December 15th, 2008 by Candy Flanagan

Seeing the suggestions come in for the Dress Me Up Challenge has been a lot of fun. I have attempted a few looks, but it has been more difficult to implement them than I had expected! While I am versatile, I’m also very picky. o.o

I had to grin when Achariya suggested:

“I’d love to see you in Marie Antoinette garb — like the huge dresses from Drac or Pixeldolls, or the Dans Macabre dress from ~silentsparrow~. Big poofy hair also from Drac, and delicate slippers of some sort. ♥”

I have actually had the appropriate dress in my inventory since it’s release, but I had never worn it! It’s awful, but true - my inventory is still a cavernous black hole. No wonder I shop so much, sometimes it’s the only way to find something to wear!

Draconic Kiss, Pixeldolls and silentsparrow have all been long-time favorites of mine, but I focused on Draconic Kiss for this look. Draconic Lioncourt of Draconic Kiss (URL, SLURL) delights the lace-frilled heart of every Gothic Lolita with gorgeous dresses. Draconic also branches out into detailed costumes, packed with extras. The Theresa dress, based on a design from the 1700’s, comes complete with the fantastic wig and hat pictured above. There’s a skin available separately, with a delicately powdered face, but since I didn’t buy that along with the dress over a year ago when both were released, I went with the one Draconic Kiss skin I already owned, the Doll skin. These skins are some of my absolute favorites and I come back to them again and again, especially when I am feeling even frillier than usual!

Achariya also suggested delicate slippers to match, which have unfortunately been swallowed up by the volumes of my skirt, but rest assured the Estampie shoes in lavender velvet from Lassitude & Ennui (URL, SLURL) matched perfectly. I also chose the Cameo choker from Lassitude & Ennui. I wasn’t really sure that either piece was true to the period, but they looked so great that I couldn’t resist!

Liked the look? Think you can do better? Dress Me Up!

I nearly forgot to mention the location for both shots, Provence Coeur (SLURL), a group of half a dozen sims filled with charming shops and rentals. All six sims are themed, based on France in the 1700’s, and I spent nearly an entire day exploring the rustic French countryside, pretending to be Marie Antoinette!

October 3rd, 2008 by Candy Flanagan

October 3rd is a holiday in Germany, Tag der Deutschen Einheit (or German Unity Day), which commemorates the anniversary of German reunification. But a lot of Germans don’t really care … it’s just an excuse to spend the day at the local Oktoberfest! Every fashion conscious female visitor will be decked out in a dirndl. This traditional dress can also be found in Second Life and my personal favorite is from Wishbox (URL, SLURL). The “Folklore Dirndl” comes in a number of colors and each set features intricate patterning on the bodice and skirt, two styles of puffed sleeves, and flirty ribbon detailing on the back. The “Cameo Choker” from Lassitude & Ennui (URL, SLURL) highlights the twin assets that every dirndl-wearer is most proud of - her eyes!

Finding a proper Oktoberfest background proved more difficult than I had imagined! I found a few rather poorly built and sparsely decorated tents and had nearly given up when I came across the Victoriana Oktoberfest (SLURL) - trust roleplayers to come through with interesting events!

August 5th, 2008 by Candy Flanagan

I just can’t stop buying hair. Thankfully, I am kept well supplied by the designers in SL. Saeya Nyanda of Kyoot (URL, SLURL) has long been a favorite designer of mine, so I was thrilled to see she had tried her hand at hair. And what hair it is! There are currently only two styles available, similar messy, bedhead buns - one short and one long style. I loved how romantic and playful both styles are and I am really looking forward to what else Saeya comes up with.

The longer “Waverly” style matched this maid costume from another of my absolute favorite designers in SL, Moeka Kohime of Edelweiss (URL, SLURL). Edelweiss has the Grid’s best Japanese costumes - if you’re into maid or school girl uniforms, that is! Don’t get me wrong, though, there wasn’t a lot of dusting to do at the brand new Kyoot build.