What if we all wore the Same Damn Thing?

Achariya Rezak once said...

What if we all wore the same damned thing?
I think...
We'd still look very different.

The second entry which was postponed by Real Life was a response to Cajsa Lilliehook's suggestion that we "wave a blogger’s goodbye" to Achariya for her 3 1/2 years of blogging service to the Second Life community by replaying "one of her best Blogger Challenges, the Same Damn Thing Challenge."

For this particular challenge, Achariya chose the Oxford Shirt from Schadenfreude. This shirt comes in 30 different colors with a variety of tucked/untucked options on several layers. Individual colors can be had for $160L each or you can grab the fat pack of all 30 colors for $3500L.

For your accessory needs, Schadenfreude also offers a plethora of neckties for as low as $80L for a 2pk. Each tie comes in both female/male sizes with a variety of attachment points. However, the neatest thing about these ties is that they also offer you an Oxford Collar option with a color-changing HUD which allows you to match the collar to ANY of the Oxford Shirts you may own. How cool is that?! (They also come without the attached collar so you can wear them with anything else you please.)

I wore my Indigo Oxford Shirt untucked with a Fluorite Tree Tie, a silver belt by La Boheme, leopard-print pants by Sn@tch, and cowboy boots by Hoorenbeek. Also, as promised, I've finally ventured into the world of prim nails with a gorgeous red set by La Boheme. Below are all of the details of my outfit, with prices included when possible.

Thank you, Achariya, for giving those of us with quirky fashion sense somewhere to turn to for ideas for so long and for inspiring me to finally start my own damn blog. I wish you the best of luck in all of your future endeavors.



Skin: Love - Pale (Liner, Red Lip) by MiaSnow
Eyes: Xpressive - Blue by MiaSnow
Facial Piercings: -Dimpled Piercing - Silver Lining by Haus of Darcy
Prim Nails: Manicure Red08 by La Boheme
Hair: H058 Black/Blonde_01 by Black Maria ($125L/6pk)
Shirt: Oxford - Indigo by Schadenfreude
Tie: Fluorite Tree Tie by Schadenfreude ($80/pr)
Pants: Reject Cheetah Pants - Green by Sn@tch (Part of the Rodeo Reject Set.)
Belt: Silver Flower Sun Belt (with color-change stones) by La Boheme ($100L)
Boots: Cowgirl Boots - Black by Hoorenbeek
Close Up Pose: *Luth* pose 37 by Reel Expression
Full Body Pose: LB Stand 20 by Reel Expression
Location: Devil's Moon

Dishy Digits

I know it's been awhile since I've posted here and, for that, I apologize. I had a couple of entries in the works when Real Life intervened, as it so often will. The first post to get delayed was this response to Strawberry Singh's "What's your digits?" query. My avatar's stats are as follows:



My height was determined using the Avatar Height Measure. According to the Edit Appearance window in Phoenix, I'm an even 6' tall. However, based on the trouble I often have with poseballs and long skirts, I'm more inclined to believe the Avatar Height Measure.

The outfit I'm wearing is something I was trying out for a photoshoot a friend asked me to assist them with. Because this isn't really a fashion post, I'm not going to speak much about what I'm wearing except to say that I'm especially pleased with the freebie belt. I have something of an hourglass shape, so items like belts and prim skirts are often too small for me and resist my attempts to edit them into something which fits properly and is still aesthetically pleasing. That was not the case at all with this belt, which comes in both female and male sizes and is scripted for resizing. The bare bones info about the rest of my outfit is below, with prices included when possible.

Skin: Fresh - Pale - Smokey by MiaSnow
Eyes: Xpressive - Green by MiaSnow
Tattoo: Cupid's Vine by Para Designs (I think this was a hunt gift.)
Hair: H058 Black/Blonde_01 by Black Maria ($125L/6pk)
Nails: Bitten Nails - Onyx by Figure 8 (Sadly no longer available.)
Shorts: Denim Short Pants by Edge Grafica (Only $1L!)
Belt: Studded Leather Belt by Drudi's Design ( Free! )
Socks: Ripped Stockings and Socks - 1 by Insanya ($150/9pk)
Boots: Dr. H. Boots - Black by Hoorenbeek
Jacket: Ferocious - Moth by Davinel ($120L) (Includes additional prim pieces not shown here)
Pose: Stock Stand 182 by Sylva's Animation Factory

Holy Trinity (Mini-Blog #3)

The Green Faerie cradles her lovers, Opium & Laudanum, in the palms of her hands as she waits for her disciples amongst the sugar cubes.




Skin: Fresh - Pale - Drama by MiaSnow
Makeup: Black Lip, Liner, Smokey (Makeup Pack #3) by MiaSnow
Nails: Raven by Nevermore
Eyes: Shine - Mint - by MiaSnow (From the March Mint Madness sale.)
Tattoos: Absinthe by Para Designs (Depraved & Luckless Hunt #19 - Ends 3.30.11)
Hair: OMFG 2 - Oddities by House of Munster
Necklace: Wonderland Collection - White Rabbit Necklace by Violet Voltaire
Dress: Sour Cordial by Frick (Retirement Sale - Ends April 1, 2011)
Stockings: Vertical Stripes - Yellow by Canimal (sadly, now defunct)
Shoes: Buckled Dollie Pumps Floral by Dilly Dolls
Wings: Starfaerie Wings by New Trails
Absinthe Set: Absinthe Tray by The Fooding (Twisted Hunt #140 - Ends 3.31.11)
Pose: Get Happy 01 by Poseur

Yippie Kai Yay

My always-entertaining friend Vivianna Quandry stopped by while I was setting up a shot the other day and I couldn't resist snapping a photo of the two of us. This is an unusually subdued look for Vivianna, but keep an eye out here for more of her fashion pairings in the future.

I'm sad to report that Frick will be closing it's doors on April 1, 2011. However, until then, there's still a heck of a sale going on -- everything in the store is at least 50% off. For example, the dress I'm wearing in this photo is available for $50L or in a fat pack of 5 colors for only $199L. (Each outfit also comes with stockings, garters, and a choker, which are not shown here.) Fat packs of 24 skins can be had for $299L, individual skins can be had for as low as $10L, and full outfits can be purchased for $15L - $75L.

VIVIANNA'S LOOK:
Skin: Minima Violetta [Snow] by Sindecade (Currently FREE)
Hair: Ki - Color Pack by Magika
Eyes: Shine - Mint by MiaSnow (From the March Mint Madness sale.)
Dress/Stockings/Boots/Gun: Phoebe Gunn Ensemble by Wretched Dollies (Steam Hunt #139 - Ends 3.31.11)
Necklace: Wanderer Jewellery Set by League
Collar/Gloves: Bella Black Lace by Pixeldolls


MY LOOK:
Skin: Fresh - Pale - Drama by MiaSnow
Makeup: Black Lip, Liner, Smokey (Makeup Pack #3) by MiaSnow
Nails: Raven by Nevermore
Eyes: Shine - Mint - by MiaSnow (From the March Mint Madness sale.)
Tattoos: Absinthe by Para Designs (Depraved & Luckless Hunt #19 - Ends 3.30.11)
Hair: OMFG 2 - Oddities by House of Munster
Necklace: Wonderland Collection - White Rabbit Necklace by Violet Voltaire
Earrings & Bracelet: Dia De Los Muertos Set by Violet Voltaire
Dress: Sour Cordial by Frick (Closing April 1, 2011)
Stockings: Vertical Stripes - Yellow by Canimal (sadly, now defunct)
Shoes: Buckled Dollie Pumps Floral by Dilly Dolls


Pose: Party Boys by Long Awkward Pose (previous Pro Posers Hunt Gift)
Expressions: Lemmontree Emote HUD 1.1 (FREE)

Persistence

Lately, I've been having a much easier time getting profile shots of others than of myself. This is one of the results of today's failed attempt to update my profile photo. (It did go into my profile, just on one of the Picks tabs instead of the front page.)

The bob & hat combo I'm wearing here is by Santana Lumiere, yet another designer I've favored since my days as a pixely-behind-the-ears newbie. Among the first of Second Life's retailers, Santana has been creating quality skin, clothing, jewelry, and home decor since 2004 - previously with her store, Nevermore, and now with La Boheme. She offers this scripted color-change hat in three different hairstyles (two bobs and a low ponytail), and each hairstyle in four different color packs. (You can see me wearing the Champagne hair here.) The hat has 18 different color options, making it easy to match to nearly any outfit. And, at only $50L per color pack, I was able to afford to buy my preferred hairstyle in all colors!

A small selection of La Boheme products (including a wide variety of affordable prim nails) can be seen at the in-world location, and all products (including some Nevermore stock) can be found at SoverignCrux.com.

You can see the rest of my outfit in this entry. (I'm amused to note that I've owned pretty much this exact same hat in this exact same color of blue in the non-virtual world for nearly a decade.)

Hair & Hat: Cloche Bob v1.1 - Mousse by La Boheme
Skin: Fresh - Pale - Nude Blush by MiaSnow
Eyes: Xpressive - Blue - Lite by MiaSnow (FREE at the Fab Free Headquarters)
Earrings: Everyday Hoops - Silver by Ticky Tacky
Necklace: Beaded Key Necklace - Trinity Blue by Magpie
Dress: Dust Storm Dress - HyaBlue by Nomine

He Waits

You leave the light on at your door
You cross your heart
You cross the bedroom floor
And through the window to your world
You can feel me there and you know I'm waiting...

'cause sometimes you just have to take a break from fashion write-ups to post photos of pretty boys.

This is my dear friend Nigel Riel, the person responsible for coaxing me into Second Life nearly five years ago, and a supremely talented SL photographer and builder. (In fact, he's currently hard-at-work constructing one of the sims for the upcoming Fashion for Life charity event which kicks off later this month.) I snapped this shot a few days ago while he was photographing the two of us.

Nigel best described our friendship when he said, "We have a long and very... intricate past, she and I. We know each other's demons better than we know our own."

I love ya man.

You can take the goth out of the country...

I always get a bit nostalgic when I shop at Nomine because it's where I bought my very first skin back in June of 2006. (For those who are curious, it was Leanan Sidhe in red.) While the layout and location have changed over the years, Nomine is still one of my go-to places when I'm trying to pull together a particularly gothy look. As you can see from the Dust Storm dress I'm wearing here, Nomine's Munchflower Zaius isn't afraid to deviate from the cliched styles and colors which so many goth designers rely on a bit too heavily for my tastes. I grabbed this dress at a $100L sale Nomine had awhile back, but paying the regular list price of $300L would be a worthy splurge. (Except for brightening it a bit, the first image here is untouched so you can see how well the prim bits of the dress mesh with the textures of the surrounding pieces.) The dress is available in 7 different color schemes, including Voodoo Pink and Bleeding Black. Stop by the store and slap the subscribe-o-matic to be notified of new releases and future sales.

My hair is a recent group gift from Magika ($50L for everyone else) in a limited Valentine's Day color which is sadly no longer available. However, they do currently have a free fatpack of female hair in the store (a bob with several different hud-controlled appearance and color options) as well as a back room with a wide variety of $49L and $99L hairs.

Though the Dust Storm dress comes with matching stockings, I decided to tomboy things up a bit and wear some of Schadenfreude's stripey socks. These come in a fatpack of 10 colors, which each color on 3 different layers for layering with other clothing ($100L). Schadenfreude's Elephant on Lloyd is one of my favorite places to peruse for pieces for my carny outfits (and not just because I get to slide down a fireman's pole), so I'm sure this isn't going to be the last time they appear in this blog.

The boots I'm wearing are one of two free pairs of shoes being offered to N-core group members. The other pair can be seen in my previous entry. Both pairs of shoes come with several hud-controlled options (including on/off and color options for the slouchy socks seen here) and the group is free to join.

Finally, I think the Croire pose I'm using in the photo below was one of the store's offerings in a recent hunt but, for the life of me, I can't remember which one. I try to keep better track of such information, but sometimes I get careless (or lazy) and the Forgetfulness Faeries gobble up the information like sugar junkies in a chocolate factory.




Hair: Nayla - Heart by Magika (Special Valentine's Color)
Skin: Fresh - Pale - Nude Blush by MiaSnow
Eyes: Xpressive - Blue - Lite by MiaSnow (FREE at the Fab Free Headquarters)
Face Piercing: Monroe Stud - Left - Platinum by Oh Tangerine
Necklace: Beaded Key Necklace - Trinity Blue by Magpie
Dress: Dust Storm Dress - HyaBlue by Nomine (matching socks not worn here)
Bracelets & Watch: Troupe Watch - Natural by Miel (scripted color-change)
Tall Socks: Knit Stripey Socks - Blue by Schadenfreude
Boots & Ankle Socks: 3" Ankle Multicolor Boots by N-core (Current Group Gift)
Tattoo: Shooting Star - Faded by Para Designs
Pose in First Photo: Show Off Yer Bling 3 by Croire

The first photo was taken on the island I call home, the second photo was taken outside of Haus of Darcy on Dark Tranquility.

Booty Call (Mini-Blog #2)

Lonely girls sometimes find themselves resorting to desperate measures.

Heeeere, pirate pirate...

Skin: Sunset Stung 1 by Caladesi Island Company (TVDH Hunt - Ends 2/28/11)
Makeup: Aqua Eyeshadow by MiaSnow
Hair: Dawn - Blonde Ash by Nomine
Eyes: Xpressive - Blue - Lite by MiaSnow (FREE at the Fab Free Headquarters)
Lingerie: Anastasia - Platinum by Lingerie Boutique
Shoes:Sense XtremeHeel by N-core (Group Gift - Free to Join)
Cannon with Pose: Pirate Cannon by Headhunter's Island

Taken on the dock in front of my house.

Brandied Cherries

Remember when I mentioned that MiaSnow is one of my favorite designers? And remember when I told you about the skin sale she's having this weekend? If you do, then you probably aren't at all surprised that I did some shopping yesterday. After much deliberation, I settled on the Fresh skin in Pale, along with Makeup Packs 1 and 3. (At only $200L for 10 styles, I suspect I'll be going back for Makeup Pack 2 sooner rather than later.)

Each Fresh fatpack comes with 6 skins with tintable brows. At a sale price of $599L, that's only $100L per skin! (To be clear, ONLY the fatpacks are on sale.) I'm wearing the Scarlet skin from the Pale fatpack, which inspired me to put together the Rockabilly look you see here. Never fear though, Makeup Pack 1 has many carny-worthy options and Makeup Pack 3 is going to be perfect for those days when I'm feeling nostalgic for my goth phase.

MiaSnow also offers a very affordable shape pack for this series ($120L for all 4 shapes). There's one shape for each skin tone, though while trying out the demos I discovered they can sometimes be mixed and matched to create unique looks. Additionally, the shapes are copy/mod for further personalization. (I'm wearing the Petite shape for the Pale collection, with a few modifications to the body to suit my personal preferences. However, I left the shape of the face as MiaSnow created it.)

Other accessories for the Fresh skin line include a set of 12 colored brows (including a tintable option) ($50L) and a set of two breast options (big & small) for all skin tones on both tattoo & undershirt layers ($200L). Each style of makeup in the makeup packs comes with three versions on the tattoo layer -- both breast options as well as a make-up only option.

The skin sale ends this Sunday night and only applies to specific fatpacks, so take a gander at MiaSnow's blog entry with all of the details and head on over to beautiful TwoMoon Island. (There are several male skins on sale as well, so grab the men in your life and bring 'em with you!)



Skin: Fresh - Pale - Scarlett by MiaSnow
Eyes: Xpressive - Blue - Lite by MiaSnow (FREE at the Fab Free Headquarters)
Tattoos: Rollin' Hard - Dark by Para Designs ($60L 2/26/11 ONLY)
Shirt: SweetLady Blouse - Red by Xplosion (The Valentine Diva Hunt - ends 2/28/11)
Shape: Fresh - Petite by MiaSnow
Brows: Fresh by MiaSnow
Hair: Sabina II - Toffee by Artilleri
Earrings: Everyday Hoops - Silver by Ticky Tacky
Face Piercing: Monroe Stud - Left - Platinum by Oh Tangerine
Necklace: Cherry Necklace by Twisted & Spoiled (Hair Fair '09 Gift)
Navel Piercing: Star Belly Ring - Ruby by DbNR
Jeans: Spring Belted Capris - Blues by Moonshine Designs
Shoes: Espadrilles by Twisted & Spoiled (Hair Fair '09 Gift)
Nails: LB 179 by La Boheme
Pose: Stock Stand 146 by Sylva's Animation Factory

Skin Sale at MiaSnow!

From now through Monday, MiaSnow is offering the fatpacks shown here, for the price of only ONE skin! It looks like the fatpacks range in size from four skins to SIX in some of the male skin packs.

Runs around in excited little circles as my wallet cowers in fear.

Blueberries on Toast

I spent an absurd amount of time stalking the Lucky Boards at Dilly Dolls tonight, but my creepy patience paid off in the form of three skins and three outfits! (Much thanks to Whisper Despres at The Lucky Dispatch for letting her readers know about the boards.) Featured in this post are the Emile set in Violet and the Lillie skin. As someone with a shorter-than-average avatar who has a few curves, it's unusual for prim clothing to fit me right out of the box, so I was extremely pleased to discover that I only had to make a very minor adjustment to the prim corset which comes with this outfit -- everything else fit perfectly! While there's a lot to like about this outfit, I have to say that my contrary nature makes the mis-matched stockings my favorite feature.

The skin is gorgeous, with lush lips and detail which stands up to the scrutiny of a cam zoom, it's a wonderful addition to the inventory of anyone who appreciates a dark carny aesthetic. (It also comes with a "No Brows" option, but I haven't actually had the time to try that version on yet.)

At the moment, Dilly Dolls offers five different lucky boards for skins and three lucky boards for clothing. The skins remain the same for every round, but the clothing changes with each letter. As far as I can tell, there are two boards for women containing five different dresses in a variety of colors, and one board for men containing two outfits and what seems to be a fat pack of jewel-colored tank tops. There are also two Midnight Madness boards nearby, and a $10L - $25L retirement sale in front of the store.

The boots are actually men's boots from Deco resized to fit my avatar. The process was a bit tricky but ultimately fairly easy to do, even with my rudimentary building skills. At $300L, they were a mild splurge, but well worth it. (I'd be lying if I said I'm not hoping for an excuse to buy the metallic red pair as well.)

Finally, yes, those are simple texture nails I'm wearing. I generally don't wear prim nails because they're so finicky when it comes to AOs, so I tend to forget about them when it comes time to photograph my outfits. Moving forward, I'll be making more of an effort to bring my avatar's manicure out of the past and into the eye-poking present.





Hat, Dress, Stockings, & Jewelry: Emilie Set - Violet by Dilly Dolls
Skin: Lillie - Tandy (Milk Toast) by Dilly Dolls
Tattoos: Timeless - Color - Medium by Para Designs
Eyes: Bloodshot - Blue by MiaSnow
Nails: Fireworks by Nevermore
Hair: Doris - Blueberry by Amacci
Boots: Test Boots - Starry by Deco
Pose in First Photo: ~N~ Cutsey4 by Vrai Infinity

The Dragonfly's Ghost (Mini-Blog #1)

Here's another look at the Dragonfly outfit and skin I got at the huge sale currently taking place at Frick.

The first post in this series can be seen here.

Skybox: Dark Forest Skybox by Frick - $37L
Skin: Dragonfly L'Exposition - Ghost - Dk Brows - Clvg by Frick -$50L (4pk)
Dress: Belle Epoque Set in Dragonfly by Frick - $75L (2 skirt & corset options)
Hair: Doris - Blue by Amacci
Tattoo: Ruck-A-Pit Bridge - Light 3 by EtchaFlesh Tattoos
Nails: Prism Nail Gloves by Nevermore
Eyes:: Genuine - blue green by MiaSnow
Bracelets: Skull Bangles in blue & green by Sprawl
Pose: Kneeling Sit by Express Yourself

Curvaceous

MiaSnow Myriam has been one of my favorite designers for several years now. I'm especially fond of her skins, many of which would be perfect for the denizens of a less-than-reputable carnival or any number of fantastic characters one might find skipping, slinking, or scampering through the world of the curious and terrible. I'm sure you'll be seeing her name pop up here on a regular basis. Above is a photo I took earlier last month at MiaSnow's new sim, Twomoons Island, which is also home to India Ink Gallery where you can find the fabulous artwork of Mister Trindolyn Beck.

My WoW tee is part of a dollarbie line currently being offered by Boom.



By the way, please feel free to drop me a line if my blog is looking particularly wonky on your end. My preferred browser is Google Chrome, and I've discovered that there's a bit of a learning curve when it comes to trying to get websites to look decent in both it and IE.

Pose in Second Photo: Adriana Lima 4 by Striking Poses

Cheap & Cheerful

"Cheap & Cheerful" - The Kills
I want you to be crazy

'Cause you're boring baby when you're straight

I want you to be crazy

'Cause you're stupid baby when you're sane

Since this journal has been sitting here collecting dust since 2007, and I've been making detailed Second Life fashion posts over on Flickr since 2008, I decided to use this space as a little Second Life fashion blog. Yes, there are a million of them, but I'm simply doing this for the fun of it. I will mostly be focusing on cheap and free items, but I'll also feature the occasional splurge and even sometimes venture into the territory of home decorating and furnishing.

The photos in this entry were taken at Dmitr Revnik's current work-in-progress. Dmitr always builds the coolest houses, each one better than the last. Perhaps someday the residents of Second Life will get lucky and he'll venture into the world of virtual retail. Until then, you'll just have to be satisfied with getting glimpses of his builds here.

Frick is having a massive sale right now -- EVERYTHING in the store is AT LEAST 50% OFF -- which means fat packs of 24 skins can be had for only $299L! I grabbed the following two items at the sale along with a bunch of other stuff:

Skin: Dragonfly L'Exposition - Ghost - Dk Brows - Clvg by Frick - $50L (4pk)

Lingerie: Belle Epoque Set in Dragonfly by Frick - $75L (This is a HUGE set with two skirt options.)

Frick is also currently having a Sweetheart Mini Hunt.

Hair: Doris - Blue by Amacci
Tattoo: Ruck-A-Pit Bridge - Light 3 by EtchaFlesh Tattoos
Nails: Prism Nail Gloves by Nevermore
Shoes: Stiletto by Hoorenbeek
Bracelets: Skull Bangles in blue & green by Sprawl
Pose: Mein Herr 12 by Luth
Expression: FREE Lemontree Emote Hud smile combined with a blink.
Windlight Setting: [TOR] SCIFI - Awesome atmo 3

The Killing Jar

Down where this ugly man
Seeks his sustenance
Down in the blue, midnight flare
A glass hand cuts through the water
Scything into his twisted roots

Then from his eyes
Spring fireflies
Breathing life
Into a roaring disguise

Needles and sins, sins and needles
He's gasping for air
In the wishing well
Dust to rust, ashes to gashes
Hand around the killing jar

A soft hoodwink of shadow
The size of make-believe
Punches through his spike of rage
A glass hand cuts through the water
Snuffing out the magic fury

Then from inside
Bolt lightning cries
Swiftly crushed
The final, muffled sighs

Needles and sins, sins and needles
He's gasping for air
In the wishing well
Dust to rust, ashes to gashes
Hand around the killing jar

-- Siouxsie and the Banshees