Holiday Mix

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Clothes by /artilleri/ & Ivalde
Hair by elikatira & BooN
Shoes by Shiny Things, Maitreya & Tesla
Jools by MOOD
Skin by Adam n Eve
Poses by Fluke

Merry Christmas & Happy Hanukkah!

52 JAZZBERRY & 52 CHARTREUSE

Late again:( So here are both JAZZBERRY and CHARTREUSE.

For Jazzberry the centerpiece are the Thread Leaf Wings from Seven's Selection in Magenta. Other clothing items are the corset from Ivalde's stephani dress also in Magenta [R] and the Sunny Leggings in Magenta from Prelude. [NA-I think]. Hair is Exile's Glory in Cayenne/Roots. Skin is Liane-Natural with Pinkade Eyeshadow from Adam n Eve.



The only two items in my inventory labeled as "chartreuse" are these two. The dress in an old one from Celestial Studios, the Phoenix Sweater Dress. [NA] I remember IMing Starley and thanking her for the system skirt. The belt has been a useful one for me. The lace-trimmedcami and leggings came with the dress. The shoes are from Ingenue called Tallula. Skin is PXL Creations' Gaia with copper lips. Hair is, again, Exile's Glory in Cayenne/Roots.

All poses are from /GEEZ/ [R]

52 Mahogany

Again I've mined my backlog "closet" for Mahogany. The centerpiece is the Larin Skirt from Zaara in one of the art prints. The top is from Ivalde. I like the way the lace edging complements the uneven edge of the skirt. Maitreya's Uma hair in Copper blends nicely to the theme.

The shoes are Lady T's from Pixel Mode, a generous gift from the Lady T herself, Jori Watler. I'm wearing Laurel, one of sachi Vixen's recent skins from Adam n Eve in Spice Natural.

Other details:
Earrings & Necklace from *MM* [NA]
Bracelet from Primagine [NA]

52 Tangerine

What more perfect dress for Tangerine than Ivalde's recent Hariet in Orange? [R] That's what I thought ;) And then what better hair than Darling Bubbles' Unicorn Hugs in Sunny Day Red? Mmpf...yep. That works :) Add Lucas Lameth's Ariella Locket Necklace with Sea Feather and the deal is closed.

Other details:
Adam n Eve Taylor in Gold Natural
Adam n Eve Babii Pumps in Amber [NA]

New from IVALDE!

Ivalde was one of the first stores that I discovered in my almost 4 years in SL and I'm still a big fan. Neferia Abel was kind enough to drop some items on me, including this lovely, summery Katinka dress, which I am wearing in purple because it goes with my new RFL sneakers from ~Twiple Twouble~ called Relay Hope Sneaks 2011 Ribbons and available outside the store for L$100. in a RFL of SL vendor.

But the BIG news is the new build at Ivalde which will open to the public in less than 2 hours. You'll want to wear YOUR sneakers to get in and see its beauty as well as Nef's new goodies. But that's not all. The ever-generous Nef is offering us 12 ivalde/L`abel gifts in a Treasure Hunt. Well worth your time!

So get on your sneaks and get ready to enjoy:)

Other details:

Adam n Eve Taylor Natural Tone in Gold
Clawtooth Unicorn Hugs in Sunny Days Red
Poses by STaTUS [formerly Gesticulate]

New Sweater from Ivalde

I grabbed two of Ivalde's new Laida sweaters during the 24 hr 50% period, but it's a steal at the full price of L$80. The texture is both retro and sexy with the kind of detailing one expects from Ivalde. The best part is the primmy bit on the sweater at the bottom. I only had to move it down a little to have it work perfectly, even while moving. You'll need more than one of these!

Other Details:
Aurora Hair 01
Adam & Eve Taylor Gold Natural
MichaMi Laila pants in green
Shiny Things Plainers in Green
Lyra Muse, Poema necklace [NA]
Poses by /GEEZ/ [R]

52 Green (which it's easy to be!)

Unlike Kermit, as a SL redhead, "being green" is easy for me. Doing a search on "green" would bring up half my inventory. So, for this 52 Challenge I actually bought something new. Well Neferia Abel made it easy [there's a theme here...] by putting her new dress, Joanie, which just happened to come in green, on sale that week! The velvet texture as well as the butterfly belt, little butterflies on the sleeve and the beautifully fitted blouse make for a perfect green. My earrting are actually shamrocks from GANKED, but they looked enough like butterflies to get the nod.

Other details:
shoes: ETD's D'Orsay in Random Green [NA]
gloves: Fleur's leather gloves, mid-length in Emerald. [about to be NA]
hair: elikatira's Rumor in Red05
skin: PXL Creations Natural,cateye/passion--not sure which skin. [R]
poses: /GEEZ/ [R]

Timeless Ivalde

I've been having a hard time sorting through the Ivalde items in my inventory - I had never fully realised the amount of clothes I have from that store, and seeing the fashion feeds this week, I suspect this is true for a lot of people. Mostly, this is proof of Neferia's generosity, since a lot of those items made it into my inventory as group gifts, Advent gifts (2007 and 2008), hunt gifts, lucky chair gifts, just-because gifts... you name it. Some clothes I didn't even remember having tried on, some fell into oblivion and had never been unpacked, so this week is feeling a bit like Christmas day for me. A few times I've heard people who complain about the quality of gifts, which is something I really don't get... haven't they heard the "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth" saying? Anyway, I'm not going to enter that discussion, although for today, I wanted to put together a post that serves as testimony, for such naysayers, that Ivalde gifts do not fall into the category of second-class items at all; quite the contrary, they are sheer reflections of the quality of the store and the skills of their creator. It is also interesting to try them on chronologically, which clearly shows the evolution of Neferia's designing skills - with increasingly more complex and detailed textures, better usage of prims and, finally, the arrival of sculpties.


My first choice, on the left, is a fifties-style cocktail dress, called Rosa (which totally reminds me of an outfit worn by Charlotte York in Sex and the City, by the way). This was given away as a group member gift, and not only does the skirt flow beautifully, the texturing is also flawless. I paired it with the Shiny Things Brandys in white and the ::69:: Egoist hair in fieryred.

In the centre of the picture you can see Pauline in teal - I don't have a clear idea when or where I got it, but I do suspect it was a gift too. This seventies minidress features a clever combination of different textures - satin and crochet (my apologies if that's not the right word, my English vocabulary is very lacking in this area). The seams are perfect, but what I liked best was the fact that I didn't have to do anything to adjust it - it just fit. I combined it with the Aphrodite Creations Rosette pumps, the Maitreya Emma hair in red and, since I didn't want to offend the audience with knees and thighs (:-p), I added the leg part of the Celestial Studios Black fishnet tights, which I shortened to create a legging effect.

Last, but not at all least, on the right is my most awesome discovery, the Taylor blue rose dress - a lucky chair gift. The puffy sculpted skirt totally called for an eighties style (in a good way) for me, sort of how Carrie Bradshaw would do it - so I went straight for the slouchy Maitreya SoHo boots and the Sheer fishnet tights (22: mesh black), topped off with Truth's Linda in cranberry.

As you can see, for all three outfits I kept accessories to a bare minimum in order to keep the accent on the dresses. Skin-wise I used the Tuli Hope June 2009 Picks reward special (which everyone can get by adding Tuli to their profile picks), the Cool Shimmer eyes by Miriel and the Glamour lashes (by Miriel, too). Poses are from the Imperial Elegance Lolita set (left and centre), and from the Reel Expression Party Dress set (right).

Ivalde...Cocktail Dresses

For my last tribute post to Ivalde I have chosen to showcase 2 of the cocktail dresses I have in my inventory.

The first is a retro champagne coloured Ivalde Idunn 1950 dress with the exquisite detail and texturing that nefaria always delivers. The bust and sleeves are 'brocaded', the bodice a tightly wrapped corset with prim bow and a full, knee length flexi skirt (a system skirt is also provided with the outfit). The design is wonderful, the colour delicious and the texturing magnificent.

To compliment the dress I chose a Fleur skin, ETD hair and Armidi shoes (not shown).

My second choice is a more contempory Ivalde Randaline black dress, with a tulip shaped bust in white, bodice corset in black and a wonderful tulip shaped 'puff' skirt with a net overlay. The design again is outstanding, the colour contrast works well and the textures are detailed and awesome.

With this dress I wore a Fleur skin, Cake hair and Juicy shoes.

I wish Nefaria all the best with her rl health and family...from what I have read she is a lovely person and will not only be missed for her creativity but her personality too. Hurry back Nefaria.

Location: the bridge at Error (might have to check that...lol)

Styling:

Dress: Ivalde Idunn tan dress 1950

Skin: Fleur Allure Truffle Lounge 1

Hair: ETD Roslin - Black

Shoes: Armidi Gisaci - Dalia Pump Latte

Dress: Ivalde Randaline black dress

Skin: Fleur Allure Truffle Kitten 2

Hair: Cake - Faith - Black - Flexi Hair

Shoes: Juicy Classic Pump - Squid Ink

Eyes: (Miriel Eyes) - Platinum (Big)

Eyelashes: Cake - Separated Lashes - Tintable*

Why I Love Ivalde -- Part II

First I am wearing 2 dresses from different Ivalde periods. On the left is Charlotte, one of the 2007 Advent goodies. What is so amazing here is the detailed design and embroidery, which also extends to the back of the bodice. The skirt fits and moves beautifully. The only flaw is a bit of alpha conflict in the skirt. My shoes are the Periquita S-Steps in Yellow. They have the same acidity as the dress, edging towards a tinge of green.

On the right is the citified, yet feminine, Margaretha with a gray frill-edged system skirt and a teal peplum overblouse closed at the throat with a bar pin. It's those kinds of details that make Ivalde's clothes so complete. Shoes are ETD Starley in Teal. Skin for both shots is PXL Creations Grace Natural Cat-eye with Flamenco lips and freckles. Mt hair in both shots if Truth's Linda in Auburn and Carrot I believe



Above is Sigrid -- Nef's generous gift to us at the new Retrology store. For some reason I couldn't fit the long skirt to my satisfaction. So, instead, I slid the baby doll skirt down a bit and voilà, a lovely cocktail length dress. Note again the jewel detail at the throat and decolletage--beautiful work indeed! The texture as well as the fluttery stand-up sleevelets are further evidence of the quality that is Ivalde. Skin and shoes are the same as above and my hair is Truth's Luna in Auburn.

Thank you Nef for creating such wonderful clothes to wear for us. Take care of yourself --and when you are ready, please come back :)

Ivalde...Monroe

OK..I couldnt let this pass as it includes 2 of my favourite things...Ivalde dresses and Marilyn Monroe. Now i confess to not being Monroe but I think I can do her a fair justice in Ivalde dresses.

My first is the Ivalde Marilyn Monroe pink dress, famous for the 'Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend* scene. Its the classical straight skirted, tulip topped dress from the movie. The colour and textures are just right and you get a choice of 2 prim bows to finish the dress off with. This dress screams sexy and fun...I feel a real movie star when I put it on.

I chose a Fleur skin, Sinsations hair, ETD shoes and a mix of diamonds to complete the look.

The second dress is what I like to think Monroe wore everyday...it's a simple off the shoulder dress. Again a system skirt. What makes this little black dress is the cut and the texturing. All those cloth folds make it feel like the dress is draped around you. A prim waist tie detail adds to the whole look. This seems a very simple dress but with Nefarias eye for design and detail makes it a stunning one.

For this shoot I chose a gift skin from Fleur and shoes, not seen, from SKG in order to keep it simple and elegant.

Locations were the 'Original Moulin Rouge' and the bridge at 'Old New York'.

Styling:

Dress: Ivalde Marilyn Monroe pink dress

Skin: Fleur Allure Truffle Kitten 1

Shoes: ETD d'Orsay Stiletto (Fuchsia)

Jewelry: Idoru Two-Row Diamond Choker

(Dahlinks) Pamela Twin Channel Diamond Bracelets

Dress: Ivalde marilyn black wiggle

Skin: Fleur Allure Kitten Eyes Cinnamon (Fury Holiday Custom)

Shoes: SKG Black Stiletto Slingback Pumps

Hair: Sinsations Marilyn - Honeychild

Eyes: (Miriel) Eyes - Platinum (Big)

Eyelashes: Cake - Separated Lashes - Tintable*

More Ivalde Goodness

Following up Fury's and Sam's posts about Ivalde, it didn't take me long to decide which pieces created by Neferia Abel I wanted to show as my favourites. The first one, the Arsinoe Egyptian Princess Gown, has a very special significance for me - originally it is not sold as a wedding gown, but it was in fact the dress I wore for my partnering party with Keris. I liked (and chose) it because of its simplicity, as I didn't really want to look like Bridezilla, but at the same time I wanted to wear something that honoured the day.

All of the items, except the skin (Tuli's Hope Natural, a group gift) and eyes (Miriel's Emerald), are the ones I originally wore for the partnering: ETD's Eva hair, Cascade Diamond earrings from JCNY, Star necklace in white from Alienbear Designs and White silver stiletto slingback pumps from SKG Shoes.

My second choice gets voted as the most fantastic period gown I own. I originally bought the Liza Blue Vintage Promgown for a ball that was going to be celebrated at the Land of Lincoln sim and which never took place (for reasons unknown to me), so this beauty and my Southern Belle persona were folded back into my inventory, awaiting a chance to get shown off - so I guess this is it. As I cropped the pics I realised, though, that the skirt totally guarantees the preservation of your personal space by a couple square metres... so I may reconsider and wear it to the next sale (coughs).

Anyway, besides the dress, in the picture I'm wearing Tuli's Hope Natural skin, again (warning: once you try it on, you'll never be able to get off it); ETD's Roslin updo and Miriel's Cool Shimmer eyes and Teardrop Earrings in Antique Gold (free! hurryhurry!). The shoes are the same ones I wore with the first outfit - but unless you've got some extraordinary superpower, I can't really prove it.

This said, I would also like to wish Nef a prompt recovery from her health issues and send my hopes that she will be able to get back and fill the grid with her beautiful designs soon. Get well soon, Nef.

Why I Love Ivalde -- Part I

We were all stunned when Neferia Abel suddenly closed her sim for an indeterminate amount of time. We were cheered, however, by the swiftness with which Ketsy & Anessa brought Ivalde back to Retrology:) Well done ladies!

Between the sim closing and the Retrology opening the blog-i-verse cooked up a plan to honor Nef with posts featuring her work. We all shopped at Ivalde at some point during our noobish days and benefited from her generosity, both with discounted wares and that insane advent 2007 where every day brought a new box of Ivalde goodness, free for the right-clicking. It is the least we can do to honor such a special person and super creator.

I have several posts planned, but I thought I might start with some images from previous blogs of Nef's clothes.

The Eidrun dress blogged on July 1, 2008

The Dagmar dress blogged on February 19, 2008



The Sophia dress blogged on February 9, 2008

Ivalde...Vintage

So sad to see Ivalde close...I have many pieces in my inventory that I wear often. Please excuse the poor editing, was a rush job...but i think it still shows the outfits.

The first is one of my all time favourites and I wear it often...Ivalde Gertie rose dress. It's retro, feminine and pretty. from the chiffon bust to the floral print bodice and skirt...the textures are just perfect. The flexi frill addition to the skirt makes the whole dress complete. I love wearing it.

I chose a Fleur skin, Ingenue hair and RiArnya wedges to compliment the ensemble.

My second is a new purchase from the Retrology shop...the Ivalde maud purple Edwardian gown. It is elegant and represents the period perfectly. Again the textures are outstanding, with a lace bust and sleeve, followed by the bodice and skirt in beautifully pleated material. The design is breathtaking..using both a system skirt and a sculpty one to give the Edwardian shape..so clever. The ribbon is the perfect touch to the the whole dress.

This time I chose a La Sylphide skin, ETD hair and AC shoes to complete the look.

Neferias creativity and design will be missed. Come back soon...

Locations...AM Radio plots

Styling:

Dress: Ivalde Gertie rose dress

Skin: Fleur Allure Alabaster Kitten 1

Hair: ingenue~ The Grable II Updo ~ Noir black

Shoes: *RiARNYA* Floral Wedge Sandal

Dress: Ivalde maud purple Edwardian gown

Skin: La Sylphide - Ingrid - Light - "Lust"

Hair: ETD Tiana - Black

Shoes: AC Serenity Purpletouch

Eyes:(Miriel) Eyes - Platinum (Big)

Eyelashes: Cake - Separated Lashes - Tintable*

It's still spring here...

In my part of the US Midwest we've avoided the worst of the floods, and have been fortunate enough that our weather is more spring-like than the heat we normally have by July 1. I'm not arguing though ;) But we can still anticipate in our clothing choices we make in Phil's Place.

On the left is a summery plaid dress from Ivalde called Eidrun. I'm wearing it in purple. This dress shows two of the reasons I love Ivalde dresses. 1. The textures are nigh perfect and 2. the skirts usually fit without any adjusting for my smaller avi. I'm wearing ETD's new Celia in auburn burnt as well as my favorite shoes of the moment [make that since they were released], Elika's Heel Strap Platforms in teal. My skin is Fleur's Vivant Terre 2 in buff and I'm again wearing Earthtones' charming Butterfly Frolic in gold.


On the right is an outfit from ::eLDee::, the Kiki 5 in peach and red. I really like the high-waisted look of the pants paired with the bright tank top. And it's only L$125! I'm wearing the Fleur Vivant Lady Aurora skin in buff, the ETD Heel Strap Platforms in Persimmon and ETD's Emily in Auburn burnt. The necklace was a relay for life special by Caliah Lyon that came with a dress by Tuli.

So when the weather throws its summer at us, I'm ready, vritually at least :)

A Busy Week Past : Technology, Art & Fashion

Was it last Thursday that I announced my second-only fashion show? I think so ... It was the VALENTINE Runway Show as part of the opening celebrations of The Museum of Earth Friendly Technology and was organized by Hermit Barber, with the assistance of my friend, Noena Merlin. It was held in a wonderful arena built by Hermit Barber at SmarterEarth on the Jeffrey sim. The clothes were by Neferia Abel of Ivalde with jewelry by Random Calliope, who was holding numerous butterfly hunts that day, and shoes by Storm Schmooz.

We survived the first show and then flew through the second show swimmingly. And I got to wear Ivalde's new dress, Dagmar in red, with Random Calliope's "The Pearl" jewelry set and the Schmooz LAQUE shoes in black. It is a wonderful dress, a bit prim-heavy, but at least I was standing still LOL
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *


On Sunday I attended the opening of the Art on Avatar exhibit consisting of pictures of avatars wearing the creations of designer Nicky Ree, held on SOA Adventure Island. The space was beautifully designed -- I especially enjoyed the wonderful quotations that underline the theme of fashion as art. Praise to Anita Cassini for arranging the exhibition.

There were also white sculptures of dressed human figures in the style of the late George Segal. My shot shows my friend, Noena Merlin paused in one of those groupings. She is wearing, as most of us were, a wonderful Nicky Ree creation.

It was also a lot of fun, if disconcerting at first, to see one's own profile picture on the wall. There were two places where the profile picture of the closest avi was displayed alongside the other photos and sculptures.

Sam in Salmon from Ivalde

I was out on a shopping tour with my friend, Noena, and we ended up at Ivalde. I have to admit that I am not always partial to their work, especially the glitch skirts, but this sale item, Sophie in salmon, begged to be bought and I haven't regretted it.


It's nicely retro [such a modest neckline ;)] and the color blending in the skirt is nigh on perfection. Oh .. and the prim skirt fit instantly without adjusting -- the dream of every avi, especially those of us who are smaller. My finger hovered over a few others, but do go take a look at the Ivalde sale as I'm not sure how much longer it will be on.

My skin is Fleur Vivant Terre 2 in buff, my hair is my standby Maaliyah from ETD in auburn burnt and my boots -- again ETD calf boots in black.