Second Style Magazine

While strawling down Downtown’s Chinatown I found these cute tops in one of the small shops in what is nowadays one of SL’s hottest shopping districts. While the collection is small, just these tops, some tights and some cute bangles, the quality of the inventory is absolutely fabulous. So I wanted to share them with you and express the hope that Novi Gadsby, the creator of this cuteness, will soon add some more lovely items to the collection at Culture Vulture.

The hair in this photo is Naughty Design’s Impulse in black shine, and the skin is Grazia in some of the new make-ups that have recently been release by Adam ‘n Eve

Seen in world: yes  ~ Review copies: no  ~ Friends list: no 

Sculpted prims…similar to the introduction to flexible prims last year, the announcement was met with a lukewarm response. Many were excited…others were concerned about the effect it will have on designing in Second Life, and the potential changes to the learning curve in building.

I for one am always thrilled to see Second Life advance to new stages, and this is a revolutionary one. And of course, when fashion designers are beginning to implement sculpties into their clothing, I’m jumping up and down with glee.

Hats! Rejoice, my ladies, at the first “omg I don’t hafta take out half of my hair to wear” sculpted hat! I had to chuckle, as it’s rather fitting (no pun intended) that the first scupltie hat in SL has cat ears. Called NMB, this design only has seven prims…the main hat, the two bows (both sculpted as well!), and the four ribbons. Available in 12 colors at Curious Kitties.

True Bell Sleeves. This sweater is totally buyable on its own merits, but add honest-to-goodness bell sleeves, that don’t look like the little paper funnels you put on your dog to prevent them from biting themselves, and you have one fantastic idea. Comes with the shirt (jacket layer, one piece). Available in 8 colors at PixelDolls.

Seen in-world: Yes | Review Copies: Sweater – Yes, with blogger card; Hat – No | Friends List: No

So I’m curious…what would you all like to see scupltified?

 Truth has been doing some rebranding. He moved away a bit from the grungy urban style that he started out with, and emphasizes on edgy, sexy & chic designs. Something that is very well reflected in Truth’s awesome new shop which is totally classy and elegant, yet modern and comfortable. Sexy….yes it is a sexy shop with a couple of comfortable design sofas (comfortable design… mmm.. sounds like a paradox, but truly, they are comfy) and great displays for his designs.

It’s been a while since I first blogged Truth’s designs, so I thought this is a perfect time to share some of hist newer things with you. Now, some of these items I have had in my inventory for awhile, but sometimes you just are not in the right mood to blog certain items. Others I just could not resist when I went to take a look at the new shop eralier today. Like this Soho Hoodie, that comes in 4 vibrant colour combinations and has prim cords (the cutest detail!!!). I wear it with Truth’s coal cargo pants. The Pink Candy dress is so sweet, so girly, that I had to keep myself from buying the roughtest biker boots to make a total anti fashion statement, but since I probably never wear those biker boots again, I’ll just let myself be sweeter than Barbie in this. Black Lavender is the third outfit in this photo and it is Truth’s first (semi) formal. I love the details on the bodice as well as the assymetric double layered prim skirt.

 Next in Truth’s cute league there is this Denim Explorer dress. Now, whereas I don’t see myself exploring the outback in this dress as I will probably rip the skirt at the first thorny bush I pass by, I can see myself exploring the newest shopping district in it. The detailing on this dress is totally cute. I love actually seeing the stitches in denim clothing. And the lapeled pockets are adorable. The spring Wool dress is one of my favourites in Truth’s collection. What attracted me in it? It’s clean look. I love clean designs, no hocus pocus, just a well made dress with a cute texture in a colour that I love. The last outfit in this post is the velvety black Angelic with it’s classy top and the sexy lace train over the short skirt. Now the top and the skirt are so good that I would like to wear them without the train as well, because the lace makes it more formal, less every day anyway, but a while ago, when Truth sent this copy my way, I begged him for a separate skirt and train but no way….. oh well.. just for a more special occasion then. Still wickedly angelic.

Hmm.. I have been playing around with the outfits, changing hair & shoes everytime… It will be difficult to give credits, but here we go. The skin is the easy part, I did not change that, It’s Nora’s Enticed Almond (updated version available). Pink Candy: hairArmidi’s Bombshell in black, shoes: Tête à Pied’s Disc Sandals in pink; Soho Hoodie: Hair Gurl4 City Gurl in black; Black Lavender: hair, Calla’s Anemone in black (with THE most adorable colourchange lilies).  The Denim Explorer: Naughty Design’s Flirt in Black Pearl & Sagittarius Necklace from Earthtone’s revamped Zoadiac line; Spring wool: ETD’s Katherine in smoke burnt; Angelic, Artilleri’s Jamie in black.

Seen in world: yes  ~ Review copies: yes (Angelic & Black Lavender)  ~ Friends list: yes

In the style of my earlier Vogue vs. Charmed post which compared skins from Celestial Studios, here’s another post which compares older skin (Fetish) with the newest skin (Glamour) from Canimal Zephyr.

I’ve long been a fan of Canimal’s skins. In fact, one of my earliest essays was an enthusiastic review of Canimal’s Suicide Girls tattoos overlaid on her Fetish skins. (Skins which I still adore and wear from time to time.) Canimal’s new skin, Glamour was released almost simultaneously with the Vogue skins back in January of 2007 and I was eager to check them out and take them for a spin. One issue that cropped up right away was that I couldn’t find a way to adjust my shape to make the skins look really fantastic. So they languished in my inventory for a long time.

About 4 weeks ago, I went to shape expert Haver Cole of Lemon and asked her to come up with a shape for Glamour that would really showcase the skin so I could finally finish this article. (You’ve already seen the shape if you looked at the prim eyelash tutorial I made last month.) She really did a great job. And as with my other skin reviews, please assume that shadows and strange artifacts in the photos are products of my photograph and lighting choices, not inherent flaws in the skin itself.

I wanted to show one of the most recent new makeup packs for Glamour integrated in an outfit. After all, most of us do not spend our Second Lives wandering around the grid naked. So I headed to Saijo City, used the Tartan Red outfit from BareRose (which Canimal herself wore on the cover for Second Style #4) and snapped the photo to the left. I think it illustrates one of the strengths of Canimal’s skins — and that is the happy experimentation with makeup styles and colors. That’s one of the best things about shopping at Canimal in general — she has a fun, adventurous eye for style, and doesn’t like to keep cranking out the same sort of outfits week after week.

(More text and the potentially NSFW image behind the cut)
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Another Wednesday, another update. Let’s talk about something sassy and springy while we wait for Second Life to come back.

Dragontat Zagato of Desert Moon Clothiers released a set of super skimpy belts, er sorry, mini-skirts in four neon plaid colors: pink, blue, green and yellow. Because neon is awfully loud, you don’t want to be too matchy-matchy (unless, of course, you’re Torley ) To put it in a more vulgar way, matching neon colors on multiple pieces in a single outfit is like the Las Vegas Strip vomiting your wardrobe — a little Viva Las Vegas is a good thing, but too much is definitely too much.

To round things out, I took DMC’s “Destroyed” jean jacket (sold with no copy perms) and adjusted it to crop the bottom hem above the tummy and shortened the sleeves, and then added a white frilly girly top under the jacket. Hair is the brand new “Helena” by Rita Groshomme, which I’ve been wearing in quite a few outfits over the past couple days. Skin by Lovey Darling (kiwi makeup), tats by Laylah Mistral of InkD. Jewelry by Lucas Lameth of Earthbound. Boots are Pinson in sepia, which I wrote about yesterday.

Shop for DMC goods at Goodelli 228, 193, 25.

Seen in world: Yes
Review copies: Yes
Friends list: No

Presenting three of my favorite recent shoe releases in one post for your shopping convenience!

Eponymous Trenchmouth just released the highly detailed and super stylish Veronika a few days ago. I love the chunky platform heels, the old-timey dot detailing and the laces. This design made me think instantly of old time elegance and romance, when the social activity of the age was “promenading” with your beau through an elegantly coiffed garden, stealing flirty, but demure side-long glances over your fan. These look great with some of the “classic” 40s and 50s pantsuits and they give a really cute, quirky edge to a prim skirt paired up with a dressier top. Shop at Jeepers Creepers, Tean 240, 87, 24 (S: Yes, R: Yes, F: No)

Rosemary Galbraith sent me the uberpack of these fantastic slouch boots last night and I was immediately hooked — just look at those little buckles. There’s a pair in mustard yellow — destined to become the “it” color for this summer’s footwear — but best of all, Rosemary is running a BOGO (buy one, get one) sale on everything in her store through the end of May. You can get a coupon like this one at a notecard dispenser in the front of her store for full details and instructions on how to take advantage. Shop at OH! What a Neat Boutique, Seonggye (82, 92, 601) (S: Yes, R: Yes, F: Yes)

OK, knee high boots aren’t exactly springtastic — they make me think more fall/winter fashion season — but this set of boots named Pinson by enkytan Gully come in 12 delicious shades from black to russet to sepia and everything in between. I saw the notice for these boots just before I ran out the door to work this morning and had to have them. Although I love the way these look — and I think you can make them work in a spring ensemble — make sure to try a demo before a purchase because avatars which have a broad/muscular calf build may have a difficult time getting a really good fit. Shop for these at enkythings, Orbiuna 202, 159, 343 (S: Yes, R: Yes, F: No)

I had a delightful conversation with new designer Lux Yao — the winner of our third fashion challenge. At the time I had no idea that she also created clothing and accessories, but when I saw several of her recent designs in world I was so impressed that I wanted to show off several of her creations.

In addition to clothing — she makes denim basics, basic tops and some wonderful flexi-dresses (like Katy shown to the left) — she also makes prim based accessories like bangles, sunglasses and some really lovely and very inexpensive shapes (that are, sadly, no modify — although Lux says she’s revamping perms on many of her items.) Lux may also have made one of the best looking blue pair of eyes I’ve seen in Second Life. (Normally I wear only Miriel Enfield’s eyes — I like the smaller irises — but I just couldn’t stop myself from thoroughly enjoying the Atlantis set in her store.)

I conducted a “mini-interview” with Lux a few nights ago. Visit her store “Amaretto” in Barcelona del Oeste 92, 143, 23.

Celebrity Trollop: How did you find out about Second Life?
Lux Yao: My fiance actually told me about it. Bad move on his part! Now he never sees me! :p
CT: Did he encourage you because it was something he was into or?
LY: No, I think we were discussing The Sims, or something of that nature. I think he was trying to alleviate some of his guilt over the time he spent on computer games. But, no, he’s not a SL user. We’d probably kill each other getting to the computer!
CT: So what drew you to designing in Second Life?
LY: After I got over the initial confusion period I think we all go through, I started shopping like mad! Imagine a world where everything fits and you can look however you want. Too amazing. Then great stores like FD, Cake, so many.
CT: How old is your store now? Just a little over a month, right?
LY: Yes, I opened on Easter.
CT: You do texture based clothing design and also make prim accessories — do you prefer one or the other?
LY: I actually enjoy both. But I’ve been working a line of prim handbags and I find it enjoyable. The more I work with prims, the easier it becomes. I also have prim bangles coming out of my ears :p
CT: Do you draw inspiration from your own RL closet, magazines, runway shows? What inspires your fashion sense?
LY: Well, I generally will jump on Google, type in the first RL designer I can think of. Michael Kors, Valentino, etc… then just browse until something sparks my interest.
CT: What’s something in your inventory you just can’t live without? (And I mean clothing/accessories/skin wise, not a gadget or something.)
LY: I think my basic black heels. I’d be lost forever without these things.
CT: Why you’d pick the brand name? How often do you release new things?
LY: I chose Amaretto because Amaretto Sour is my favorite drink. If nothing distracts me, I put out a dress every couple days. I’ve been working harder lately on making sure to create matching accessories every time, but I’m slow about releasing them sometimes.
CT: Photographing and packaging takes more time than most people realize.
LY: It’s really true.
CT: OK, so tell me about some of your favorite things so far. What outfit really made you feel deeply satified when you were done with it?
LY: First thing I made which I *really* loved was this Pallas dress. [ed. Pallas shown left]
CT: I have to confess that’s really why I wanted to learn more about your store.
LY: Yes. So many things I make and I like and then really wouldn’t probably wear a lot. Not because of the quality, just because not everything I make is *me*, if that makes any sense. This dress made me realize I need to make things that are more me and I wanted to wear it all the time. My group, which is still pretty small, responded with messages like, “Oooh!”
CT: Several of your designs have some great color gradients — can you tell me more about those designs?
LY: Well, like Peaches [ed. Peaches shown left] and Iris, here have gradients on the flexi skirts. I really like that look. I like anything iridescent or anything that looks sort of… I dunno how to explain it. I’m not even gonna try, lol! Just like that soft transition of colors.
CT: What design has been your best selling item, so far?
LY: Well, my sunglasses are a pretty big hit.
CT: I like those myself.
LY: I also sell a lot of that white clouds dress, shockingly. Since it was my first designer *ever*.
CT: Really? Wow.
LY: Yes, and I’m planning to discontinue and then re-release it soon, because it really could use some of sprucing up. The Tahiti print top sells well too.
CT: So what’s next on the horizon for you? You mentioned handbags — anything else coming soon from Amaretto that readers should know about?
LY: Yes. I’m planning a fashion show in June with a good friend of mine, Cherry Tokyo. She does kimonos. As she puts it, “East meets West in the fashion show extravaganza!” And I just started a blog for the store at http://amarettosl.blogspot.com. I’m also planning to participate in the Jewelry Expo in September of this year.

Seen in world: Yes
Review copies: Yes
Friends list: Yes

[update 05/22/07 GH] Oops, this is what Laynie Link commented  last week, and I forgot to update the post:

This is a great idea! I’d love to donate $1000 of LaynieWear Merchandise as well as $500 and $250 for runner ups, if you’re interested!

If you are interested?!!! Ofcourse we are Laynie… so keeping you up to this offer .

People younger than 60 days can still enter til May 31, so if you are take, your chance… or if you are helping a new resident out of an awkward situation that just happens when you are new to SL, direct them to the blog for details.

[update 05/13/07 GH] This gets better by the day…. Kalley Koala from Ink Slingers has offered another L$ 1,000 worth of Ink Slinger goodies for the winner! Thanks Kalley for your generosity! 

[update 05/12/07 GH] Rosemary Galbraith has just offered to toss in an extra L$ 1,000 worth of yummy stuff from Oh  What a Neat Boutique for the winner of the contest, and L$ 250 for the runners up. Thanks Rose, your so sweet!

I remember when I first came to SL, I was looking in awe at those sophisticated, fashionable and drop dead gorgeous avies that had been around for a while… looking at my own (even not too bad) freebie skin and dito hair, system clothes and clumsy shape I so wanted to look as good as them.

Well, you all know I have been hanging out with Sachi from Adam ‘n Eve quite a bit lately and one of the things that we talked about was a fun contest for newbies. Tell us why you DESPERATELY need a make over and you just might be the lucky girl who goes off into the Linden sunset with a complete new look!

Sachi is throwing in a full make over. The winner of this contest will receive a shape, a skin, hair, prim lashes (you really can’t do without anymore once you have worn them once) a formal outfit, a casual outfit and some lingerie. Sweet Fallingwater Cellardoor from Shiny Things has promised to offer some matching shoes for the winner. The runner up will receive a newbie make over bag with also a new skin, hair and a cute outfit.

How to participate:

* entrants must not be older than 60 days on May 31st 2007

* submit a notecard to Sachi Vixen in which you write why YOU need a MAKE OVER and need it DESPERATELY. No need to say that the funnier, the more hilarious or the more heart breaking, the better. But keep it concise, not more that 150 words. Name the notecard NEWBIE MAKE OVER,  [your name]

*In the notecard include 2 photos of your avatar(name them NEWBIE MAKE OVER, [your name]. Size 512 x 512. One photo including you from head to toe, and one that you like (or hate, since you want that make over!). NB: submissions that do not have the photos IN the notecard will not be considered.

*After May 31st, 12 pm SLT is it NOT possible to submit notecards anymore. Any submissions that will be received after that time will not be taken into consideration.

* Sachi and yours truly will be selecting the winner in the first week of June. The winner will be contacted by one of us in world, and the results will be posted on this blog

In a comment on my previous post, Amarys asks,

wow, that photo that is published with this topic. From where does this skin comes???

I’m so glad you asked.

File this entry under “better late than never.” (Sorry it took so long to post Amby.) This skin is Zoe — the most recent skin release by Naughty designer Ambyance2 Anubis.

In the photo to the left I’m wearing “Glaze” makeup in “original” skin tone. It also comes in “light,” “golden,” and “chocolate” tones. Zoe has been the skin I’ve been wearing in world for about the last month. When I wear a skin that much you can rest assured that it’s one of my favorites. I’ve long been a fan of all of Amby’s recent skins: Haley, Paris and now Zoe. Zoe is a mod skin, meaning that you can adjust the skin tone slider in Appearance to make it darker or lighter. In the photos for this post, I’ve set the Original tone skins to the 0 position. Demos are available for all of the different skin tones so you can see if the mapping to your avatar’s shape is a flattering one.

The body detailing on Zoe is predictably gorgeous — Ambyance has been making skins in Second Life for a long time, and spends a lot of time working with and enhancing photographic sources to create these skins. As with my other skin reviews, I put the potentially NSFW photos behind a cut below.

My favorite feature about the Zoe skins are the makeup choices and the “new face” that she’s used. Although I didn’t stack up a Paris skin side by side behind the cut, the differences between the two skin families are nonetheless striking. The most immediately noticable change is in the brows between the two skins. Zoe has a very finely arched brow, while Paris has a broader and more pronounced line to it.

The makeup choices in Zoe are bountiful. There’s some new options too, which are very welcome including the aforementioned Glaze. But don’t miss the Mocha and Peach makeup sets either. I think, actually, that the “Glaze” and “Peach” makeup sets might be the best looking natural and peach makeups available on a skin in Second Life. But fans of the more familiar makeup choices from earlier skins like Paris Athletic such as “Copper” and “Berry” return in Zoe as well.

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Congratulations to our newest Fashion Challenge sexy safari winner, Yenneffer Dielli. She wins L$250, a L$1000 gift card to Catwalk City Mall, and the right to name the next fashion challenge theme! Thank you for sending in your photos and voting. I will be working on a way to make the next challenge’s top choices selection at Snapzilla a little more resistant to “gaming.”

Yenneffer Dielli
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A few weeks ago, this message was sent to the Armidi Update Group:

Hello everyone!

Big news here, Armidi finally has an official opening date! Exactly one year after Elephant Outfitters opened to the public, Armidi will open.

June 7th, 2007.

An entire year, it really shouldn’t had taken this long, but it did. We wanted it to be perfect, we wanted to accomplish what we had always dreamed of. We are so excited to show everyone what we have spent the past year of our lives working on. We hope you will forgive us for not opening sooner, but in the end – we hope it will be worth your wait.

Near the end of May invitations will be sent out for pre-release parties, which will be held shortly before June 7th. That way all of you who have been with us, awaiting this moment, will be able to enjoy the sim before the public, with us!

There are still a lot of details about Armidi that is yet unknown to you, and that will change very soon. As promised, photos & gifts will be sent out in the coming weeks. There is so much we can’t say – not yet, but very very soon.

Thank you for all of your support over the past year, to our old friends & new, thank you.
Nicole David, Lola Marquez, & Liam Oliver

Armidi made their big debut with three fantastic hairstyles at Hair Fair in April — one for the women (shown here in mocha), and two for the men (which seemed to alternate outfits on my male model during a recent photo shoot.)

If you have a long memory, you might remember that one of the things that was auctioned at last year’s Relay For Life was an beautifully executed limited edition set of gold strappy sandals (sorry — I looked, but couldn’t find a photograph of them.) At the time, I thought it was a premonition of things to come in the near future. But as it turned out, it took longer than anyone expected to get everything just so. Elephant Outfitters was a fantastic place to shop and had a lot of really beautiful casuals. Given the hair and shoes, I am expecting the new Armidi to be an refined, upscale fashion line — oh sure, it might still feature denim as a fabric, but it will be the difference between Old Navy and Diesel.

I guess we’ll all know for certain in a couple of weeks.

ZOMG do I have news for you… Tête à Pied has a new line!!!! Yeah well.. it was about time you’ll say, hahaha, not that much new skins lately besides the cute monthly specials. Wait.. but this is not about skins oh no… this is almost (well.. if that’s possible) better than that. Roslin and CJ have been teaming up for a brand new line of totally awesome CLOTHES!!!!!! And if that is not news enough, there are shoes too!!!!

I have been going crazy ever since Roslin dropped their hot new things on me. Hyperventilating, nervous ticks, even some trembling hands. Tête à Pied is one of my favourite skin crack dealers, but oh my…. as of now, they are my new clothes and shoes preferred supplier of the week too (being a realist here, I know I’ll start hyperventilating all over again at a next fabulous new release from another designer)

Here are the sweet Petal Pusher capri outfit and the romantic Grisette outfit. The Petal Pusher is such a cute casual, perfect for the month of May as the days get longer and warmer, and Grisette… the top is fully handrawn. It is so detailed! I could hardly believe it was not hybrid, but I have no reason to doubt Roslin when she says it was all hand crafted. It comes also with a white top, but the colored ones are so sunny that I prefer them for this post. These are but a few of the color options as SL is being a bit wacky again tonight and something has gone wrong when Roslin sent me inventory. So for the other colors you will go over to the shop and see for yourself

Same goes for the Love All outfit, shown in white here. I am so fond of these sporty girly outfits. Time for Wimbledon! And the Modern Goddess comes in more colors as well.. they will be on display in the new shop within an hour from now. New shop? Yay… across the street from the “old” Tête à Pied they have build a new shop for the clothes, the shoes, the prim nails, the Naturelle skins and all new things that will  be released. And no… I have not been there yet… but I will be as soon as possible.

Save the best for last? Hmm.. I guess so, at least, these outfits are my faves from this first release. The Effervescent dress is a lovely babydoll dress.. although I rather call it a short empire skirt dress. The transparent upper skirt layer is delicious, it almost sparkles and the bodice is totally adorable. The absolute best though is the Desk outfit. I started drooling spontaneously when I first tried it on. The high waisted skirt is so utterly elegant and the frilly blouse is really too good to put in words. The short sleeved jacket with prim cuffs…. don’t know how to express how much I adore it. Am I exagerating? Well, frankly it has been awhile since I was so overwhelmed by new clothes in SL so forgive me if I am being a bit over enthusiast.

I have put in some detail shots of the shoes that CJ made after Roslin’s design. Tête à Pied is truly a team effort. Roslin designs, and CJ’s execution is impeccable. They are a great example of how people can create gorgeous things when working closely together, inspiring eachother and challenging eachother to achieve the best possible. The Disc sandals and the Maryjanes in the upper photo, and the Office Fling slingbacks and the Satin slingbacks in the last photo. They all come in colors that match the outfits perfectly and they are so classy and detailed.

Ok… it’s getting way too late here. Signing off for now. Ciao!

Seen in world: yes  ~ Review copies: yes  ~ Friends list: yes