A fun particle effect toy produced through a collaboration of some of my favorite people, the Spellfire Magic Wand is presented from Trav Rexen’s Script Shanty, Sax Sheperd Designs, and Thirty Loop Animations (all of which just happen to be stores on my Seven Veils SIM).

Before you even start I know I did everything WRONG in the video. I babbled incoherently, I didn’t turn off my interface or my friend notifications and I used my *gasp* camera controls.

I will write on the chalkboard 300 times if it makes you happy.

Where Does She Get Those Wonderful Toys:

Spellfire Magic Wand – L$200
The Script Shanty

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Seven%20Veils/230/25/21

Marketplace:

https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Spellfire-Magic-Wand/3081580

It may have been the squee heard ’round the grid.

I have been waiting for one of my go-to hair designers to put out a to-die-for piggy buns style. Although I’ve been enjoying the long hair and luscious updos available around the grid, they just didn’t feel like Salome. ETD‘s Patootie was pretty much my trademark for years of blogging and I expect you might as well get used to Truth‘s Velvet as my new default. It’s basically Patootie with loose tendrils, richer textures and color change bows. There is not enough squee in the world.

Truth's Velvet Hairstyle

Velvet, like the over-blouse I’m wearing, is part of the Stumblebum designer group promotion which, if you’ve never heard of before, basically means a bunch of designers get together, put in one item for a modest sale price and cross-pitch each others work. This type of thing is very much in vogue these days and can be quite a boon for both designers and shoppers. Unfortunately, it also means you’re going to see the same handful of items blogged to death because they are high-quality and uber-promoted, but having too much high quality easy-to-locate swag is definitely a problem I’m happy to have.

If the one-two punch of piggy buns with bows is too much for you, the bows can be made invisible with a click — setting phasers to stunning cuteness instead of killing cuteness. They can also be recolored with the same built in menu, of course, or manually tinted. They are L$50 cheaper by the pack than Truth‘s usual pricing structure and available in all the standard colors of his current line.

Over the years a lot of people have asked me why I chose the piggy bun style to latch onto and, well, my reasons were (and remain) both personal and practical. As a blogger, piggy buns rarely get in the way of showcasing products. They don’t stick through your chest in fashion poses and they don’t hide jewelry. Also, I’m a child of the 70s/80s, so like every other girl my age, I wanted to be Princess Leia when I grew up. And part of the joy of playing virtual paper dolls in SL is that I can revisit all my favorite dress-up desires from girlhood. It’s just that simple.

Baby Blue Casual Outfit

Right now, I’m not taking off my SLink Mesh Bare feet because I lurves them; I don’t care how banned I am from the Sim, they feed my inner happy. So while everyone else is buried under coats and scarves I’ve been tossing together casual fare that is barefoot friendly.

***NOTE***
If you’re also an SLink barefoot addict and haven’t been able to match them to your LAQ Ivory skin tone, here’s your settings:
Tattoo/Sock Base – “Light”: 244(r), 224(g), 210(b)
RGB Tint Settings for HUD (again, using the “Light” Base: 243, 223, 210
(Just type “/13 skin 243, 223, 210″ while wearing the HUD)
***NOTE***

As for the rest of the outfit, the over-blouse is the Soft Resolution Top from Kyoot which is also part of the Stumblebum promotion clan. The chemise is part of the Gypsy Chemise set — an oldie from Wisp Jinn of Wishbox. The Kyoot blouse is texture-only with no prim sleeves or collar and comes on all the layers you’d expect. It also comes with a pair of matching knee socks which are too cute for color TV (but would require the removal of my mesh feet). Best of all, it’s mod, so you can tint it (yay). I’m glad to see that some designers are still offering simple well textured fare and not just going mesh crazy. It lends hope that all the tools available will be utilized and not just the latest craze.

The gypsy chemise is a bit trickier. It comes in two packs – the base pack and an add-on. The sleeveless tube top version I’m wearing is in the add-on pack. If you want the prims for the sleeves, etc you’ll have to get the base pack as well. The packs also include skirts and other top options in multi layers but they are no-mod so no tinting. There are good images in the Wishbox shop to help you decide if you want them. I find they are tres delish for mixing and matching like with this outfit, but if you’re not a mixer they might not be worth the sheckles.

The denim mini skirt is from Jane — a store that is putting out a nice selection of template mesh items with great texturing. It’s a sweet little staple item for those of us who have fond memories of denim minis. I will say that the sizing of this product was tricky for me. In order to use the size that fit my hips (petite) I had to scale my leg muscles down about 20 clicks and shave a bit off my bum. The alternative was to have my legs and rear stay the same but use a wider mesh that gave me “ring around the hips.” This is a short-term problem since Qarl is on the case, but it’s worth noting that mesh items like this still require body tinkering to produce their ultimate yummy.

Kosh's Baby Blues & Ennui's Bleeding Heart

The gorgeous eyeshadow is Baby Blue from Kosh‘s Gala series – a lavish eye treatment that shouldn’t just be reserved for glam attire. Lynaja Bade of Kosh has some great cosmetic offerings including alpha and non-alpha eyelashes that I picked up just for a little lash variety (but haven’t had the patience to fit yet).

I was thrilled beyond words to find this necklace and earring set at Lassitude & Ennui. Over the last year, many old standard SL creators have finally thrown in the towel. But Jackal Ennui appears to have found a balance that allows her to still offer a modest library of high quality shoes, boots, jewelry and accessories. This necklace can be worn as a single or double strand and it comes with a low-lag scripted HUD that provides separate tinting of the pearls and metals. I went with the copper (in lieu of silver, gold or gunmetal) and actually tinted the pearls myself to match my outfit. This was something I could do because the jewelry is :::gasp of shock::: MOD.

See, jewelry designers, dogs and cats do not start living together if you allow your customers to MOD their purchases. Just sayin’.

Where Does She Get Those Wonderful Toys

Hair: Truth (Truth Hawks)– Velvet – L$200 Color Pack
Eyeshadow: Kosh (Lynaja Bade) – Gala Eyeshadow – L$199

Glasses: K_gs (koguma Kumaki) – Ellipse 1.03 – L$400
Jewelry: Lassitude & Ennui (Jackal Ennui) – Bleeding Heart Jewelry Set- L$390

Over-Blouse: Kyoot (Saeya Nyanda) – Soft Resolution Top – L$125
Chemise: Wishbox (Wisp Jinn) – Gypsy Chemise Add-On Set – L$199
Skirt: Jane (Janie Marlowe) – Mini Skirt Hadlee Denim Classic – L$125

Let’s begin this post by stating clearly that I am not opposed to full-figured avatars; I quite like them. Broad hips have been a sign of sensuality and fertility pretty much since the dawn of humankind, and a curvy gal strutting her stuff has my unqualified “you go girl” support. This post is not about projecting a negative body image onto the otherwise hiptastic.

This is not about shape; it’s about style.

I try to keep a sense of humor about some of the trends that pop up in SL “fashion.” When every other blog post in the feeds was some girl sporting elf ears with a hundred piercings, it gave me a chuckle. When the “I’m so hip and urban” kids were constantly wearing their lycan paw boots that make them look like a Budweiser Clydesdale in phat pants, it was a riot. The salvation in those situations that let the amusement flow was the fact that these were niche products by second or third tier designers. No harm. No foul. No need to call in the troops.

However.

When a top designer chases a horrible trend, it stops being funny. Why? Because time wasted making fashion abomination could have gone into something really nummy (like a modern take on Scarlett O’Hara’s beaded burgundy party gown that I’ve been dying for a top quality designer to attempt since…ever!).

So, I have a question. WHAT FRESH HELL IS THIS? And THIS? And THIS? And THIS?

This is not a celebration of the female form. This is not emphasizing curvy hips. This is not even drop-crotch low hanging grunge / hip hop baggy retro ickiness. This is some sort of conspiracy or social experiment or mad virtual design serial killer gone wild and the grid needs a serious intervention.

Ladies, please take a long look at your avatars. If someone could ride on your ass like a camel hump and/or if you could pass as a stand-in for Grimace in a McDonald’s commercial, you need help. And it’s okay, we’re here for you. The first step is admitting you have a problem, and well, you’ve seen the photos so that should be easy. The second step is to go into your inventory and do a search for “Spirit Store” and just delete anything that comes up. Sure there might be a good item or two in the mix, but you simply cannot take the chance. Next, drop a notecard on ShaySibrian (creator of Celoe’s Nikola Trousers) and explain to them that you have a problem, but you’re in recovery now and they should not waste another MOMENT of their amazing talent on parachute pants. You bought them while under the possession of a fashion demon or something, but you’re doing much better now and they should not use your pre-exorcism purchase to skew their data in regards to user feedback. There isn’t enough mesh on the grid yet for Hammer pants to get a turn. You don’t want to be responsible for this sticking.

Finally, turn to the mirror and repeat to yourself “The walrus was Paul and if he doesn’t dress like one, neither should I.”

Seriously, kids. It’s all fun and games until someone ends up with cement hips and an ass full of Fix-a-Flat.

If you feel yourself slipping remember that all of the below are BAD BAD BAD:

Saggy Bottoms: What Not To Do

And if someone you know is suffering from this affliction, remember: Friends don’t let friends dress like weeble wobbles.