Saturday, August 20, 2011

Barefooting





Just on my regular quest for great quality fabulous bargains I came across a little store called amato,  a little freebie/dollarbie store where I picked up these amazing shorts and eyes (take a closer peek at the peepers below). There are other items for men & women, but I especially like the eye selection.

I dropped in on one of my regulars, The Fashion Garret where i've discovered some of my favourites designers. I never seem to be able to leave that place without buying something! and of course I grabbed this great group gift but also this divine hair by Angel hair, and if you haven't already grabbed the latest fantastic group gift at Coco then go grab this barefeet now they're a definite must have!


Hair & hat: 70L - Samantha by Angel hair @> The Fashion Garret
Skin: 800L - Niran - pale skin j8 > JeSyLilo
Eyes: 0L - tropical eyes - gift > amato
Top: 0L - luckyboard item > !1MM
Scarf: 200L - warm wrap textile scarf > Zeerys
Shorts: 0L - gift > amato
Bag: 0L - group gift > !1MM
Bracelets: 0L - group gift > The Fashion Garret
Feet: 0L - group gift > Coco Designs

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

In Which Sian Mixes and Matches with Jackie Graves

When Sian joined Second Life a little less than two years ago, Jackie Graves was the first designer whose name she knew. Jackie has been making beautifully textured clothes that are a little sci-fi and a little pervy for a while now, and in the last two years she's gone from strength to strength, producing outift after outfit to the highest standard.

One of the most interesting things about Jackie Graves' work is that her clothes, although available in a dazzling variety, are all cut from the same group of textures and a set of common patterns, meaning that they mix and match with startling facility, while Graves' prim attachments can be used with multiple outfits (Sian is particularly fond of the little carabiner hooks that come with the Crossfire outfits). Most Graves outfits include options. With the right two sets your options explode, and with more than that... well. Sian's been mixing and matching Graves outfits like nobody's business. Here are some of the best ones.

Pretty much every outfit Jackie Graves makes is priced between L$400-490, which is about average for her sector, although in terms of quality, Jackie's stuff is far superior to most fetishwear emporiums in SL. Shoes are mostly between L$300 and L$400, although one or two items are more or less than that.

Most of Sian's jewellery is her own work. She is wearing the [PXL] Gaia Dark skin and its makeups in all of these pictures. Obviously, the vast majority of the clothes here come from Graves, and this is the link to the Graves Mainstore.

Graves Mashup 2
Parts from:
G230 Operative (corset, blouse, cuffs, collar/tie, glasses, gloves)
G200 Executive (pencil skirt, hat, stockings)
G201 Executive Stilettos (shoes)
G166 Viper Catsuit (belt, briefcase)
G331 Jinx (nipple tape)
G210 Defence White (shoulderpads)

The Executive and Operative sets go together perfectly, since they have that slightly off-kilter official thing going on.

The Executive set is the only one of the Graves sets that includes a system skirt. Sian finds that with a system skirt, particularly one clearly designed to be a pencil skirt, a good skirt shape is essential - to make the skirt look better, Sian made a variant shape based on her usual one (Sian, vain as ever, calls that "the fashion model shape"), reduced her hips, bottom and "saddle bags" and made herself knock-kneed. Without the skirt she looks absolutely ridiculous, but with it on, the difference is pretty obvious.

The Executive Shoes are only L$150, although Sian wonders if they wouldn't be better served as part of the Executive set. The hat from the Executive set is modifiable and (well-)made from traditional prims. Sian had to modify it quite severely to make it fit on her head, shrinking down and widening the five prims that make up the main section of the hat almost halfway.

Sian was standing on top of the Gemini building in Insilico when she took this one, by the way, although you can't really see much of it. All the other ones were taking in various places in Toshigi Cybercity Japan, which has already become one of Sian's favourite futuristic spots.


More Graves Mashups

Parts from:
G332 Legion Red (catsuit)
G324 Paradox 2 Black (harness thing, socks, gloves, plugs, collar)
G325 Paradox 3 Black (sleeves)
G331 Jinx (pockets)
G179 Crossfire (carabiner hooks, padlock)

Note also
[Abyss] Stompers

The Legion, Jinx and Paradox sets are the most recent releases from Graves. Sian has already blogged the Paradox and Jinx sets and directs you to that post for more of the mixing and the matching. Rather than the usual black and white, the Legion outfit comes in seven vibrant colour options, available individually for L$400 or in a set with all seven for L$790, and frankly Sian thinks you'd be mad not to buy the fatpack if you fancied even two of them.

The prim parts on more recent releases from Graves have been no-mod, including resize scripts instead. Sian's a bit sad about this, although the resize scripts do go away when you press the right menu button.

By the way, Sian recognises that she has been wearing the Abyss Stompers a lot, and has never really talked about them. Sian is fond of them because they amount to three prims in each shoe and are modifiable - here, Sian took the black versions and by tinting them with a bit of grey got them to match the tone of the outfit. Sian recommends them for that very reason - if you have an outfit that's modern or futuristic and you can pull them off, buy a set (particularly of the silver or ice ones) and tweak them like crazy.

More Graves Mashups

Parts from:
G215 Cobra Black (sleeveless catsuit)
G216 Cobra White (long sleeved undershirt)
G196 Hydra Dress White (corset)
G331 Jinx (pockets)
G179 Crossfire Black (carabiner hooks)
G222 Crossfire White (padlock)
G210 Defence White (shoulder pads)

Note also
[The Plastik] Recluse Collar Black
[Eclectic Randomness] Gauntlets from Siren Avatar Black
[Rublik] Galactic Stomp Adders (boots)

The Cobra catsuits are nice straightforward catsuits with the same hex pattern featured on so many of the Graves outfits and a few nice prim attachment options. They are made for mixing and matching with Graves' other outfits and a good basis for other matches - click through on the picture to see the big version. The Hydra set (one of the very few Graves sets that doesn't come in black) shares the pattern, creating a set that maintains a harmonious balance between colour and shape.
Note the hex pattern on the Eclectic Randomness gauntlets that goes so nicely with the Graves catsuit.

Sian doesn't get to wear the Tokugawa Shock Helmet a lot but loves its elegance and the beauty of its textures. It's actually grey, but Sian darkened the metal bits with a bit more grey to get the black. The Plastik Recluse Collar was the right colour to begin with, though. There are loads of colour options - you get two in a pack and again, it's really nicely textured and sculpted. The Rublik Galactic Stomp boots are out of this world. Sian was glad you can resize them though, because when you get them they are massive, easily twice the size that they are here.

More Graves Mashups
Parts from:
Graves Black and White Insignia set (number)
G206 Defence Black (pants, shirt, shoulders, pockets)
G210 Defence While (underpants, undershirt)
G121 ZERO (bustier, gloves, number)
G222 Crossfire White (white vertical strap)
G179 Crossfire Black (carabiner hooks)
G166 Viper Catsuit (glasses)

One of the nice things about the Graves outfits is the options. Here we have the black version of the Graves Defence set worn without the transparent latex cutouts on top of the identical white version worn with the transparent latex, which creates a nice contrast.

The Zero set was the first Graves set that caught Sian's eye right back at the beginning. It's part of a smaller range of black and white anime-flavoured uniforms that Graves produced a couple of years ago, all of which of course mix and match beautifully.

Graves Mashup - Squeaky
Parts from:
G177 Escape Transparent Underwear (catsuit)
G206 Defence Black (nipple stripes)
G325 Paradox Black 3 (thong, socks, collar, gloves)

Note also:
[Neurolab] Activa Boots Black
[Ezura] Acha set (earphones)
[A:S:S] Drama Shadow Ash
[A&Y Bunker] Silicon Acid Eyes

The Escape underwear set is actually an optional add-on to another set, but with the right additions works fine on its own, as you can see here. Note the pattern of lines which maps onto Cobra, Defence and many other Graves sets. Sian made the lights on her back with three sphere prims and one of her own textures, although the other Escape sets include something similar.

Sian is ambivalent about the Neurolab boots. She can never get them to fit quite right on her feet, although they are very pretty from certain angles. They have a HUD that allows you to change the glow colour, though, which is nice.


Graves Mashup - Risky
Parts from:
Graves Black and White Insignia Set (number)
G216 Cobra White (undershirt, underpants)
G329 Paradox White 3 (sleeves)
G262 Risk (pants, shirt, gloves, loops)
G210 Defence White (nipple stripes, shoulderpads)
G222 Crossfire White (carabiner hooks, padlock)

Note also:
[Defectiva] Original Sin: Pride (chin cover)
[Ezura] Acha (visor and earphones)
[Bare Rose] Dadamalio (collar and sleeves)

Sian modified the shoulderpads from the white Defence set here, stretching them up a bit, making them a teeny bit transparent and adding a bit of glow, the better to go with the bits from the old Bare Rose Dadamalio set. See how even a non-standard set like Risk has an almost mathematical harmony with the other clothes. This isn't fashion design. This is science.

Sian recognises that this isn't really a post for the freebie-lovers out there, and that some of these outfits have a good L$4000 worth of stuff in them. But even with one or two of Jackie's outfits, you have a wide range of things you can do with them. Visit her store, marvel at the lovely futuristic outfits and dream about what you can do with them.

Want to see more of Sian's Graves mix'n'matches? She's got a set of them on Flickr.

Training in the cellar

Ingrid spend too much time in the dark. Even for a horsegnome she was way too pale. Sometimes her friends tried to figure out why she spend all the time in the cellar. But Ingrid always told them that she would unsun herself. The most supposed this would be a lie and they were right. She was searching for a treasure. Or more she was training treasure searching. Some time ago she had met a dwarf who was totally obsessed by gold. All dwarf seemed to be that way but he liked gold even more than a normal dwarf. So when he got to know Ingrid he knew that she would be great to find treasures. They started to train in the cellar, the dwarf hid something under the floor and Ingrid used her hooves to hear if there was any difference in the ground. She really became good in hearing the smallest hollow space just by listening to the sound her hooves made. And the training really helped they found many treasures and even the dwarf becamse so rich that he started to prefer searching for the next pub instead of the next treasure.
hooved one
Hoo has a lot of cute stuff and those dress and the digigrade legs are on their lucky chairs. I really like the texture of the dress it looks like being made of felt. The dress comes also with a collar which consists of two parts and sleeves. It is possible to make the lower part of the sleeves smaller. The legs come with alphalayers. They fit smaller avatars very well. I won the hair at the A&Y Lucky board. There is a lot of cyberish hair on that board. It comes with resizescript and it is possible to colour the black streaks in other colours than black.

Hair: A&Y Tilo Gothic hair - Emerald (0 L$ Lucky board)
Dress: Hoo- "Earthgrown" Dress (0 L$ Lucky board)
Hooves: HOO- Clydesdale Digigrade Legs
Ears: :GAUGED: Elf Ear (Ver2) - URBAN WRECKAGE (0 L$ Depraved Urban Wreckage Hunt)

The picture has been taken at Tochigi Japan Cybercity with a pose from Juxtapose.

Your inner bunny



yibh


How to keep up with all these hunts! wow so many to choose from. I'm currently picking my way through the 'your inner bunny hunt' and here are a few from some of my favorite designers. let me start with the hair which comes with the cutesy bunny ears from Sugarsmack, it comes in 2 shades a blonde & brunette.

 Next the outfit from 22769 Love everything about this one! OH the shorts! I really love the turn ups - I know it's an odd thing to adore but I usually have problems with turn ups either I have to attach prims to a different body part so that I can wear my footwear & they end up floating off when I walk or I have to faff around resizing but these are perfect & I love the cute sexy backless top too. There also as always with 22769 a male version in the hunt gift, see these guys are just sooooo thoughtful.

Then onto the skin, when I saw that Al Vulo where taking part in the hunt I made that store a priority as I absolutely love the tone of the make ups and this one has a quirky little tribal theme , ok so it might look a little like I have a goaty beard so let me provide a closer image ;P (see below)

 I also wanted to quickly mention the sneakers I picked these up at last weeks fifty linden Friday event and always hyperventilate when I see that Miel are taking part in the event - sorry if you missed out but they are well worth their full price value. They have a colour change script & you can change every single element of the shoe, even the logo on the side from a picture to your initials, I can see me wearing these forever!

 The bunny hunt items are 1L each bargain! please look Here for a list of hints &  landmarks of participating stores.

bunny-ears


Hair & bunny ears: 1L - your inner bunny hunt item > Sugarsmack
Skin:1L - your inner bunny hunt item > Al Vulo
Outfit: 1L - your inner bunny hunt item > 22769
Belt: 0L - luckyboard item > Muu workshop
Shoes: 525L - Varsity kicks - natural > Miel
Necklace: 50L - I heart owls necklace > {birdy}
Eyes: 50L - Homesick eyes - prague > Visions by A.S.S

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Black and White

Isobel enjoyed the walks on the ice she had in the night. It was the time she used to explore her realm. Normaly she did not walk far away from the palace.
Princess in Ice
People always seemed to be so irritated by her lack of clothing. Isoble was more embarrassed about the two colours of her hair. She tried to die it to make it either completly white or black but since a magic experiment which went wrong it wasn t possible to change the colour of her hair anymore. It stayed black in white. Of course she was really annoyed about this and this now for nearly 300 years.
Princess in Ice II
Wishbox has new items on their lucky chair and their midnight mania. Both are wonderful dresses which are great for roleplay.The textures are very well done and of course the cut is lovely. The dresses are great for roleplay. They fit well to elves and other magical creatures. The blue one comes also with a short skirt so might be perfect for fairies as well. It was possible to adjust the primparts of both dresses to make them fit. Wishbox sells really pretty dresses and its worth to visit the store for more than the midnight mania and the lucky chair. Both winable dresses are really awesome and great to get an idea about the quality of the dresses which are sold in this store.
I really love the Ryoko Hair from Wasabi Pills so I wanted to show the inbuilt tinting possibility of it. On the pictures is the hair in midnight while one side is tinted in iceberg. This is a great option for unique looks and of course for roleplayers. There could happen so many things which make the hair look partly different. Pixies and Fairies which put their dust on you, explosions, being shocked by naked trees and so on.

1st Picture: [Wishbox] Harvest II Gown (0 L$ Luckychair)
2nd Picture: [Wishbox] Enchantment (Midnight Blue) (0 L$ Midnight Mania)
Hair: /Wasabi Pills/ Ryoko Hair (250 L$ for one colour 1500 L$ for the fatpack)

The pictures have been taken at Elonia the poses come from { Just A Pose }

Waiting in the garden

She hadn't planed to wait. But she had supposed that she would have to. At least the garden where they let her wait looked nicely. She avoided to touch any of the flowers. It was always strange when she went to her boyfriend to pick him up to go out. His parents were so odd. She did not know if they supposed that she would try to take advantage of him or if they simply did not like her. The truth was way different. Keith her boyfriend was an alien. He had some problems to make sure to look always the same when meeting her. So he and his parents needed ages to compare a picture they took of him and her with his current look. Sometimes he needed to change his haircolour back to brown after his hair did become green after he tried to communicate with some grass, at other days his lips were brown as he had spend time with kissing trees. She would not have cared as she really liked him. But the aliens supposed that humans might be a bit shallow.
22769 gallery giftshop
22769 takes again part at the gallery giftshop event. Its a mix of a gallery and a shop. So that you could see some amazing art and buy great clothes at the same time. For this cycle of the gallery gift shop 22769 created an outfit for guys and one for girls which go well together. On the picture you could see the outfit for females. Its a short skirt with several layers and a short cape with fitting top. It is possible to adjust and mod the primparts. I like the cape with the houndstooth pattern very much. It goes well with other outfits as well for example the top and the cape also look great with simple elegant trousers. It also could be used to make a casual outfit a bit more elegant.

Outfit: 22769 ~ [femme] Gallery Gift Shop 15th August 2011 (150 L$)

The used pose comes from No Strings Attached and the picture has been taken at Japan Project Garden.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Four





Here I am representing four variations of four items being, the skin, eyes, tops & headband. The skin which has to be a firm favorite of mine at the moment is Vero Modero's Burch skin, I love the detail as with all Vero Modero items but particularly it has a lovely sheen without looking too oily. I love the luscious pink glossy lips which remains the same in all the 9 variations of skin as does the skin tone, only the eyeshadows vary and all of them are tastefully vibrant colours. What I also adore about this skin is that it has a whole lot of lashes!

Birdy is fast becoming one of my favorite stores of the moment too & currently instore is a whole wall of  these tops. I am wearing just one of the styles of the sculpt tops but showing all four of the different textures, there are other slightly different styles so for example there is a style a bit more ruffle around the top yet doesn't lose the essence of the style - great to have so much choice. Have fun choosing!

Hair: 0L -  1st anniversary gift - onyx > D!va
Top: 75L - Sculpt top v2 > {birdy}
Headband: 0L- gift > Beatnik
Skin: 500L each - Burch skin > Vero Modero

Eyes:
Top left: 0L - gift > I.D ( insufferable dastard)
Top right: 0L - gift - forest cat > Poetic colours
Bottom left: 200L -  Old moss > Poetic colours
Bottom right: 65L - Mystery eyes - enigmatic gray > Sterling artistry

Sunday, August 14, 2011

ADiva




Things you might want to grab fast! and here they are - I should first mention the hair since sadly there's a closing sale at AMG all hairs have been reduced to 99L so I grabbed a few of my favourites before they vanished forever.

 Next is the latest subscribo gift from ADiva and what a generous gift too! you get this pretty little dress with matching accessories i.e necklace & earring (which you can't see in this image) & then a lovely matching bag which all ties in perfectly with these sandals which I adore on the luckyboard at Pesca.

The skin is a lovely pale one from ......  . I must admit i'm quite partial to a pale skin and I find that this one is a realistic natural tone which I'm sure is hard to achieve , because the skin is quite natural  & plain it's makes wearing make up fantastic - a blank canvas if you like which is perfect seeing as the skin comes with a range of vibrant eye shadows one of which i'm wearing in my picture.

Dress, Jewelry & bag: 0L subscribo gift > aDiva
Hair: 99L closing sale > AMG Boudoir
Skin: 199L - Angie skin > {birdy}
Shoes: 0L - luckyboard item > Pesca

Alice Nr. 8

It had been a long day. Alice Nr. 8 needed a rest. She had been at the front for several hours fighting against the army of deception. It was a bloody work and somehow she liked it. This time she had killed about rhinoceroses. The deception used rhinoceroses of the size of bunnies as spies. Alice never managed to find out why but she killed them.
Resting Alice
Now she needed a rest. She used to sleep in a big basket with a teapot and a hat. She had found out that none of the beings of the deception managed to get her when she rested on the flying hat. And it movements made her sleep very deep. In her dreams she hugged bunnies.
the looking glass gift
The Disgruntled Alice Dress is currently on the midnight mania board at Brain Circuit Inc. It comes with puffed sleeves and could be either worn with a bloody top and skirt or in a clean version. Both are included in the pack. The skirt is mod so it was possible to make it smaller to fit my avatar. The basket with the hat and the teapot is a groupgift from The Looking Glass. The glowing flowers on the pictures are from the same store. They change their colour and look great. The set includes several circles of flowers in a noncolourchange and a colourchange version. They are non copy but trans. The Looking Glass has a great collection of plants and buildings which simply look different. Their plants could grow in a fairy garden as well as on an other planet. Its the same with their buildings and their furniture. The textures are all stunning and done with love and I guess also with hours of work.
bloody alice dress

Items:
Dress: -=Brain Circuit Inc=- Disgruntled Alice Dress (0 L$ Midnight Mania board)
Hair: /Wasabi Pills/ Ryoko Hair (250 L$ for one colour 1500 L$ for the fatpack)
Teapot and so on: Mad Teatime Boxed - The Looking Glass Group Gift (0 L$)
Glowing flowers: The Looking Glass - Paper Flowers (300 L$)

The pose on the 3rd picture comes from No Strings Attached.Link