Second Style Magazine

Daniel Terdiman (SL: GreeterDan Godel) just had his new book Entrepreneur’s Guide to Second Life published by Wiley. He’s going to be doing an in world book signing and Q&A session Sunday, November 18, 2007 (that’s tomorrow) at noon SLT at dAlliez (216, 39, 51).

Why should you care about this event? Daniel spends an entire chapter on the fashion business inside of Second Life, devoting several pages on tips, tricks and advice from some of the most successful Second Life designers on the grid including Starley Thereian, Shiryu Musashi and more. If you buy this book, and can’t recoup the cost of it with your own Second Life business, you’re not trying hard enough! Some of the other business ideas he covers include land barony, building pre-fabs and custom building design, music and video production, and — yes, even a chapter about the the “adult” side of Second Life. (ahem!)

Full disclosure: Daniel interviewed yours truly about blogging and magazine publishing as a Second Life business. If you’d like to order the book from Amazon and save 35% off its $30 cover price, just click the link below.

Daniel also set up a blog about the book — find it here. Otherwise, stop by and pepper Dan with your questions!

Coming soon, issue #13. Issue #13 features photoshoots about steampunk and cyberpunk fashions in Second Life — I’m really excited to showcase these very unique Second Life fashions. We’ll also have our usual set of features including Fresh Faces, an interview with hyasynth Tiramisu, Fashion Forward, style girl Candy Flanagan, our new Fashion Horoscope by Saeya Nyanda, Fashion Finds by Scarlett Niven, Isabella’s Q&A column Style Guru and much much more. Our cover girl this month is cyberpunk clothing artist Neaky Larson, photographed by Launa Fauna.

Get it in world from one of our many vendor locations or download it now from our website.

Fashion fans will have a lot to read next week. I was just reading Celebrity’s post about Issue 13 of Second Style and really look forward to seeing steampunk fashions as done by the talented Second Style team.

I hope that you’ll also save some time to come read the inaugural issue of SexySecond Magazine, which we expect will come out in the next day or two. See our blog for the official announcement, or just listen closely and I’m sure you’ll hear my sigh of relief.

This week was extra special at SexySecond for more than our excitement over the magazine. Longtime Second Life supermodel Nemi McCoy joined our team of bloggers, and seems to be making the transition from model to blogger with flying colors.

Nemi reviewed outfits from several designers, including Nuclear Boutique, CKS Designs and  Simone!. Seen left is Nemi wearing Gigi from Simone! We’re thrilled to have her on board with our team and we look forward to seeing what she finds stashed in her inventory and along the streets and alleys known only by elite models.

Fannie Carter did her best to get full of herself as a result of being named last week’s Post 6 Grrl at the Second Life Herald, but the rest of the crew kept her down to earth. Her first post back was aptly titled Miss Fancy Pants Deigns to Work and is classic Fannie. To make it even better, she was reviewing an incredible bit of lingerie by Insolence.

Arabeth Laval stole the show, however, when she introduced us to Succubus from Sylfie’s Prim Seduction. (That’s it in the picture at the top of this post). You could almost hear everyone think “Wow” when that one hit the blog. She also found other great stuff, including the snakeskin pantset to the left from Sintimacy, and somehow she also found the time to bring us great outfits from Wardrobe Trunk, DE Designs and A&K Designs! She is a marvel and I hope you’ve come to enjoy reading her reviews as I have.

That’s it from SexySecond this week, next week we’ll be back to our normal Tuesday post, and with any luck by then I’ll have a brand new magazine to show you!

Have you heard about Stiletto Moody Shoes yet? It’s been sweeping through the fashionista grapevine for a couple of days, but I had to post this note because her sale is ending tonight, Thursday, November 15 at midnight SLT.

Just look at the quality levels on these shoes, completely sculptie shapes with painstakingly rendered and custom textures. Quality like this doesn’t come cheap – most of the shoes here list for L$850 and more, but until tonight, group members (with free group enrollment) get 50% off the list price.

I think that python skin platform slingback is probably one of the best looking shoes I’ve ever seen anywhere in Second Life. Demos are available, and there are tons of color and pattern choices as well. One really innovative feature of the sales process — notable because I wish it were more widely available — is the ability for the shoe vendor to replace your shoes if they get eaten by some kind of Second Life inventory mishap. No need to IM anyone, send notecards, or cut’n'paste your transaction history, you just head back to the store and click on the appropriate vendor for assistance.

Stiletto also sent me a prototype pair of her color-changing double ankle strap heels (shown left) and the color change on these is remarkable for its quality level. It’s not just your everyday run of SL modification of prim color, but actually loads an entirely new texture onto every prim. They include the usual collection of “features” (depending on how you view such things) like bling, sounds, and a built in AO.

Anyway, make it a point to stop by Stiletto Moody Shoes in Deauville (46, 46, 22) before midnight SLT tonight. You will be glad you did.

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

Oops- shame on me! I got so caught up in hair that I didn’t realize Wednesday had passed me by! No cookie for me… but moving on…

I’ve had problems picking which pics to show for this week, they’re all so good! You’ll have to pop over to Savoir Hair and see for yourself. But I’ve picked a few highlights to share. The week started with me revisiting Calla‘s Fennel style. I love flowers in my hair, so I couldn’t resist showing this one. Teagan then showed Aden‘s Ginger Spice. This semi-up do is reminiscent of the Spice Girls of old, with soft bangs falling over the left eye, and a teased-high crown. The back falls just below the shoulders with a bit of flip. So great if you’re wanting to dress up as Ginger Spice!

There was a total change of pace when Teagan showed us Deviant Kitty‘s Music Panda. How adorable is this? My kitty hat is hiding under the couch, because it feels so inadequate! The hat itself is cute as heck, with baseball stitching and the cutest little panda face. Add in the wilder hair spilling out the top, and you’ve got one great style there!

Then Teagan showed us something totally different again, with Jolie Femme‘s Destiny. The soft straight style falls to the small of the back, with flipped up ends. It’s a wonderful casual style, perfect for wandering through the park and enjoying the fall leaves.

Analog Dog‘s Tamara is so innovative. The textures are breathtaking. The long tight curls fall just past the shoulder line, and the front is pulled back and knotted at the back of the head. *sigh* I can hear my lindens running to Analog Dog as I type this.

On Monday, we got something special… we added a Flickr Photostream to Savoir Hair! So join and get your photos up, we want to see YOU!

Truth‘s Amy Jane is a short, sweet style with soft layers and swoopy bangs. Finally, we ended the week with Atomic Kitty‘s Kat Funky. These long, low ponies have serious attitude, and work well for nekos and everyone else who wants to add a bit of funk to their style!

It’s been quite a week at Savoir Hair, and we’ve got some pretties stashed away to show you next week. So come by, join our photostream, and show us what you’ve got!

Well, another week has passed and I am back with more great finds from SLShopper.com.

First up is the cute Sweetheart Cardigan Sweater from Little Rebel Designs. It comes as both a plain cardigan, or with the heart clasp shown here. I think the little chain and heart clasp makes this cardigan really special, and an excellent top to go with almost anything.
Seen in world:Yes Review Copy:Yes Friends List:No

Then I saw this great little cocktail dress from Relika. The Golddigger Cocktail Dress comes in five shades and you’ll love the metallic shine to them. Each color comes with a prim skirt and waist bow, but my favorite way to wear it is with the system skirt and prim bow around the waist. You can check it out for yourself to decide if you agree.
Seen in world:Yes Review Copy:Yes Friends List:No

Now usually I am not a big fan of wings, but I find it hard not to be a fan of anything made by Siyu Suen. These Angel Wings from Illusions are a perfect example why. They come is a variety of colors, although I think the phoenix pack is my favorite. And each pair of wings comes in a folded and unfolded version.
Seen in world:Yes Review Copy:No Friends List:No

As the weather gets colder for me in real life, winter clothes get more fun for me in my second life. That’s why I was so thrilled to see these Natasha Boots from Insolence. I love the detailing on these sculpted boots and think they are the perfect thing for short skirts in the winter. After all, we have to keep those legs covered somehow, right?
Seen in world:Yes Review Copy:Yes Friends List:No

Who said boots have to be tall though, right? For instance, these Sculpted Grady Boots from Pixel Mode are ankle boots that are perfect for pants. The prim detailing on these is fantastic. from the chair around the ankle to the lacing up the back, you can see how much love went into these.
Seen in world:Yes Review Copy:Yes Friends List:No

That’s all I can fit in here this week, but you should know there are even more great finds that I can’t blog each week. So if you aren’t checking out SLShopper.com for yourself, you’re really missing out. As for me, I’ve already started making my list for next week. See you then!

It is a very sad day for the Second Life fashion community. You may have seen this post on the Last Call blog, which I emphatically confirm is not some kind of publicity stunt or marketing ploy.

Toward the end of the post, we are asked to remember not what was lost, but what was given to us by the creative team at Last Call by Dazzle. Almost no one I’ve encountered in Second Life had the same infectious love for RL fashion, almost no one in Second Life pushed the platform as far, or as hard, or in innovative creative ways be it texture artistry or prim work. And there is hardly a content creator in Second Life who has has such a broad impact on the way that female avatars dress and represent themselves in world or even out-of-world in photographs, machinima and more.

From the most elegant of ball gowns to the classy casual looks to the fun, care-free resort line, the Dazzle brand has been for the last two years in Second Life a high bar by which other fashion content was judged for quality, artistry and a very distinctive aesthetic style.

I remember the first time I happened to chat with Ginny in April of 2006. In those days, Dazzle was a smaller affair – a business which mostly specialized in formal and wedding gowns — how far the brand has come since those days. It was easier to take time and goof off, play silly in-world games, laugh about eurotrash antics in spendy designer boutiques in Paris and show one another things that we admired in real-life and in Second Life clothing.

Although I only knew Ginny’s typist in world, I offer my sincerest sympathy to the family and other loved ones involved. I feel grateful to have known and been profoundly touched by the creative forces behind Last Call. God bless your family in this very sad time.

This week’s blogtacular surfing expedition is slightly shorter than the norm because I have to pull on my hip waders and start sorting out our blogroll, but as always I’m happy to sneak a few bits and bytes through the internets if it means I get to look pretty, so I did manage some surfing before Celebrity sent me back down into the Blogroll. I found the set you see above at DE Designs. It’s called Nocturne, and comes in three colors. Each color has a top, pants, shorts and thigh highs. I didn’t get a chance to drop into the store but I popped over to SLex and saw that the fat pack, which is a “buy two get one free” deal is L$590 over there.

Neferia Abel is one of my favorite designers, and her shop, Ivalde, is a must stop. I saw Anneli on her blog and knew I would soon own it in all of the colors. I’m a sucker for fall colors and fur trim. Take a look at it and tell me you don’t feel cozy just looking at it! Each of the four colors is L$200. Also on her blog is a short retro coat-dress called Jenna that I will be looking for when I hop out to Ivalde. It too comes in four colors, each going for L$250.

Finally this week we have some gorgeous suede leather boots from Camilla Yosuke of Insolence. The boots, called Natasha, come in four colors- camel, charcoal, violet and brown. From the pictures I see myself poorer, but happily wearing some awesome boots to the next blog roundup. They retail for L$399 for each color. I was pleased enough to find the Insolence Blog in my messy list of favorites, you can’t imagine how happy I was when the page loaded and I saw these!

Well, I’m off to the Blogroll. See you next week!

One of the more fun things to do this weekend is going on right now, so hurry and get to one of the locations to participate in Dance for the World. This is a fundraiser for CUSO, one of Canada’s largest and oldest organizations that seeks to send volunteers to troubled parts of the world and provide help. The dancing is going on in the real world as well as in Second Life, so either hop in the car or fire up your SL viewer and dust off those dancing shoes. You can join the fun at New Providence from 5-7 PM SLT, at Phat Cat’s Jazzy Blue Lounge from 7-9 PM SLT, at Diegoland from 8-10 PM SLT, and at Arsheba2 from 9-11 PM SLT. Different venues will have different events, but all will be raising funds for CUSO and will have fun contests and silent auctions and things to participate in.

For fashion fun tomorrow there’s a show by Catnip and Virus Co. The show starts at 2:00 PM SLT and will be held at Innocence.

On Sunday at 9:00 AM SLT, SL Illustrated will hold its live Calendar Girl Competition. Sunday is the first round of the finals, where the finalists will be revealed after several days of voting to reach this stage. As I understand it, Sunday’s contest will lead to a final showdown later in the month where models will battle it out for L$25,000. The contest will be held at SL Illustrated.

Yes, I know that the weekend doesn’t go all the way to the 15th, (wouldn’t that be nice though!). I love the graphic on the PunkyRomantik Fashion Show coming up on the 15th so I’m including it in my weekend preview. The show by Digit Darkes and Bianca Foulon begins at 12:00 PM SLT and is being held at ITland.

While it’s not limited to this weekend, it might be something you start this weekend; The World Society for the Protection of Animals is sponsoring a contest in Second Life to design clothing that will help promote their cause. According to a card from organizer Marissa Meltzer, “The clothing should contain some sort of reference to the charity, whether it be the charity’s logo or simply an animal- feel free to use your imagination! The more creative the better!!” They are offering L$50,000 as a prize. You can check out their in-world display here.

I’m sure I’ve missed a ton of things, please let everyone know what you have going on with the comment section below and have a great weekend!!

I recently received some review copies of beautiful jewelry from Ellana, but several pieces had a bling script inside of them. If you didn’t already know, the official editorial position of Second Style about bling is “strongly disapproved.” But residents (for some reason) seem to love jewelry with bling. That means most every jewelry designer pops a bling script somewhere into his or her designs.

I decided to take 20 minutes and modify a common freebie bling script (apparently written by Lyra Walcott) and give it away free, as a means to have better (or no) bling in Second Life. I find my changes make bling much more tolerable for the rest of us.

For example, most bling scripts make the default as “bling on.” This one makes the default “bling off.” Another common trait of bling scripts is requiring the resident to turn off bling by saying “bling off” in world. This script uses a dialog box menu to turn bling on and off.

As I said, it’s free and the script inside the test object is full permission – so feel free to give it away, modify it further yourself, or just pull it from the test object and put it in your own designs. Perhaps politely encourage your favorite jewelry designer to start using it in her or his designs, if those designs include bling.

Get a copy here on OnRez for L$0.

I also started a new poll today about bling. I’m curious what readers think about bling in Second Life.

[poll=15]

In case you have missed the fabulous Relay For Life edition of Nicky Ree’s Mara gown, then you have a chance now to make up for that. No, the black and white Mara’s are not back, they were exclusively for for Relay, but for the Shine fundraiser for Medicins sans Frontieres Nicky has created a totally lovely pink version of Mara. Only 100 have been put on sale for L$ 1500, all proceeds going to Shine. Go get your Mara before it’s gone and donate generously to a wonderful cause that enables doctors to access remote areas to bring medical care to people who often dearly need it.

In these photos: Sofia hair in blonde by Elika Tiramisu at ETD, Paon 3 in Buff skin by Roslin Petion and CJ Carnot at Tête à Pied. Shoes by Fallingwater Cellardoor at Shiny Things, spring stilettos in powdery pink and the hair jewel is the absolutely stunning piece by Eolande Elvehjem at Accessories by Eolande.

Seen in world: yes ~ Review copy: OFCOURSE NOT!!! DONATE!!!! ~ Friends list: yes

I am not the most diligent blogger lately, RL being quite demanding ans such, but I do still shop, and find a lot of things I like. Today is one of these day’s I cannot seem to get warm. Turned the heater way on and soaked in a hot bath for what seems to have been more than one hour. Hurray for the sweet designers that have made lovely, cuddly warm sweaters lately. A small round up:

 From left to right: Seu Ahn from Shop Seu made this basic brown sweater that also comes in black and cream. I love this cinammon colour. Next to that is Diva designer Phaylen Fairchild’s Sabrina sweater. With the generous cowl it is a sweater to hide in from the cold. Vette de Cuir of Vette’s made this preppy cardigan. Vette’s inventory is still small, but I can’t wait to see what else she will come up with. June Dion over at Bare Rose just can’t stop producing cute fall items such as this Knitknit cardigan. As usual with Bare Rose, this is part of a fatpackish, totally convenient outfit. Fast up and coming designer Bettiepage Voyager made this sassy twin set in a very classy blue and red . The detailing on this set is awesome. You gotta love those buttons! And last but not least the crochet sweater from Noelle Eilde over at Argyle. This neigbour of Vette also has a small but growing inventory that is promising, cute scarfs and armwarmers as well as some more sweaters.

Wouldn’t it be nice though if more people made sweaters on the jacket layer, or tucked versions on shirt and underpants layer so that I don’t have to show off my drop dead belly button all the time .

The hair in these photo’s is 0-style’s Pompadour by Rei Gully,  the skin is Terre 3 in Buff from Tête à Pied and the jeans are Très Blah, Og Juju by Juliette Westerburg (as is the white shirt that I wear with Vette’s cardigan).

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