Posted in Uncategorized

You’ve Gotta Get Up And Try…

(Featuring designs by Poptart, SLX, TRUTH Hair, and many more…)
 
(Take note, this is what I’m doing when I should be furnishing my house… you’ll see my lack of work in other pictures…)
 
Quick!  No one in the dance world has made an ass of themselves in the last 24 hours.  Let’s make another fashion post and keep the momentum going!
No, but for serious.  This is ideally what I’d like to do.  Post daily.  Normally at night before I go to bed, because that’s when I seem to find enough down time to do something like this, uninterrupted.  But because I’m too tired at this point to do any heavy research, so I tend to add the SLURLs for the stores in the morning.  Then again, I could be like most bloggers and make you find it yourself, from the credits… haha.  But I try to be a bit nicer than most.
Speaking of other bloggers, the syndication process has been interesting.
(Please note my house in the background… and please also note that there is no furniture in it… I think I put the thing up, like, a week ago…)
 
In my quest to become a syndicated blogger and be taken seriously, I find my journey starting out slowly, but not altogether unsuccessful.  So far, I’ve found myself syndicated on 3 feeds, which, from what I hear is pretty good.  While I’ve been searching the various feeds, though, I’ve found a very diverse opinion of what is considered “the best” or “high quality”.
All of these feeds claim that they only post “high quality” blogs, and that the bloggers that contribute to them are “only the best”, however the types of bloggers and the types of posts that I see very GREATLY.  This is not a bad thing, as I appreciate, and even practice, various styles of writing and blogging myself… but it feels like, once more, there’s no set standard, so some people are left off of some feeds simply because they don’t conform to someone else’s idea of “the best”.
One example I can think of off the top of my head is a feed that I believe I was drawn to on three separate occasions.  (Yeah, my memory sucks and I couldn’t remember that I’d already ruled it out.)  This feed claims that it will only public ‘high quality’ blogs, which it defines as quality clothing, edited photos, and “tight posts” which is basically just the photos and the credits, with very little wording in between.
That’s all find and dandy… and it’s great for people who come to these blogs just to see pretty pictures of outfits they can spend their lindens to recreate, rather than expressing their own UNIQUE sense of style… but for those of us who are writers, it kinda sucks.
I find it amusing as well, because the definition of what a blog is, according to Dictionary.Com, is:

a Web site containing the writer’s or group of writers’ own experiences, observations, opinions, etc., and often having images and links to other Web sites.

See, from the dictionary definition of blogging, you seem to get the idea that there should be writing involved, yes?  And that the inner-writer in all of us would be embraced, rather than discouraged, right?  There is a time and a place for ‘photo-only’ blogs… but I would call that more of a photo album than a blog.

At the same time, do I believe that EVERY post should be a novel?  Oh hell to the no.  I think we’d all get bored reading it, let alone those of us who write it.  We’d eventually run out of ideas.  There are only so many things to talk about… even with the stupidity of the people around us to rant about occasionally.

 (Before anyone asks, no, I’m not British. My partner is… and I figured he’d appreciate this sweater when He logs in while I’m sleeping.  Haha!)
 
So at this point, I guess I should just chalk it up to another mini moral crisis in my life inspired by the fashion world in SL… but it’s starting to irk me that it occurs so often.  In a virtual world that people come to for their own reasons, and they expect people to not only accept them for how they choose to represent themselves… but they also expect everyone to accept their reasons for being here, their personal limitations, what they want to get out of being here, and they expect everyone to condone their actions and words in the name of individuality and freedom of speech… you’d think in a virtual world like this, that there would be LESS judgment than in the real world.
But shockingly enough, I’m beginning to find that there’s more.
And the biggest issue that I have with this is that it’s not just judgment.  It’s people walking around beating their chests like Tarzan (or I guess Xena the Warrior Princess may be an appropriate female reference) and being ‘loud and proud’ about their choices in SL, their reasons for being here, etc… everything that I mentioned before.  They boast and brag and expect everyone to be ok with them because they are who they are… and they get pissed if anyone dares judge them.  But THEN, they turn around and harshly judge the people they share this medium with.  I’m even guilty of it myself.  But the difference here is that I see that I’ve done it, and I watch other people do it and it BOTHERS me.  There are plenty of people walking around SL (or driving their pixels around SL, as the case may be) who are being completely two-faced in regards to being open and accepting.
So once again, I’m forced to choose… do I try and “tighten” up my posts to appeal to more fashion feeds that don’t want as much text… even though true blogging is about WRITING?  Or do I flip them the bird, continue to write what I see fit, and post the pictures in between, making an altogether cohesive blend of fashion and my own thoughts, in my own little corner of cyber space?
I’ll bet from the length of this post, you can tell which on I chose.  🙂
(Yes, that is an anchor in my house… and no, I didn’t put it there in an effort to put SOME kind of furniture or decor in there… it actually came with the house… I’m hopeless.)
 
*~* You’ve Gotta Get Up And Try *~*
 
(You know the deal.  I’ll post SLURLs tomorrow.  Love you all.)
Posted in Uncategorized

Lights Will Guide You Home…

(Featuring designs by Egoisme, Bellydance Goddess, and more; Photographed at Art of Submission.)
 
(Staring off into space is nothing new for me…)
 
Oi.  So.  RL has been insane lately… from being stalked and nearly attacked by one of my neighbors high off his ass to finding out that my mother is FINALLY coming home for a little bit (she’s been in Alabama caring her for her parents after they both fell in the same week)… I just kept getting sidetracked.  I’ve got another OrsiniRed blog post started, just not finished.  But this Egoisme post has a deadline.  So here’s what you’re getting to see first.
But before you get to see the other pictures, I have to brag on Aquilegia Gossipgirl a little bit.  Back when I was involved in the raging fiasco that was called the Miss Metaverse pageant, I went to Aquilegia for help.  I needed a ‘gown’ that could be deemed appropriate and tasteful, while still being able to move and flow like it needs to for dancing.  At the time, my plan was to dance in it for one of the preliminary categories.  *I* screwed up the timeline (I chalk it up to it being my first pageant and really not knowing what I was doing) and we had to make a few adjustments, but you know what, the extra time paid off.  Instead of using it for a preliminary category, I had it slated to be used for one of the Finals walks: Queen of the Metaverse.  Not that I was being presumptuous… in fact, I was just trying to be prepared in case I DID make it… so I wasn’t scrambling around at the last minute.  I was stressed enough spending almost 2 months to get the prelims stuff put together.  Let alone having 24-48 hours to put Finals stuff together if I made it.
Yeah.  It was all insane.
Anyway.  Before I show you this gown, I should mention that I was representing Greece.  That would explain the elegant simplicity behind the gown she custom designed for me.  And the kicker?  Gowns aren’t really the ‘typical’ creations that she makes!  First of all, she’s a kick-ass gown maker for someone who doesn’t do it a lot.  And secondly, to my knowledge, she and I are the only two people who own this gown, because she hasn’t put it up for sale.  Again, gowns aren’t normally what she makes, so she never put it into her store.  I LOVE this dress and wear it every chance I get (and half of you models just cringed because I just admitted to wearing the same outfit more than once… haha!).
So… without further rambling from me… the amazing Queen of the Metaverse gown designed specifically for me by Aquilegia Gossipgirl of Bellydance Goddess:
(Look at the bottom and how gorgeously it flows!  Even just with my AO standing and rocking subtly.)
 
Now, with zooming out to show you the gown, you get to see a little bit of the venue that I photographed this post in.  I have a friend… Princessbbygurl Resident… and she happens to be a pretty amazing builder from what I’ve seen… even if she won’t admit it, or hasn’t built much.  From what she tells me, the original version of this build was done as a surprise for an ex.  But now she keeps it up in the sky and filled it with pillows for a discussion she leads at the Art of Submission M/s Academy, called Slave Journeys.  (Thursdays at 6:30pm SLT, if I remember correctly).
The build itself is so peaceful that I warned her I was going to use it to photograph for a blog post one day… well Princess, I did it!  *Giggles*  What better place to photograph a Greek dress than in a gazebo that is structured with pillars and a nice little pool at the front.  Very Greek.
Then again, it’s all Greek to me.
So why the Greek theme anyway?  WELL, that’s the exciting part!  Earlier this week I got a notecard from JeffLevin Resident, from Egoisme.  How in the world he’s seen my work when I’ve been blogging for such a short amount of time completely floors me, but I was honored to be included in the offer to begin blogging with Egoisme.  My first project was a new release, the Evian – Aphrodite skin.  Rumor has it this is only the FIRST release in a Gods and Goddesses set.  So of COURSE I had to pair my Greek Queen of the Metaverse dress with the first Goddess skin I was given.  I chose the darkest skintone they had, which, admittedly isn’t as dark as I normally like it, but the lightness allowed me to keep the red updo that I had originally paired with this dress when I was using a pale skin.
Needless to say, some people call blogging ‘work’… but when I’m given awesome creations and awesome venues like this to complete a blog with… if this is ‘work’, then I’d gladly ‘work’ for the rest of my SL.  😛
(The eyelashes are not built into the skin… they are mine.  Same with the red lipstick.  The normal lip for this skin is a neutral lip.)
 
*~*  Lights Will Guide You Home *~*
 
Shape: My personal shape
Skin: Evian – Aphrodite Skin – DARK (Dark brows) Cleavage One: Egoisme
Eyes: JABU Eyes – LightBlue: -DAMNED-
Hair: Waiting For Tonight – Rouge (with tiara pin in Silver): Exile *~* mesh *~*
Eyelashes: **Irresistible Look** Eyelashes: Crissy Designs
Makeup (eyeshadow): Eyeshadow Black Smoke (comes with skin): Egoisme
Makeup (lipstick): Classic Lipstick – Pinup Red: Pink Fuel
Gown: Miss Greece Queen Goddess Draped Gown: Bellydance Goddess
Necklace: Greek_Kolje: Dark Moon
Earrings: Caged Pearl Drop Earrings: Earthstones
Nose Stud: Nose Diamond: envi
Ring: Legends Family Name Women’s Wedding Ring: JCNY
Nails: Square Medium Frosted Flowers: MoonDance Boutique
Posted in Uncategorized

From the Place I Was to the Place I Am to the Place I Want to Be…

(Featuring designs from Sascha’s Designs, TRUTH Hair, WTG, and many more…)
 
 
*~* Miss Metaverse Prelims #1 *~*
 
 
I feel like I’ve been waiting forever to be able to blog this stuff… *Giggles*  And then when I did, I told myself I was going to blog it in the order that the judges saw it… keep it more realistic, you know?  But of course, there is a wonderful person out there named Sascha Frangilli.  When I went to Sascha with the fact that I was in this pageant, told her a little about it, and about representing Greece and how excited I was, she seemed pretty eager to help.  Granted, she wasn’t, like, jumping out of her seat, grabbing my hands and hopping around with me like we were six years old and found out a boy liked me… but she was quick to offer opinions, show me designs, and leave it all open to me.  Whatever I felt I needed, I could ask her for.
Now, she gets really angry at me, because there is a heavy difference between how Europeans and Americans communicate.  Americans, for lack of a better term, beat around the bush when it comes to A LOT of things… and we hide behind the facade that we are just trying to be polite.  Sascha has pretty much gotten in the habit of ignoring me while I ramble on in my “attempting to be polite”, beating around the bush way, and really only pays attention when I get to the point.  So while I’m saying, “Well I really like the look and simplicity of this gown, but I don’t know if it will work the way I want it to… I just want something simple, yet elegant…” she took the opportunity to poke around in Photoshop.  30 minutes later, when she looked at the window again, I’d made a decision and had finally actually asked for the Gown.
Envy – in Blue.
Let me tell you, this gown could not have been more perfect if she’d made it specifically for me.  Sascha is a genius with women’s formal wear and I can’t possibly thank her enough for her sponsorship of me in this pageant.  I could feel confident styling this gown with most anything and the clothing would not get in the way but would also not be out-shined by the jewelry.  Being very versatile with MULTIPLE skirt options, I could make sure to wear the gown in whatever way worked for the runway, the poses, and the mood I was trying to set.
Sascha, thank you again, from the bottom of my heart.  You really helped make this experience amazing for me.
(This was the shot the judges of the pageant got in my style card.)
 
*~* From the Place I Was to the Place I Am to the Place I Want to Be *~*
 
Shape: My personal shape
Skin: Petal[Dark] Pout 2 – Brat 1: Curio
Eyes: JABU Eyes – LightBlue: -DAMNED-
Eyelashes: **Irresistible Look Eyelashes**: Crissy Designs
Makeup (Eyes&Blush): Cosmo: Madrid Solo
Makeup (Lipstick): KMTD Lipstick 12: -DAMNED-
Hair: Soleil w/Roots – Cherry: TRUTH Hair
Nails: Square Medium Neon Stripes (Blueberry): MoonDance Boutique
Gown: Envy – Blue (with Battleship Skirt): Sascha’s Designs  ***donated as sponsorship***
Shoes: CAPRICE – “Platine”: N-Core
Necklace&Earrings: Drops-S (with Sapphire jewel): WTG
Ring (left hand): LEGENDS Family Name Women’s Wedding Ring: JCNY
Nose Stud: Nose Diamond: envi
Poses: New Baroque 1-10: *PosESioN*
Posted in Uncategorized

A Walk In The Park…

(Featuring designs by OrsiniRed, Luck Inc., Magika, and many others.  OrsiniRed Dress is special for Fashion For Life, 2013.)
 
 
As I looked for a place to take pictures of this outfit (admittedly, I’d been looking around for appropriate places for the better part of 3 days), I ended up in this little park.  I pretty much told myself that I would find a good place to take pictures here, regardless, as I was sick of looking.  First, I found this awesome looking statue (featured above) and around it, almost with the statue at the head, were these little mushroom seats with all different kinds of sits in them.  The pose I captured is actually an animation that plays when you sit on the mushroom I’m on.  I’ll definitely have to go back and let you all know who made this awesome little seat set.
But anyway… I continued walking and decided that a bench was as good a place as any to take a few more photos, though I realized while editing these photos that I look pretty pathetic having a conversation with myself.  Haha!  Note to self: drag people along for next blog.
(Talk to myself much?)
 
(I look so sad!)
 
The bench was pretty awesome, and the tree behind it was probably one of the most frustrating and amazing things that I’ve photographed in awhile, so it made the post-process portion of this blog pretty fun.  Of course, just when I thought I was done taking photos, I found the water.  And because I am forever mentally five years old, what did I do?  I ran right into the water for a photo, clothing and all!
(Cheeky little thing, aren’t I?  Though ironically enough, I look cold, and I can hear my mother’s voice in the background screaming, “Get out of the damned water!”)
 
*~* A Walk In The Park… *~*
Shape: My Personal Shape
Skin: Petal[Dark] Pout – Brat 1: Curio
Eyes: JABU Eyes Light Blue: -DAMNED-
Hair: Clumsy (Color HUD 02): Magika  *~*mesh*~*
Makeup: KMTD Lipstick 11 + EyesMakeup: -DAMNED-
Dress: Mersh Dress Neon Flower Blue FFL: OrsiniRed *~*mesh*~* (Fashion For Life)
Jeans: Tyra Lowrise Jeans Starlet Wash Dark Blue: Luck Inc.
Shoes: Chloe Sandals Shiny B&W (in white): Gaeline Creations  *~*mesh*~*
Feet: Flat Bare Feet: Gaeline Creations  *~*mesh*~*
Necklace: LING LING B/W: LOULOU&CO
Nails: #PS004 Stardust Platinum: Candy Nail
Bracelet: medaille bracelet (silver): Gabriel
Nose Piercing: Nose Diamond: envi
Ring: Legends Family Name Women’s Wedding Ring: JCNY
Collar: My Heart Is Caged – Eternity – Vintage Silver: [Tethered] BDSM
 
Remember: You’re a Goddess!
~ Tivi ~