Second Style Magazine

Marni Grut sent me a note the other day with those three magic words; “Sale This Week!” Actually, it will probably run a little into next week too; it seems that the gremlins running around the metaverse shook stuff loose that people, including Marni, were having trouble connecting and getting to the store. Hopefully grid performance is stable enough for you to enjoy these prices: All dresses L$100, All tops L$75 or lower, All fatpacks 50% off a reduction of over L$300. This sale is only good at her Endicott Location and will end sooner than later as Marni is redoing the shop and says that stuff has to go. Her blog.

I try to find and feature items that are not on the major feeds, or things by newer designers as much as possible. This post by Maria Gherardi of MG Fashion (blog) was on one of the feeds, but in case you missed it I wanted to feature it because it looks, at least in the picture, to be the perfect knit hat for the season. I have it on my to-do list to get to MG Fashion and check it out, if only my schedule and Second Life’s gremlins could get on the same page now!

Refuge is a blog that isn’t often updated, so when they pulled out the outfits you see to the left my ears perked up. (Blog, Slurl) In the picture you actually two separate releases as shown, the skirt and top, and the belt, which is one of many cool accessories available at the store. (The build alone is worth the trip- Refuge is a store in what appears to be an old abandoned white clapboard church!) The skirts (L$120) and tops (L$120) and knee highs (L$75) are sold as separates for mix and match, or you can buy them as a set (L$275). Studded belts come in black or brown (L$150).

If you have a fashion event you would like to include on our calendar, or a fashion blog you would like to have listed on our super cool blogroll, send me an IM or an email. (justinebabii (at) yahoo.com)

I popped onto the grid just in time to catch Second Style’s Spotlight III Fashion Showcase tonight at Le Zoo and I’m super glad I did! Show organizer Valena Glushenko puts together a show that moves along well and has a friendly vibe, and as always the clothes were incredible. The Spotlight Series is designed to feature designers who are not yet household names. This show did that, but also focused on designers who have shops at Le Zoo, so it was a great mix of talented newcomers and some experienced and seasoned SL fashioneers. The show featured Abby Coalcliff of Devilish Cupcake, Alaska Metropolitan of OPIUM Everyday, Sh Oluja of *Sheer*, Megg Demina of Chapeau Tres Mignon and Eolande Elvehjem of Accessories by Eolande and there were way too many great things to choose a favorite or two from. So while I have a month until the next SS Magazine deadline to pick my faves, in the meantime I will share with you this wonderful design from Sh Oluja of *Sheer* modeled by Voshie Paine. The outfit is called Shiver, a layered silk mini-dress with torn stockings so realistic it will make you cry. Take a trip over to Le Zoo, I think you’ll like what you find!

Greetings Blog fans! I had a mini vacay as the blogmistress while we sorted some of the kinks out of the blogroll, but I’m back and rested and ready to go.. Waiting for me nicely in my inbox was an email from Joan Philbin telling me about her new shop, called SLippery (Blog, SLurl) which just opened in Scion South and asking me if I would include her blog on our list. Since she asked so nicely I simply had to go look and OMG! look at this skin! She says that she doesn’t have much on display yet, but she does have 15 makeups and each is only L$250 or you can get all 15 for L$2000. Save room for me, I’ll be there right after work.

Speaking of OMG! have you seen the newly redesigned Slinky Stilettos from Maitreya? (Blog, SLurl) (Since there’s a picture of them next to that sentence, I realize I am not exactly asking the tough questions). While it is not my real life goal to change my name from Kitty to Karen or trade my MG for a white Chrysler Lebaron, the part of that Cake song I actually do aspire to is to own some heels that cut, so again, save some room for me at Maitreya too, I’ll be there right after I get done at SLippery, right after work.

Well, with my skin and shoes taken care of, all I need now is a dress and some hair. I’ll look at Ivalde (Blog, SLurl) for a gown because I see that Neferia Abel has two new designs, Agnetha, seen here, and Susie. The combination of classic designs and fine detail and set Neferia’s gowns into a class all their own and these latest sets look to continue that tradition.

If you have a blog or an event you would like listed on our blogroll or on our calendar, send me an IM or an email. I’d love to hear from you!

Alaska Metropolitan will open a new store tomorrow at Le Zoo for her new line, Opium Everyday. Everyday will be a line of casual to business fashion tailored for mixing and matching and making your own. To whet our appetites, it was featured today in a preview runway show by Metro Models. Shown along with Skin 2.0 skins and Calla hair, the show was packed and featured a lot of great designs that one can in fact wear Everyday. The designs I saw were elegant and yet practical- jeans, skirts, sweaters and shorts- the types of outfits I spend most of my SL time in- matched with great hair. When the store opens tomorrow, be on the lookout especially for a fantastic velvet track suit I loved from afar today and the “Roxy” Skinny Jeans in prefaded denim. Good stuff for Everyday indeed.

Word on the street has it that many designers, while taking time to spend the holidays with family and friends, have been working on some new designs. Your Fashionista blog wrangler will be hopping in the coming weeks I’m sure, but for now I’ve been browsing the fashion blogs and looking at all the great mash-ups and outfits being reviewed. A couple of sales caught my eye too, like one at Devilish Cupcake (Blog, SLURL) that starts tomorrow.
I got a little weak in the knees when I saw new hair and dresses from Frangipani Designs (Blog, SLURL). I plan to stop by and see these new hair designs as soon as I can get in world and see their new safari dress as well. Designer Rach Snookums of Frangipani has really impressed me and I frequently check their blog for updates these days.

Over the holiday I was watching a couple of different movies with vintage clothing and I have absolutely fallen in love with the cut of clothes from the 1940s and early 1950s. So when I saw the following jacket from Silver Rose Designs (Blog, SLURL) you can only imagine how excited I was.

Advertised on their blog as a jacket style outfit that converts to a dress when the fur trim is removed, I’ll have to go take a look and see if this will be something I can wear to the train station when my beau comes back from the war in the movie in my SL head.

There were no new blogs added to our blogroll this week, but Marleen Vaughan of Marly’s Vintage Fashion promised to be my friend if I mentioned that her blog has moved to here, so I did. If you have a fashion blog or a blog for your shop and would like it listed on our blogroll, send me an IM or an email and I’d be happy to put it up there for you. Remember that you can also import our entire blogroll into your site from our links page.

I don’t want to steal any thunder from my friends at Fabulously Free, but hurry over to Digital Dragon Designs (blog, Slurl) and get these gorgeous boots for free today!! When I popped over there to make sure the boots were still available there were a few other avies browsing. The boots look fantastic there appeared to be a feature where visitors can vote on the item that will become the next freebie. I would have stayed and looked around but really wanted to get “home” and write this up to spread the word to all my fellow boot addicts.
Another cute outfit I saw on the blogs is from Pushbutton Industries (Blog, Slurl). The Flux is a cropped leather jacket with sculpty cuffs and open prim collar and looks to be just perfect as a casual accent (to go with my new boots!). It comes in six colors.

Celestial Studios (Blog, Slurl) released a whole bunch of great cocktail length skirts and dresses yesterday, including Gilda, which you see to the left. Gilda comes in four colors and is one of several great designs shown on Starley’s blog- so much so I had a great deal of trouble deciding which to show you here, which means that for me it will be an either a tough decision or expensive shopping trip when I see them all in the store.

This week we added a couple of new links to our blogroll- Hibiscus Flossberg, Virtually Dressed and The Cafe Society. If you have a Second Life Fashion Blog and would like it listed with us, please send me an IM or an email!

Popfuzz Bamboo of Popfuzz just released a huge number of new things, many of them with the potential to be that item you never want to take off. For example, I put on the Black Paper Dragon Dress you see to the left and realized I need to snuggle it into my !Faves folder because it’s a great piece of Second Life clothing; great cut, clean lines, nice design and I’m always on the prowl for a new take on the little black dress. Though not in the picture, the Paper Dragon line also comes with a shrug in the accent color on the jacket layer, providing some welcome flexibility. The Paper Dragons come in 10 different colors, each L$199 or the whole set for L$1499. On my feet in the picture I’m wearing Popfuzz’s new Gem Stilettos, which come in 11 colors and are L$300 each, or L$1600 for the whole set.
The new designs from Popfuzz run the gamut from classic gowns to fun club wear to track suits, so picking which items to get can be a problem. In the picture to the left for example, you see the new Crop Top Sweater and Wool Miniskirt combination. The details on the sweater are fantastic and the cute little gold chain belt that is included in the pack is so nice it’s something I will probably move to my jewelry folder so I’ll remember to show it off with other outfits too. The outfit comes in 11 colors, with each color priced at L$200 or just L$1100 for all of the colors. Take a trip over to see the new things at Popfuzz, I think you’ll be happy with what you find.

I would like to give proper credit to Calla for the hair in these pictures because I am in love with both of these styles. In the top picture you see Carolina Jasmine and in the second picture you see Begonia, (which includes the cute beret as part of the hair). I’m also wearing a shape by Slider Surgeons which I detailed over at SexySecond if you want more details. The skin is by Tête à Pied.

Clothes by Popfuzz:
Seen in World Y | Review Items Y | Friend’s List Y

With all of the holiday stuff coming out all over Second Life I felt I would be remiss to not mention some of the things that caught my eye in the blogosphere this week. In real life, it’s often difficult to find things that are cute or stylish AND tasteful and holiday themed, so I have been watching the blogs eagerly to see what the holidays in Second Life will look like. Based on some of the things I’ve seen so far, the next few weeks will be a lot of fun.

With that said, I was delighted to see these little earrings from Elexor Matador (Blog, Slurl) are just tooo perfect because they’re subtle and come in a enough colors to go with anything. Six colors for L$175.

If you’re headed to a pixelated holiday party and want to do the red with white trim look, take a look at this big pack of Mrs. Claus goodness from Awesome Designs (Blog, Slurl). There are enough pieces in there to ensure that no matter your party needs, you’ve covered your avie in a festive and appropriately cut style. Remember also that if you get into the pixelated egg nog at the virtual holiday party, type responsibly and leave the lampshade on the lamp. Oh heck, do that in real life and have some fun in SL.

Finally this week, if you feel like being a little naughty, or maybe a little nice, or maybe something in between, artilleri (Blog, Slurl) has something for you to check out. Naughty or Nice comes in red and green and is just L$190 each. Now I have to find a party to wear this to.

If you have a fashion related blog you’d like listed on our blogroll, give me a holla via IM or email (justinebabii (at) yahoo). Our initial blogroll sorting is finished and ready for export if you would like your very own copy of it, click the links link near the top of the column on the right of the page.

Also, if you have something coming up you would like added to our calendar, send me a notecard or an email.

My head is swimming from all of the fashion shows I’ve been to in the last week. There was a great looking Nex-Core show that Second Life lag did its best to bring to a halt. (Picture far left). There was also a late show of Solange lingerie at KMADD Enterprise (right). That’s not even to mention the Accademia del Lusso show, the Best of SL Show and the various events around the opening of the Aspire Sky Lounge. And then just when my lag armor says it needs a rest, a bunch of great shows pop up on the horizon! It’s a good time of year to be a Fashionista!

While I would never have time to leave the house if I blogged all of these shows, I did want to mention a charming show I went to tonight at Crimson Shadow. The fashion show was set inside a terrific castle build, which worked beautifully with the wonderfully rich and luxurious gothic designs of the Tailor Made team to create an ambiance I adored. The pictures you see here are dark as the stage was a bit dark for photography, but if you click to look at the full size pictures you can see what I’m talking about with the rich colors and textures, and look at the wonderful background! What a great backdrop for a show subtitled “Clothes to Die For!”

Tailor Made is headed by Moxie Polano and Forda Fairlane, who along with designer Trysta Lacey put together the outfits from the show. In the picture at left you see their fantastic Webbed In Lace Dress, and in the above picture you have their Bleeding Rose Gown. These Tailor Made designs are available at Crimson Shadow along with a number of other items from the show you’ll probably be seeing a lot more of in the near future.

I’m looking forward to my first winter in a snowy region in real life with a sort of queasy excitement. Shoveling snow, putting my car into icy snowbanks and all the other things the locals have told me I’ll hate have me worried. The one part of it I’m definitely excited about without question though is the opportunity to upgrade my need for Uggs from frivolous fun to necessary. Love them, can’t wait to see them in the winter wonderland I’m picturing in my head. With this as background, you understand why I actually squealed when I saw the boots to the left for sale by SF Design of Second Life (Blog, Slurl). As part of this same set they have a shearling coat which will go great with my RL and SL Uggs!

Eloh Eliot of Another Shop (Blog, Slurl) released some skins that look great and at just L$100 for a whole batch of skins, brows, makeups, a shape, seriously, my mind boggles. (yes, all of that is just L$100!) The Demos are actually worth a trip too. Instead of coming with DEMO across the forehead you get an avie with bad teeth and a green tongue. I went to the shop to take a look and there was a mob forming, so I think that word is getting around about this great deal on some wonderful looking skins, or could it be that bad teeth and green tongues are coming back into style?

A couple of quick items I found; Nicky Ree (Blog, Slurl) has some new things on her blog today, including one outfit that she made in conjunction with Roslin of Tête à Pied and Miriel Enfield. The look is called Snow Queen and it looks gorgeous. It’s nice to see a regal and mystical winter item, especially from a team like that. Also, ETD (Blog, Slurl) has some new releases today, six new styles, four for women and two for men. I have to run there and take a look at Nadia, as I love Elika’s braid work and scarf up those designs when they come out.

On the Blog front, this week we added a bunch of good new sites, including The Dressing Up Box which is dedicated to costumes in Second Life. We also added First Flower, which is a shoe site, Aphrodite Outlander a fashion blog, and two designer blogs-Pushbutton Industries and Alchemy Angels.

Finally, it has been a long road, but I’m nearly done sorting and sifting through our extensive blogroll. There are still some sites I have to visit and some more I’ve put into the wrong categories by accident, but it will be all done by my next blog round-up for sure. Hopefully you will find the new organization a bit easier to browse, and I’m sure that we’ll refine it more going forward. I’m not a technical person (ask Celebrity how many times I’ve crashed the blog all by myself!) but I think that you will be able to import our links to your site if you want to and have them updated as I update them. I’ll hunt down the facts and have more info for you next time.

If you have a blog you would like included in our list of links, send me an email (justinebabii (at) yahoo) or IM me.

I don’t have the monehs for the real life day after Thanksgiving sales, but I have been drooling over the SL blogs all day looking at bargains and great new releases. To the left you can see one that actually made me squeal. Pixel Dolls (Blog, Slurl) is in the last day of their “thank you sale.” They have some great things on sale at 50% off right now, including these awesome buckled boots and some gorgeous Rumpled boots too as well as some great looking clothes. The sale goes until midnight SLT on the 23rd.

Tête à Pied (Blog, Slurl) has come out with a new make-up to go with the new Gala gown from Rebel Hope (Blog, Slurl). The skin, called Soirée, is one of those special projects that comes about from true inspiration. Roslin was looking for hair to go with Rebel’s gown and ended up making a whole new make-up to go with it instead, something timeless and fabulous, with gorgeous red lips to match the “perfect red” of the gown. I love it when my favorite designers work together, and I love it even more when great designers are inspired by each other naturally. I look forward to trying out both Soirée and Gala, which also comes in black.

As the blogmistress here, I kind of keep a very informal track of which blogs haven’t been updated in ages and which blogs haven’t been updated in even longer. One blog I was a little worried was going inactive belongs to Daphne Molinari, who promptly surprised me with a couple of updates. One of them is a call for designers to help with a group she is starting called Autism Speaks in Second Life. In her words, “What I am looking for is designers and content creators willing to donate items, for events that will be taking place here in world. This weekend kicks off an event hosted by the SL Starfleet.” If you’re interested in getting involved, contact Daphne or her alter ego.

If you have a Second Life blog related to fashion you would like to have added to our blogroll, or have an event coming up that you would like to have added to our calendar, please contact me, Justine Babii, in-world or via email at justinebabii at yahoo dot com

Before I get rambling on my “stranded at the drive-in” story, here’s a really cute vintage sweater that just came in from Marlys Vintage Clothing. The sweater is called Sol’s Equinox c.1966 and I just love it for fall! It has sculpty prim cuffs and collar and just sings of the 1960s. You can’t see with much detail in the picture, but I’m also wearing a cute necklace from Marly called Poo’s Perfume Necklace. The sweater is only L$100, or buy four colors of it for L$325. The necklace is L$150. There is an equally adorable Poo’s Perfume Bracelet for L$100. (The jeans in the picture are the freebie jeans by Callie Cline available from the Fashion Avenue of the CSI:NY area which I highly recommend along with some other great freebies there like the jewelry pack by Caliah Lyon).

I went to artilleri to poke around this weekend and it ended up being a longer stay than I intended because teleport went down while I was there. Rather than curse the darkness, I decided to rummage through my inventory a little and take some pictures because artilleri’s build is so great. I started with a shape from RaC and modified it a bit, then added their Tess skin. I’ve seen a lot of avies look great in RaC skins, but I was never able to get that same effect with mine until I tried their shape too. It was totally different than my normal look and I must say I enjoyed not being me for a while.

I tried on a tattoo called “Scream” by Addixion and a little half tee by Neo, which is also sold at the Addixion store, all of which you see in the picture above. I love the attitude in the t-shirt, and the tattoo work is nice. Scream sells for L$650 and comes in several versions. The tee is L$95. One thing that the picture doesn’t show, but I absolutely love and have to show off, is the great pair of plaid sneakers I’m wearing from Tomboy though. If you’ve looked for good canvas gym shoes or sneakers, depending on what you call them, try Tomboy. Theirs come in 14 colors and each color comes with multiple sizes and tied and untied versions for only L$240 a color.

Feeling a little retro at artilleri, I dipped into my inventory and found Louna Lollipop Cobalt Dress, also from Marlys Vintage Clothing. I stuck with the Rac skin and shape and then added new hair from Bewitched called Crystal. Crystal is L$195 for five colors and comes in an insane number of colors. I love the way it looks, especially the spray of bangs, but I wish it worked better with my shoulders. Of their new releases I like Bridget, which is a tied back super curly hair, and Rumor, which is just super fun curly. Eventually teleport came back to life and I was able to get back about my business, but it was certainly nice to be able to relax, have some fun with fashion, and look forward to sharing it all with you!

For the details:
Skin: Tess by Rac
Hair-Curio Bedroom Ash (top), ETD Breezy II Smoke Burnt (middle), Bewitched Crystal Ash (Bottom)

Clothes:
From Marlys: Seen In World No | Review Copies Yes | Friends List No
From Addixion/Neo Seen in World No | Review Copies Yes | Friends List No
From Tomboy Seen in world Yes | Review Copies No | Friends List No