Swirly's Guide to Colour

Drab. Dreary. BORING. These are the only words that can be used to describe the style of the two "fashionistas" shown above. In fact, it describes their personalities to a tee as well, but Swirly doesn't like to get personal, it's beneath her. Dakota Buck in her dreary dress from Savvy? and Stephanie Misfit looking bland in Casa del Shai and Last Call. Oh, they talk about "earth tones" and "neutrals", but honestly darlings, it's all rather dismal.

Swirly is here to educate her devoted readers about colours. Beige, brown, caramel, taupe and those other so called "neutrals" are NOT colours darlings; it's a common misconception that they are, but nothing could be further from the truth. They drain the colour from your face and will drive you into an early grave. These non-colours should be reserved entirely for use by librarians, government employees, and people who work in IT. Boring people.

For the rest of you, liberal use of colour IS required. Some colours you should try are orange, yellow, bright green, purple, hot pink, cherry red, leopard and peacock. There are others as well, obviously, but Swirly can't be expected to remember them ALL. Luckily for you, Swirly is here to show you how to make use of some of these colours. A picture is worth a dozen words, and requires much less effort too.

Swirly is wearing Nicky Ree's Summer Breeze in Rouge. Not only does this stunning dress feature three colours, the delightful satin fabric makes the colours positively glow! A bright dress like this demands even brighter accessories, so naturally, Swirly teamed it with the Pink Neck Hug from Masks and Feathers, and the Whisp Hat in Red from Elegance Hats. Swirly is also wearing the Spikes Eyelashes from ZsaZsa's House of Beauty, her hair is Flapper from ETD and the skin is Rita - Pale - Flapper from Gala.

This glorious gown is Evening Petals in Mango from X3D Apparel. Digit Darkes is a colour GURU darlings, and makes some of the best colours in Second Life. Swirly loves the Bird Nest Hat from Chapeau Tres Mignon, but it isn't very colourful so make sure you don't wear too many of them at once. Swirly is wearing the Feather Necklace from Yummy, which goes so well with the Green Peacock Earrings from Microphage. Swirly's skin is FruitLoops: Sweet Tarte in Medium from [miw] and her hair is the fabulous Rave in Pearl from Sirena.


Yellow is one of the best colours darlings! And it goes so well with orange. When worn together, the effect is almost acidic. Swirly just loves the Decadance Maia jacket in Yellow from Bare Rose, which can double as a rain coat. It's worn here with the Petal Pusher Shorts in Orange from Tete a Pied, and the Paper Couture Logo tights in yellow for a subtle look. Orange shoes are hard to come by, but fortunately Tete a Pied sells these marvelous Maryjanes in several colours including orange. Swirly is wearing Queen Couture's new Starry Night Earrings - they are big and adorned with diamonds which means they are perfect. Also from Queen Couture are the Aviator Frames in Gold. Swirly's hair is Wildebiene in Blonde from Bewitched, a sleek and simple style but still very nice.


The lovely Koyomi dress from Tweet uses multiple colours which really makes it a must have. It even includes the fabulous stockings and arm warmers shown above! Swirly was delighted to find more orange shoes at Nicky Ree, these are the Julia Spring Romance Shoes. Swirly loves her Bubblegum Necklace from Decollage, but was a little disappointed to discover it contains NO bubblegum at all - a very bad case of false advertising from Marcelle DeCuir! Of course, no outfit is complete without the Daddy Long Legs Eyelashes from ZsaZsa's House of Beauty - tint them orange darlings. ZsaZsa also made Swirly's fabulous hair, the Exotic Diva Wig, which comes in a pack with all the essential colours including yellow.

Swirly had SO many other colours to share with you, but decided that she really couldn't be bothered, so you will just have to make do darlings.

*smooches*

The Works and other things...

Ok. For those of you who have seen the movie Trainspotting, does this toilet look familiar?

Right, because I went to the Works for the sole purpose of picking this thing up. It's called Ben's Shitty Terlet. Ben was kind enough to adjust the pose on it so my ass wasn't perched on the rim, and while he was busy at work I took a look upstairs. Ben makes accessories, too. Sculpty ones! Check this out, the Pirate Belt and the Pirate Bracelet. What's nifty is the sick detail he gets with the sculpts. The rocks look like rocks, not beads. The skull and crossbones aint too shabby, either.

This belt is called the Medic, and modding this thing to fit me made both me and the baby Jesus cry.

Because the detail is just sick. This belt is pretty much entirely sculpted. That's a lot talent, people!

You can pick up all of Ben's things here at The WORKS Urban Filth. He has put together some really great urban furniture as well. If you feel the need to pester him, why not not bother his business parter, Orchid Zenovka instead? While you are there, explore the sim. Some creative new talent is there.

Lacey Mertel has been busy making skins. For those of you who have heard of Lacey, she has put some really great art out there in SL. These skins are just in time for Halloween, or for those who just like looking dead. Very dead. Nothing wrong with that!

First one here is called Beauty Queen Crime Scene. Poor dead beauty queen! I like this one ok, but I am really excited about these other two.

Broken Doll! This skin is beautifully rendered, with broken capillaries and mottled lips intact. Kudos to Lacey for not ruining this with tarty lipstick.

Ok, this one is my absolute fave called Eulogy. The muted shading on the face and lips is just perfect. It's really quite lovely.

Lacey's skins are for sale at lost property, as well as some really great art and other odds and ends she has created. Hell, even the boxes the skins came in are works of art. Thanks, Lacey!

Haha! What a great chair!

This moment brought to you by Chicanery. And Cabbage the hugging bear chair. You know you want one!

Pop Feel

cyam Amat is a new Japanese designer who opened her store Pop Feel a few days ago. Her clothes are fresh and cute but have a sophisticated, almost European edge. I'm really excited about the work of many of the new designers from Japan, and the influence they are exerting on Second Life fashion in general. cyam's work is impressive for a new designer, and the prices are right too. This post was a little rushed, that's what I get for shopping right before the Lindens kick everyone out of the pool.

The Chidori Knit Dress (130L) is a simple woolen dress with houndstooth pattern, comfy knitted collar and contrasting red ribbed tights. The Odeka Lace Shoes are from Feather, which is located right next door to Pop Feel, and are a steal at 80L a pair.

The Retro Jacket and Black Knit (195L) continues the houndstooth theme. I will point out that the texturing on the jacket could be better, it's a little blurry, but it's otherwise a well made piece with a great flexi waist and prim cuffs and collar. I wasn't disappointed with my purchase and will definitely wear the jacket. The shoes, which as best as I could tell are called pan-bered, are also from Feather for 80L.

Retro Green Jacket Set (150L) is a shorts and jacket set. Again, a well made flexi waist and cute cuffs and collar. The shorts appear to use quite a bit of photosourcing, probably not something I would normally wear but they do look great with the jacket.

Most of the items shown above are available in other colours, and there's a fair bit more in the store as well. Pop Feel is well worth a look, and I can't wait to see more from this new designer.

Nicole Beret from TESLA
Madelene II Hair in Dirty from ETD
D-skin08 from D-skin

12 avatars contest

Don't vote for us, we aren't there.

This post brought to you as a community service by Fashion Victim with the purpose of maintaining the continuity of content in the Fashion World of SL feed for your enjoyment. Picture stolen from some other blog and edited without permission. Fashion Victim - proudly supporting homogenous content since, er, 2007.

Cinnamix: Punk'd Goth'd Stoopid!

Hey bitches! Its me and I have finally made my return to da' EffVee. I know, I know, you have all missed me so much. My dear fans, I have decided to bring something new to you and it is called "Cinnamix". (Cinnamix © has been copyright by Cinnamon Coffee. Any unauthorized use will result in a swift kick to da' nutz!) Cinnamix is my way of taking some of the best things in Second Life fashion, mixing them up and spewing them into a beautiful vomit creation, like when you stir up Fruity Pebbles, Moutain Dew and Velvetta Cheese.


If you're like me, you have herpies... but also you tend to mix and match your outfit together. Combining various items into what you and I call style. Many of what you call "sluts" tend to do this, but it may only be panties and a tattoo but thats not a complaint. Heck, I hope it starts a fashion revolution! Viva NO CLOTHES in Second Life!


This first Cinnamix is based on all those Goth wannabe whores, damn I love em so much. All with too many daddy issues and just beggin' for some luvin'. Good thing Dr. Coffee gives them a shoulder or lap to cry on. This is also the perfect little outfit to get ready for the upcoming spooky and evil holiday that isn't that far away. Yes, I am speaking of Thanksgiving.


I get the heebie jeebies just thinking about all the poor turkey's that run around beheaded. Those damn pilgrims took my land and raped and pillaged stuff. I honestly don't know what pillaged means, but it just sounds naughty. Yes, I am 1/68th Native American. My Indian name is "One Who Spreads Eagle". First we have a great vest from Refuge, even comes with flexi prim ties for the back. With a little tug for quick release. Oopsie, the girls got out ;)


Keeping it back to the basic black and white, typically of most goth children. Keeping it evilish, you got great Skull Armwarmers from Canimal. Her stuff is always great to mix, even if it is just her selection of clothes. Continuing with the skull theme, you got a great little Skull Purse from Artilleri. Das Boots are also from Shiny Things... Great for matching up with a number of different outfits... or just walking around in your panties and tattoos. Yes, VIVA REVOLUTION!


Rounding the rest of the mix up we have this little skirt part of Caliente Express's Rosa Outfit and Mischief's Insubordinate Outfit set with these great striped stockings. And thats how you Cinnamix! Remember ladies, be careful on what you wear and how you do it. Especially if your planning to take it off for me later ;) Till next time, and hopefully it won't be months later... xoxo my bitches!

• Vest: Refuge
  
• Armwarmers:Canimal
• Purse: Artilleri
  
• Boots: Shiny Things
  
• Skirt: Caliente Express
  
• Stockings: Mischief
  

Now a little image to show I support the arts! Yay for trumpets!

Jewelry Expo Picks

Jewelry Expo is here at last. So much gorgeous jewelry, and so little...... cash. My picks are therefore very much limited by my budget. I was drooling over everything in the Lassitude and Ennui stand but alas, had to leave empty handed. Somehow I think I will be going back though.

Fortunately, there are lots of great freebies - Alienbear, Cailyn's, Caroline's Jewelry and Amaretto are just a few of the stands I can think of offhand that are worth a visit for the freebies alone. Elusyve Jewell has highlighted a few of the best freebies on the FTH inc blog.

Congratulations to Miriel and everyone who has worked so hard to make this a successful event. Compared to other events of a similar scale, the lag was minimal.

All of the releases at Paper Couture's stall are exclusive to the Expo. This is the stunning Antique Pearl Choker set, and there a quite a few impressive rings too.

From boing fromage, the Lady Cameo set. Affordably priced, the set comes with gold and silver cameos and in two styles.

From Illusions, the "Gothica" Earrings and Necklace in Tarnished / Cherry Amber. Siyu Suen is a freaking genius, and I defy you to walk away from her stall empty handed (well the freebie on offer there will prevent that anyway!).

Also from Illusions, the Sacred Heart Set in Sterling (worn with the matching Goth Cowboy Hat which I LOVE)

Everyone is raving about the Chatelaine Shoulder Brooch and Chain from Muse, and rightly so. This is quite possibly Caliah's best work yet.

From Miam Miam, the Charm Medallion Necklace. It's adorable AND big, gotta love that. Click it to cycle through four different metal options.

Bossa Nova is BACK!

The highly anticipated reopening of Bossa Nova is now a reality, and Moire has moved to larger premises and given us some lovely new releases. The new store in the Amour sim has a clean look and is a dream to browse. Getting there the minute it opened meant that I was the first person to purchase Moire's new limited edition \o/. Now that's quite an achievement for an Aussie who is very rarely online for any of the big events or openings, and usually wakes up in the morning to find it's all over and everything is gone :)

On to the new releases. I was drooling over the Norma outfit the minute Moire posted a preview of it on her Flickr. This is a very sophisticated retro silk dress, complete with veiled hat and gloves. Moire says it's inspired by film noir and it definitely has that feel to it. Beautifully textured, this just oozes class and old fashion glamour. Each dress comes with 2 options for the shirt - belted or softly draped.

Norma Dress in Cocoa (above) and Noir (below).

I was pretty excited about the release of a Bossa Nova Limited Edition. Insensatez is something of a surprise package - although it's priced at 1500L it IS actually worth it. The dress has a romantic feel whilst remaining completely sophisticated, and includes an intricate floral choker and matching earrings. The value for money part comes in when you realise that this is actually 12 dresses - the dress comes in four colour combinations (black, white, black/white and white/black) with 3 different skirts for each outfit. Only 50 will be sold.

Insensatez in Black with Full Skirt (above) and White with Short Skirt (below)

The last release, Francoise, is sweet and romantic, with delicate lace features and gloves. It comes in four pastel colours. I am wearing the freebie group release below, which was distributed to the bossa nova group and FashCon. Moire has always been extremely generous in releasing freebies to her group members, most of them exclusive colour options of items that she sells in store. This is one update group I would really recommend that you join.

All pictures taken at Straylight (Kriss you are my fucking HERO and always a damn good friend too), all hair by artilleri and shoes from Shiny Things. Antique Pearl Choker and Earrings by Paper Couture exclusively for the Jewelry Expo.

D-skin

D-skin by Japanese designer DynamiteTanaka Payne has been around for a few months now, and features extremely pretty, "semi-realistic" skins and a unique business model. The quality of the skins on offer could easily see D-skin competing with a lot of the bigger names.

When you walk into the store you will see a selection of (currently) 8 skins, which at first appear to be sold as singles. Hence my initial gasp at the 2K price tag. But each skin comes with a selection of makeup options, a shape and a face light. It's a similar set up to RaC and Insolence in that each skin represents a unique character, so there's no choosing between different skintones here. And those of you looking for uber-tanned or ebony skins can stop reading right now - there aren't any on offer.

I'm reviewing the D-Skin08 v1.0 here, but a lot of the selling points of this particular skin apply to the rest of the range as well. All have delicately pretty faces, minimal makeup, and smooth buttery skin. These are not skins for blingtard bimbos or wanna-be strippers - and I can say that confidently because a scantily clad avatar with breast sliders at 100, big hair and tons of bling was trying on demos while I was in the store and it just didn't work. Now that's a strong selling point in my book! But if your style leans more towards fresh and cute, or subtly sophisticated, these skins are definitely something you should be looking at.

The 6 makeup options for the D-Skin08 include 3 different eye makeup styles, with 2 shades of lipstick for each. These are very subtle variations and the overall look of the skin won't change a lot when you switch between makeups. The eye makeup is particularly impressive, it's extremely natural and the eyelashes are some of the best I have seen on a skin (to give you some idea of how good, I am not wearing prim eyelashes in the picture above). The lips are nice and glossy in neutral tones, with the shading above them giving a nice emphasis to the mouth. The blush gives a subtle rosy glow to your face, and the brows are very natural looking without being overly detailed. While it's obvious the designer has used some photosourcing for the face, he has managed to avoid all the flaws that are apparent in so many photosourced skins - the texture is perfectly smooth, and there is no ruddiness or unevenness to the skintone. The nostrils and ears are extremely well done too. After checking out the faces of these skins, I was sold, and probably wouldn't have cared if the bodies came covered in green dots.

Fortunately, I can't make any complaints in that department either. The body shading is extremely good. Overall a nice creamy tone, with soft shadows and highlights rather than harsh and overly realistic shading. I really like the shading around the breasts, which gives emphasis without appearing unnatural. The nipples are quite light and very natural looking. Trinitee Trilam has already made mention of the great neck shading on this skin and I would agree it is excellent. Other features that stood out as being particularly well done are the hands, and the back of the knees. The genital area on this skin is hairless, but fortunately there is no "open wound" effect as 'Kota would say, it's all very subtle.

The most unique aspect of the D-skin product is the Update Tool. Normally if a skin designer improves their product, you are left to buy the new version. If your D-skin is updated and improved, the new version will be sent to you when you use the update tool. I haven't had the chance to see this in action, but it's clear from the version numbers of the skins that DynamiteTanaka does update his work, with some skins up to version 1.2.

Check what's included with your skin before purchasing. While the skin I purchased came with 6 different makeup options for 2K, other skins come with different skintones or fewer makeup choices. One very pretty skin only offered 2 makeup options for the 2K price tag, but it's easy enough to see what you'll be getting as it's all in the demo. A couple of the older skins are also available for 1500L.

Worth the price tag? Hell yes, worth walking over hot coals for faces this pretty. Be prepared to spend some time choosing though, it's really hard to decide between these skins. The D-skin blog should help you out though, there's very detailed information and a ton of pics for each of the skins there.

FABULOUS Clara Slingbacks from Shiny Things

Hello darlings, Swirly here. Fallingwater Cellardoor (odd name, nice girl) from Shiny Things gave Swirly the most FABULOUS gift, her new sculpted Clara Slingbacks. Note that Swirly said gift, NOT review copy dears, there IS a difference.

The Clara Slingbacks are retro style heels made from 100% genuine crushed velvets. Normally Swirly would be quite opposed to the brutal crushing of poor innocent velvets, but sometimes fashion demands a certain degree of animal cruelty; it's just the price that must be paid for Swirly to look divine.

The shoes come in 11 delicious colours and cost 300L per pair, although obviously Swirly didn't pay for hers. Swirly thought she would show her readers how these shoes should be worn, as obviously it would be ridiculous for Swirly to merely post pictures of her feet, delectable as they are.

The Clara Slingbacks in Purple MUST be worn with red tights darlings, no arguments. These red tights are part of the Le Sophistiquette Babydoll from love.love.love's Rag Couture line. And look, Swirly is wearing the dress too! Swirly's hair was made by none other than the fabulous ZsaZsa Withnail, it's the Exotic Diva Wig in Black. Swirly is wearing the River Stone Necklace from Paper Couture, Deco Eyelashes from Cake, and of course that stunning skin is from Tete a Pied, the Vivant Modele 1 in Blush. Swirly will continue to wear this skin throughout this post so as not to confuse her poor readers.

The black Clara Slingbacks just scream "gangster moll", so Swirly simply must insist that you wear them with Kyoot's new outfit, The Last Mobstress. Doesn't this outfit look SO much better on Swirly than on those other bloggers? Of course, you MUST match it with the fabulous Fedora in Black from Simone, which magically changes size upon command! Swirly's hair is Beatle Bailey in Blond from Marlys.

Olive can be such a drab colour darlings, which is why Swirly insists that you wear your Olive Clara Slingbacks with the Le Poufe Dress in Purple from Veschi. Alla Ruff certainly knows how to make good use of colours. This outfit clearly would not be complete without the Afternoon Tea Hat in Green from Royal Blue - the steam from the kettle perfectly accents the delightful silver buttons on the shoes, and steam is a must have accessory this season as we all know. Swirly just loves her Green Peacock Earrings from Microphage, and the Short Crop in Chiffon from Aveda conceals way too much of Swirly's pretty face but is still delightful.

*smooches*