Together for Sway!

I’ve been thinking a lot about Second Life lately, evaluating my reasons for being here and trying to pinpoint what it is, exactly, that encourages me to sign in, day after day, month after month, and year after year. It’s easy to call it a ‘social MMO’ or a ‘shopping game’ because it is both of these things but for me, I don’t know, it’s something more than that.

And then an event like ‘Together for Sway’ surfaces and I’m reminded, all over again, about something in Second Life that feels so rare and special I just feel grateful to know that kind, generous, and helpful people do exist in this world. It gives me hope for the future.

Sway Dench has been a fixture in Second Life for years. She creates some of the cutest furniture and decor, and is famous for her Cookie Bears. Recently, she learned that there is a benign tumour in her brain, and in 6 – 8 weeks, she will go into surgery to have it removed. While our dear Sway will make it through this, unfortunately her finances may not. She will be out of commission for nearly 6 months, and her inworld store is her only source of income.

Together for Sway was created to help this sweet woman deal with her time in need.

Various designers have banded together, and will set out their items (new or otherwise) all in the same venue. 100% of profits will go directly to Miss Dench.

This is an incredible event so please, find your least-scripty outfit and hurry down to have a look. Even if you aren’t super-flush now and can’t purchase much, do what you can; tell your friends, spread the word, and help Sway remember that she is far from alone.

 ( <3 )

~ Portia ~

Fairy Skin -Avie- /*natural *REDGRAVE*
IKON Eternal Eyes – Blizzard
Miamai_Catwalk Lashes_Evergreen 04 Audrey
ROZENA/ Kiss Kiss ~ mango jelly

::Exile:: Sway My Way:Stefani ~ Available @ Together for Sway

SYSY’s-GWINv2-Sway- peach ~ Available @ Together for Sway
Light Gold StayUps by INSOLENCE
[Gos] Pimp Your Pumps V2 – Point Court

Cae :: Elegance :: Set (Copper)
[PM]Sculpted Nails V2

Poses: WetCat ~ Available @ Together for Sway

Would you like to learn a little bit more about Sway?

Shop SLURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SwayLand/158/169/22
Marketplace: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/18479
Blog: http://www.sway-dench.com
Flickr: group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/sways_creations
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sways.shop

Breathe Me

Today’s post begins with a lamp.  A lovely lamp from {what next} that I have in my living room (the one that never needs tidying or vacuuming and I never stub my toe on the coffee table). I’ve been wearing this coldLogic sweater a lot lately as well, and this hair from Exile that never seems to work with any outfit I want to blog. You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to photograph these two things; it’s been driving me crazy for weeks!

So I’m realxing, considering what I should do next, and I was struck again by how pretty and simple this lamp is. I like simple things. I like clean lines and soft colours. I love textures that look snuggly and warm, especially when I’m feeling a little down (which I am). The lamp reminds me of all these things and since I’m already dressed in clothes I love, I sneak up to my platform for an experiment!

 (I love lamp! )

I end up with this! Which becomes this:

Then I decide to try this ..

 ( Hugs, please! )

.. and it works!

~ Portia ~

Fairy Skin -Avie- /*natural *REDGRAVE*
IKON Eternal Eyes – Silver
Miamai_Catwalk Lashes_Evergreen 04 Audrey
ROZENA/ Kiss Kiss ~ dolce

::Exile:: Breathe Me:Bleach
[LeLutka]-HAIRBASE Glucose

coldLogic shirt – taylor.champagne
{Happy} Preen Pants (Oat)
(Milk Motion) My floral tights
[Gos] Pimp Your Pumps V2 – Maryjane Court

Cae :: Elegance :: Ring
[PM]Sculpted Nails V2

Poses: aDORKable, Miamai
Living Room: {what next}, LISP Bazaar, EarthDwellings, The Loft, Patron, PILOT (available @ The Arcade), A.D.D.Andel! (Available @ The Arcade)

From Day to Night

Have you been to the Singer Icon Fair (SIF) yet?

It’s been running a while now (through December 13th) and while I apologize for the late coverage, I wanted to do this post justice too. Sometimes it really is better to let an outfit (or two in this case) sit for a day or so while your mind continues to process everything it is that you hope to achieve with a blog entry.

The theme of this post is ‘glam by day .. rockstar at night,’ which has been as challenging as it has been fun. Cecilia Blachere, designer of shine by [ZD], chose the artist Taylor Monsem (The Pretty Reckless) as her inspiration for the fair and she’s providing two exclusive outfits for us! Flipping fabulous ones. OMG.

 ( Practice really does help us improve! My photos are getting better all the time. )

So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the ‘glam’ outfit came together pretty easily. Since I basically live in my Gos ankle boots anyway, I grabbed them in taupe along with my favourite black tights (part of the Paper Couture ‘Braided Finish’ outfit) and lovely long white gloves.

But it still wasn’t ‘glam‘ enough! Gos‘ butterfly sunglasses came next along with Cae’s amazing ‘entangled’ jewelry set, both set to a platinum sheen to play off the studs in Ceci’s gorgeous mesh dress. Even though I rarely wear purses of any kind, I dashed over to FaMESHed to pick up Maxi Gossamer‘s FuFu bag in silver. I had to. It was important. >.>

 (Bigger pic, holy wow. )

The ‘rockstar’ outfit was a little harder for me, hah, since it’s not my habit to go running around in corsets, garters, and stockings (but more on THAT in my next post, raar!).

This outfit began with the LeLutka Blake hair, actually, and I worked my way down. One of the first things you’ll notice in a Pretty Reckless video is Miss Monsem’s long, long blonde hair, followed by massive amounts of eyeliner and her arresting pale eyes. Check and check! Pekka‘s kitty liner and IKON‘s Eternal Eyes in ‘Money’ seemed like the way to go, along with my favourite Miamai eyelashes in ‘Femme.’

 (Mhmm, larger pics await you here. )

But I’m still naked from the waist down! Aack! So the ‘Rockstar at Night’ outfit follows and gosh, do I ever love Shine right now. Stockings, corset, garters, and these cute little bows help me feel slightly more covered but, uhm, it’s still not enough. This doesn’t make me a prude; it means I get to accessorize even MORE because, as nice as skin is, I think it’s way hotter to be covered up. At least a little bit.

So next, it’s tattoos! Something I rarely get to play with but I just love this ‘Outlaw’ full body tattoo from v3 and it’s yet another way to hint at something interesting going on beneath your clothing. Take note. Take heed. Probably also run to v3 and look around. No, no. I’ll wait.

So now that you have your new tattoo (or at least a nice little shopping list), you have to wonder:

“What else can I use to carry a bit of glam into my rockstar-corset-tattooey-wickedness look?”

Tall boots, like these mesh numbers from Maitreya, aren’t really something you want to wear with a short skirt and bare legs (or maybe that’s just me >.>) but maaaan, they’re GREAT with stockings, leggings, and system layer bottoms. Mostly bare arms? Try a see-through glove like these crochet armwarmers from Shine and guys, seriously, couture jewelry is NOT just for evening wear. I brought this Chop Zuey ‘Miracle Business’ set into the picture and you can too!

 (Geez, I talk too much. Here, look at another pic! <3 )

~ Portia ~

Fairy Skin -Avie- /*flavour *REDGRAVE*
IKON Eternal Eyes – Lagoon
ROZENA/ Kiss Kiss ~ dolce

[LeLutka]-EFFECT hair – Marilyn

shine by [ZD] MESH PUFFY SLEEVES DRESS silky rose ~ SIF Exclusive!
p.c Braided Finish Stockings
[Gos] Hunter Ankle Boot – Taupe -

[Gos] – Custom Sunglasses v3.2 BUTTERFLY [model]
Cae :: Entangled ::
MG – Fufu Bag – Madame Mimi – Silver Shimmer ~ NEW @ FaMESHed
-LMK- Long leather gloves

~

Fairy Skin -Avie- /*natural *REDGRAVE*
IKON Eternal Eyes – Money
Miamai_Catwalk Lashes_Evergreen 01 Femme
.Pekka. Kitty Eyes Eyeliner
ROZENA/ Kiss Kiss ~ dolce

[LeLutka]-BLAKE hair S – Marilyn

shine by [ZD] MESH “TAYLOR” CORSET  ~ SIF Exclusive!
~ Sexy ripped stockings/garters/bows are included with outfit!
Maitreya Mesh Jazz Boots * Black

v3 Tattoo – Outlaw (womens) AGED 2
Chop Zuey ~ The Miracle Business Choker & Cuff
shine by [ZD] – MESH ARM WARMERS crocheted black
[PM]Sculpted Nails V2 – Size 20 – Long

Poses: Diesel Works, !bang

Pictures taken at:
1) An undisclosed location (okay, it’s the new shine and sharp mainstore but you didn’t hear it from me!)
2) DSL Records Club & Stage (and you can build here so it’s great for pics!)

Sixties Shine

So here I am, awake at 5am and smiling after a few glasses of wine, and I’m excited to share this next post with you! This is a dress I’ve been styling for a few days but nothing was working the way I thought it should. I don’t wear much black and I’ll be the first to say that it’s my biggest challenge to work with deep, dark shades like this.

Until I realize that colour is the answer!

Check it out: shine‘s simple black sixties dress (available NOW at Designer’s Circle #42) with Cae‘s beautiful starfish jewelry set. I changed the jewelry to ‘patina’ (and THANK YOU, Cae, for having an option to change every item at the same time <3) and found a pair of blue/green ombre tights from Milk Motion. Truth‘s Cyanne hair with a greenish headband (so pretty!) and my fantastic HOC platforms round it all out perfectly.

Pekka has also released several different eye makeup packs since I was there last and … I sort of bought all of them. Today it’s the fresh look eyeshadow and doesn’t it look wonderful with IKON‘s Eternal Eyes in ‘lagoon?’

~ Portia ~

Fairy Skin -Avie- /*natural *REDGRAVE*
IKON Eternal Eyes – Lagoon
Miamai_Catwalk Lashes_Evergreen 01 Femme
.Pekka. Fresh Look Eyeshadows w/ eyeliner – 4
ROZENA/ Kiss Kiss ~ mango jelly

>TRUTH< Cyanne w/Roots – seasand
Truth Hairbase – latte

shine by [ZD] SIXTIES MESHDRESS WITH BELT mysterious black ~ NEW @ Designer’s Circle 42
(Milk Motion) ombre tights
HOC Industries – Platform Pumps

Cae :: Starfish :: Cuff
Cae :: Starfish :: Earrings
Cae :: Starfish :: Ring
shine by [ZD] Silver Bangles right – GROUP GIFT
Emery – Gloves #Gray

Pose: !bang (sits and sassy) ~ NEW @ the Arcade