At The SLB23 Shop & Hop

By Netera Landar

 

SL23B “The Golden Age of Hollywood” logo.

 

This year, I was ready to take on SL’s Birthday Shop & Hop. 

I wasn’t alone. I was with M. I have Fab Free blog’s Shop & Hop Excel sheet on my screen. I strapped on my roller skates, tied back my hair, and off we went to Aurelian. 

The easiest mode of transportation at the SL23B Shop & Hop is Pixel Box’s Wearable Scooter.

I quickly learned that even though M. never went to a Shop & Hop, he knows what he’s doing. He scanned the environment and developed a reasonable strategy. Forward, march, hit them all. But he wasn’t going to walk, run, or fly. Mr. Logical chose to visit Pixel Box and click on the wearable flying scooter.  He was already on it before I removed my roller skates and rezzed mine. 

 

Both adult and general teleports at the Shop & Hop.

Then we were off. Past the promotional signs and TPs there were 480 content creators and their gifts. Who can resist? Round one, this was my gift haul. 

Purple Moon’s free gifts were the Mabel Dress and Star Glasses. Grab them both.

 

Always first on my list are dresses Austin’s Angels can wear, and if I can get furniture for my house, I’m all for it. This time around, I got both.

  

Anastyle’s Joy dress has a classy black-and-white Art Deco/flapper-style design, perfect for any Speakeasy. I love it.

Salt & Pepper’s Lustre is a sleek burgundy number that will hug your body on romantic nights out.

Purple Moon’s Neveah Dress features a lovely floral pattern set against a black background. You’ll love the straps and curves.

I loved Purple Moon’s Neveah Dress, which I purchased, because it’s not all about getting free gifts. Supporting the content creators is just as important. I had this dress in a light pattern, and I wanted the darker floral dress because it’s beautiful.

Purple Moon’s Mabel dress worn.

The vintage Purple Moon Mabel dress with star glasses has a sweeping bodice and a wide skirt. The star glasses add a nostalgic touch.

Salt & Pepper’s Lustre sequined cocktail dress is available in LaraX, PetiteX, Reborn, Waifu, Legacy, and Perky.

Salt & Pepper’s Lustre sequined cocktail dress didn’t come in Maitreya, so I couldn’t model it, but it’s gorgeous and deserves to be worn.

Why Not’s Valencia Collection is a mid-century foyer table/bookcase complete with a mirror, lamp, ginger jars, and books.

 In terms of furniture, I rushed to get the Valencia Collection, a mid-century foyer table/bookcase complete with a mirror, lamp, ginger jars, and books. I immediately rezzed it near my staircase at home. I also picked up Bazar’s Louiza Lounge set.

Artist Judi Lynn (JudiLynn India) provided two lovely prints. One appears to have an ancient form of communication, and the other is a form and color composition. 

Netera Landar

 

 

Black Flowers

 

By Netera Landar

 

The Black Flowers store in the 4B District.

Austin’s Angels are always looking for new styles to expand our performance wardrobe. Don’t ask us how many dresses and outfits we already have in our inventory. The number is off the charts. 

Sandy Hauster mentioned that Black Flowers was part of the Saturday sale on June 13, so I headed over there to take a look. I quickly learned that they had LauraX, not Maitreya. I couldn’t buy anything for fashion shots, but I was impressed with what I saw.

You’ll find the group join and gifts outside the store.

Black Flowers is located in the 4B District with Body Form and Black Box fashion stores. It’s in an adult sim. For a mere 5L, you can join the group and receive gifts. I found gifts on the right side of the store entrance.

Left, Ginger featured in the Saturday Sale for 70L and the Happy Weekend Sale kiosks.

At the landing point, you’ll find the event sales. The Ginger jumpsuit is strapless, with a form-fitting top and baggy pants, and costs 70L. Available in LauraX, PetiteX, Legacy, Perky, Bombshell, Reborn, and Waifu, in a variety of colors.

Roxy has a jacket and pants; a halter top is needed. Available for 315L.

I found Roxy at the front of the store. The short, colorful jacket is stylish and comes in black, white, brown, yellow, red, blue, purple, and dark pink. It costs 315L. The pants are sold separately in black, white, brown, and blue.

Valentina is a lovely strapless gown that drapes beautifully on your body.

Do a search for Valentina, a gorgeous gown with a front slit. I love how it drapes over the body. Available in black, white, beige, brown, gold, green, red, blue, burgundy, purple, pink, and hot pink.

 

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/FOUR%20B%20DISTRICT/213/115/29
 

Netera Landar 

Ghee

 By Netera Landar

 

 

Ghee’s main store entrance is located on Qeestein.

For years, I’ve loved Ghee’s clothing, made by Warm Clarity. Beatrice Serendipity owned it after her, and now Sophia Paez Serendipity, her SL daughter and real-life friend, owns it. Sadly, Beatrice died during the pandemic.

Besame Dress for Lara with (Gos) Lady G. Platform Pumps, Truth hair – Mina. Glasses by LQC Barbados – Summer set.

I thought if I were going to write about women’s fashions, I’d start with my favorite stores. Over the years, I’ve invested money in the latest styles and took time to walk down every aisle to see what’s featured.

I clicked on Ghee’s landmark and was happy to see it was still there. 

Thirty-four group gifts are available on the left wall of the center section of the main store. 

 

First, the basics: it costs 250L to join Ghee’s group, but the group gifts are worth it. The group join link is at the entrance, on the left side of the center counter. There are 34 group gifts on the left wall. Behind the counter, there are numerous items priced from 1 to 10L.

The Norma Tea Dress is a Maitreya Laura exclusive and includes a HUD for the belt. Wear with open-toed heels.

Instead of listing all Ghee’s merchandise, I focused on the outfits and their classic style. Ghee offers vintage clothing to make you stand out. Anyone can dress casually, but an outfit from the 1930’s to 1960s is darn right adorable. So, check out Ghee’s Besame Rockabilly dress. It comes in Graphite, Lilac, Bluebell, Vanilla, Sugar, and Scarlet. Wear your hair in an updo and accessorize with heart sunglasses. The Norma Tea Dress is strapless and knee-length. It comes in Meringue, Licorice, Lipstick, Porcelain, Frenchie, and Bubblegum. Cashi is perfect for a holiday gathering. Of the four available textures, I liked red, white, and green. Next to it, you’ll find the winter edition of Malva, which offers a more tailored look for business casual. It comes in three textures. Snowflakes was my favorite of the three. The pattern is sweet and stylish. 

Windlight Shells Gown comes in teal, fuchsia, red, and purple. This formal gown has an operatic style.

Ghee’s formal vintage-style gowns include Windlight Shells Gown and headpiece, which is like a work of art, with its colorful array behind a mermaid-style gown.

SS16 Maxi Dress is rigged and comes in various early body sizes and one-size fitmesh. Reminds me of a metallic oil painting.

In the Outlet store, there’s a tailored suit with embroidered details in Azure, Pitch, and Fiesta. A Maxi Dress Special Edition Noir comes in rigged mesh. 

 

La Corolle Vert features a HUD in six vintage tones of green that whispers Paris in the 1940s.

La Corolle Vert is Parisian, and you can also purchase a matching hat. The color HUD features variations of green. 

 

 

In a back room, you’ll find a more erotic selection of clothing and footwear. I loved the Wanda Catsuit and the Darkness short leather dress, but couldn’t find them displayed.

 

Enjoy, 

 

Slurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Qeestein/142/140/1501
 

Netera Landar 

 

Alex Radikal of Tiny Bit Radikal

 

By Netera Landar

Alex's inworld store.

Alex Radikal is both a clothing creator and a DJ. For 15 years, she’s been creating Tiny clothes, and DJing followed shortly after. You’ll find her entertaining as a Tiny rabbit in Raglan Shire on Fridays at 7 p.m. SLT; at Drama Libre, a themed venue; and Out On A Limb, a small mixed avatar club in a RadioSpiral region treehouse, which is co-run by her alt avatar.

“Tiny” is an umbrella term for all small avatars, and Dinkie is a “brand” of avatars. Dinkie is the most popular of the brands, which is why some folks refer to Tinies as Dinkies. “That’s incorrect,” pointed out Alex.

 

 Alex’s friends told her about Tinies, and she was eager to learn more about these drama-free Second Life residents. 

“I found Raglan – which is synonymous with Tiny – and made friends there. While I was exploring, I came across an article on the internet about making clothes for Tinies, which explained a little about how to do it, but also the mindset of a Tiny and what makes appealing clothing for them,” Alex explained. 

Alex stated that years ago, the only popular Tiny avatar was a Wynx. Its clothing was made from sculpts and prims that go over the avatar base. The base is “crushed” or “folded. Under “every” avatar is a base avatar, which is human size. Wynx is named after the creator of some of the first Tiny avatars – Wynx Whiplash.

“I found that I could make clothes and they were pretty good, so I took a small store in Raglan to see if anyone wanted to buy them. They did. The rest is history. Tiny clothes are not just fashion, but fun; cosplay is enjoyed as is anything funny,” she said.

When Alex began making clothes, you needed to be able to build with Second Life tools at a reasonable level and be creative. With today’s mesh avatars, she said it’s essential to be competent with graphics, among other things. Newer avatars are rigged mesh and require textures made for the meshes. The time she spends creating new outfits is determined by her commitments to her other avatars. She has another business with one alt, a radio station to co-run with her other alt, and a real life. Some weeks she has no time, other weeks up to 10-12 hours. She makes clothing for all genders and occasionally does custom work.

Alex gets her outfit ideas from movies, images on the internet, what people say, and her own thoughts on what would make a cute outfit. The seasons also guide her. She has almost 1,000 releases for Wynx, Dinkie, Muso Mouse, and Titchy.

“I’ve just made two new outfits for Dinkies, which I will probably build for Wynx, Muso, and Titchy, too. They’re not even for sale yet. Each type of avatar has a different type of clothing, so it’s not just making it once; it’s making it four times, if I have time. Dinkie clothing is far and away the bestselling, but I do try to keep making clothes for the other avatars I cover, too. I mean, I started with Wynx, how could I not support them?” she stated.

Asked if there’s an outfit she adores, Alex replied, “If you make something, it’s your baby, so I love them all, but I guess the one below is one of my top favourites. I’m not Scottish, but I know how much attention to detail I put in this outfit and I’m delighted with the results. It was a commission that I was allowed to sell after I had delivered it to a customer. I have several colourways available, but this is my favorite. Incidentally, a ‘Tattieboggle’ is what the Scots call a scarecrow, so wear this, and you’re not (Nae) a scarecrow.”

Alex sells her Tiny clothing in her inworld store and on Marketplace. She offers a 10% discount to group members/subscribers who buy from her inworld store.

Alex added that it’s a mistaken opinion that Tinies are young and childish. She wants readers to understand that you are talking to an adult when you are talking to a Tiny and talk long enough, and you’ll discover that they are witty, kind, crazy, fun, creative, intelligent, considerate, inclusive…all the good things.

“Many avatars, myself included, became Tinies because they got absolutely fed up with being constantly hit on by every human in sight. Being Tiny means being considerate as well as understanding that SL is not just what the headlines say. Not everyone in SL wants virtual sex and nothing else! Tinies don’t get quite as much flak as Furries, but they are still considered odd by people who can’t see past their own noses. Don’t judge a book by its cover. Open it and read it before you pass any judgment,” said Alex.

Netera Landar