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*

A "Lulu" of a Design from Michami

One of the things I like best about Milla Michinaga's designs for her Michami label, apart from the beautifully done textures, is the versatility of the outfits. There are always multiple layers and several options, as here in the Lulu Jumpsuit, which comes with two different belts, black and beige. I'm wearing the latter. I am also enamoured of the sculpty leg and arm bits--very well done indeed!

Milla's clothes are always very sophisticated, so for the skin I am wearing an older Celestial Studios Deviant Nation Vamp-Beguile in Champagne. In this case "old" is new when worn with Lulu. Hair is ETD Sarah in Blonde. My shoesies are the *cough* Stiletto Moody Pinup (Grey Patent Python). Necklace is from Milla's about to be neighbor on the Muse sim [once she moves in], Lucas Lameth. It is his Gaea necklace in Lucite & Quartz, a lovely foil for the muted Lulu colors.

The lion didn't sleep the past few months

When you leave SL for a few months, as I did, it's amazing to see how fast things change around here. Designers gone, LM's useless, even entire sims disappeared,... to name just a few things.
So thank heaven for those good "old" values that do stick around and keep on dazzling me.



One of these goodies is LionSkins. A few weeks ago when I said hi to Lion on my return to this crazy second world, she right away had some great news. She was working hard to get ready to open her brand new Main Store and introduce a new exclusive skinline.



And I can tell you the store looks great and the new "Doll House Skins" are amazing!
I hope you all had the chance to see the Doll show this last Saterday, cause it was spectacular (even my multiple crashes didn't stop me from seeing that :).



The pictures enclosed here are a few of my favorites of the new line. I don't think I have ever changed skins so often, I want to wear each one of them aaaall the time!!

Hugs, Noena

PS: the new main store of LionSkins is at Smaug (145,206,38)

Credits:
First picture
- skin: LionSkins-Dollhouse 17
- hair: Detour Rhapsody II - black

Second picture
• left
- skin: LionSkins-Dollhouse 22
- hair: Naughty Lucy - black pearl
• right
- skin: LionSkins-Dollhouse 16
- hair: Naughty Maya II - black pearl

Third picture
• left
- skin: LionSkins-Dollhouse 19
- hair: ETD Abigail - black
• right
- skin: LionSkins-Dollhouse 24
- hair: ETD Deidra - black

Summer of Love

Warning: Yet another weather-driven post!
I've totally embraced summer clothes in RL by now, which translates into a turn towards hippie-ish styles in-world. After having a look around the feeds I realise I'm not the only one... would this just be an excuse to wear skimpy clothes without feeling embarrassed or slutty? Mayhaps. But this is not a psychoanalysis post, so let's talk about the clothes!

This ensemble was born with the Asian Tunic from Kurotsubaki, one of those charming (not so little) Japanese stores where you end up spending a whole lot of lindens before blinking. (I warned you!) The tunic comes in two different lengths, and although I can't remember 100% sure which one I used on the pictures (that's how long they've been waiting to be blogged!), but I'd say it's the short version, which looks more like a vest. Underneath it, to give some extra coverage and diminish skimpiness, I used a simple white tank, the Simple White Tank (teehee) by TorridWear, an old freebie that comes in very handy as a basic piece for anyone's wardrobe. The shorts, called Autumn, are from Twosome, another little store worth discovering (and raiding, since they have quite a few low-price, high-quality items).

I must apologise for repeating shoes (the Coquettes from Kalnins); this doesn't mean I've definitely stopped shoe-shopping (god forbid!), but that I'm still trying out the 14,641 different colour combinations... I'm hoping to be done soon. The bangles are from Yak & Yeti, a Nepalese-themed freebie store whose main store had to close down when the new Openspace policies were introduced. They might have their satellite stores still in operation, though... I'll do some in-world research and report back.

The other items shown are Maitreya's Apple hair, Tuli's exclusive Faith "The Deck" skin (drools), Miriel's Quiet Green eyes and Feather lashes. [Edit: Poses are from Imperial Elegance and Striking Poses.]

For the whereabouts of Yak & Yeti and the tunic version details, follow this link.