Just call me Miss Cranky Pants.....

I've kind of been out of SL for the last week. I've been dealing with a boss/work bully in RL and it's left me feeling down and emotionally depleted. 

So last night I watched one of my favorite movies in the whole world. Grease! And today I took one of those silly Facebook quizzes, (that I'm completely addicted to by the way), to find out which Grease character I am. Lo and behold, I'm Rizzo, which suits me just fine. She's always been my favorite anyway, but with all the stress going on in my RL, I've noticed my tongue has become a bit more blunt and sharper than I really mean to be. I've always thought of Rizzo as an endearing Miss Cranky Pants.

 She is tough on the outside, but on the inside, rather vulnerable and soft. This gave me the opportunity to blog a jacket that I bought a couple of weeks ago from Pure Poison. It's a Pink Ladies Jacket and I absolutely adore the soft, shiny textures.

 Azlyn Vaher of Yasum designs makes amazing casual wear. Everytime I wear something by her, I feel like I've upped my cool factor a few points. These pants come with a HUD and lots of fun textures. I chose basic black.

 Finally, the shoes are designed for SLink feet and are from Esque. All I can say is A-MAZE-ING!


I can't seem to get links to work today on this post and I'm in a bit of a hurry, so I'll edit later and add links with SLurls.

Pretty Hurts - The Digits

I took a few days off of SL for RL stuff but I'm back again.  I had the lovely Flora Raven over to my SL apartment a few days ago and she posed with me for a post on our digits.   We both are involved in the SL fashion world but look very different.  I think Flora is breathtakingly beautiful. And as vain as it sounds, I think I am as well.  And so it got me to thinking...

What is beautiful?  As models, we are told that we have to be a certain height, we are told what a good hip size is, breast size, butt size.  But why is that beautiful?  Can the avie whose height is only 65 be considered for a modeling career?

Why is it that even though I tower over all of my non model friends like a damn amazon, that I'm still considered short for runway at a height of 85?  Where did these standards come from?

I was reading through different SL forums about shapes and saw so many comments from so many different people that don't understand why SL models are so tall. I also saw a lot of comments about the really short girls with crazy huge hips and teeny tiny legs.  If we are happy with the avatar we created in SL, that's all the matters, right?

I think all shapes, all sizes, all curves, or lack of curves are sexy and beautiful.  I think it's time we all embrace a new definition of beauty...a new standard.  Otherwise, the modeling world in SL will soon alienate many of the other residents of SL who don't fit a specific shape.

I am not sure if any of these jumbled thoughts are coming together cohesively or if I sound crazy...but I needed to get these thoughts out....

And as Queen Beyonce says:

Pretty hurts, we shine the light on whatever's worse.
Perfection is a disease of a nation.
Pretty hurts, we shine the light on whatever's worse.
We try to fix something but you can't fix what you can't see.
It's the soul that needs the surgery.

Fabulous on a budget

Sometimes, I just want to go discount shopping.  I love The Dressing Room for this reason.  Everything is priced at 40-70 L$ and as a result, it's easy to get many beautiful things without breaking the bank.

I also had to get this hair and blog about it...it was not from The Dressing Room.  It's from Magika.  I saw the 'do on Miaa Rebane's blog this week and I fell in love, instantly!   Miaa is my style icon here in SL...her fashion is just inspired...she can do no wrong in my book and so I had to go out and get this hair.  I just had to!

See below for style card.

Style Card -

Dressing Room Items:

Ricielli - Yellow Leather Coat

[Glow]Studio - Raven Necklace

[Zoom] - Old but Gold Sunglasses

Non Dressing Room Items:

Jeans - Liv Glam

Hands, Feet, Shoes - SLink

Hair: Magika

 

Simple Elegance

I have to say that this month's collabor88 has been my favorite in a very long time.  There's something about the theme, "Raw Nostalgia" that is just pure magic this month.  The decadence of yesteryear, the glamour of pearls, the clean lines, the soft draping...I could go on and on....but in one word, it's perfection.

I had an excuse to wear one of my finds today.  I made it to round 2 of RadarSL Magazine's Spring Casting and I needed to wear something that defined my personal style.  I'm a minimalist at heart.  I like basic, simple, and understated elegance.  I'm not one for a lot of "froo froo" or over-styling.  I want people to see me when they see me, and not be bogged down by layers of clothes, jewels, and other accessories.  Don't get me wrong.  All of that has it's place.  But the heart of who I am when it comes to fashion is just simple and elegant.

For me, this dress was absolute love at first sight.  It's just so stunning.  The design is by House of Fox and I chose it in a rich plum shade, called Oxblood.  There are not a lot of "bells and whistles" to this gown and I think that's why I love it. The way the material gathers at the waist, above a sexy thigh high slit...gives me goosebumps.   In case you can't tell, I'm super duper in love with this dress!  I would put this on any RL starlet on the red carpet this awards season, and they would be a best dressed nominee for sure.

It really can speak for itself and does not need any accessories, but I did choose a necklace to accompany my look.  A statement piece from Paper Couture.

For my interview, I wore a short pixie cut, but for my blog post, I wanted to vamp up my look so I chose an old favorite of mine.  A big curly hairstyle from Likeli.  I also did a dark lip in plum from Pink Fuel and a sexy smokey eye from Nuuna's Skins. I love my SLink hands and feet and the nail color is from the basic SLink nail HUD.

Style Card:

Dress:  House of Fox - Collabor88

Necklace: Paper Couture

Hair: Likeli

Hands and Feet and Shoes:  SLink

Lipstick: Pink Fuel

Eyeliner: Nuuna's Skins (Part of Kati Skin Set) (Skin not shown in photos)

Shaved

Sometimes, I just want to shave my head.  I would never do it in RL...it would take much too long to grow back.  But in SL, I can do anything I want and it's only temporary.  I loved this shaved hair base from Lelutka.  It's realistic and I feel so strong and amazing when I wear this and nothing else.  

These awesome army fatigues are a Peace On Earth gift from Shabby Chic that I didn't even realize I had.  I had visited so many stores during the hunt this year and hadn't opened half of the gifts I had picked up yet.  I love finding cool things in my inventory that I didin't even know I had.

The skin is a real minimal pale skin from my favorite designer in SL, Nuuna's Skins.  I just love every skin and makeup ever put out by this store.  All are amazing and unique.

Scroll below photos for SLurls and Style Card.

Style Card:

Military Uniform - Shabby Chic

Skin: Nuuna's Skins

Shaved Hairbase: Lelutka

Boots: Leverocci (only on MP)

Hands: SLink

Second Life Helpful Tools Meme

One of my favorite blogs to follow is Strawberry Singh's blog.  She came up with a Meme for the week to have everyone take a photo of a screenshot showing the HUDs that make our second life easier.

Here are mine: 

1. Anypose Expression HUD - This is my MUST HAVE!  I take photos all the time and I use it to move my eyes and it also allows me to control the eyes of any person I'm taking a photo of.  It's also free so go to MP and get yours!

2. My Huddles is on the top of my screen and has a set of 20 poses that are random and general and if I need to pose quickly, I have some to choose from.

3. My DV C for runway shows which I don't really need every day, but it's so small, I typically don't even notice it and it's always up and ready to go.

4. My top right is just one runway walk that I have set so when my ao is turned off, I don't walk around like a noob.  :D

5. Bottom right is my tried and true Gaeline Animations AO which I've had so long and I should really get a new one, but this AO feels so much a part of me that I can't really part with it.

6. My bloodlines HUD which I don't use or haven't used in years, but I like the radar on it, so I keep it.  I'm sure there are better Radars out there, but I'm a creature of habit, so I've kept this one around.

7.  And finally, I don't use this all the time, but when I'm taking photos, phototools is essential for me to set the sun position to get the shadow effect I want in world.  This photo is untouched, and uncropped, but thanks to my phototools I am able to get a pretty good photo that doesn't need too much touching up.  I use firestorm, so I'm not sure if this feature is available in other viewers.

What HUDs can't you live without?  Take the challenge and make your own meme! :-)

Feeling Casual

I love getting dressed up in SL.  It reminds me of how much fun I had with my barbie dolls as a little girl.  But in second life, I'm the barbie and there are literally limitless options to what I can put on and wear. It's fun to go all out and crazy sometimes, but it's also just nice to sometimes throw on a big baggy sweater and lounge around in something comfy.

I love Liv Glam and was able to get 3 great outfits from them yesterday at the discount event, The Open Closet Event.  These particular looks will only be available at the discounted prices until tomorrow, so hurry over if you can and then new looks will take over.

The look I've decided to blog is one of my favorites. It's still elegant and simple and feels like me, but it's oversized and fluffy and is perfect for a chilly winter day.  Paired with a simple pair of black leggings, this look will stand the test of time for sure.

I'm a little bit late to the party when it comes to SLink feet, having only purchased my first pair in the last two weeks, but I do love them.  I love the realism they bring to my avatar. And the skin matching HUD is very simple to use if your skin designer hasn't yet come out with a skin applier. The shoes were purchased from SLink as well and are super simple and very beautiful.

As for the hair, I'm loving Lelutka's new fairytale hair styles. They are absolutely gorgeous and really do look like all of our favorite Disney Princesses.  They are beautiful. They have all the styles, everyone from Jasmine and Pocahontas, to Rapunzel, and Belle from Beauty and the Beast.  I'm wearing Belle in the Dark Grayscale tones.  I plan on going back and purchasing all of the different character's styles as time and my wallet allow.

See below for style notes and SLurls to stores and to the Open Closet Event.

Leggings and Sweater : Liv Glam or The Open Closet Event

Earrings:  Soedara

Hair: Lelutka

Hands and Feet/shoes: SLink