The Unofficial Second Life® Fashion and Shopping Blog

The royal quest to satisfy my dress envy of a particular gown that my friend Elyse was wearing, led this Cinderella to VictoriaV McMillan and VictoriaV Fashion. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was more to this store than one very hot dress! I’ll share with you a few goodies that I found.

First THE DRESS…. when I saw Elyse wearing it at Bubbly Nightclub one night, I knew I had to have it. It’s called The Berry Dress and it was fashioned after a dress worn by a very famous Berry on the red carpet. I fell in love with the delicate work on the bodice; the roses are exquisite and, to my utter delight, placed precisely in the correct places so that there were no alterations necessary. I also have to say that for a dress with draping at the waist, which never seems to go well in SL, this one looks amazing!

It’s summer in the city and hey, even Cinderella has to work. I found the Heather All in One collection, also at VictoriaV. This mix-and-match set covers all of your bases from business casual to the power suit. Pants, skirts, and a few blouses this one has it all. I liked the idea of a summery white suit, and while not usually a fan of green, I think the green accents really add some life to each of the outfits. The only not-so-great thing I noticed was that the textures in this outfit aren’t as high quality as the textures in their formal-wear. Not that it keeps this from being a fabulous collection, it has everything you need as a girl on the go.

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It’s June and I just couldn’t get away without checking out Victoria’s line of bridal gowns. She had several lovely gowns for me to choose from, my favorite being the Barbie in gold. Yes, I said it, Barbie. I felt like Cinderella Barbie as I proceeded to glide across my floor in this gorgeous dream of a dress! I love the gold accents and the lovely and unobtrusive veil. Now all I need is a Prince Charming and I’m all set… any takers?

Last but not least we have another formal showstopper, the Alie. What caught my eye about this dress was the glittery texture on the bodice. It’s seems to be very difficult to get that kind of a look without it looking like polka dots gone wild, but I think Victoria has done a nice job with it here. It’s very elegant and refined and I felt fabulous in it.

All in all another successful shopping trip for this Cinderella, now… where did I park my carriage?

Until next time…

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Zoya

Gowns. Chambre du Chocolat gowns, “so ‘innocent’. I thought, oh, just one little” try on, “it can’t do any harm. But it turned out they were oh, so rich, sinful… ” …And they meld, God forgive me, they meld ever so slowly to the curves of your body, and “torture you…” My friends all know I get this reaction from chocolate, but Eshi Otawara’s Chambre du Chocolat gowns are having the same effect on me.

A friend sent me a pic of herself in a red gown, knowing red is not my favorite color, and sent me to meet Eshi. One look at the pic and I was on my way. Eshi has been in the clothing business for less than a month. She’s an artist, a builder, and is into Parsec, a very creative musical performance mechanism. The demonstration of Parsec, alone was an incredible experience. But the Heidi gown she has just released made me want to wear red!

She modeled it after Heidi Klum’s one-of-a-kind Galliano gown worn at the Oscars last week. From the sculptie draped stole to the fab bustle/train, it’s a pleasure to wear. The shading is marvelous. It seems to shine even in the crappy light of my photo sphere. There are 7 pieces to the outfit, including 3 flexi prim skirt sections.

Here is Heidi herself basking in the limelight at Oscar Night. Eshi’s friends clamored for more, so she relented and made this dress in blue and fuchsia, too.

Ok, the Heidi dress is a RL designer knockoff, you say, so what can she do on her own?

This, dear readers, is Eshi’s Smokey Tux Dress in blue. She’s planning on a line of high fashion couture outfits, that’ll make you stand out from the crowd. Here I am floating in all my glory in Eshi’s Parsec bubble. You don’t just wear this dress, it wears you! It moves and breathes and reacts to its surroundings. It does everything but croon to you. Viewed in Windlight, it glows from within. The bodice is actually a men’s tux shirt, but I love its simple, tailored lines in such contrast to the fluffy dream of the skirt.

(Read More | Where to Buy)

This will be a shameless plug for the new sim the SL Library is opening this weekend. Land of Lincoln is dedicated to teaching about the life and times of that great president, Abraham Lincoln. It’s also one of the very first in SL to portray times in the 1860’s. I’ve been heavily involved in the development, because of my longtime study of and love for that time period. It’s also why I’ve been slacking doing reviews lately.

Laynie Link, of LaynieWear, graciously offered to make part of an outfit to give out as freebies on the sim. I asked for an 1860’s Day Dress, and she sure delivered. We agreed I’d do the flexiskirt from her texture.

This is our result. She had such a good time with it, she ended up making the outfit in 4 colors. When I saw the blue, I squeed so loudly she said that one would be mine. So we have this in rose, green, and grey, free for all, on the Welcome Center of Land of Lincoln. I love the lace trims, they also give the illusion of the dropped shoulder seam typical to the period. The top comes on all 3 layers, but the shirt layer is the one that has the ability to make the correct wider sleeves. There are glitch pants, and a system underskirt, as no true Victorian lady shows her limbs!

She kept on and made divine little sculptie parasols to match the dresses. Lovely confections. Those can be bought at her stores. Promenading with the lady here is a gentleman wearing Vincente Shepherd’s, of Gaslights Emporium, Black Brocade Frock Suit for men. Vince is also providing this outfit free to the males visiting our sim. I’m wearing the Miss Eyre hairstyle from Historical Heroines. It’s not quite what I need but as close as it gets in sl so far. I am begging, hair designers! We need the right hairstyles. Usually the lady’s ears were almost covered by her hair as it was pulled back. I have searched in vain for a year now.

On another note, Laynie liked the top so well she turned it into these adorable footie pj’s. One look at the back end and you know why she calls them Ruffle Buttz. Only prim ruffles could make them any cuter.They can be found in her store, if there are any left, for only 100L$ a pair. Who’s having the next pj party?

(Read More | Where to Buy)

Elisabeth Tinsley, Random Calliope’s Worthwhile Gallery Manager, asked me to share this piece of news with you. Since I know how wildly popular Random’s butterfly hunts are, I was more than glad to let you all in on it, even despite the fact there’ll be more of us out there snagging butterflies. Since I’m not one to redo anything that’s been done before, I’m a cuttin’ and a pastin’ his release verbatim. Happy hunting, everyone!

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, 10,000 Random Calliope Ode to Caledon butterflies will be migrating across the Second Life Grid. Hunters of the elusive Ode will be able to find the object of their hunt scattered throughout the green spaces of SL. Making a special debut for the Valentine’s Hunt will be the new Tutti Frutti colored jeweled Ode butterfly in a lovely mixed hue of ivory and rose.

Tutti Frutti, along with the other eighteen colors of Ode will be roaming free in abundance for the duration of Thursday, February 14th. Each Ode set is composed of eight separate pieces including a head ornament, earrings, necklace, pendant, brooch, bracelet, and ring.

Hunters collect sets by “catching” butterflies during the hunts, the only time they are available. Once released, the butterflies can be found floating high and low and hiding in all manner of nooks and crannies. When a hunter sees a butterfly the way to catch it and release its possible treasure is to click on it. Once touched the butterfly will disappear releasing its jeweled Ode piece to the hunter if it is carrying one. Not all butterflies contain piece of Ode. Approximately 1 in 5 butterflies will contain a piece of Ode and some of the colors, such as Shades of Golden and Platinum, are much rarer then the typical Ode sets.

Time Schedule for Ode Butterfly Hunts (all times on in SLT)
5am - 878 butterflies released
7am - 444 butterflies released
9am - 444 butterflies released
11am - 1756 butterflies released
1pm - 1322 butterflies released
3 pm - 444 butterflies released
5 pm - 444 butterflies released
6 pm - 444 butterflies released
7 pm - 878 butterflies released
9 pm - 878 butterflies released

The location of the hunts will be held in secret until just before the hunt is scheduled to begin. Each hunt will take place in a different location in Second Life. Landmarks to the hunts will be sent out to the Ode Butterfly Collectors group immediately before the hunt. To receive the hunt location landmarks please join the Ode Butterfly Collectors group.

We are also opening a new group for Ode Butterfly hunters through subscrib-o-matic so you can be advised of the hunts without forfeiting one of your 25 group spots. There is a kiosk for joining this group located at Random Calliope’s gallery in Ode ( ??). There will also be kiosks set up to join this group at each one of the hunts on Valentine’s Day.

The countdown has begun. Less than 48 hours until the grid erupts in Ode so get your net and prepare to come butterfly hunting!

Oops, the lm to Ode didn’t transfer over. Here’s the slurl http://slurl.com/secondlife/Ode/157/30/25
And the crowd who ran over to sign up had a hard time finding the subscrib-o-matic poaster. It’s the one that says ArtMuse.