The Unofficial Second Life® Fashion and Shopping Blog

When I suggested that a few of us do up final posts with some of our favorite things, I didn’t quite realize how difficult it would be to choose. My top 10 ran into extreme danger of being a top 1000. So I cheated a little and managed a sly sort of dirty dozen (with a few extra dozen shout-outs).

1. Patootie Hair From ETD in Chestnut Brown - my preference since June, 2006. If I’m not wearing Patootie, I’m almost always wearing either the Sleek Bob or Pigtail Braids from Rita Groshomme’s Empyrean Emporium.
2. Courtney Glasses from Persenickety! - seated happily upon my virtual nose since January, 2007.
3. The custom choker made for me by Jackal Ennui (of Lassitude & Ennui) sometime in May of 2006. I have no memory of what she charged me, but I’m sure it wasn’t nearly enough. I love it every bit as much today as I did the day she dropped it on me.
4. Babydoll eyes by E’s - Handpainted Fantasy Eyes - first brown and now gray but my first choice since July, 2006.

5. Squee-tastic virtual dress-up decadence from Simone! and Style Starts Here.

6. Lingerie from Insolence…because I love being a girl in frilly, feminine, delicate things.

7. My Alice in Wonderland themed garden home (yes, that is a hooka smoking caterpillar). About 2000 prims of Heart Garden Centre plants, Kriss Lehmann’s Botanicals, Shade’s fantasy items, and Animania critters.

The rest are too overwhelming to photograph.

8. Prim shoes. I love them. I need them. I’m addicted to them. Especially Shiny Things Spring Stilettos, Lassitude & Ennui Eva Pumps, Prim Seduction’s Beloveds and Uptowns, Thigh High Boots from Abyss, and Strike bowling shoes from Jeepers Creepers. Trust me, this is a *very* abbreviated list.

9. Prim Jewelry (see: Prim Shoes). Mine, mine all mine favorites include the Heirloom sets, my Millefiori pendants, and the Alternating Chanel and Square Diamond necklace by EMJ, the Tapa Set by Kiki Miranda of soon-to-launch Faux Posh, Pirate Beads by Accessories By Eolande, the Elena sets from Lassitude & Ennui (my above mentioned choker (#3) goes without saying. ), the Scheherezade sets from Shiny Things, and the Drop Circle sets from EarthStones.

10. Well textured virtual wrappers for our digital paper doll playground, created with glorious detail. My favorite labels (of present and past) include Blaze, Casa Del Shai, Ceres, Comme il Faut (which absorbed Bossa Nova) Details By Nonna Hedges, Icing, Ingenue, Insolence, Mischief, Muism, Nicky Ree, Nicola Escher, Nyte ‘n’ Day, PixelDolls, Simone!, Solange, and Style Starts Here. This list could easily go on forever, but those are my biggies.

11. My must-have accessories: Huddles from Keiki Lemieux, and MystiTool from Mystical Cookie. If you are navigating the grid without them, you’re playing at a disadvantage.

12. Last, but never least, has to send out a nod to slow dances from Bits and Bobs, Dance 18 from Animazoo, and fashion poses by Reel Expression.

And, yes, trust me, there could have been lots more

If you’re in the mood for something fun with freebie rewards, grab a few friends and head out to be muddled by a great maze game! It’s better as a group, but it’s also a great solo activity!

Starts Here:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Falln%20Amusements/135/171/747

(What follows is the game rules you get at the starting gate)
FallnAngel Creations Presents: Jareth’s Labyrinth!

Jareth has lost his balls… er…. rather.. There are 31 Crystal Balls lost in the Labyrinth. You have to solve the Labyrinth and find the Crystal Balls before the time runs out! Keep your eyes open, there is a lot to see and you don’t want to miss something! (Set your region default to Midnight for the best effects!)

The hunt begins: June 20th at 12:01am slt.
The hunt ends: June 26th at 11:59pm slt.

The Crystal Balls look like small orbs with stars inside and are a little larger than an avatar’s hand. They are titled ‘FallnCrystalBallPrize#’ Simply buy the Crystal Balls for L$0

Anyone cheating will be BANNED -no exceptions!-
-No giving out records and/or landmarks of prize locations; No following landmarks given to you.
-No leading others through the labyrinth if you have already solved it.
-No leading others to the prizes.
-No shouting the locations/slurls of prizes.
-We also discourage panning to find your way through.
-Do not contact us and complain about the labyrinth being difficult.. it is a maze and that is the nature of the beast.
Also, before you complain about the prizes, please read: http://fabfree.wordpress.com/2008/01/12/freebie-etiquette-reminder/
And remember there is nothing I can do about the lag.
-If anyone is caught cheating, the locations of the prizes will be moved. To avoid confusion, please respect our rules

*You may*
-Hunt in groups, its more fun that way!
-Take a landmark from where you last left off. We understand that things get busy and you might have to leave in the middle of solving the labyrinth. Go ahead and take a landmark from where you stand, so you can go back and continue where you left off.

We will not be giving out hints to prize locations, or hints on how to solve the labyrinth. You are on your own ^_~ Not all of the prizes will be found in the correct solution to the maze, be sure to explore everywhere! Unlike my previous hunts, things are not always what they seem.. do not take anything for granted.

The Hunt Prizes were Created/Donated by:

FallnAngel Creations
Little Boy Blue
Sinfull Creations
Fortaelia Furnishings
DBC

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

Azriel Demain
FallnAngel Creations

These days, when it seems like everyone in SL fashion is taking themselves way too seriously, it is delightful to be reminded of just why I play virtual paper dolls. Recently, while scouting for a costume for a party, I discovered something I’ve been looking for since I was thirteen years old.

It’s quite possible you may not recognize this dress. You are not necessarily a child of the 80s with a crush on all things fantasy. But ever since I first saw this sequence from the movie Legend which features Mia Sara dancing with (and being seduced by) a gothtastic gown, my id has been muttering a low, guttural Gollum-like cry of “mine.” And now, thanks to the SL dress-up goddesses and Natalia Zelmanov of Sirena, it is now my precious!

Like many costumes, it’s not a 100% success. Those nummy gossamer arm drapes are not represented, and there are some elements that could use a little tweaking. I should mention: I could care less. The wicked-witch delish high collar, the cleavage that dips all the way down to Paris, the black and gold decadence of the original intent is well represented in goth girly scrumptiousness. The skirting is also a triumph. It doesn’t suffer from the wretched pangs of transparency bug ruination (is LL ever going to address that crap?) because it is actually two different attachments - effectively layering the skirt and creating smooth movement without the woes of most formal-length offerings today. The texturing might be that “lather, rise, repeat” style that is unfortunate in SL dressmaking, but in this instance, where we’re dealing with folds and ripples of black satin, it just works.

Also at Sirena, you’ll find some fabulously innovative scripted hairstyles. The one I paired with my Dark Lily is called Seduction and it has been my favorite fashion toy over the last several days. When you purchase Seduction, or a similar style, you’re effectively getting two styles in one shot. The base wig comes in colorpacks of four shades, with each shade presented in three different sizes. Each size has corresponding hair sticks (sister styles might come with barrettes, etc). When the hair sticks are worn, the style changes to an updo. To revert to original long hair, simply remove the sticks. You can set it so that only you (the owner) can remove the hair sticks or allow anyone to do so - making your hair a target for friends and mischievous strangers to play with. The hair shows as no-mod in your inventory due to the scripting, but I was able to resize and re-texture it with no problem. It must be said, it was really a treat to get the wigs in three different “start off” sizes.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the faboo skin I’m wearing is from Fleur and the necklace that compliments the ensemble so delightfully is a previously reviewed gem from Miriel.

Now if anyone can tell me where I can find the ball gown from Labyrinth…

(Read More | Where to Buy)

This year for my birthday, Gracie girl got me some toucans for the Freudian Slip to go along with the herons, pelicans, squids, and music monkeys that hold watch over the decks while no one’s dancing.

These toucans, like everything from Duggy Bing’s Cartoonimals, are drop-dead adorable. Their style is more exaggerated than realistic, which is an aesthetic I find I’m drawn to more and more within our virtual habitat.

The flying toucan model allows you to set a number of locations after rez so that you can program in a flight path for those who might want to give chase in hopes of fruit loops. The seated version remains perkily in place, opening its beak from time to time and giving a slight tilt of head.

There is a happy zoo at the Cartoonimals store, from door-scratching kitties to big ear-flapping elephants to small skittering turtles and even flying aliens in mini spaceships. I can’t speak for the entire inventory, but the selections I brought home were well adjusted to havok4 living and operated from low-lag scripts. This was a delightful change over some of the more lag-heavy wildlife I’d encountered in the past.

Unable to be contented by just toucans, I hurried over and begged another friend for some flamingos and treated myself to a hug-tastic monkey for the Slip. Then I discovered a few wearables lingering amid the funky critters, and it was all over but the shopping.

Yes, that’s right. Jammies. Could you die? These pjs come in kitty cat, skunk, elephant and monkey style sets that all include boy and girl friendly pjs in different color options. The tops and bottoms are nice, but pretty basic and uninspired. They’ll do the job for any pajama party you’ve got to crash, however, and no one’s really going to care once they catch sight of your slippers - which are just about the most squee-tastic novelty slippers in all SL. I am ALL about these tail-wagging, sweet-faced kitty slippers. The bottom prim is white and tintable so you have a little bit of leeway when it comes to matching ‘em up and THE EYES BLINK. Seriously. Can you live without a pair? No, I didn’t think so.

The next “oh my god, I have to have that!” is the Carmen Miranda hat. Over 350 prims in 2 pieces, this work of art is prim decadence. The minute you put it on, you get this flamboyant need for bright red tango dresses and feel the irresistible urge to wiggle a la Copacabana with Groucho Marx. I cannot defend how often you’ll have use for it or why it’s so damn necessary. It’s just…so damn necessary. From the pineapple crown to the dangling grapes and peeking monkey, I cannot imagine anything that has tickled my little-girl dress-up monster more than this hat. He gives you three sizes to choose from for the base and they all flawlessly work with the upper attachment.

I may have to beg for matching fruit themed jewelry, but I haven’t stopped squeeing yet.

Last, but so far from least, are these little pet carrier backpacks, complete with baby animals you can wear and adore. When I first got to tinkering with these, I was disappointed because the backpacks only came in a really large size that took me the better part of half an hour to fit - and even then, it wasn’t a good fit. After I explained to Duggy that most of us girls weren’t amazon women from the moon, however, he quickly obliged and made small and medium carrier straps that provide a much nicer fit with a lot less tinkering.

You know you gotta have one, and let’s face it - don’t we all sometimes crave a reason to shout “keep your damn hands off my monkey!”

Run over to Cartoonimals and you’re bound to find something that is your cuppa. If I’m wrong - I’ll eat my hat. *grin*

(Read More | Where to Buy)