"My Haute Valentine!" fashion show

Everyone is invited to attend "My Haute Valentine," a fashion show of love ... on Friday, February 1, 5pm SLT at the OnRez runway.

Featured designers: Blaze, DBS Heart, Tori-Wear, Sassy Secrets, Sc Design, Dee Leavitt, Olkami Ningen, Ambergris Deadly Fashions and by Alexandar, fine jewelry.

Sc Design Store Cards from the generous Hunter Noland will be given to five lucky audience members! And all members of the audience will recieve a goodie bag of Valentine treats as a souvenir of the show!

The show is produced by CH Runway Shows and directed by Calamity Hathaway with models from Calamity's Haute Models agency, where fashion is passion!

Sponsored by Lord Olaf's Merchantile in Caernars Demise and the Blue Wolf Mall in Kensington

Favourite finds

Tuli has a lovely collection of designs from eyes and skins to gothic, traditional, urban and chic. Not only that the amount of options available with each design give her an edge in my book, have you ever bought a wonderful trouser set then not been able to wear it with those favourite shoes or boots? This even happens with some of the big name designers and can totally ruin a great design but with Tuli's outfits she gives so many options its fun just to mix and match to create loads of different looks.

The outfit you see below that i am wearing is 'Iki' and all you see in my inventory came with it - 6 pairs of pants plus 2 underwear layer, 6 different jackets and 3 prim short skirts it also comes with prim cuffs as you can see and all this for only L$250!

Her 2 new designs are girly and cute but absolutely adorable

"Anni", available in 3 colors. Includes 2 tops, prim sleeves, prim skirt, (bonus) Valerie panties for modesty The tops (with and without corset) are on jacket layer and can be worn separately.

"Yvette", available in 3 colors includes skirt with and without bows, top, prim sleeve puffs, bloomers and corset on separate (jacket) layer.

This is one designer to keep an eye on in her own words 'You know I don't follow any trend and don't really care for what's "in" according to some fashion experts. I make whatever fancies me and although it does make my store a bit hard to classify, I am proud of it! '

Visit Tuli soon

Dana

2008 ACS RFL Kiosk Design Contest Invite

This year, we are creating a design contest for the 2008 ACS RFL in SL donation kiosk and ANYONE can enter (well, except the judges and the ACS RFL tech crew).

To enter, visit ACS Island (http://slurl.com/secondlife/American%20Cancer%20Society/143/85/26) or the PaperModels in Second Life store at Pinastri (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Pinastri/113/168/37) and touch the registration cube; you'll immediately be registered for the contest and receive the instruction note card.

Why Enter the Contest? Fame and Fortune, of course! The winner will receive a prize award of $5,000L and a $50 credit to the PaperModelsOnline.com / Paper Models in Second Life store. The really cool part is that the winning design will be developed into a real life 3D model that can be downloaded in real life by Paper Models in Second Life!

This is the first ever build event anywhere in the metaverse which the winning design will become a real life 3D model using the Paper Models, Inc. patented process! The winner could be you!

Participants will be contacted by the contest coordinators, David Jacobs or Estaban Graves and the official textures and logos provided - we're using the new MediaMaster Syndication tool so there is no group to join!

Come get involved and help us with the most awesome, donation-inspiring design ever and get memorialized as the first ever 3D download-able ACS RFL design in metaverse history!

Payton Heron Joins LeeZu Baxter Designs

LeeZu Baxter Designs today announced that noted marketing professional Payton Heron has joined LBD as Chief Marketing Officer effective immediately. She will be responsible for all marketing, publicity, advertising and public relations for the fast growing firm.

“I am delighted to welcome Payton to our family”, said LeeZu Baxter, CEO. “Her RL and SL talents will be instrumental in our development plans for the future.”

Payton is one of Second Life’s top models and a skilled marketing consultant. She is one of the best known names in the SL fashion field not just for her modeling but also for her work with top agencies and designers. She owns a successful national consulting business in real life.

New this week from NICKY REE

Brenda looks amazing either as an evening gown or shirt and pants set the detailing and fabric are as always from Nicky amazing.
Check them out at Nicky Ree's main store in tropical orchid!

Basic clothing tutorial

Favourite Finds this week

Favourite finds this week I thought I would share with you.

The EVENING STAR gown's are from Sachi Vixen at Adam n Eve with lots of options/colours its a lovely detailed gown.

Thought about Valentines day yet? I came across this heavenly cocktail dress perfect for that special date from Laynie Wear, (Also comes in other colours).

The fantastic sculptie sunglasses from Tesla Miles are a great accessory and a bargain at only L$249.

My favourite store right now is UK Couture the range covers everything from suits to coats and daywear, shown here are the NEW IVY COUTURE oufits available in red, black and ivory and also one of my own favourites TORAN COUTURE a plush belted sweater and smart pants which comes with sculptie cuffs, collar and trouser legs, they also come as bootcut underpants which is great to go with those boots you bought for the winter season.

Check them out for yourself.

Dana

Frolic Mills (founder of the Miss SL Universe Organization and The Best of SL Magazine) worked with artists, architects, designers, sim owners, SL business owners, RL companies and media to ensure that this would be the most amazing spectacle to hit SL. And, he was overwhelmingly successful. Prizes for Miss SL Universe reached over L$260,000 in cash, services, products and real estate. Over a thousand women from all over SL submitted pictures and applications to be contestants, making choosing the 12 contestants a task that would not be envied by many.


Yours truly was lucky enough to have been asked to do the color commentary with Duckyfresh Watanabe for SLCN.TV and also the sim manager for Galveston Island (the location of the pageant). Being privy to some of the inside and backstage action has allowed me to bring you a unique view of the Miss SL Universe Pageant.

This was the first time that I have been in a room full of some of the most powerful people in SL. I knew many of them personally, however, to see everyone in the same place gave me pause. As I looked around and saw Scope Cleaver, Dane Zander, Ally Geer, Raven Pennyfeather, Callie Cline, Nicky Ree, Frolic Mills, Kirk Claymore and countless other members of SL royalty; it made me realize that not only is SL coming of age, but so are it’s inhabitants. It was exciting for me to see some of the most gifted and connected people inside SL talking, laughing and getting to know each other (if they didn’t already). I personally feel that yesterday was not only milestone for the way events are held in SL, but for networking in general. Who knows the connections that were formed yesterday that will impact SL down the road. But, I digress…
The first leg of the pageant was the introduction of the contestants wearing ensembles that were re-creations of clothing worn from the country they were representing. It was stunning. All of the costumes, gowns and bathing suits were custom made for the event. As the ladies paraded down the runway flawlessly (which is a HUGE achievement given the amount of lag we were all facing) it was clear that this was going to be a grand spectacle. Victorian gowns, Asian ensembles, Mediterranean, European, Native American and African motifs represented the countries of origin in a breathtaking show of pride, dignity and style. I have never seen such a display in my entire second life. It hammered home to me that these were not just people showing up to win a prize, they were also expressing their personalities and allowing us to see a deeper glimpse of who they are in one of the most public venues in SL history.
Next was the swimsuit competition. What would a pageant be without a swimsuit competition? However, per the usual, Frolic managed this with class and dignity. All of the contestants were given the same bathing suit, leveling the playing field. It was a lovely gold two piece bikini with a matching sarong. Each of the girls were challenged to accessorize the ensemble to show their personal style.
After the bathing suit competition, Yman Juran put on a particle and acrobatic show of the likes that has never been seen before in SL. It was absolutely amazing. She put together some of the most gifted scripting for that type of performance that any of us had ever seen.
Then the ladies came out in some of the most breathtaking evening gowns you can imagine. Some were sleek and sexy, while others were more traditional with full skirts and head pieces. Regardless of the style, they were all flawless and set off each of the girls with elegance and style.

Nail biting time........

“We have now decided the top five finalists! And they are: Elisne Allen, Miss Israel; Isabel Brocco, Miss Spain; Summer Deadlight, Miss USA; Babyhoney Bailey, Miss Greece; Mui Mukerji, Miss Hong Kong.”
As they each took their place in the circle in front of the judges, cheers, applause and people shouting out their favorites filled the room. The other girls left the stage and all eyes were on the final five.

The ladies were then asked, one at a time, to choose a judge to as them a question. Can you imagine? Some of the most accomplished people in SL asking you a question that will help decide whether or not you win a competition you’ve spent over a month preparing for and being expected to come up with an answer in front of the panel, 82 people, reporters and television crews. I would have passed out. But, proving that they were truly fit for the competition, they all answered with intelligence and grace. One of the answers actually moved Ducky to tears and she had to excuse herself for a moment. Again, each of these contestants allowed the public to have a look inside of them, and it turned out to be one of the more moving parts of the entire evening.

It was then time for the judges to decide who would be the first Miss SL Universe. As they did that, Starr Singer perfomed beautifully singing live. She had such an amazing voice and did justice to the songs that she performed.

After she finished, the judges finally came back with their decision.
“4th Runner Up: Miss Hong Kong, Mui Mukerji!”
“3rd Runner Up: Miss USA, Summer Deadlight!”
“2nd Runner Up: Miss Spain, Isabel Brocco!”

Then… SIM CRASH!! Yes! OMG… When I hurriedly logged back on, SL said that the sim was not available! I got Guy Linden from concierge support who, after a couple of minutes, brought the sim back up and we all flew back to the Miss SL Universe Auditorium. After we all assembled, they continued…

“1st Runner Up: Miss Israel, Elisne Allen!”

“And the first Miss SL Universe is Miss Greece, Babyhoney Bailey!” Cheers, woots, applause and accolades errupted from the audience. It was amazing!

I was able to talk to Miss SL Universe, 2008, Babyhoney Bailey and asked her what all of this meant to her. She said, “Working with the Miss SL Universe organization was a dream. The level of professionalism matched the level of fun and it was the first time I'd been a part of something so elaborate. It was incredibly innovative and I'm proud to have had the opportunity to be apart of it. The other contestants were amazing and, although I had hopes of placing, winning wasn't on my mind at all! I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity and extremely proud to be a part of an event and now an organization that will hopefully bring a wider cultural awareness to SL.”

"It moves me that a show can bring about so much attention that it can fill a sim and countless locations throughout SL for 5 straight hours. It really shows what can be done when a lot of great artists pull together. That's what Miss SL Universe is all about - showcasing talent and creativity. It was one of the most moving experiences of my second life,” said Frolic Mills, Founder of the Miss SL Universe Organization.

This was truly the most amazing event that I have ever been a part of and I am honored to have been able to share it with you.

Carter Giacobini

Last Call for Last Call

When I was still a relative noob here in Second Life, I got a job as a dealer in a Texas Hold ‘em poker casino. I needed clothes. Dressy clothes, classy clothes, to greet guests and circulate on the floor of the casino. With a few of my own poker winnings in my account, I wanted to go shopping. A friend recommended Last Call by Dazzle Haute Couture. Once I ventured through those doors…I knew my inventory would never be the same.

Last Call is and will always be one of my favorite fashion houses in this amazing virtual world. Along with her talented collaborators, Katterina Dagostino and Devyn Carmicheal, Ginny Talamasca carved out a huge slice of the fashion industry in SL. Now sadly, so very sadly, Ginny Talamasca has left the building.

On January 11, 2008, at 9:00 am SL time, Last Call opened its doors to record setting crowds. All designs created by Ginny, Katterina and Devyn are on sale, marked down to $100L. The sim was jammed and inaccessible for nearly for the first 72 hours of the sale. I myself managed to teleport to a nearby location, and walk (maybe crawl is more the truth) to the front door. Once there, I could go no further. Outside the door were many hopeful av’s, all waiting their turn to grab some of the amazing bargains to be found inside. I knew that the sale would be running for a while, so I could wait. I wanted to pick up a few things that I didn’t have, and alternate colors of some of the things that I did.

I finally got in on the fifth day. Moving through the morass of lag was difficult, but doable. The sim was still jammed, and transactions were slow, but they were completed without a hitch. I managed to pick up a few coveted items. No doubt, before the sale is over, I will go back to pick up a few more. It’s in my blood.

The sale is set to run for at least a month, longer if the demand calls for it. But when this sale is over, it's over. These wonderful fashions will be gone. Yes, Ginny has left the building. And she will be sorely missed.

Avenue Inc to close?

Rusch Raymaker
It is with much regret that I have to inform you that I will be closing AVENUE down. Due to RL work commitments and a new job, I will not be able to devote that amount of time to run AVENUE. However, I do have an investor who is interested in buying the business so if you do know of anyone whose capable to be a CEO do let me know :) And if you still need models in future, you can still call on me as I will be retaining the group. Once again thank you all for your support :)

Rusch Raymaker
Great news everyone :) We have found a new CEO to run the agency. Please join me in welcoming our new CEOShea Yue who will continue the legacy of AVENUE. I hope that all of you will give her your support as I would continue being part of AVENUE as an advisor to the agency.AVENUE will be rebuilt at Maria Christine and continue operations there. A new adventure begins... to bigger and better things :) Viva la AVENUE!

To Err is Human...

…to forgive, divine. This idiom speaks to the humanity in all of us. We all make mistakes, and hopefully when I make them, I will be forgiven.

With that said, I was contacted earlier this week by Mr. Lucas Lameth, the creator of Earthtones jewelry. In an earlier post – Caveat Emptor – I made a purchase from Mr. Lameth that never made it into my inventory. In fact, I didn't think it ever would.

Needless to say, I pretty much kissed that 299L goodbye. I never expected to ever hear from Lucas Lameth again. This bothered me on a couple of levels. First, I really wanted that necklace – and second – Lucas makes some lovely jewelry. Of course, lovely don’t mean squat when it never gets around your neck.

Lucas informed me that he had been very ill over the holidays, and he apologized profusely for his inability to respond to my complaint. He made good on my purchase, and all is well with the world again. We certainly hope that he has completely recovered from his malady, and that this never happens again.

Now, time for me to make nice.

Lucas Lameth’s jewelry is a clever mix of old world charm and city chic, mystical and whimsical. With a generous selection for men as well, you will no doubt find something here to fall in love with. You owe it to yourself to visit his locations at Muse and the Promenade to see what delights he has in store for you. I've gone back and purchased a few other pieces to add to my collection. I hope that you enjoy his sensuous style as much as I do.

Pictured here are the Feuille Naturelle necklace, earrings and cuff in Silver, the Grazia necklace and earring in silver and bloodstone, the Paua Shell Tricolor necklace, earrings and bracelet, and the Paua Shell Red necklace, earrings and bracelet. Please visit Earthtones. Do it for me. Do it for yourself. Bless you all.

TCM PRIMVantage

TCM PRIMVantage today announced the release of a new, fully intigrated performance system build for Second Life vendors and service providers. TCM believes their system is a completly unique approach to, what has been up until this time, difficult service provision enviornment. The new system offers unparalleled features in a low prim enviornment; something that has not been achieved to date.

The intuitive build breaks from the typical system in at it does not attempt to meld individual functions into one build but rather removes the venues, offering them as stand alone functions. This makes re-integration an easy task since it is a return to the norm.

Some individual functions of the PRIMVantage system include:
WEDDING CHAPEL -Weddings are a personal, special event. The PRIMVantage Wedding Chapel lets you customize your clients experience by offering them their choice of the following options, all easly controlled from the Wedding Chapel HUD. 6 Color Schemes, 6 virtual locations, 12 different flower arrangements
THEATRE -The PRIMVantage Theater is a live performance system. The theater comes with a built in set rezzing system, tracking spotlights, and general theater controls. Customize your theater for each performance from the easy to use HUD. Choose from four different color schemes for the theater interior, then bring the house lights down, stage lights up and open the curtains. Give your audience a dramtic performance with the spotlights tracking up to three actors independently, with complete color selections.
CLUB -The PRIMVantage Contest Club is a advanced club for holding contests. The instigated contest board changes the state of the theater walls based on the state of the contest, and you control the dance floor and lighting from the HUD. The Contest Club comes with two integrated dance poles for standard pole dancing and a unique fog, light, and water system so you can host wet T shirt contests. Comes with 10 different color schemes, including RANDOM, with different star patterns on the dance floor, and 8 different floor patterns to mix and match.
The system can be easily enhanced with newly developed add-ons and updates will be automatic for registered purchasers.

Why Do You Need To See My Underwear?

I had a party to go to. I was shopping for an outfit. Costume actually as it was the Pirate themed party at Metamorphosis, and I must have gone to 12 stores looking for something to wear. At five minutes before the party started, I ended up at my favourite goth store and went right to the men's section for a coat. Why the men's? Because every store I had gone to had women's clothes that didn't cover much of anything. There are hundreds of stores in sl that carry clothes, why is it almost all of them think a skirt is the same size as a belt? More often then not, I find myself as of late buying items that are suppose to be "Mens" because I am just tired of seeing 400Linden price on something that won't pass a PG rating. My best friend in SL told me one afternoon while I was cooing over a red lace men's outfit wishing it came in women's to just get it; "unlike rl in sl one size really does fit all." Well, yes and no. One size might fit all shapes, but that doesn't mean one style will fit all tastes. For those of us who want to dress sexy and still keep our bodies covered, please give us more choices.

photo by reporter Dashwood Dayafter

These Boots Are Made For...

When I began my Second Life, there was so much to see and do, so much to learn, so much love. Except for boots. The boots that I saw, both on avatars and in stores were huge ungainly affairs, with chains, and straps, and enough bling to blind any unsuspecting avatar close to you. There was no way I was going to put them on my feet. For one thing, I was sure that I wouldn’t be able to fly with those weights attached to my lower extremities.

SL designers heard the call of the avatar that didn’t want to look like she was going into battle on a distant star, and created boots that are sleek and sexy. Shown here are some of my favorites, boots by INSOLENCE, Redgrave, Lyra Muse of LC Vamp, and Onyx LeShelle of Maitreya. Gotta love ‘em…

Launching of the Hombre Mens Collection for Nuclear Boutique

Come January 12, Saturday at 10 am,
Nuclear Boutique will launch their men's collection.
Nuclear Boutique has made quite a name for itself with gorgeous breathtaking women's designs. Now they are about to take men's clothing to the next level. The line will include casual wear, suits and suit alternatives in new and exciting styles and colors with fine detailing.
How many men in sl are always complaining about not being able to find the "right" mens clothing? Well search no more, now you can find all that you desire of well tailored beautifully designed men's clothing created and designed by one of the best designers in Secondlife.
Arikinui Adria holds nothing back as she designs this new line for men. She puts just as much pride and detailing into her mens line as she does her beautifully designed women's clothing.
The well known owner of Nuclear Boutique, Arikinui Adria, has been an artist for over 30 years. She focused on color and movement in her real life work and that has translated into the beautiful colorful designs that she creates for Nuclear Boutique.
Now for the couples that love to shop together you have a one stop shop for everything. No longer do you have to go from a spot to shop for her then leave to find a spot to shop for him. Now you can both shop in the same location for fabulous clothing!
Amanda Blackmountain and Briane Demme of Polish Up! are creating matching shoes for the outfits to complete the new stunning sets. Also Urid Dal, one of Second Life's premiere hatters and creator of fine accessories for men will have some of his exquisite items avialable in The Mens Shop.
To celebrate the release of the new line on January 12th, Nuclear Boutique will be having a scavenger hunt and prize give aways starting at 10am and running through 3pm SLT.

Date : 12 January 2008 (Saturday)
Time : 10 am
Venue : Nuclear Boutique: High Quality, Archipelago Wild (128,129.29)
Please join us for the unveiling of the most anticipated men's clothing launch in secondlife.

For more information please contact Arikinui Adria (owner) Nuclear Boutique
or Annette Wilder (owner) Wilder Public Relations Firm.

SEASONED SECOND LIFE STYLE EXPERT TO RUN FASHION-CENTRIC IN-WORLD CLUB

Evanston, IL – 01/07/2008 – CLUB MANNEQUIN is thrilled to announce the naming of well-known in-world fashion trend-setter Jada Hoyer as the new Club Manager, responsible for parties, runway shows, promotions, etc. at the club.

Jada Hoyer was "born in Second Life" on the 1st of December 2006. She is a woman of many talents and a strong entrepreneurial sense who has already achieved much in-world, including having originated the "SL Top Model Contest" (now starting its third season and showing no signs of slowing down). The contest is held for aspiring models who want to break into the fashion scene in Second Life and boasts a Prize of 50,000L for the lucky winner. Additionally, Jada has previously operated her own club, called "Jada Kiss", named after herself and one of the products of a favorite city, Hershey PA.

In "real life" Jada is equally successful, having owned and operated a child care center for the past 6 years in Pennsylvania, where she lives.

CLUB MANNEQUIN can be found in-world in Second Life at: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Simuality2/160/166/28

CCI bring you treasure you want

Ahoy matee! Darrrre ye brave the challenge to find the burrrried treasure chests? Ye be findin' the map with yer clues in the main shop. Be rewarrrded for yer lookin' with the freebies you be findin' in the treasure chests. Good luck! Arrrr!

Click HERE to find the treasure and have fun with friends, Crucial is one of my favourite shoe stores as well as selling some sexy clothing, go take a look TODAY!

Caveat Emptor

In Latin, this means “Let the buyer beware”. Sadly, this lesson is usually one that we must learn the hard way.

I consider myself a seasoned shopper here in Second Life. I have an extensive inventory, filled with clothing, shoes, hair and jewelry from many of the best designers in SL. I have purchased textures, gadgets, furniture and art. I have purchased many, many things. Occasionally, there is a glitch in the SL asset system. Stuff happens. If this rare glitch does happen, I send a note card to the creator. I do this rather than send an IM, because many times, IM’s are capped. If the creator is on line, I usually hear from them within moments. If they are not logged on, I will hear from them within hours. I have never had to contact a creator more than once to have a problem rectified.

On December 21, 2007, I went to Earthtones Muse location – owned and operated by Lucas Lameth. I made a purchase of a necklace and earring set selling for 299L. I was excited about attending a holiday party, and planned to wear this with my ensemble. After making this purchase, I purchased four additional items. When I checked my inventory, I found that the four additional items I bought had been delivered to my inventory, but the necklace earring set had not been. I logged off and cleared my cache. Still no jewelry. I logged on the SL website and located the transaction, which I copied and pasted to a note card, and dropped this note card to Mr. Lameth. I had hoped that I would hear from him before I had to dress for the gala, but I did not. Disappointed as I was, I am always prepared, I simply went to plan B, choosing another necklace/earring set to wear that evening.

24 hours later, I have 299L less in my account, and nothing to show for it. I sent him another note card, including the same information as before.

Another 24 hours go by. No necklace, no earrings, no word from Mr. Lameth. Another note card sent. This time, I sent a duplicate request to his associate and partner, Manna Rosewood.

Another 24 hours pass…Yadda yadda yadda. Now, I am getting grouchy.

Christmas comes and goes. The day after Christmas comes and goes. No jewelry, no contact from the creator. I am logged on late…and a little blue window on the lower right hand corner of my screen appears! Mr. Lameth has accepted my inventory item!! He’s received all my note cards!!! At long last, this problem will be taken care of!!!!

Well, I am here to tell you…to date, I have not only NOT received the item that I purchased, I have not heard one solitary word from Mr. Lameth or his associate Manna Rosewood. I am no longer disappointed, I am no longer grouchy. I am downright pissed off.

This is the worst service I have ever received here in Second Life. I would rather be here telling you about Mr. Lameth’s jewelry, but instead I am advising you to reconsider purchasing anything from this creator. Not because of inferior quality, because of inferior customer service. It makes no difference how wonderful your product is if you cannot or will not deliver it to the customer.

Allow me to share what I found on Mr. Lameth’s profile:

”Hello, please drop me a notecard if you have questions or concerns about anything you've purchased from EARTHTONES. I'll help as you as soon as possible and if I don't respond I did not recieve your message. Please try again!”

Now, from Ms. Rosewood’s profile:

“*Questions or Concerns regarding EARTHTONES may equally and welcomingly be addressed by myself*”

Well, been there, done that, again and again and again. All I have to show for it is an entry in my account transactions that deducts 299L. Let Mr. Lameth show me an entry in his that show he delivered.

So, I will close as I opened this blog. Caveat Emptor.