Month: April 2013

This week I’m bringing to you some lovely things… A little over a year ago I started getting involved with Second Life again after a few years away. As I’ve mentioned before, I became involved in fashion pretty quickly. One of the first things I did was enroll in the Miss Virtual World Academy, where I met a lovely young woman who goes by Sessie16 Resident in SL. We became friends pretty quickly and our connection deepened into a sisterly kind of love, so we decided to adopt each other as sisters.
Early in our friendship, I discovered Ever An’ Angel, a wonderful store with formal and casual apparel. The owner and I share a love for Art Deco-era art, and she created a dress called Paint that reminds me of Maxfield Parrish and John William Waterhouse’s art. I bought Sessie a copy of one of them, and wore one to visit her, and we created an impromptu pic.
It’s about a year later now. Sessie and I have been through a lot together and I think our friendship has deepened in this time. And Ever An’ Angel has created a new version of the Paint dress! What better anniversary celebration can there be than to create some more pics together with this beautiful dress?

A few months ago, another dear friend, Hikaru Enimo, introduced me the the ravishing Goatswood sim. I knew that this would be the perfect place to create pictures celebrating this dress. There are many breathtaking spots in the Goatswood sim, and the Gypsy Camp is one of the most picturesque.

Another new creation for Ever An’ Angel is the beautiful fascinator seen in this picture of lovely Sessie. There are a number of versions that will compliment many outfits.

If you’d like to visit the Goatswood sim, just take a tp there, grab a 3-day visitors pass, and tp via train to the sim. You can get more involved if you like by engaging in Victorian-era roleplay. There are also residences there but it seems to have been full up for months now.

Ever An’ Angel “Paint” “Spring!” Dress (group gift – free with EnA membership) on Miele;
Ever An’ Angel “Paint” “Evening’s End!” Dress on Sessie
Ever An’ Angel “Blossom” – Snapdragon Fascinator
[Diktator]-DARE Orange shoes
Pink Acid Ripe Orange Yogurt Lip Gloss + Lashes + Blush (gift)
Maxi Gossamer – Bangles – Lost Eden – Miriam – GOLD + OPAL –
Maxi Gossamer – Earrings – Giselle Opal Set – TANGERINE –
Maxi Gossamer: Necklace and rings – Giselle Opal Set – Medium – TANGERINE

I’ve been hearing a lot of jokes about places here in the USA having forgotten how to spring. Where I live, seasons don’t happen as much as temperatures; the really cold period before the warm period before the cold period before the really warm period. I like it here in San Francisco; love the temperate weather and the tendency toward fog and chill as opposed to heat and humidity in other places as we move toward May and June. I love sweaters and cosy soft fabrics, and I get to wear them more often than my neighbors down south.

While we wait for things to heat up, a sweater dress is a great solution, keeping you warm (but not too warm) and stylish during the in-between weather. I love the Sally sweater dress from Prism. It’s just the right weight, not too bulky and has a lovely feminine shape. It comes in different colors and patterns, and very versatile – you can keep it very casual or dress it up a bit as I’ve done here.
The shoes I paired it with are simply awesome. The .: SUPERBIA :. 1NNOVAT1ON Pumps have a great skin match HUD and a bunch of different textures you can apply. They’re a bit pricey but you’re getting a number of looks. As you can see the shape is really cool, hinting at the vintage while being very fresh and current. 😀
Enjoy your spring, in whatever form it comes!

PRISM – Sally Sweater Dress – Japanese Lanterns
.: SUPERBIA :. 1NNOVAT1ON Pumps
-Glam Affair- Layla lipstick – goddess
/Wasabi Pills/Veronica Mesh Hair  Rouge
Pixelfashion – :)(: Babsy belts – Pink and Red – V2 Size A
Slink Mesh Hands
[ glow ] studio Sevilla Earrings (pinky)
*MM* Resin Bangles

 

One of the challenging things for me in the pageant wasn’t actually finding sponsors. It seems like around pageants, designers and creators are very willing to offer their support, since it potentially means that their work will be displayed in a high-profile event (although in the case of this pageant, everything happened pretty much in secret… so many little idiosyncrasies…)
However – if one asks for something, one had better be prepared to know what one is asking for – and provide the information necessary for your sponsor to give you what you need. And I also learned – try to avoid making your sponsors have to work together… they may have completely different schedules, workflows, temperaments… Most importantly, be organized and don’t expect your sponsor to initiate the conversations – you need to stay on top of the progress.

There are a number of different ways you might be sponsored. Depending on what you need, a designer might offer you something they have already made, especially if there is a time crunch. One of my sponsors ended up actually mentoring me in some very helpful ways.

Of course the most exciting form of sponsorship is for the designer to actually make something from scratch just for you. I think many models dream of this kind of thing – I know I have! It is a wonderful honor when it happens. The gown I’m wearing in this post is the Miele Gown created for me by Gwen Carillon of Gwen Carillon Designs. Gwen has been a creator and designer in Second Life for years – she makes the most gorgeous lingerie and clothing, creates sculpture and poetry, and dj’s regularly at her sim (she has a marvelous voice!) Previously Gwen created entire sims, incredibly beautiful too.

Gwen also created the jewelry I’m wearing in this post, especially for the dress. I ended up wearing a Finesmith set for the pageant, because its boldness read better from the stage. The jewelry Gwen made is very delicate, as you can see from the detail pic. All in all it’s such an exquisitely detailed ensemble, and I’m so delighted and honored to have it named after me!

Style card to follow.

I recently took part in a pageant. It was mostly a really good experience for me but at the very end it turned sour. Those who know me well know what happened, so I won’t post about it here. Part of the silver lining is that I styled some outfits of which I’m pretty proud. This is the first.

For the first part of the pageant, we were to style an interview outfit. I went through a few different pieces of clothing before settling on this one. The color is pretty hot right now – a nice cool mint green, perfect for redheads, and will also suit a number of other complexions.

I admit the dress is a little short and sexy but hey – it worked 😀 I think the serious glasses are a good complement to the sexy hemline, don’t you?

Photo by the ever wonderful Rudyn Carter.

Dress: Volstead ~ Liaison Chemise ~ Mint
Shoes: Pixel Mode – Lady T – Mint
Hair: Maitreya Siri – Ginger
Glasses +ROZOREGALIA+*Aquila*Sunglasses No.5
Lips: –Glam Affair– Layla lipstick – shiny red
Lashes: ATIA CREATIONS Relaxed Lashes – Tintable
Briefcase: The Secret Store – Girly briefcase – Mint
Earrings: Alchemy Immortalis Sephira Teardrop Cabochon Jewelled Earrings
Necklace: undefined lilies – spring has fever necklace (silver/white) chest

The past month or so has been an exercise in awareness of how the choices I make affect my ability to be responsible. How many times I’ve agreed to do something because in the moment I want to help, have the skills necessary to to the task, like the person who’s asking, or just want to have fun… any number of reasons. But when it comes down to it I have limited time and I’m not serving anyone if I take a task and make others expect I’ll get it done.. and not give someone else the chance to do it who might have both the time and the skill.

Wanting to look good to others can be a mighty barrier against actually accomplishing work that will distinguish one as a competent and useful person. As I progress through my career as a model in Second Life, I’m learning that I need to say no sometimes, possibly more often than yes. Saying yes to something means saying no to other things… and I wish to be certain I leave room for yeses that will get me closer to my goals. Come to think of it… this has so many applications… relationships, money, diet… uff, getting complicated again! Anyway… I’m curious to hear if anyone who reads this is either struggling with the same thing, or has solved that struggle, and if so, what habits you’ve developed to do that.

A few weeks ago I was given a gown to blog for Glam Dreams. The gown is called Simplicity, ironically, I think, since the ornate patterns embedded in the dress are anything but simple.However this is foiled nicely by the clean lines of the gown, hugging the torso and  hips, and flaring nicely into an elegant train. There is a definite Art Nouveau feel to it, so I chose to pose at The Mercury Room and Owl’s Hollywood Hootery http://slurl.com/secondlife/Catalina%20Cove/126/44/1307/, a really beautiful Art Deco/Art Nouveau spot.

Glam Dreams[http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Agard/234/201/28] is relatively new on the scene but has some really nice women’s casual and formal clothing, non-mesh, partial mesh, and full mesh. The creator, sandytpr Lysette, has taken care to offer gowns in currently fashionable colors and classic shapes that will flatter any woman.

Glam Dreams Simplicity Gown
[Diktator ]– ENVY SHOE
blackLiquid BROW 3  (black)
Oceane: Jade Lips: Sexy Red
*GA* Mesh Lashes Mysteria
:: PM :: Cubics in Heaven Jewelry Set
booN SGK120 hair black
Izzie’s – Long Metallic Nails