A bit of summer cleaning!

Well, I couldn’t say Spring Cleaning now, right? Well, whatever! I had to sort out my ‘to blog’ folder as I had some stuff from just before my little hiatus, in particular the Seasons Hunt|Spring items and a few cheapies I had brought which I later decided not to blog.

The Seasons Hunt|Spring was a bit like a scavenger hunt, in that instead of going from store to store in a numerical order, you got a notecard list of the participating stores with landmarks and you could choose which stores to go to or not.  I went to my personal favourites…

All pictures:

Skin – .ploom. | Maia | vanilla BL Eyeliner 2     0L$ @ Hair Fair 2011

Hair – Clawtooth | Careless Whisper | Dreamy Red

Boots – Sassy Kitty Designs | Sassy High Heel | Damask Black     (Fashion Freaks hunt 2)

Left :  Tank – vive 9 | Spring Slouch Tank | Reef  ;  Jeans – This is a Fawn | Pegged Jeans | Floral

Right : Jacket – Secret Store | Eglantine | Spring Moss ; Tank – Ingenue | Trixe Halter | Sage

Left : Top – Willow | Cinched Waist Tank | Floral

Right : Top – So Many Styles | Satin FLower Top | Peach

And from the Bitter Bunny Hunt in June (found this when I was looking for something else, lol)

Dress – Ducknipple | Empire | Purple

To every thing there is a season

No doubt you will recognise the title as the first line of the song Turn Turn Turn. However, it’s much older than the 1960s. In fact it it just one half of a line from a passage in the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).

I though it very appropriate for this post as I have some great finds from The Seasons Hunt – Fall to show you.

One thing about this hunt I liked alot was that the participating stores were not linked (ie there were no LMs in the prizes for the nest store). The prizes included a notecard with a list of stores and you could the list in any order, and it’s a short hunt, with 60 stores!!

The prizes are not all clothes. They also include home furnishings, but the common theme is Fall / Autumn.

Styling Card

All Pics

Skin – Tuli - Helena 03

Hair – Deviant Kitties – Anabel (chocolate mocha)

Pics 1 & 2

Boots – HoC – Neo

Pic 1

Top – So Many Styles - Longsleeve Tee (brown) & Knitt Sleeveless Sweater (rust)

Pants - Sprawl - The Grim (sepia)

Scarf – Concrete Flowers – Fallen Leaves (melange)       *includes male version*

Pic 2

Sweater – Tres Blah – Boxy Striped (purple)

Skirt – Whippet & Buck – Drew Mini

Pic 3

Top/Shorts – Willow - Seasons Hunt romper

Leggings – This is a Fawn – Knit Leggings (pumpkin)      *pack of 3 colours*

Shoes – Vignette – Toasties (dirt)

Handfuls of goodies

When I find a top or pair of jeans that I really love, I keep going back to it and create new looks. These gems can either be free, cheap or expensive purchases. That is what is behind today’s entry in July’s FoaB.

The first outfit is a complete look which I got from the freebie/cheapie basement at Sn@tch. I like plaid or tartan, but don’t wear it that often.

The dress also comes in grey and red, and the pack includes a red sweater as well. I paired it with the black & white booties from P.S. Styles which cost 39L$, and are also available in other colours for 49L$. I have foud that PS Styles offers a range of items at a reasonable price, and at the top of the store there is a freebie/dollarbie wall with a limited selection but it is worth going back every now and then to see if something new has been added.

The next outfit is a mix-&-match. There is a bargain event that happens over a 2-week period called The Dressing Room (click here). The items are never over 75L$ and are made by some of SL’s big names in fashion design, and include skins,  shapes, accessories as well as clothes. One piece from the current TDR collection is a set of 2 prairie blouses from So Many Styles.

There is something vintage about prairie blouses that I love. I can imagine that it was onceThe  part of a dress and that over time, the fabric has become worn in places, that patching it is not possible so the bodice is salvaged and turned into a top. Also from Sn@tch are the black Hell Bent For Leather pants. These come in other colours including a patterned version called Snakebite.

The last look on offer is also a mix-&-match from TDR with the I @tch leather pants. The TDR item is a lovely summer piece from Aoharu.

The floral jacket can be worn with the white top as shown or on it’s own.

Styling Credits

All Pics

Hair – Magika - Morning (charcoal)

Boots – P.S Styles – Bootees (black & white)    39L$

Pic 1

Skin – &Bean – Hounds of Love (Lamm – light)

Dress with sweater – Sn@tch – Plaid Poppet (blue)      50L$ for set of 3 dresses & 2 sweaters

Pic 2

Skin - Heartsick – Pure Morning (reverie tone)     0L$

Top – So Many Styles – Prairie Blouse (blue)      50L$  includes a gold version @ The Dressing Room

Pants – Sn@tch – Hell Bent for Leather (black)     50L$

Pic 3

Skin – Heartsick – Pure Morning

Top – Aoharu – Front Knot Shirt (pink)       50L$ @ The Dressing Room

Pants – Sn@tch – Hell Bent for Leather (black)

July’s Freebies

It’s that time again!!! I have some fabulous freebie/cheapie stuff for you. Oh, btw, Happy 4th July to all my USA friends and readers.

I kick off this month’s freebie slot with goodness from fri.day and So Many Styles. I love hunts but when it comes to unpacking the stuff and deciding what to throw in the bin or keep, that’s the bit I hate. But when I saw that fri.day are participating in the Good Sh!t Hunt, I had to hoof it on over to the store and find that little neon bottle.

The bottle contained the Lowrise.jeans in midnight…. I am so loving these jeans. I hopped over to So Many Styles on Friday to see what their FiftyLinden Friday item was, and boy! I so love this top! This combination is my current look on the grid.

Fri.day also participated in the recent FLF and had a pack of 2 halters available… Melody & Poet. With my fri.day jeans I chose the Melody halter and I did not need to adjust the prim bottom It fitted just right. D!va sent out a pack of the Chizuru hair to its group members in celebration of reaching 4000+ members.

My last outfit is a group gift from So Many Styles. The group is free to join

Again I did not need to adjust or modify the prim parts to fit my shape. The trainers are from P.S. Styles and are super comfy.

Styling Credits

All Pics

Skin – &Bean – Hounds of Love (Lamm – light)

Sneakers – P.S. Styles – Black Stars

Accessories – Jinkies – Spiked Bracelets

Pic 1

Hair – :KC: – Caroline (onyx)     *no longer available*

Top – SMS – Antique (plum)      FLF48   50L$

Jeans – fri.day – Lowrise (midnight)       0L$  Good Sh!t Hunt

Pic 2

Hair – D!va - Chizuru (onyx)      group gift  0L$

Top – fri.day - Melody halter (spice)      FLF48   50L$

Jeans – fri.day - Lowrise (midnight)       0L$  Good Sh!t Hunt

Pic 3

Hair – D!va - Chizuru (onyx)      group gift  0L$

Clothes – SMS – group gift       0L$

Vintage 2

I have been in a nostalgic mood lately, and my outfit is an example of that. I had heard of Kunglers but hadn’t visited the store until last night to haunt the lucky chairs. As I waiting for the magic E to come up, I did a bit of browsing in the store, which is in 2 sections, Dresses and Mix-&-Match.

It was in the Mix-&-March section that I found this lovely top. It comes with a baby-doll type prim attachment (not shown here). It caught my eye almost immediately as it reminded me of the famous rose window designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

I paired it with the pink jeans by So Many Styles that I got from The Dressing Room ad the pink espadrilles from Duh! which had been available for free as part of the SL Pink Shirt event to highlight the serious issue of bullying.

So, I give my thanks to Mr C R Mackkintosh for his artistic work, and the creative minds at Kunglers.

Credits

Skin – Vive9 – Grace (pale – pure)

Hair – fri.day – Scarlett.2 (jaded blonde)

Top – Kunglers – Pink Blouse

Pants – SMS – High-waisted Jeans (pink)

Shoes – Duh! – Espadrille (pink)

Bangles – Baubles

Sweet Potato Pie

The title of this post was inspired by a song by the country band, Alabama, called ‘Song of the South’. Below is the chorus…

Song, song of the south,
sweet potato pie and shut my mouth
Gone, gone with the wind,
there ain’t nobody lookin’ back again

I am a big fan of country music, but I do have a rather eclectic CD collection, lol.

I came across Concrete Flowers while doing the Fashion Freaks Hunt. I had heard of the store but hadn’t been to it before, so I had to mosey on down today and have a look round. While there I found the Tweed Pants for sale at a reasonable 77L$, what a bargain!

Credits

Shape - [chuculet] – Lulu

Skin – Mother Goose’s – Amy 01

Hair – Truth – Jess (jupiter)

Top – Tyranny Designs – Cropped Tank (punkin)

Cardigan - So Many Styles – Orange (TDR3)*

Pants – Concrete Flowers – Tweed Pants (mustard)

Tattoo – Moloko

Boots – HOC – Neo

* TDR = The Dressing Room…. fortnightly collection of SL big brand designers. Everything is 40-70L$.

50L$ Fridays

All of us like a good bargain… free or cheap. In SL there are many ways that designers offer their wares at a bargain price… Humpday Happiness (on Wednesdays @ 69L$), 35L$ Thursdays, 50L$ Fridays, 60L$ Sundays (& Saturdays) and Bargain Hunters Paradise (BHP).

Some of the items offered are either an exclusive one-time only or something already available in an exclusive colour. Since I first heard of 50L$ Fridays (FLF), I have sim-hopped for an hour looking at the offered items. The designers involved with FLF include some of my favourite, such as So Many Styles and This is a Fawn, and also include some I hadn’t been to, like Whippet & Buck and Kookie.

I have 2 outfits to show featuring a couple of this week’s FLF. The first is the prairie blouse from So Many Styles, which is a great casual blouse that you dress down or up. I have chosen to pair it with a pair of jeans from Relzpsa Loc, creating a casual look.

The second outfit features a tank top from Whippet & Buck, which I paired with a pair of Chinese-influenced trousers/pants from Lika Ruby which a unexpected bargain. I found the Lika Ruby store on the Magi Take Shop island whilst exploring the sim and found some nice Chinese-influenced clothes, such as dresses, tops and pants.

One last point — I have downloaded the new SL viewer 2.0 and am slowly getting used to the new user interface. But one great feature that I really like is the Current Outfit folder in my inventory which shows everything I am wearing. I had a problem with taking pictures until looking at the in-world help and it twigged that I should be selecting the Current Window option, and I have found that the resolution is just as good as in the old viewer when I took high res pictures.

Credits

Skin – Joy (Light – Smoke) – Vive9     (closing sale freebie – no longer available)

Hair – Kate (Flax) – Audacity      (Naturals Pack 300L$  – 7 colours)

Prairie Blouse (Grey) – So Many Styles    (FLF item)

Tank (Dawn Pink) – Whippet & Buck  (FLF item)

Jeans – Rock n Roll – Relzpsa Loc

Pants – Line (Brown) – Lika Ruby     (25L$)

Shoes – Pumps (Brown) – Baby Monkey (free fat pack)

Sneaker Boots (Bleeding Red) – Duh!    (lucky chair)

Poses – Model 01 & 05 – Maitreya

Fashion on a Budget returns

Hey there, fellow fashionistas

Yes, FoaB is back from it’s forced break, and it is NOT short on goodies!!!!!

Today, I have more Cynful delights, a mish mash of goodies and a little summer dress. Whilst I have not been able to blog for the past week and a bit, I have got some yuy freebies/cheapies, and it is not just clothes this time. I got some unusual eyes free & cheap at House of Ruin, and a group gift sent to all members of the Belleza group, the new Alyson skin, and some new hair, from a store that I had been to before but didn’t buy anything until now, Magika.

The first outfit is the 2009 Christmas dollarbie from [Cynful]. It is a multiple option outfit, as there is a no-lace corset and a corset with white lace included in the set. The pants came with sculpted bottoms, which meant that I could wear short ankle boots such as the Lombardy Booties from Indi Designs.

In keeping with the vintage feel of the outfit, I had to find a suitable hair. I would usually go to Ingenue, but they have hair styles from the 1940s & 1950s, which are not really what I wanted. While I was Magika, after having tp’d there to get the 14 free hairstyles, I wandered round and found this hair, called Fedora. I got the Mono pack which has 3 black and 2 white hairs. (Please note the hat is NOT separate to the hair!!!)

I decided to keep the jewellery simply and chose my favourite Uzuri necklace, with a bangle & earrings from Baubles.

Looking at the credits, you would be asking, ‘Why put the Fedora hair with the cheapies/freebies?’  My answer is: Some places in SL sell single hairs for that or more (one I know of sells singles for 400L$!!!!), and others in packs at a lower price. So you pay 199L$ for a pack of 5 colours, that is almost 40L$ a colour!!!!  Simples! 

My next outfit is a mish mash of stuff from my inventory and recent purchases. The trousers (or pants to you Americans) are from VUI, which I paired up with a bustier from *Fishy Strawberry* & a shirt from Zaara. I chose my favourite trainers, the Harry trainers, from Ducknipple — I just love these…. So comfortable and easy to wear.

I tried on several hair styles and eventually settled on the Biji freebie hair from Magika. It seemed right, and it kept to the casualness of the outfit. I started doing the Shoes And Accessories Hunt, which involves 200 or so stores. The starting point is Hoorenbeck (search for [h]), and their offering was the unisex Risky Glasses. These are just basic sunglasses without any colour change etc options, and also come with multiple attachment points.

My final outfit for today is a free gift from So Many Styles: a simple summer dress. The dress comes in 2 different versions, white/blue and white/pink. I chose the white/blue version, as blue is the colour of my birth stone (sapphire) and is my faourite colour.

Decided to check out a store that I had been told about by fellow members of the Fab Free group — Vignette. The hair available at this store is free!!!! I chose the Raquel hair as it felt more summery than the other hair styles available. As I am usually a red head in SL (which is the opposite of me in RL ), I picked the reds pack as almost all stores sell various shades of red — some sell the really red hairs (in shades like ‘ketchup’ or ‘glace cherry’) and others the darker shades (like ‘maroon’ or ‘brick’) — so that I have a selection to ponder over when I pick my next outfit, lol.

Gives myself a big pat on the back….. At last I have more freebies/cheapies than expensive items in the credits. YAY!!!!!  Although I am not keeping score, lol.

Credits

*Free/Cheap*

Eyes – Aurora – Poetic Colors  0L$

Eyes – Shadow Series, Spring (pale) – House of Ruin    20L$

Hair – Biji (Red D) – Magika     0L$

Hair – Fedora (Black C) – Magika     199L$ fatpack of 5

Hair – [V] Raquel (Brick) – Vignette    0L$

Corset overall (black lace option) – [Cynful]     Christmas dollarbie (1L$)

Summer dress (white/blue) – {SMS}    0L$

Material Girl Bustier (brass) – *Fishy Strawberry*      50L$

Hippies pants (plain) – VUI     50L$

Everyday Wood Bangle (ironwood) – Baubles      3oL$ for fatpack of 12

Wooden Diamond earrings (ironwood) – Baubles   75L$ for fatpack of 4

Risky glasses – [h]      Shoes And Accessories Hunt   0L$

*Not Free/Cheap*

Skin – Alyson ( Tan & Sunkissed, cleavage options) – Belleza     group gift   (250L$ joining fee!!!)

Clothes – Isis shirt (mocha) – Zaara

Lomardy Booties (burgundy) – Indi Designs

Tam 2 Sandals (white) – Lathilla Heels

Harry trainers (grunge) – Ducknipple

Tattoo – Reitou – Tiki Tattoo

Locations = Rouge Forest and Forest Feast.

These can be found under Hot Spots on the Showcase tab of SL Search.

Fashion on a Budget 5

Two posts for you today….Got so pissed off with SL last night for playing ping pong with me again that I didn’t take any piccies .

I have the usual weekly Double Dose coming up later for you…this week focusing on the work of Ivey Deschanel, the name behind the Sn@tch brand. But first, I have what was meant to be yesterday’s post.

I have a Christmas outfit from Deviance, a cheapie from *BOOM* and a Down The Chimney Hunt outfit from So Many Styles.

On the Down The Chimney Hunt you can pick up some great goodies from over 90 stores around SL, but you better be quick the Hunt end 20 Dec. I didn’t do all of the Hunt, I sort of cheated and did bits of the Hunt. The DTCH goodie I want to show is from So Many Styles (SMS), and a jacket & long skirt. I have shown the two together, although you can mix and match them with other bits and pieces in your SL wardrobe.

The skirt is not like other long flexi skirts with just one sets of flexi prims; it has 3!!!! (one for each leg and a middle section) that makes it look more fuller and realistic. The belt is also included and is very hippie in style, with beads.

The second outfit I found at *BOOM* (which is located on the same sim as Modd.G), whilst I as trying to find the DTCH object. The complete outfit was 50L$ and can be found at the front of the store, on the left as you enter the store.  The necklace I am wearing with this and the SMS outfit is another DTCH goodie (from Otaku Designs) and is in 2 versions, for the chest and spine attachment points.

Come the summer I will be wearing this one a lot!!!!!! Good enough for a party at a club or down by the beach with a pair of shorts or a skirt (so may ways, lol).

And thirdly, a Christmas-themed group gift from Deviance…

The matching boots were free!! They come with 2 options, short or tall leg prims.  I love velvet, and in this purple colour, it is appropriate for this time of year. Also included with the dress are hats with or without holly and holly decoration for the chest.

As I said earlier I still have the weekly Double Dose for you still to come. See you then .

Credits

*Free/Cheap*

Santa’s Sweetie dress – Devivance     group gift

Matching Holiday boots – Deviance      free, gift colour only

Weekend Fever – *BOOM*    50L$

Stakes are High necklace – Otaku Designs  DTCH item

Jacket & skirt – So Many Styles DTCH item

*Not Free/cheap*

Skin – Daydream The Day (nutmeg tone) – Cupcakes

Hair – Heather (dark midnight) – Calico Ingmann

Boots – O’Brien boots (black) – Indi Designs

Autumn boots – Auma

Double Dose – So Many Styles

Hello, fellow fashionistas

I want to showcase each part of the first of 2 outfits from So Many Styles (SMS), finally ending with a picture of the full outfit. I will start at the top first.

I have kept to a muted palate with this particular outfit, and have chosen to accessorise accordingly. The skin that I chose is the Patti Makeup3 from A Piece of Candy (APoC), with greyish blue eye-shadow and a pale pink, almost natural, lipstick. I like the skins from APoC as the makeup is done really well, so it seems to be done by professional makeup artists.

This skin and 19 others are available at APoC as the Pink Diamond Hunt, with each of the 20 diamonds costing 1L$.

The necklace shown is from Uzuri, and is perfect for my chosen palate. It does not detract from the outfit, but emphases the texture of the dress & leggings, which shot with a metallic-like thread. The jewellery at Uzuri has a strong ethnic aesthetic, not only in the designs but also in the colours used.

I chose the Arianna hair in Mocha from Calico Ingmann Creations — please note that this available to group members only. The ringlets make the hair appear light, and gives it volume.

Another inportment accessory is the footwear. I had to trawl through the few pairs of informal/casual shoes in my inventory, before I found these clogs from Pixel Fashions.

Made in wood like traditional clogs, but with a modern twist with the gold tacks hammered in a floral pattern on the top of the uppers, not on the soles as in traditional clogs. The gold tacks offsets the golden highlights on the dress, where the silver of the necklace matches the colour of the leggings.

Finally, here is the complete outfit. I have chosen not to take closeups of the dress itself, as I wanted to show the accessories themselves. I like this dress, as it hugs the body and is shaded so that it looks and feels like velvet.

I have not felt the need to accessorise the 2nd of the SMS outfits, as it looks complete in itself. Any accessories would have been too much overwhelmed the outfit.

I love bohomenian influenced clothing, like this dress. Again, I have kept to a neutral palate, of khaki green and pearlly grey paired with black.

The skin I chose is the Patti makeup 4, also from APoC, as it too has a muted makeup.

Credits

Outfit 1

Skin – Patti 3 – APoC

Hair – Arianna (Mocha) – Calico Ingmann

Dress w Leggings – So Many Styles *

Shoes – Babsy Clogs (Brown) – Pixel Fashion

Accessories – Hypnose Necklace & Inaya Bangle – Uzuri

Outfit 2

Skin – Patti 4 – APoC

Hair – Amber (Dark Blood) – Calico Ingmann

Dress & Shrug – So Many Styles *

Stockings – Shiny Stockings (Black) – No 9

Shoes – Saturday Flats (Black) – Shiny Things

* These items are available on XstreetSL. For newer designs and collections, please visit Irie Campese’s store inworld.