A Fair Trade

This past week has definitely been long and crazy.  Six days of working and one day off can be tiring to say the least.  With things as they are, however, I'm simply thankful to still have a job!  I hope all of you had a great week and will have an even better one in the week to come.

In my previous post, I mentioned changing the aim of my blog from one that simply publishes what I find stylish to one that publishes stylish items found at bargain prices.  While I do love finding amazing deals in real life and Second Life, I don't think that it is fair to the designer to simply purchase items that are free or very cheap.  Owning a store in Second Life is not free; tier fees and uploading designs costs designers money.  Also, the amount of time it takes to create original (and even template) items deserves to be compensated.  With that being said, I'm not limiting my blog to only free items or bargain items... I will be posting a mixture of full priced, bargains and gifts just as I always have.

The outfit I am wearing is made up mostly of bargain items and free gifts since I put this look together last weekend but didn't get a chance to post it until this weekend.  The dress I'm wearing is the VIP Group Gift at FaMESHed from Valentina E. Couture.  I honestly had never heard of this designer before checking out the September collection of FaMESHed, but after wearing this dress I am very much inclined to visit the main store location.  I have always loved gifts for the sole purpose of sampling the quality of the designs being offered by the vendor.  The mesh dress features a zebra pattern and a translucent overlay that softens the look of the outfit.  Joining the VIP group is absolutely free.  The FaMESHed venue is currently closed so that designers can switch out items for the new round starting tomorrow, October 1st.  However, it is very easy to use your cam controls to zoom into the building and snag the group gift just in case it disappears before tomorrow (I'm not sure how long gifts are available).

I know that it is really difficult... if not impossible... to see the earrings I am wearing.  For some reason, I never think about posing for the tiny things until I've taken my photos, done small edits (cropping, liquify, etc.) and am writing my post.  I picked up these cuties at a new event from CHIC Management called FAIR which encourages designers to set high quality items at fair prices instead of only at discounted prices.  I couldn't agree more with the goal of the new monthly event, but I must admit that I was a tad surprised and a bit curious to find a free gift at the event from the new store Stargazer.  Not that I mind free gifts (obviously)... I was just not expecting that at this event.  If you visit the main store location, you can find another free pair of earrings!  While you are there, join the VIP group which is free to join until October 1st.

I was so disappointed to have missed the annual [elikatira] sale last year; I was away getting married at the time and didn't get internet for almost two months after moving.  After being offline the past two or so months, I thought to check the notices in the VIP group and was ecstatic to see that the sale is now going on and I hadn't missed it a second year in a row!  If you haven't heard, [elikatira] has marked down every item in her store by 70% through October 1st (everything seems to be ending/beginning on that date!).  I know that I am giving you a very late heads-up about the sale, but you still have a chance to teleport in and snag hair and shoes at extremely cheap prices.  I have personally loved her designs for many years (even back to the ETD days) because of their classy, elegant styles.  I do believe that I just picked up every mesh style that I had missed from her while I was MIA and even some of her older sculpted hair.  If you have never tried an [elikatira] hair, right now is the perfect time!

I mentioned the new skin from Izzie's in my last post, but unfortunately the windlight I was using wasn't very good for showing off skin.  I wanted to give you a better, up close look at the skin in this post.  Faith is available in ten skin tones at just a shade over 1000L each.  With all that is included with these skins (check out my last post) and the quality with which they have been created, it would be very difficult to find a similar skin at a better price.

Poses have been one of my passions in Second Life for years... even before I started blogging.
Although I love poses and have collected so many, I still have only a handful of favorite pose designers... actually probably less than a handful.  aDORKable Poses is one brand that I always know I will be getting unique, quality and versatile poses with.  If you are just starting your own blog or if you are a veteran in the 'business', I highly recommend this designer.  Other than uniqueness, versatility and quality, I love the fact that all aDORKable sets come with mirror poses!  This feature has come in handy many, many times while photoing.  The two poses I used for the above photos are part of the Elegant set currently at Zodiac and can be purchased at the venue through October 17th.  


Credits
Clothing: Long Summer Dress Black Zebra by Valentina E. Couture @ FaMESHed (VIP Group Gift)
Jewelry: [Earrings] Dream Catcher by Stargazer @ FAIR (Free Gift)
Hair: Return in Brown 08 by [elikatira]
Skin: *Faith Skin Pale DB by Izzie's
Makeup: [Eyeshadow] *Faith Eyeshadow Smokey and Faith *Eyeshadow Smokey 2 by Izzie's [Lips] *Lipstick Cherry by Izzie's
Pose: [1] *Elegant 4 and [2] *Elegant 3 Mirror by aDORKable Poses @ Zodiac
Location: Pretty Island

* Denotes promotional copy.

On the Sidelines

Hello, loves!  It's been a while... for a number of reasons.  I think I burned myself out a bit being on Second Life all the time during the summer.  I simply needed a break, and real life work offered the much needed vacation from my 'second existence.'

I'm not sure if I have mentioned it before, but my husband was laid off from his mining job last February and hasn't been able to find a job since.  Needless-to-say, money has been a bit tight.  I never felt bad about spending money on Second Life since it was pretty much the only entertainment I spent money on (minus television and books of course).  I have never been one to go out and party or to sporadically go shopping in real life.  But, with only one household income, I have felt a bit guilty spending money on something that isn't an absolute necessity.  So, after some consideration, I think the focus of my blog is going to change.  I will always want to showcase fashion that I personally consider to be beautiful, but I most likely will not be blogging a lot of full priced items in the near future.  With the US economy in the shape that it's currently in, I know that my family isn't the only one out there effected by lay offs and a lack of extra cash.  I've always been a bargain hunter, and I plan to put those skills to use in my Second Life shopping.

I'm sure that most of you have already spotted the outfit I'm wearing on other fashion blogs since Collabor88 has been open for over two weeks this month.  But, I haven't been around and had to go check on the newness for myself.  I love the high-waist shorts by Igenue; at only 88L per pair, Hetty is very affordable and comes in seven pretty colors with standard mesh sizes.  The jacket, also available at Collabor88, is a tad bit more expensive at 188L each from House of Fox.  I consider jackets to be versatile pieces and don't mind spending a little extra on them.  The same concept goes for jewelry... especially texture change jewelry like the Mother's Pearl Necklace (188L) and Mother's Pearl Earrings (88L) by LaGyo also at Collabor88.

I'll admit that the lighting I used for my photos isn't necessarily one of the best for showing off skin, but since we are talking about bargain hunting, I had to use it and definitely had to mention it.  I know that producing a quality skin for Second Life takes a lot of time and a lot of skill; so, I understand why most of them are very expensive.  Izzie's is one of the very few designers who offers quality skin at a great price.  For a little over 1000L, you can purchase Faith, her latest creation, which includes a modifiable shape, freckles, four eyebrow colors, cleavage options, a nail base, twelve lip shades, ten eyeshadows and an eyebrow shape.  Anyone who has purchased a full price skin in Second Life will know how great of a deal that is!  It is easily 1/3 the price of most quality skins.


Credits
Clothing: [Jacket] Color.Me in Purple by House of Fox @ Collabor88, [Shirt] Intrinsic Tank in Brown Truffle by JANE and [Shorts] Hetty in Coffee by Ingenue @ Collabor88
Jewelry: Mother's Pearl Necklace and Mother's Pearl Earrings by LaGyo @ Collabor88
Shoes: *Ute Mesh Pumps in Coffee by Baiastice
Hair: Briony in Mocha by TRUTH
Skin: *Faith Skin Pale DB by Izzie's
Makeup: [Eyeshadow] *Faith Eyeshadow Brown by Izzie's and [Lips] *Lipstick Dark Rose by Izzie's
Pose: *Bag Lady 1 by aDORKable Poses
Location: Warrumbungles

* Denotes promotional copy.

Pieces of My Closet IV

While sorting through my inventory last night, I came across a few older dresses that will more than likely never be worn again, but I couldn't bring myself to delete them... especially the dresses that were from stores that no longer exist!  My lovely Plurk friends suggested that I should box them which of course makes perfect sense.  I always hated the idea of packing and unpacking inventory, but if it is something that I won't use a lot, it is definitely more logical to pack it.  I remembered an inventory 'closet' by Tiny Spaces that I have which is extremely easy to use; unfortunately, the owner no longer has an in-world store, and I cannot find the item on her marketplace.  There are, however, a lot of inventory organizers on the marketplace for you to choose from to help you clean up your item count.

I have technically already blogged the dress I am wearing from Scribble, but it was ages ago before I even knew how to take a high-rez photo.  That's a scary thought.  The design was an exclusive from the designer for an event called it was a blur.  At the time, it was definitely the most unique environment I had ever emerged my ava in.  Since Scribble has disappeared from the grid, the thought of deleting this really bothered me especially since I like it.  However, it is now tucked safely in a box where I can pull it out when and if the occasion calls.


Credits
Clothing: Her Ghost by Scribble (No Longer Available)
Hair: Sybille 2 in Chocolate by Wasabi Pills
Skin: Love (Milk) Daydream by Illusory (No Longer Available)
Pose: Dressed 10 by Glitterati (No Longer Available)
Location: T Town

Never My Love

I had such difficulty with this photo that I almost scrapped it.  If you look in the background, you will notice that the windows on the house are not quite right.  They have a weird twisted shape and no matter what setting I tried to tweak, I could not get them to look normal without getting closer to the house.  Instead of deleting the photo and looking for a different location, I decided to use it anyway and see if any of the many talented photographers could help me with my little problem.  Any suggestions are appreciated!

There are so many new (and beautiful) items in the outfit I'm sharing.  JANE recently released two new mesh dresses, and honestly, who doesn't get excited about this?  One of the dresses is a strapless design (photoed above) and the other features a 50s style strap.  Twelve total patterns are available between the two dresses.  Five standard sizes, an alpha layer and a shadow layer are included with your purchase, and you are able to demo all mesh items at JANE absolutely free.  I first discovered JANE during a sale almost two years ago; of course, mesh was not in the picture then, but I fell in love with her designs and the love just keeps growing.  While you are at JANE, check out the clearance sale in the back room.  All nonstandard sized mesh has been reduced by 50% and will be retired when the sale ends.

Wasabi Pills has two new hair styles out for Fairy Tales in 2012 and both are absolutely stunning.  Mesh hair has been very touch and go with me.  I've always loved TRUTH hair, but for some reason his mesh designs have a crinkled texture on me.  I've never had that problem with Wasabi Pills, and as a photographer I love the fact that the 'alpha' portions do not disappear when I turn on shadows.  It can really be a pain to take multiple pictures to be able to put those pieces back in.  If Fairy Tales in 2012 is still a little too crowded for things to rez properly for you, demos of the two hair styles can be found at Wasabi Pills' main store.

I'm not sure if I have ever tried a Belleza skin before, but either way I am in love now!  Evil Queen is one of two new skins also featured at Fairy Tales in 2012.  I know everyone always talks about the body of a skin, and while the body is very important, the face is honestly my favorite feature and Belleza's couldn't get much prettier.  The lips on Evil Queen are to die for (no pun intended) and the brows are so pronounced and striking.  For you body lovers, highlighting and shading can be found throughout the skin which gives it more realistic look.

Last, but certainly not least, are the adorable new mesh shoes I am wearing from Izzie's.  I don't think my inventory will ever have enough flats!  I probably love these so much in world because I love them so much in my real life.  My job requires me to be on my feet the majority of the day, and I don't think my body could handle heels all day.  The shoes feature a cute flower on top.  Thirteen two-toned options are available as well as two solid options.  A free demo is available for your convenience.


Credits
Clothing: *Blake Dress in Cherry by JANE
Shoes: *Flower Flats in White by Izzie's
Jewelry: *Leah by je suis
Hair: *Princess in Chocolate by Wasabi Pills @ Fairy Tales in 2012
Skin: *Evil Queen by Belleza @ Fairy Tales in 2012
Pose: Model 251 by Glitterati
Location: T Town

* Denotes promotional copy.

Pieces of My Closet III

Last summer I started a personal blogger challenge that was intended to motivate me to clean my inventory.  Needless-to-say, it didn't work very well.  My inventory is a complete mess, and I have no idea what I even have anymore.  Last night, I was motivated to finally start sorting through the massive amount of items I have (78,905) and came across this adorable little outfit that I didn't even know was there.  I haven't been able to locate the top at DCNY, but the bottoms are still available (except not in the color I am wearing... perhaps they were a limited edition?)!  Five colors are available and include full length jeans and capris with five different cuff styles.  A very versatile product at a very reasonable price (150L each).

Although you cannot really even see the shoes I'm wearing in my photo, I wanted to mention them anyway because they are so adorable.  I found them at The Fashion Garret (what ever happened to that event?) by an adorable little store titled tulip.  The style is a flats design that is, of course, not available in store in the color I'm wearing, but five other colors are available at only 90L per pair.

The skin I'm wearing is the June group gift from Filthy Skins.  If you were lucky enough to get in free a few weeks ago, you should have already picked this up!  If you weren't that lucky, don't worry... the group fee isn't that expensive at a one time payment of 199L.  For twelve free skins (twenty-four if you include both genders) per year, that isn't bad at all!  And, you also get a modifiable shape with the gift!  You have just about a week to pick up the June gift before it disappears for the July gift.


Credits
Clothing: [Top] Contrast Tank Wheat/Teal and [Pants] Teal Wash Flood Jeans by DCNY
Shoes: Calling in Clay by tulip.
Hair: Details in Brown 08 by [elikatira]
Skin: *June Group Gift in Cream by Filthy Skins
Pose: Model 244 by Glitterati
Location: Noweeta Grassland

* Denotes promotional copy.