Xen's Pen
Fashionable ramblings from Xenobia Foxclaw's virtual pen.

When Agnes Finney wanted to test her gift vendor, she bought one of her gowns and sent it to me as a gift. What a wonderful surprise! The lovely lavender color is light and airy. The skirt is lighted so that it glows brightly when the environment is set to midnight. It even shimmers at the midday setting–in fact, you can probably see a bit of a glow in the picture.

There are two versions of the ruffle and two of the back bow that are all attached in different locations. That lets you wear the ruffle with a necklace whether the necklace is attached to the chest or the spine. That is such a considerate addition by a designer, and it probably didn’t take Ms. Finney a lot of extra time copying the items, attaching them to a different location, and adjusting them. However, it will probably save a lot of time for those of us who want to wear both because we don’t have to spend time digging through our inventories hunting for a different necklace that attaches in the right spot and looks great with the gown or spend time editing the ruffles or the necklace. (When is the last time you got a necklace or collar lost inside your body because you just attached it to a new spot without thinking about it first? Then you spent quite a bit of time trying to find it and more time trying to get it at just the right angle. Aggravating, isn’t it?)

The back bow is the prettiest one I’ve seen because centered on the bow is a beautifully designed flower. However, you do want to take care not to wear both of the versions at the same time. Because they are attached to different spots, they move differently when you walk. (Yes, I learned it through experience, but seeing that difference is what caused me to notice that there were two different versions.)

The Kaestner Gown comes in pink, purple, and blue and a Morning Glory Barbie version of the gown also in pink, blue, and purple. I had to ask Agnes what the difference in the versions were because it wasn’t readily apparent to me by looking at the vendor pictures. She said that there were flowers under the ruffle of the Barbie version. If I had looked closely, I would have seen the difference–I looked more closely and spotted the difference when I knew what to look for.

Agnes Finney's Kaestner Gown in Purple

• Gown: My Precious–Kaestner (Purple) (800L)
• Skin: Cupcakes–Seduction (Copper/Princess) (1000L)
• Hair: LeLutka–O’Hara (Beach Blond) (190L/3-pack or 525L/full pack)
• Eyes: InSight–Clean Blue Eyes (75L)
• Shoes: Basevi Moda–Colorchange Stilettos (Thistle) (345L/double pack or 445L/mega pack)
• Poses: Striking Poses (50L/pose or 400L/set–usually 10 in a set)
• Body: Xenobia’s own design

Eclectic Visions, headed by Suzanne Xeltentat, had its grand opening Sunday with a fashion show that was different from any other show I’ve seen in SL. First, the venue was designed using low-lag building techniques and it showed in the ability of avatars to get around. It’s certainly not perfect, but it’s a truly beautiful setting. Second, get around they did–the models that is–they did not stay on the runway. They walked out on the catwalk, down the stairs, and got up close and personal with audience members who were sitting at small tables. They weren’t quiet either. Each model would strike a pose, share information about his or her outfit and actually talk to those in attendance. Third, the designer, Simone Stern, did exactly what audiences are always asked to do–she took off flexie items, scripted items, even her hair and shoes. When the designer does that, others don’t complain, they do it too–okay, maybe not the hair, but the jewelry and other items that had taken their Avatar Rendering Costs (ARC) up into the red numbers. All of that reduced lag so that models could move about freely and their clothing could be seen and appreciated.

So far it doesn’t sound much like the typical fashion show. But what took it just a step further was the little gadget that was passed out to models and audience members. Once that invisible item was worn and the command was given, everyone ran around having a great time! Okay, it was a little strange, but this model was laughing so hard in RL her sides were hurting. When was the last time you were laughing like that at a fashion show?

Don’t get the wrong idea. This was serious fashion using trained models, but it was done in such a way that the audience could really see the outfits, how they moved, and could interact with the models. It wasn’t easy for the models–not only did they have to go where they were supposed to go when they were supposed to and strike appropriate poses to show off the outfits, but then they added information about the outfits and bantered with the audience. The models also had to do their homework to prepare for the show because they were to present the clothing with the designer’s vision of the outfits rather than their own interpretation of what they thought the outfits should look like.

What may cause criticism of the show is the audience-participation activity at the end. It was a little reminiscent of a school yard at recess with everyone running around helter-skelter. It was fun! Isn’t that what SL is supposed to be?

Was it a success? Ask Simone Stern herself.

Here is my outfit for the show–Pink Divinity Bridal Gown–I wore the slim skirt pictured in the middle with front and back views. The gown folder has the top on three layers, panties on two layers, glitch pants on two layers, four different styles of skirts (most of which come with and without trains), stockings, and a veil. In addition to the lovely pink, it came in ivory, blue, beige, silver, and white. All of these different styles and pieces for only 1200L. I loved it and really wanted to show you the front and back of every version with and without the trains and the veil, but that would have been getting carried away. It was tempting though.

I must thank Amutey DeCuir for copies of the gown she will be releasing soon–Bellini. I thought the name just sounded beautiful, so I did a little Googling and learned that a Bellini is a cocktail that originated in Italy between 1934 and 1948 and is a mixture of sparkling wine and peach puree. I’ve never had a Bellini, but I think it sounds heavenly. That makes it an appropriate name for this gown which is indeed heavenly. The flower on the left at the shoulder is beautifully constructed, showing movement and just the right touch to this incredible gown. The skirt is translucent in the front, letting the thigh-high net stockings show through, and it has layers upon layers in the back. The movement of the gown is luscious–I tried to catch the feeling in the picture of the red gown. Speaking of red, the gown comes in five colors whose names (Blue, Olive, Purple, Red, Teal) simply do not do justice to the rich tones. I’ll warn you–when you put this on, you’ll just have to go dancing.

Style Sheet

• Gown: Bliss Couture–Bellini (Blue, Olive, Purple, Red, Teal)
• Hair: Tukinowaguma–Hingis (Ebony) (300L/2 pack or 1000L/full pack)
• Shoes: Basevi Moda ColorChange Stilettos (black) (345L/double pack or 445L/mega pack)
• Skin: Le Zoo–Cupcakes, Seduction (Copper/Topaz)
• Eyes: InSight–Nova eyes (75L)
• Eyelashes: Fallen Angels–Eyelashes (I think these were free and are no longer available)
• Poses: Striking Poses (50L/pose or 400L/set–usually 10)
• Body: My Own Design

I came into SL with the intention of becoming a model. All of my time in world has been learning about modeling; finding clothing, accessories, and poses for modeling; and modeling. When I’m in a show, I’ll add descriptions and pictures of the outfits I model. That will let me introduce you to some great new designs, designers, and venues. This post is about the September 12 fashion show with gowns from My Precious. Two of the gowns were designed by Agnes Finney of My Precious, and the other two were designed by Sykao Adamski of Entre Mares.