sure that they've got all of the stolen ones replaced with new textures.
http://7van.wordpress.com/2008/03/15/sevan-public-apology/http://7van.wordpress.com/2008/03/15/a-letter-of-apology/http://7van.wordpress.com/2008/03/15/the-wood-in-question/
Its unnerving when things like this happen, because its not as easily discovered like the freebie/cheapie box of full perm items and textures are. Discovering the truth of this required a lot of work in Photoshop and in SL to reproduce, and the methods aren't always something people think to check on.
In the case of stolen textures, the easiest method for Linden Labs to correct it would be to add special coding to the edit windows that causes the texture box to static out into an unusuable texture whenever someone tries to snapshot or print screen. I'm not a programmer, so I'm not quite sure how complicated it would be to add that as a forced core file to SL, but logically speaking it is the easiest way to put a stop to this kind of content theft.
Content theft is a HUGE crime in Second Life, and if any members of this group think they may have bought something that was made using stolen content, post the information along with why you think it is, and we can help track down whether or not the content is legitimate.
And of course, this group won't tolerate content theft either, and any designer that participates in such willingly will no longer have their items posted here. Designer or regular group member, actually, who participate in content theft won't be tolerated.
This is a horrible thing to have explode again right before RFL, as it casts a shadow over the content creation world. =(
So I did find something fun today before work - hot pinstripe pants for a really nice price!
Theses are the pinstripes. They've got matching zippered pockets on the rear, and they were only slightly modified to fit properly inside the boots. They were from a small wall vendor in the Pulse shopping mall. Its sort of out and to the right of Sn@tch, the company is called True La La, and it doesn't look like there is a main store or anything.
I also picked up the shirt I'm wearing there, and though its kind of hard to see entirely there aren't just slashed holes. There's a bit of white over the holes, that cuts away kinda like its been frayed or is fraying apart. The back is a racer back style, with the same kinds of slashes going up and down it as the front. The frayed parts of it are more noticeable on my back due to the dark tattoos down my spine, which is right in the center of the shirt.
The shirt was 50 L$ and came with a pair of gloves I'm not wearing while the pants were 75 L$. The belt is part of the pants, painted on and not prim so no tail conflicts, which make me a happy kitsune. The whole area seemed a bit geared towards Neko so that's probably why it doesn't conflict.
Now the hair is from Sirena, and its called Felina. Its got some fairly fresh ideas as far as its construction goes. Its scripted for colour changing, so you can make it different every time you wear it, with 66 colour options. It also is two separate parts - there is the main hair, which I chose to wear with blonde tips, and then additional fly away bits that I chose to use black tips for. The various colour combinations between the two along with two different set ups for the fly aways allows for a great range of versatility in style each time you wear it.
The boots are still the same ones from ::69::, and no, I've not made the charms for them yet because I'm very indecisive about what should go into them. I actually was pretty torn between using the boots or using the sound effect Gladiator heels I got at Shoefly the other night - I think either one would work with the outfit.
Behind me in both images is the sign for Nocturne, a nightly Gothic/Industrial dance club. There are several DJs and a regular compliment of dancers as well as several regular club goers that frequent the establishment. I've considered being a dancer there a few times, however up until recently my work schedule really conflicted with most of their nights. Now that it doesn't, I may re-apply for it.
While I was at Sirena's, I looked at the new hair that was announced via Fashion Consolidated today. Its called Faith and its another scripted hair style that is an updo that drops down into a long style with the click of a stylish comb in the back of it. There are a lot of good pictures aside from this promotional picture available at Natalia Zelmanov's blog. It seems Natalia's getting into scripted hair a lot lately as her last few releases have had scripted colour change items or hair itself, or an updo scripted into a long style like Faith here is. Not that I don't love the idea of scripted hair, I just haven't seen it done quite as often by the many hair designers I've frequented.
Natalia's blog is more than just fashion release notices, though. She does a lot of travelling in SL and always writes up something about each location she visits. For a lot of them, she'll make new outfits specifically for the trip or the trip will be the setting for some sort of tutorial or photo shoot. Just don't be surprised when there's more than just Sirena to her blog!
A short, fairly quiet night all and all, but I'm grateful for that as I'm still not feeling too well.
I suppose I should mention that aside from this blog I've started a group dedicated towards fashion in the Grid on Facebook. It is a fairly new group, so there's not a lot of discussion, however I am posting up items from various fashion blogs around the web. Posted items gives you the choice of reading the item there, or following the link to the original website the item was posted from.
If you have a Facebook account, and want to join, simply follow the link while you're signed in and select the join option from the right hand navigation menu.
Preface: This was written for a college english course. The majority of information I could find was based out of Second Life specifically, so I am posting it here for others to read. I think a lot of people don't realise what exactly video games and things like Second Life can be beyond the normal experience, at least not very often.
Amber*[1] was once a dancer, dancing both professionally on stage and during her off time in clubs. She was once able to dance for hours, to any music, and loved doing so. For Amber, dancing was life.
Several years ago, that changed. Amber began having problems with movement, often losing her equilibrium and feeling fatigued. She was soon diagnosed with a chronic disorder the slowly began to interrupt every aspect of her life. Amber could no longer work for the theatre she performed at, or anywhere else for that matter, but still had two children to feed and medical costs to pay.
Like many patients of terminal disease or physically debilitating illness, Amber initially became depressed; once she could no longer dance, she seemed to wilt under the pressure of her illness. She no longer felt that she had much of a life, especially since she could barely even take care of her children.
In June of 2003, Amber began what she found to be an acceptable replacement. Sony Online Entertainment and LucasArts released a video game, Star Wars Galaxies, that included a set of classes that were geared towards socializing and role players. One of them was a dancer class, with motion captured dancing skills, and Amber was hooked from launch. Aside from gaining in game monetary tips for her work as a dancer, Amber also took up a crafting skill to make her own costumes which lead to an in game store later on. This also would eventually lead her to selling costumes offline for real world use, her main income for quiet some time.
Although it was technically against the End User License Agreement, she would sell off the money she made in game to a resale company for actual US money. As her marriage was coming to a close due to her illness, she found her first means of generating income even when she was too sick to work. While it wasn’t quite enough to make a full time living, it was enough to help her family get by.
In 2004, an innovative game was released by Linden Labs. Unlike the traditional online game, most of the content was to be created by the users themselves, through something known as share sourcing. While Second Life is not exactly a game, as there is technically no way to win, it’s not exactly a chat program either. It is, however, someplace where people can make a living off of virtual goods.
Once she had learned all the tools used to create Second Life content, Amber opened her own ‘clothing’ store. Over the past few years, she has turned her pixilated fashion into a full time living, her real world tailoring becoming the side job. Aside from her business, Amber uses the versatility of Second Life to go out to clubs and dance on a broader level than was ever available elsewhere.
Amber’s story is quickly becoming something common in the online worlds available today. Many terminally ill, physically debilitated and others with chronic medical problems have turned to video gaming – and online gaming in particular – to fill roles they once enjoyed before their illnesses deprived them of such. From young leukemia patients to trauma injured individuals to older people who just no longer are able to get around, virtual worlds bring a whole new level of life that is missing.
Not all of the stories about medically challenged individuals and their rediscovery of life end as happily as Amber’s did. In October of 2007, SL Resident Pixeleen Mistral shared a story about someone she had met in one of the many sailboat racing sims. Mistral’s friend, Djduerrer Zou, was terminally ill though that was a fact Mistral didn’t know at first. Eventually, it came to light, and in her story Mistral described:
DJ was playing a different game, though. For him, Second Life was a way to re-live some of what he was missing in RL - sailing and dancing. On bad days, DJ was probably the slowest typist in the metaverse and would go AFK without warning. This used to drive me nearly crazy. In time I learned the unpredictable disappearances and uneven typing happened because DJ was ill - terminally ill. Second Life was more than an amusement for him - it was an escape. ("Remembering Djduerrer Zou" The Second Life Herald Oct 10, 2007
Mistral described what it was like to race sailboats with DJ, how often times he would type very slowly or have to suddenly go away from the keys for long periods of time and how things where on ‘good days’ for DJ. After a while, their schedules began conflicting, and DJ eventually moved to a different sailing sim that had unexpectedly banned Mistral, probably due to the fact their sims were in direct competition for players. DJ assured Mistral that in time the ban would be lifted, but never was clear on why; unfortunately for Mistral, who didn’t often visit the opposing sim by other means, regrets not trying harder to get around the ban despite the fact that DJ never pushed for Mistral to.
In October, after the opposing sim had undergone a change of ownership, Mistral stopped by for a visit and was lead to a rather eye catching memorial on the docks. A bench had been set up with a plaque beneath an image of DJ that read “In Memory of Djduerrer Zou; DJ had already passed away. It was noted to Mistral that DJ had many people stopping by to remember him, a testament to how much DJ lived in the online world.
Digital worlds are not just reprieves for the ill, they are often havens for those around them who have given up part of their lives to care for them. In an interview, Robin Harper of Linden Labs stated that one of the things that had surprised her the most was the story of a woman who gave up her life and career to stay at home and care for her dying husband. The Second Life community became her support network, helping her not only cope with the tedious times while caring for her husband but also afterward by helping her move forward. The woman was 76 years old at the time Harper heard about her, and the woman since her husband’s death had met someone through the platform as well as owning two virtual islands and a business.
While under documented entirely, there are many more cases such as these in many different games and online platforms, from Ultima Online to World of Warcraft to EverQuest II and more. This phenomenon is not entirely limited to the ill and the old - one particular 3D chat program, IMVU, is often used by soldiers who are away from their families, providing visual communication with their loved ones while they are abroad.
Amid the scores of arguments that video games and online chatrooms are tools of corruption and degrade the minds and morals of their users, people will often overlook the good that such things do – allowing a dancer to dance again, a man who would never see the ocean again to sail upon it, and a woman who was unable to continue her life and career to become successful in the shadow of death. Perhaps living in a virtual world isn’t quite the sin people would like to make it out to be, perhaps it is just a new way of living that society has not yet thoroughly explored; hopefully this new frontier will provide even brighter lives for those who can no longer have such in the world society is used to.
[1] The interviewed party’s SL name is not actually Amber Nightfire, it was changed to allow her anonymity as not all people in the Grid know she is ill.