Pieces of My Closet VI

Click here to see a larger photo.

I had originally planned for this photo to be my fifth entry in the Pieces of My Closet series, but I thought it might be a bit more appropriate as a "Halloween" release even though I'm not really into the holiday.  I had a lot of fun playing with the shadows in this photo; I ended up using a combination of shadows from the sun and shadows from a projector.  They are a little trippy, but I thought that might fit in with a padded room!

I honestly have no idea where I got the outfit I'm wearing by Nemesis.  I don't think that I have ever been to the main store location; so, I must have purchased it at a discount shop or an event.  I love the texture of the bodysuit; it adds just the right amount of highlights and shadows to give the system layer piece a sense of depth.  Unfortunately, Nemesis is currently closed, and there is no word on when or if it will reopen.

I would have loved to have purchased a new pair of mesh feet for this photo, but since these posts are supposed to be about me cleaning out my inventory and no adding to it, I used the prim feet that Maitreya released last year.  They are definitely still perfectly good bare feet, and I find tinting them to match my skin to be very easy.  A notecard is included with the purchase with RGB codes for many well known skin brands in Second Life.


Credits
Clothing: Friendship Bodysuit in Black by Nemesis (Currently unavailable)
Collar: Friendship Bodysuit Black Collar by Nemesis (Currently unavailable)
Feet: Bare Foot Tip-Toe by Maitreya (Available)
Hair: Hairbase Long in Black Coffee by Wasabi Pills (Available)
Skin: Grace Skin (LB)Buff Red Hot by Atomic - Rebranded Auxiliary (Currently unavailable)
Pose: *My Padded Room by aDORKable Poses

* Denotes promotional copy.

A Day in Black & White

To begin with, I hope all of those who are in the path of Hurricane Sandy remain safe throughout the coming week.  The local meteorologists are still not completely sure how the storm will affect the area in which I live... We have snow alerts for anywhere between a grassy coating to twelve inches.  Huge difference!  You are all in my thoughts and prayers.

I have always loved finding and exploring unique SIMs in Second Life.  Of course, as time has gone on it does take more to impress me, but Circa delivers uniqueness in spades.  The SIM is completely decorated in black and white; it feels like you are walking into an old stick figure cartoon.  If you want to visit the SIM and don't use a neutral windlight in your daily Second Life activities, I highly recommend using the region settings and setting your draw distance to at least 300 m.

The dress I'm wearing is a new mesh design from 22769 Casual Couture and is available at the new round of Zodiac which started a few days ago.  As most of you know, I have been blogging with SeraphimSL since the summer of 2011; the one thing I enjoy the absolute most about working for the coverage blog is the opportunity to discover new to me brands and watch them grow in skill over time.  I first came across 22769 Casual Couture while doing coverage of The Gallery Gift Shop some time last year; their designs were never bad, but the designers' skills have most definitely increased.  I am very excited to see where this brand goes in the future.  The dress I'm wearing comes in four designs, includes standard sizes and is available as a free demo.

Izzie Button released a new version of the Fuyu skin just in time for Halloween at The Costume Ball.  This tone is much lighter and worked great as a vampire skin for a Halloween party I attended last night.  The new set includes two brow colors, cleavage options, a nail base, four lipsticks and four glosses on tattoo layers, blush on a tattoo layer, an eyebrow shape and a modifiable body shape.  A free demo is available.

The stunning new eyes I am wearing are from Mayfly and are available to purchase as system eyes or mesh eyes.  Both packs include four versions with differing levels of white, but I personally prefer the mesh eyes.  They give a very realistic look to your avatar which is very important if you love doing head shots with photography; also, you can adjust the iris size of the eyes with the mesh version.  You get more options with mesh at the same price as the system layer eyes!


Credits
Clothing: Geometric Lotus Dress in Black Block by 22769 Casual Couture @ Zodiac
Jewelry: Never Earring Silver by Bens Beauty (Currently Unavailable)
Shoes: *Ute Mesh Pumps in Red by Baiastice
Eyes: *Liquid Light Mesh Eye in Pale True Grey by Mayfly
Hair: Shine in Black 04 by [elikatira]
Skin: *Fuyu Skin (Costume Ball Edition) DB by Izzie's @ The Costume Ball
Makeup: *Lipgloss Red by Izzie's (Included with Fuyu Skin)
Poses: [1] *Pencil II 10 and [2] *Odyssey 5m (Available @ Cinema) by aDORKable Poses
Location: Cica

* Denotes promotional copy.

Pieces of My Closet V

Click here for larger photo.

I first started the Pieces of My Closet series over a year ago to encourage myself to clean out my inventory on a regular basis.  As you can see, I've only made it to the fifth post in the series, and my inventory has grown much larger and much more unorganized.  Since I've been able to post consistently each Sunday for the past month without feeling overwhelmed, I've decided to start posting a new Pieces of My Closet installment every Wednesday to encourage myself, once again, to get my unruly inventory of 80K under control.  Every item I am wearing in these posts will be solely from my existing inventory... No new purchases!  Unfortunately, that does mean that some items may no longer be available.  If I am able to locate the products in the store, I will indicate that bit of information in the credits which are located at the bottom of each post.

The dress I'm wearing is by the very talented Lestat Reuven.  I came across this designer's store very early in Second Life and have always loved her pieces.  There is a very modern yet elegant feel to her designs.  If you appreciate designers who are willing and able to change, you will definitely love visiting her store.  Since I have known her, she has changed her store name from The French Farm to Wondrous Strange to Siss Boom... and not to mention how often she loves to change her building!  Her designs have also changed from formal ballgowns (which I totally used to rock on a daily basis) to a more classy casual feel (which I obviously love).  Lestat just recently returned to designing in Second Life and hasn't completely finished setting Siss Boom back up.  She does create mesh items that have very wonderful, soft textures.  If you are interested in wanting a heads up on new items, drop into her store and join the in world group.

I seriously doubt that I need to introduce Glam Affair to anyone who knows anything about fashion in Second Life.  The specific skin I'm wearing is a former Dressing Room item; to my knowledge, TDR skins from Glam Affair are event exclusives and are not available for purchase after their two week feature period at the venue.  There are, however, other tones and makeups for the Roza skin available at Glam Affair.  I really love this skin because it has such a mature and elegant look.  If you would like to try Roza, a free demo is available for purchase.

I fondly remember purchasing the Dream Booties by fri.day when I was very, very young in Second Life.  These shoes were the first good quality shoes I had ever purchased in world, and fri.day was having their annual sale... So, I got a good product at a great price.  I was so excited that I ended up buying every single color.  If you they are as gorgeous as I did... and still do... the shoes can still be purchased at fri.day for 100L each or 1,400L for the fatpack.


Credits
Clothing: *Devil May Care by Siss Boom (Currently unavailable)
Jewelry: Butterfly Collector Necklace by Yummy (Avaialble)
Shoes: Dream Booties in Copper by fri.day (Available)
Hair: Girlfriend in a Coma in Kit-Kat by !lamb. (Avaialble)
Skin: Roza in Natural Summer 01 D by Glam Affair (Currently unavailable)
Pose: *Poofy 9 by aDORKable Poses (Available)
Location: The Looking Glass

* Denotes promotional copy.

She's Got the Look

My husband is away on a trip with his dad this weekend which left me with a little extra time to play around with some photography effects I had been wanting to try.  I have always loved photos that incorporated the depth of field feature.  Unfortunately, my experiment was full of frustration and left me confused as to what I was doing wrong.  My viewer camera would capture in-world DoF when I took small snapshots, but the effect was completely lost when I switched to high resolution snapshots.  I took my frustration to Plurk where the lovely Harlow Heslop shared that this was very common.  On one hand, the information was a relief since I really hadn't been doing anything wrong with the viewer, but on the other hand, it stressed me a little to think that I would have to use PhotoShop to really get the effect that I wanted.  I panic a little every time I think about learning something new with PhotoShop... I'm not exactly good at it.  I ended up finding a very easy tutorial on how to create a depth of fiend effect in PhotoShop, and trust me... If I think it is easy, anyone can do it!

coldLogic released several new designs this past week, including the adorable skirt I'm wearing.  I have been in love with this brand's designs since their opening this past January.  They have a very classy casual look, and to be such high quality items, you can purchase them for an extremely reasonable price.  The Gemma skirt is available in four colors and includes standard sizes; the same skirt design is also offered under two other names (Glass and Giles) in four colors each.  The Matta shirt was released in early September and is also available in four colors with standard sizes included. All demos are free at coldLogic.

This entire look was inspired by such a simple item... The new tights from Izzie's!  Two packs of fifteen colors each were released this past week with one pack containing colors and the other pack containing the basics.  The tights come on the underpants and socks layers; they are modifiable which really allows you to make them your own and fit any look you are going for.

aDORKable Poses is participating in this month's round of My Second Box.  If you aren't familiar with this 'event,' each month you join the in-world group at a cost of 300L per month.  A selection of designers will send out samples of products via the group starting on the 15th of each month.  You have until the 25th to snag the items from the group's notices section; on the 26th of each month, everyone is ejected from the group and new enrollment will begin on the first of the next month.  If you would like to check out the featured designers and products before joining, check out the My Second Box website and Flickr.


Credits:
Clothing: [Top] Matta in White by coldLogic, [Skirt] Gemma in Charcola by coldLogic, [Undershirt] Intrinsic Top in Red Delicious by JANE (free) and [Stockings] *Sheer Tights in Cherry by Izzie's
Jewelry: Jackie by LaGyo @ The Dressing Room
Shoes: Amina Mesh Platform Booties in Black by Baiastice
Hair: Spark in Brown 08 by [elikatira]
Skin: *Fuyu Skin Pale DB by Izzie's
Makeup: [Eyeshadow] *Fuyu Eyeshadow Silver and [Lips] *Lipstick Cherry by Izzie's
Poses: [1] *Attitude 2m by aDORKable Poses @ My Second Box and [2] *Honey 1 by aDORKable Poses
Location: Izzie's

* Denotes promotional copy.

In the Spotlight

I think I may have overdone it just a tad with the number of pictures I have for my post this weekend, but I honestly couldn't help myself.  I finally figured out how to use a 'homemade' projector to create shadows in Second Life.  Two things I learned from the experience: (1) This technique can add a lot of drama to the picture, and (2) shadows produced on the body can be a little much.  I still need a lot of practice using this photography style, but I love learning and improving what I can do with photos. I would really love to learn how to do more Photoshop techniques... The really dramatic photos almost always seem to be heavily Photoshopped.

Cinema opened this weekend, and I must say that I am extremely impressed with the build.  The entire venue is mesh; the design is absolutely beautiful and the textures are so much fun.  When you go, be sure to turn the music on; it really adds to the experience.

The outfit I'm wearing is one of the creations available from Volstead at Cinema.  Before the event, I had never heard of this designer, but I immediately fell in love with all the products available in her booth.  Unfortunately, she does not have a shop in world to visit, but there are a few items on the Marketplace to check out.  It was very difficult to choose which dress I wanted to showcase and then even more difficult to choose what color I wanted to purchase.  Each color comes with two colors of lace.  I decided on the short and sexy yet conservative design that could be lingerie or simply a very sexy dress for a night out with a special someone.  The mesh fits me perfectly and moves so beautifully with my ava.  The textures are stunning and add so much depth to the design.  Five sizes are included with the purchase, but there is no alpha layer included; instead, the texture of the dress has been put on clothing layers to wear under the dress.  A free demo is available.

Izzie's released a new skin this past week titled Fuyu.  The thing I love the most about this new set is the eyeshadow!  I'm absolutely in love with the shimmer on the different colors; it looks very much like something I would wear in my real life.  The skin is available in eight tones and includes a modifiable shape, optional freckles, four brow colors, optional cleavage, a nail base, twelve lipsticks, twelve eyeshadows, eyeliner, blush and an eyebrow shape.  Each tone is priced at 1170L (with the exception of Mocha and Cocoa since these contain only one brow option), and a free demo is available.

All poses in this post are brand new from aDORKable Poses and are available at Cinema.  Four packs were released containing five poses each plus mirror poses.  Two couple poses are also available at Cinema.  I really need to log my husband's avatar in, give him a makeover and take some sappy couple pictures with him.  We celebrated our first anniversary this past week in real life, and I couldn't feel more blessed to have such an amazing person in my life.


Credits
Clothing: Liaison in Blush by Volstead @ Cinema
Jewelry: Timeless Pearl Earrings in Black Pearl by EarthStones
Stockings: Lace Pantyhose in Black A by Attitudes
Shoes: *Ute Mesh Pumps in Black by Baiastice
Hair: Morning in Black 04 by [elikatira]
Skin: *Fuyu Skin Pale DB by Izzie's
Makeup: *Fuyu Eyeshadow PinkBlue by Izzie's
Poses: [1] *Frontier 2 Mirror, [2] *Flux 2 Mirror, [3] *Element 2 and, [4] *Odyssey 1 by aDORKable Poses @ Cinema
Location: The Pixel Bean Coffeehouse

* Denotes promotional copy.

A Brisk Fall Day

I have always loved watching the leaves change colors each fall... Even if it means the trees will soon be bare for a good five months.  I have never been fond of the extremely hot temperatures that summer brings or the extremely cold temperatures that winter brings; spring and fall hold the wonderful in-between temperatures that I long for most of the year.

I have always preferred fall and winter fashion over spring or summer.  I love coats and sweaters and layers upon layers of warmth!  I'm very excited to see what designers put out this season; the quality of mesh has improved so much over the past year, and I am sure those newly found skills will shine through in their new releases.  I think I have a bit of an obsession with coats in my real life and my second life, but before mesh, I didn't purchase a lot of outerwear in world because the prims and sculpts simply did not look realistic.  Posing for photos with those primitive designs was a nightmare; mesh has most definitely made photography a lot easier.

The coat I'm wearing for this photo is NYU's contribution to the October collection of FaMESHed.  I love the high collar and the large buttons and buckle.  The texture is also amazing and adds a lot of depth and character to the piece.  The coat is available in nine wool colors, three leather colors and includes five sizes and an alpha layer.  As beautiful as the coat is, I do have to say that I would have loved it a little more if the backside had been a bit curvier; a flat behind is something I have never been accused of having... and I like it!

I know that I am a little late on the Maitreya mesh boots train, but when I saw the jacket, these boots were the only thing that I thought of to put with it!  Shoes are something I have never allowed myself to indulge in since good quality comes at a rather high price in world... and in real life to be honest.  I think I may allow myself to splurge a little more often than I have in the past to build up a nice variety for my inventory.  I have so many clothes... I'm sure I could spend a little less there to get a little more elsewhere.  The boots are available in twenty-five colors; if you would like to grab more than one color, it is more affordable to purchase a pack of three (1250L) than it is to purchase colors separately (750L each).  Of course the downfall to that strategy is that you cannot choose the three colors in a three pair pack.  Maitreya has also set out a pair of these boots in a tan color for only 225L for VIP members; the group is surprisingly absolutely free to join.

The perfect mesh accessory for this outfit came with LaGyo's addition to the latest release at The Dressing Room.  Titiana is a color change piece with three main colors and three metal colors.  I absolutely love texture change jewelry since it allows you to have so much variety for your money.


Credits
Clothing: Trench Coat in Wool Scarlet by NYU @ FaMESHed
Shoes: Radical Boots in Suede Coal by Maitreya
Jewelry: Titiana by LaGyo @ The Dressing Room
Hair: Control in Brown 08 by [elikatira]
Skin: *May Blackbird 2 in Sunset Light by Curio (Currently not available)
Poses: [1] *Go-Go 4 and [2] *Golightly 5 by aDORKable Poses
Location: Water Reserve

* Denotes promotional copy.