Shopping partner fun.

There was someone in one of the fashion groups that was looking for shopping advice. What she wanted was "French Chic/conservative/Ann Taylor" stuff. So of course I chimed in, considering I've mentioned Ann Taylor in regards to SL Fashion before on this very blog. After she had got some great advice from the group, I met up with her after tossing her some LM's asking if she'd like some shopping company. She eventually gave me a link to the sort of thing she was looking for:

Armani Side stiched Jacket and dress on Saks Website

An image from the Saks site is below.



I laughed in IM, and she wondered why I was laughing and I told her I had given TWO people that very link in the past 24 hours to show them the sort of tailored elegant look I like to portray in SL, when I can find it. Most of the time I have to settle for retro...perhaps with mesh we'll see jackets like that.

So anyway I took her to the usual haunts for classic tailored things. We all know the drill. We hit up Lo Lo sim (Caroline Apollo) for jewellery, good place to hit if you need quality basics at good prices, and saw Caroline there.

I also took her to SF designs, where I had been a few hours before to pick up THIS on recommendation of Cousin Savannah Blindside of Caledon:



It's your typical ladies who lunch suit, though I'm wearing the short skirt which makes it more "20-something little miss junior league junior socialite who likes her skirts a touch shorter and heels a touch higher" (I actually knew of someone like that in USENET alt.fashion), but there's a longer skirt option if you want to go for the mature charity luncheon look. The outfit, with the short skirt anyway, actually reminded me of this dress from Donna Rico:



It really is lovely, comes in three colors too. However, the fabric looks fall-y and "heavy" like a nice thick dressy wool.

Mimi is available at the SF Designs for Women

The lady and myself had fun, we both discovered we had been fans of Ally McBeal and she commented on how some of the tailored skirts she had seen were Ally-short. And she swooned over Donna Flora's version of Audrey's famous Breakfast at Tiffany's dress. I helped her a bit in creating a skirt shape, and wanted her hair. She was wearing Elika's Rhythm style, which resembles the old ETD Roslin...but doesn't come in the dark reds Elika used to have...sigh.

Why Second Life is like tabletop gaming...or "Why certain virtual world pundits don't get it."

Ah, those Virtual World Pundits. They make CC laugh. They say things like "zOMG, SL isn't popular and Facebook is so SL should be more like Facebook because unless it has double digit growth every month it's a failure". And then you discover that they spend 12 hours or less in-world...a month. No wonder they don't appreciate the in-world communication tools...they're not in-world enough to use them. And as for 12 hours, I can easily exceed that...in less than a week.

See, what those pundits don't understand is that SL...is like D&D. Not D&D Online the MMORPG....but D&D the tabletop experience. Let me explain.

D&D requires a TON of time if you want to do it right. A single encounter with multiple enemies can take up the entirety of a single session. That's not counting the paperwork and record keeping involed. Not only that, but the Dungeon Master's workload is even worse, creating a world, creating adventures, it's a major time sink. It's why there's never enough DM's. And there's the scheduling issues...can you find a time that matches a DM's plus other players? That is VERY difficult

Only a small majority of nerds want to go through that hassle these days...and some can't because of time constraints...so what do the others do? They play WoW, which although grindy, is no where near as complex as D&D. And you can play on your own schedule and STILL play with other people.

D&D is also expensive...you need your supplements and books.

D&D is not exactly the most newbie friendly game in the world, it's "UI" as it were is very complex and it has it's own vocabulary and a community that has it's own ideas about things.

Not only that, but that community complains every time some new sourcebook with additions is made or when a new version of the "UI" aka the rules is released.

So what does all that remind you of? SL. Like D&D, SL is a niche, it doesn't have to be Facebook. Those people who only log in for three hours or even a dozen hours a month...they're not SL's market. It's the people who spend a hundred hours a month in-world that are. Even if you're a content consumer like me, you still have to "work" for your fun in SL in a way that you don't in other social things. Most people don't want to do that....they want to start their crops, let the cows do whatever...while they're watching American Idol. SL requires immersion in a way that Facebook doesn't.

Here's an anecdote....my sister does her Farmville, while she watches TV. I wouldn't dare do SL while watching TV. There's people in SL who get in a little bit of a tizzy if they even think you're alt tabbed out in a web browser or in multiple IM/group chat sessions. SL requires attention in ways that Facebook doesn't....so the Facebook crowd isn't SL's audience and it's useless to pursue them in an obession for "Growth".

SL doesn't need rebranding. What it needs is for the pundits to figure out that being a niche product for a niche market is a fine and good thing in and of itself.

M.O.C.K. Cosmetics

I've not mentioned the new "makeup layers" in Viewer 2 very much since I don't use them very often, relying on my trusty classic 5th & Oxfords....but....if you you to ask me: "Hey CC, where would you go to buy makeup layers?", my first answer would be Mocksoup Graves"MOCK"

Why MOCK?

Mocksoup, like Roslin Petion of 5th & Oxford, is a makeupista in RL, and it shows in her makeup. And she understands makeupista talk, so when I tell her, "I'm an NC20 and I need a gloss like the Juicy Tubes" she knows EXACTLY what I'm referring to. She also makes a ton of colors in her eyeshadows, lippie formulations and whatnot.



That's the L'Eau Russian Red Lipgloss combined with the Tonal Gold Complements eyeshadow over a 5th & Oxford Fair subtle 1 skin. That's one of the best lip glosses in SL, it really looks like one.

The M.O.C.K Cosmetics flagship store is at Rockhopper City 2 (38, 218, 23)

Low ARC Pretty

Was working on an outfit for "Fairs" even though I don't often go to them since I find most of them annoying. For low-arc I go with system outfits, minimal prims and static non-flexy non-alpha things. It also means no-jewellery either. This is what I have today, though I've used similar outfits in the past:



Hair is an old ETD, Roslin in ETD Mahogany that Elikatira doesn't have an equivalent to. The ensemble are Cinzia jacket and Sonia skirt separates from L'Abel, which is having a sale at the moment.. Pnatyhose are from Insolence, the "Carmen's", and those are the Fri.Day Basic flats.

What's my shape digits?

Strawberry Singh started up a challenge/meme/discussion on her blog about the numbers behind our Second Life shapes. Here's mine:

Interesting post by Kanomi Pikajuna

Kanomi is the nice girl who is friend to all and she offers a VERY interesting solution (saw it via New World Notes) to SL's woes....sell it to the Users al la the Green Bay Packers.

Do I agree? I don't know, but it is interesting. Personally I think the real problem is the freebie culture....but that...is another story and another post some other time.

Sax Shepherd Bunny Ears

I logged in today to see an IM from someone who was told to do so by former boss Salome Strangelove of the Late Lamented Linden Lifestyles, currently of Salome Says. Sure surprised me, thank you Salome, your piggie bunned greatness.

So this is a new creator...that made Bunny Ears...color changeable animated scripted bunny ears. Considering I was thinking about looking for some nice bunneh ears just 3 days ago, it was rather fortuitous.



You can change color, animation interval, set them to fixed position, set who can touch them, resize them, all useful things. Slightly less than 250L$ too. Now this is a new creator and this is their first item, but it's very nicely done. and worth picking up for easter fun, or if you want to do the playboy bunny look like I did. They're easily the best playboy bunny style ears in my inventory.

SLURL to Sax Shepherd in Seven Veils

Simone vintage bunny outfit, Truth Gabby hair, 5th and Oxford skin

Dear Shoe Designers with Love from CC!

Hello Shoe makers! CC loves shoes! CC Loves shoes in RL! CC Loves shoes in SL. CC bought a shoe tipjar....just because! Look at Awesome tipjar that CC has that CC never actually uses:



Tipjar from Khango

You make shoes...CC happy. But sometimes you not make CC Happy. :-( [frowns]

CC uses viewer 2.+ ...CC no likes invisiprims, CC wants viewer 2.+ viewer alpha shoes! CC no buy non-alpha shoes, though flats without alpha are okay.

CC wants designers to update older shoes....CC wants them to release update kits for the already existing shoes in inventory. It would be good if such packs were available to group members or free..but CC is willing to pay, oh say around 50L$....but not pay full price by buying same shoes all over again.

CC also wants to know when you DO release 2.+ updated shoes and not find out by accident...use your groups! Do some marketing so that CC knows of Happy Thing you have done to make CC Happy!

So please listen to shoe loving CC....please make CC more happy!

Luv, CC

Image, style and compliments

I've been socializing more, and experimenting with image and appearance in SL. I've also been getting a ton of compliments ever since I've been doing my social thing. I like Salome's take on compliments:

Also, how do you respond to compliments about an avatar being “sexy” or “hot?” I mean, I didn’t work out for this bod or spend hours on my hair and make-up. Do I think my avatar is cute and nummy? Yes — she fits my personal tastes. Do I appreciate other people may or may not feel the same? Of course. Would I take any feedback negative or positive personally? Um. How?

Don’t get me wrong — I appreciate it when someone says they like the sort of style I project, or when they squee over an outfit I put together. To me, that reflects a symbiotic pixel vanity and I do allow a smile here and there when someone compliments my aesthetic choices. But the “sexiness” thing always leaves me wanting to smirk and reply “thanks, your slider settings get me really hot, too.” But, you just know the sarcasm would be lost. To be fair, I don’t handle these sorts of compliments well IRL, either. Basically what someone is saying is they like the lot you drew in the genetic lottery. I suppose, comparing the two, at least I picked my own slider settings.

I often tell people that the content makers deserve all the credit...all I do is shop. I also say that I take the easy way out and keep it simple, classic and mostly real world inspired. Someone said to me that she thought me saying once that if Grace Kelly or Audrey Hepburn wouldn't wear something in SL...I wouldn't either. That's pretty close to the mark though I'd add a few more names to the list these days.

What do these images say to you:



That one got a compliment of "You remind me of that Black Swan movie", and that I thought of as well. Kind of princessy-ballerina-y. That's a L'Abel dress IIRC, Truth Tanya hair.



That one I nicknamed Zindra Hub CC. Your usual tanned, tattooed and shmexy SL Avatar look.



Tableau Girl, of course. :-) Makes me look like a 12 year old playing dress-up with mommy's clothes and makeup though.



Retro in ICING's Peggy, Clawtooth hair and Shiny thing's shoes. Got asked several times if I was a Joan on Mad Men fan while I was wearing it....which of course...I am.



Yes, that's the pen necklace. Was told I look sexy in that. Which is very funny considering how simple the look is.



Someone asked me if I was a fan of Desperate Housewives Bree when I wore that. Got a tonne of compliments with that. Mostly about how all the little details worked together. I like Bree's style , but that's not Bree inspired but Laura Bennett from the Third Season of Project Runway I have some similar white blouses of varying cleavagey styles that I wear with varying skirts a la Carolina Herrera. I call those my "uniforms".

That's the Coco Broadcloth blouse with the ingenue pencil skirt. Hair is an old ETD, Tyra that I haven't found a more recent replacement for. Sunglasses are the Heiress frames from Paper Couture and the jewellery is also from Paper Couture. That's the old Tete a Pied Heiress handbag. The Belt is from Fri.day, the shoes from Shiny Things, hosiery from Insolence.

My "issues" with New World Notes

New World Notes is one of the oldest and well respected SL blogs. It's founder, Hamlet Au, was once Hamlet Linden, Linden Lab's own embedded reporter in SL. I heartily recommend it to people and read it myself daily.

However...I have issues with NWN and have apparently have been blocked from commenting there. That disappoints me, though I can understand why.

I probably mentioned Hamlet's indirect financial relationship with Facebook a few too many times when Hamlet kept flogging Facebook as the be all of what SL should be more like. He consults for a company that uses Facebook for game logins and thusly, indirectly financially benefits from it. I was a bit perturbed that he did not mention that connection earlier in his promotion of SL becoming more like Faceook, unlike his Blue Mars thing, which he was quite open about.

My issues with NWN are as follows:

1. Hamlet lives in the tech journalist bubble in California and is thusly disconnected from "average people". This in part led to my disagreement with him about the future of Blue Mars, because while he probably knows people who upgrade their computers often and buy a new iPhone whenever it comes out, that's not the case amongst the SL userbase. He simply didn't understand that Blue Mars had no future as a desktop virtual world with it's Cryengine based graphics when the mass market "Marts" of the US have machines on their shelves with integrated Nvidia 6150SE's in them.

2. Hamlet talks to much to the people behind virtual worlds, when it's the USERS who are the important people...without users, the worlds cannot survive. That also leads to him being a sucker for buzzwords like "the cloud" He thought that "the cloud" would save blue mars, that it wouldn't matter that all those housewives in SL had low end integrated chipsets on their PC's, that BM would be rendered in the cloud and displayed locally.....dumbest thing I ever heard. They didn't have the money! or the number of users to justify doing it. They'd have needed to start on that years ago, and they ran out of time.

3. Hamlet is guilty of the "if it's popular it must be good and anything that wants to become popular should be more like that" fallacy. That's the Facebook thing. Facebook sucks...it truly does. It's interface, it's privacy tools, the requests for "facebook aps" to do things to your info. But Hamlet thinks that because it's popular SL should be more like it, or become connected to it. That's kind of like the people who say smartphones should be like the iPhone, when the iPhone might not be the best device for someones needs. Facebook is all about real world identities and SL...is not. Hamlet says that SL users could use facebook to learn about events in world which tells me that:

4. Hamlet doesn't spend enough time in world talking to "the masses" in world. If he did, he wouldn't say half the stuff he does about SL users. Why use facebook for event listings when there's google calendar and SL's own group system....that he doesn't use effectively. Go on, check the NWN group...no notices...and the group is assigned land that is not covered by Tier:

More Land Credits are needed to support the Land in use."

That picture above was taken at the NWN headquarters location in Waterhead...his building is gone and his furniture and pot plants are just floating in mid air. The man really needs to spend more time in world doing the things that other SL users do, like maintain their land and socialize and stuff. You may not believe it, but in the old days, NWN actually sponsored events in-world!

Another thing that leads me to believe that Hamlet isn't as connected to the masses of SL users as he ought to be is his avatar appearance. Most avatars, even male ones that don't shop much...update their appearance quite a bit. Could you imagine a female SL blogger looking like she just stepped out of 2006? No. Sure, Hamlet's a guy, and a tech journalist and doesn't himself cover SL fashion, leaving that to Iris, but still. DJ's shop, Land Baron's shop, content makers shop. Shopping, especially of things related to avatar appearance, drives the SL economy.

5. He doesn't talk about the SL economy as much as he did in the past. That's hurting SL more than anything. It isn't sim crossings or group chat problems that really hurts SL, but people NOT spending L$.

6. Hamlet doesn't get that SL is a niche product, like hex based strategy games and roguelikes are. The same applies to Minecraft. Sure it's a lot of buzz, but it's coming from hard core nerds who love that sort of crazy complex stuff.

7. The core SL user is probably a 30-50 year old woman...but Hamlet rarely talks to them and would rather talk with Ex-Lindens starting up micro-worlds based on SL code that are going to go nowhere without content that will attract those 30-50 year old women. No pretty shoes, big hair, sexy dresses to make their avatar look kardashiany? They aren't going to be there.

8. Hamlet doesn't realize that NWN is a bubble itself. He's not getting true feedback on
how the masses see and feel about SL via the comments on NWN because NWN's readers are oldbies, FIC and near FIC. Almost all a part of what calls the 100000 That's a problem because the things they care about sometimes don't matter to the "masses" of SL. There's folks in SL who don't give a damn about group chat...and there's plenty of people who simply don't cross sim borders...they d on't need to. In fact, I tend to only cross borders in the steamlands! Everywhere else, I TP.

So that's pretty much it. It's not that I dislike Hamlet or NWN, since it's still a great source of information, it's just that Hamlet needs to be more "grounded" like he used to be.

SL Client 2.6.4 and the bouncy boobeh physics

I was using the development series builds anyway, because they're the only Linden Lab viewers that have the c-ares glitch on Linux fixed (starting with late 2.6.3) so I've been using those builds and moved to along to 2.6.4 and the bouncy came with it. Here's a video demonstration I did:



The physics for breasts, belly and butt are implemented as a wearable physics layer. If you're running 2.6.4, go to My Appearance and Add Clothing> New Physics. That will give you the layer to play with. Here are the settings I use:

breast bounce max effect: 100 spring: 25 Gain: 15 Damping: 50
breast cleavage, max effect: 20, spring: 10, Gain: 9, Damping: 50
Breast Sway, max effect: 20, spring: 10, gain: 9 Damping: 50

And under Advanced Parameters:
Breast Mass: 10, Breast Gravity: 10 (in the video though I have it at 0 now), Breast Drag: 30

The other settings related to Butt, and Belly are at the defaults. To me, it looks best subtle.

Here's the caveats:

You need a 2.6.4 viewer to see or use it. If you have a 2.6.4 viewer you will see bounce on anyone who uses the physics layer, even if you don't use the layer yourself. Likewise, if you use the layer, anyone running 2.6.4 will see it no matter what. Prim attachments don't move with the body parts, they stay where they're attached. so if you were wearing prim pasties and have bouncy...your boobehs would probably bouncy beyond the pastie.

Go to the Snowstorm Development wiki page to download the 2.6.4 builds. Even if you don't use the feature, testing out the viewers by as many people as possible with different hardware and whatnot is a good idea.

Adventure Brigade? Protectors of Seraph City?

Wuxtry Wuxtry, read all about it....rumors of Adventure Brigade to protect Seraph City...

Citizens, I Have heard rumors of a group of two-fisted adventurers forming to protect the Beautiful Metropolis of Seraph City from varous sundry forces of mischance and evil. Why do I know this, fashion reporter that I am? I hear things.

Terrible Lizard from Dinosaur Island wreaking Havoc among the spires of the City? They'll be there.

Black Vulture's mooks stealing the Good Professors Applied Phleabotium? They'll get it back.

Cultists of ancient Evil Entities trying to raise tentacled monstrosity from the sewers? Yep, anti Entity gas grenades will do the trick, dropped from their DeHaviland.

Madcap Heiress held for ransom? They'll bring her back safely and engage in witty banter with her every step of the way....it's in the Adventurer's Rulebook.

May the Brigade prosper and grow.

Great Minds Think Alike...perhaps they should join forces

So there I was in Seraph City...was I watching a Burlesque show at the New Champagne Room where you can always find retro-lovin gals and get more ideas on things to buy? maaaaybe. One of the audience members was wearing what looked like Icing's Puma Jie puffy sleeved blouse and pencil skirt combo...but it wasn't....it was a puffy sleeved dress with a pencil skirt combo named Guro from Ivalde. The lady told me it was a giftie...and turned out...I already had it. So here's a comparison, that's the default red bloused Icing Puma Jie on the left and the Ivalde Guro on the right.



Great minds think alike...red blouse/bodice and black high waisted skirt is a classic look and it makes perfect sense that both would do a version of it, so no saying that one stole the "idea" from the other because they did not. That look is a fashion archetype.

So that got me thinking. If one shops at Ivalde, one probably shops at Icing, and vice versa. (and probably Ingenue, Jet Doll and Donna Flora as well) Same people shop at both...they appeal to the same market segment. So...what if they joined forces or merged. It might be an advantage..focused marketing...larger inventory...more frequent releases because they have TWO people doing stuff so if one takes a break the other is still doing stuffs. It might help with customer service as well, if one isn't online, the other might be. Their skill sets might also compliment each other, say if one doesn't do jewellery but the other does or if one does shoes and the other doesn't. You never know...such things with similar businesses/markets might work in SL....or not. I have been told that one reason they don't is that there's the "trust" factor to deal with. SL doesn't have the trust mechanisms that RL has, so people don't do such things. Too bad...it might be a great way for smaller or medium sized design houses to compete with the larger super shops.


SLURL to ICING main Store in Mischief
Icing Blog

SLURL to Ivalde
Ivalde and L'Abel website

Donna Flora Andrea and Donna Flora Flickr.

Everyone knows CC loves a good suit or suitish type things in SL, so CC LOVES Donna Flora, who makes the retro pretty, and modernish fashionista suits with that Milan flair.

This is Andrea, a relatively recent release:



That's the Wine but it also comes in black and silver. It's very "I'm the Executive Editor of a Fashion Magazine" -ish....which means...J'adore! The jacket is sculpty so it might require some moving around. and you really need an updo with it because of the collar.

Acquire at: Donna Flora Main Store in Bonin 195, 130, 23

Best way to keep up with her new releases is via her flickr:

Donna Flora Flickr

GT220

I received a new video card for Christmas...a GT220. Yes it's a low end card...but it's still much better than the integrated 6150SE I was running. Shaders went on and sliders went up. It also fixed the double resolution screenshot bug I had with the 6150SE. Yay!

ICING Gala

Of note over the holidays there was an ICING release, not of retro pretty pretty, but something a little more modern red-carpet-y. Gala:

Long skirt (either with train or not, with a very high slit and one shoulder bodice. Personally I like the red the best.







Well worth adding to inventory if you want an "Award show gown".


SLURL to ICING main Store in Mischief

7 League Boots from Cattiva

CC NEEDED boots. Versatile Suede Boots, with not too many straps n buckles, but not too plain, not too high of a heel but high enough. A little bit of Victorian aesthetic wouldn't be bad either. Platform would be okay as long as it was a hidden platform and not too high. You know, victorian tinged fashionista window shopping boots. Boots that were "Just Right for CC" CC's friend Lissa Maertens at Cattiva made boots, not just for CC but all the grid to buy!




This is the brown, and there will be a dark brown eventually. I also have them in a luscious black suede as well. I love these boots enough that if I was a young fashionista in RL that could handle the heel, I'd want these boots. And I've already received positive comments on them on flickr from a Caledonian. And yes, the name of the boots was inspired by the famed Seven League Boots of folklore.

They're available for L$500 a pair at the Cattiva e Cattivo Main Store in Zhao, 103,129,26

Ivalde Seremin

I'd been wanting a pink lady-who-lunches suit and found one at Ivalde, via Marketplace. Surprised I hadn't seen it or found it before.





Turns out it's an older release, 2008 vintage, but still pretty nice. It's not a work suit, this is what you wear to your charity luncheons and whatnot. The damask is rather subtle, I can barely see it with my bad eyes, and it has satin lapels. The skirt would probably be a touch more flattering on me if it was a touch shorter, but it's the "right" length for it's actual purpose. You'll notice the sleeve attachments have that shading/lighting issue, but it's not as noticeable in the black version, which I also have.

SLURL to Ivalde
Ivalde and L'Abel website


Truth Joceln hair in Blood
5th and Oxford Fair Kitty skin #3
Antique Pearls from Paper Couture
Carmen pantyhose in shiny light white
Delphine mary janes in blush from Shiny Things

IBizarre Mara Sweater/Jumper

This was a pleasant surprise in my inventory. I received a blogger package of a "Mara Jumper" from Ibizarre, which I hadn't heard of before.




It's just a simply cute ribbed turtleneck sweater with a little pouch in front. I'm pairing it with a pencil skirt with Whippet & Buck to show it's "dress it up" potential. I love how the turtleneck isn't snug, I loathe snug turtlenecks in RL. It hit my inventory at a good time too, since I was jonesing for a cute sweater. The slightly pushed up sleeves are a nice touch. It comes in several nice fall-ish colors, this is the graphite. And it's only L$150.

So thank you for dropping it on me, Anyusha.

SLURL to Anyusha Lilienthal's IBizarre Main Store

Anyusha Lilienthal's IBizarre blog


Hair: Truth Nadia in Blood
Skin 5th & Oxford Fair Kitty #4
Skirt: Victoria High Waisted Pencil Skirt from Whippet & Buck
Hosiery: Carmen pantyhose from Insolence
Shoes: Delphine's from Shiny Things

Elika's back.

Yep, she's baaaaack with hair stuffs. The question is...can she take back the mindshare and customers she lost (mostly to Truth, Analog Dog, and Damselfly) by being away/shut down for so long? We'll see. Personally, I think she'll get back some customers but not be as dominant as she was in the old days.

Here's the gist, new textures, more modern primwork. There are fairly nice browns...but....the reds need more work. She simply doesn't have a dark enough red to replace the old ETD Mahogany, the color I based my entire look around.

The good things:

Color numbers: This could let her add new colors, say she could do a dark brown with red highlights and simply call it 10RH. She could do colors inbetween colors and call it say 9.5. It also helps the customer, knowing a 5 is darker than a 1. Pop quiz, which is darker...sienna or chocolate. :-)

The prices: L$200 for 5 colors. Brilliant, a fair good price at the sweet spot in pricing. Most sales of stuffs in SL are of items L$200 or below. More hair makers should adopt the pricing.

The Bad:

The textures...welllllll....she could use more colors, and the reds could use more work I think, or some darker chocolatey reds. A la Clawtooth Hot Chocolate or Truth Blood. The browns seem a touch mousey and faded and not as vibrant and rich as I expected them to be, but she does have a color that could replace the old ETD Chestnut.

The Branding: Elika had a perfectly good brand...ETD. It was simple, it was easy to remember and referenced her name, Elikapeka Tiramisu Designs. It was also fast to find with an inventory search. Why she went with "[e]" and Elikatira is beyond me. Everyone is just going to call it ETD anyway, and slap her new hair in their ETD folder. Never rebrand unless you absolutely have to! (I was opposed to Dazzle rebranding as Last Call too! The name Dazzle had cachet and flair!) And if you do, the new name should be snappier and easier to remember. Frankly...IMHO she should just go back to using ETD.

That said, it's Elika hair, at good prices, and you really can't go wrong with it. She's also going to be doing other stuffs like shoes again, that'll be good. I can't tell if it's Willow modelling the hair in the displays, but she doesn't call the Willow Packs, Willow Packs anymore. :-(

SLURL to ETD Main Store...I mean Elikatira

Oldbie stories

There's a bittersweet post about Oldbie Stories on New World Notes
SL is very ephemeral, there is much that has been lost of beauty, wonder and fun. That's one reason I don't delete much in my inventory and started this blog...to remember.

I came into SL on July 19th of 2006 via a secondlife protocol link to join a vodcast releated chat, so I missed out on newbie island and landed at CC Chapman's Podcast Palace in Shatgogae. It's no longer there, of course.



My home point was in Waterhead welcome area, which is still around and still much the same.





A lot of the older stores aren't around or have changed locations, but my August 2006 LM to Adam n Eve is still quite functional because they're still in Genesis. SLURL to Adam n Eve in Genesis



My oldest Caledon LM dating to late July of 2006 is still quite functional since Caledon On Sea is a hubbed sim



I'm wearing the Spring Flowers dress from Torridwear which I bought about a week in SL. Torridwear is gone....the last thing to go was her poses I think.



My skin is a 2006 era skin from Roslin Petion and CJ Carnot of Tete a Pied (New York shade, Paris makeup, red brows), Fleur and Currently 5th & Oxford They're still around and I still wear their skins SLURL to 5th & Oxford The Tete a Pied makeup box, that you could buy skin from, sits on my vanity table in my apartment in Caledon.

The pearls are by Raven Rosebud of Raven's Creations, who is still in SL, but her store is now Sub Rosa SLURL to Sub Rosa

The hair is "Audrey" from Six Kennedy's Gurl 6. It is still in GurlyWood: SLURL to Gurl 6

And just for fun...I cow danced in Lalique: SLURL to Lalique, home of Luth Brodie's Reel Expression



Sigh, not even Elika calls her "Willow Packs", "Willow Packs" these days. For you newbies, "Willow Packs" were what you call "Fatpacks" they were so named after hardcore SL shopper and blogger Willow Zander

In the old days...things were different, with fewer people logged in at one time (5000 to 7000) it was easier to make a name for oneself. Heck, marketing fashion stuff was easy, you could drop review copies on about 4 people (Willow Zander, Celebrity Trollop, Sabrina Doolittle and Salome Strangelove) and be done! The fashion market is bigger, but more fragmented due to the huge number of stores and amount of stuffage on the grid.

Oh yeah: IIRC "stuffs" and "stuffage" as terms related to SL fashion started on PXP I think, as did "kyoot" What's PXP? Pixel Pinup Online, one of the old big 3 fashion blogs: PXP (Willow, Canimal Zephyr, Arbel Vogel and others, Second Style (Celebrity Trollop and eventually others) and Linden Lifestyles (Sabrina and Salome with assistants) I think the squint-eyed junk in the trunk tattood and pierced grungy look was popularized via PXP (in response to the pretty sparkly party dress look of Dazzle and other places)

I've been seeing more "Tableau Girls" lately, you know what I'm talking about. The cutesy oracul AO, the hand drawn casuals, the "touch of anime" look to their skin, the hair with the headband, the petite cutesy girly shape. For a while there, they seemed to have disappeared, but now they're back.

It would be fun to have an oldbie fashionista gathering of some sort.

Viewer 2.2 Awesome

Now normally when I change clothes in SL, I use the Add to feature, so I can change wherever I'm at and not be nekkid. Well last night I was changing and adding some jewellery....and it didn't replace my old jewellery like it normally did...it went on the same attachment point.

Also, some may not know but you can have multiple clothing items on the same spot...just right click "Add" That applies to skin and the new makeup layers as well. That's right...it would now be possible for skin makers to do their own separate lines of eyeshadows, blush, lippies, etc.



I'm actually wearing four sets of earrings in that pic, and two necklaces on the chest point (and another on the spine) Just before I took that pic I was wearing 2 makeup layers over it...just because I could.

Thank you Linden Lab.

Shiny Things Delphine

Shiny Things Delphine is a 2.foo alpha compatible, high heeled, almond-toed, mary jane pump with a slight platform that is very classic but still subtly sexy. The heel is probably equivalent to about a 100mm heel in RL. So far they only come in leathers. We need suedes and satins Fally!
Love them, they are fabulous shoes!





SLURL to Shiny Things

Icing Equestrienne

Have I mentioned Miko Omegamu is back to making retro pretty stuffage in SL? Yes, yes she is. And if you've seen me in world you've probably seen me wearing some of her recent stuffage, like the Mad Men inspired Peggy dress.

This is Equestrienne a very lovely riding habit. You can wear it either with the skirt (with our without the bustle or with the breeches. I paired it with Lassitude & Ennui's very realistic looking Severan riding boots which are now 2.foo alpha compatible.



SLURL to ICING main Store in Mischief

SLURL to Lassitude & Ennui in Nouveau

Wearing purple for GLAAD Spirit Day

GLAAD Spirit Day


What is Spirit Day?

The idea behind Spirit Day, first created by teenager Brittany McMillan earlier this month, is a simple one, not dissimilar to the idea of "Spirit Week" held in many high schools, and can be summed up in three words: Everyone Rally Together.

Spirit Day honors the teenagers who had taken their own lives in recent weeks. But just as importantly, it's also a way to show the hundreds of thousands of LGBT youth who face the same pressures and bullying, that there is a vast community of people who support them.

Purple symbolizes 'spirit' on the rainbow flag, a symbol for LGBT Pride that was created by Gilbert Baker in 1978.

As one of the event's Facebook pages says: "This event is not a seminar nor is it a rally. There is NO meeting place. All you have to do is wear purple."

Wearing purple on October 20 is a simple way to show the world that you stand by these courageous young people and a simple way to stand UP to the bullies. Remember those lives we've tragically lost, and show your solidarity with those who are still fighting. 'Go Purple' today!

http://www.glaad.org/spiritday

At the Cup of Goodness:



Myself, CoG owner Elisabeth Beurling, Icy Rage, Zana Starsider, Dana Starsider, all showing our support. Thank you to everyone there.

Two lovely avatars.

There are blogs out there that Fug SL avatars, but I sometimes like to show lovely ones I run across.

At the "Cup of Goodness" Sami Mohindi, wearing a lovely Pixeldolls dress, Truth hair and what she said was a Rockberry skin, romantically pretty:



Linda Whitehead, who had paired the top and sweater from Icing's Robot Love with some trousers:



And here I am with her, having paired the Robot Love top with a pencil skirt:

Food is the new black.

Slurpee's from Callie Cline are Yummy!




Rive Gauche dress from Baiastice
Baiastice store

BlakOpal Bella Luna

BlakOpal isn't a new store to me, I don't recall ever mentioning them on the blog before. They desbribe themselves best: Victorian, Gothic, Steampunk, and Pirate-wear for Men and women. This is a new Gothy release, Bella Luna



Basically a short crocheted lace minidress with prim bustle lace thingy with red rose accents. Black and red...can't go wrong there...I love the black n red



Moves well too. That's what of my things I look out for, does it look pretty when I'm moving. I'm all about the pretty.



That is very nice work on the bodice, well done indeed.



The stockings, while very squeetastic, are let down by the SL ankles, darn it. I do so love a good patterned stocking (in RL as well).



Those are the Riveted Low ankle boots, a little Western to my taste but not bad at all. Though IMHO it's the pirate-y knee boots to really take the cake in the footwear section at BlakOpal. Mmmm Pirates. In fact, the first time I saw a lady dressed in BlakOpal Pirate gear I immediately thought: "Pretty! CC Want!" And I still haven't got around to it...skin comes first.

The gown was dropped on me by the owner, but I have other blakopal items in my inventory. The skin is a 5th and Oxford Brooke Nightfall. The hair is new, a very "Joan from Mad Men"-ish updo named "Mrs. Kitten 2"from Clawtooth at Tableau

SLURL BlakOpal Main Store

SLURL to 5th and Oxford at Nouveau

SLURL to Clawtooth in Tableau

My Name is CC and I'm a Girloholic. (with props to Salome)

My former Boss at Linden Lifestyles, Salome strangelove has written a very thoughtful post in regards to her feminism and her "Squee" over SL fashion.

I could tell epic stories about my angst in trying to reconcile my feminism, with my love of femme-y things, and my Transgenderedness. And I do mean epic. I have several threads, one of them 18 pages, on a message board I frequent that are basically all about that issue.

It wasn't till relatively recently, May of Last year, that I got over it...mostly. You see, for many years, I thought that because I was a nerd, I couldn't be a woman because I was nothing like a woman. Also for many years, I thought I couldn't be a woman because I was attracted women (I didn't know that lesbian MTF Transsexuals existed). And there were times that I believed that because I'd go squee over some RL pair of shoes like these Christian Louboutin Anemone's (even if I couldn't actually walk or afford them) that I wasn't "really a TS".

Dear readers, did I ever tell you that I'm amazingly low self esteemy? Even in SL! Just last week I was thinking that perhaps my avatar wasn't pretty enough.

What helped me the most was my friends on the Internets, and the Visible: A Femmethology Volumes.

Am I a feminist? Yes, yes I am. I've identified as such for years. Lets see, I think it was before Anita Hill, somewhere between 1988 and 1990. I began identifying more strongly with feminism with the rise of Third Wave feminism. In fact, it was a series of articles and interviews in Glamour magazine about and by Naomi Wolf and Susan Faludi that did so.

I would describe myself as a pro-porn, pro-choice Third Wave feminist. I'm a practical feminist, I don't go for that deconstruction and theorizing, it hurts my head. I like to keep it simple.

I don't refer to myself as a "girl" or "woman" yet, I feel like I haven't "earned it" yet, but when I was young, I played with my sisters dolls, read her YM and Seventeen, played with her makeup. But that doesn't mean I didn't like Dungeons & Dragon's (got my first set in 81), playing with the Brix Blox Lego knockoffs, and playing video games.

I also sometimes sing the chorus of "I Enjoy Being a Girl" from the Musical "Flower Drum Song", sometimes ironically, but sometimes not, and I have done it while shopping in SL:


When I have a brand new hairdo
With my eyelashes all in curl,
I float as the clouds on air do,
I enjoy being a girl!