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

From January 14, 2011 to January 22, 2011 Finesmith Mainstore will be holding a hunt for everyone to enjoy, with great prizes and more.

The hunt started at 10am on the 14th.

In order to take part of the hunt you simply tp to the start point in the Finesmith Mainstore and from there on start looking all over the Finesmith parcel for the Forbidden Frui

An apple will be placed on each of the stores on the Finesmith mall and the rest will be located inside the Mainstore, no hints, no LM you will have to run around the sim to find them.

20 Apples total- (Jewelry, dresses and nails)

Each hunt item is set for sale at a price ranged between L$1 and L$150 – items inside are worth L$250-1000L each
so you will end up with some awesome deals and amazing jewelry from Finesmith.

Let the temptation take over!

**FineSmith Designs Limo**

Are you familiar with the real life swimwear designer of SHAN, Chantal Levesque?

If not, check out her website at http://www.shan.ca. Go–see it now–it takes a moment to load, so be patient–then come back please. I’ll wait.

Here is Chantal in Second Life. Pretty good likeness, don’t you think?

SHAN represents the best of real world, upscale swimwear around the world. Now join me in welcoming Chantal Levesque and her Dream Team of SL Designers to Second Life. It’s true–a RL designer has broken into SL. The team has done a marvelous job of keeping the vision of the RL designer in the SL clothing. Chantal and Whistle Wheelwright, SL designer of Chantal’s real life designs are enjoying a moment in the sun.

If you would like to see a show, don’t expect to see a mass invitation. They do small shows and attendance is by invitation only. The intimacy allows for almost lag-free shows where you have a really great chance of seeing every design presented. If you would like an invitation, drop a notecard to Parisian Skytower or Mika Palmyra.

Above is the RL photo that comes in the folder with the clothing. Below is a photo I took of me wearing the Ibiza bikini/skirt. Whistle Wheelwright, part of the SHAN SL team, added the SHAN logo to the photo for me.

Here is another example:

Above is another RL model wearing a SHAN design and below is me in the same SL design. I am delighted with the look.

There may be no doubt about which of the above photos is RL and which is SL, but the SL examples are so much like their RL counterparts that it is really amazing. The careful attention to detail in bringing the RL SHAN beachwear into SL will undoubtedly make it a big hit. What is even more fun is that you can buy any of the SL designs for your avatar and then go online and buy the same RL design for yourself.

I am not going to tell you the story about how this wonderful team came to be. I’ll leave that to the team at Maniera Magazine. I happen to know they are working on an article, so I’ll leave the details to them. In the meantime, go visit one of the SHAN stores and pick up a swimsuit.

Wearing this swimwear now is helping me, one of those in the northern hemisphere who wants to forget it’s winter by walking around SL in a bikini. Join me and let’s  find an SL beach and enjoy looking like a million dollars wearing designs from SHAN.

Styling Credits for Second Life Photo 1

Swimwear: SHAN – Ibiza

Skin: Cupcakes – Seduction/London (Sienna/Candy) (Not in the store; contact Mimi Coral)

Hair: Damselfly – Mynal (Brown Dusky)

Eyes: Bower Bird – Everyday Eyes Hazel (Closed, but send a notecard with details to Charm McAndrews if you are interested in purchasing)

Eyelashes: Miamai – No Alpha Lashes No 6

Fingernails: FineSmith Designs – Painter

Pose: agapee

Photographer and Model: Xenobia Foxclaw

Styling Credits for Second Life Photo 2

Swimwear: SHAN – Barbarella

Skin: Cupcakes – London (Cameo/Candy)

Hair: Damselfly – Stasya (Brown Mocha Spash)

Eyes: Bower Bird – Everyday Eyes Hazel (Closed, but send a notecard with details to Charm McAndrews if you are interested in purchasing)

Eyelashes: Miamai – No Alpha Lashes No 6

Fingernails: FineSmith Designs – Painter

Bracelets: Caroline’s Jewelry – Ara Bracelet (Silver)

Sunglasses: Made by hayato Alsop of Fab !/aikane  (Not in the store)

Pose: Body Talking

Model and Photographer: Xenobia Foxclaw

Week 4: October 29

Yula Finesmith is sponsoring a weekly competition in which she challenges models to use at least one piece of her jewelry in an outfit to fit the theme of the week. You can read all about the competition and how to enter here.

I was unable to enter this week’s competition, but my inability to enter was a good reason–I won last week’s competition in Manierism that I blogged about in my last entry. However, my ineligibility to enter did not keep me from dressing appropriately for the theme that this week was surrealism. I had to read to learn about what surrealism was for sure, and while reading, I discovered my inspiration.

My surreal outfit was inspired by my favorite surrealist artist—you may think of him as an author and illustrator of children’s books, but many of his illustrations, as well as his other works of art, are definitely surrealistic—Theodor Seuss Geisel—known more popularly as Dr. Seuss. Coming dressed as a simple human or even completely as an animal wouldn’t be surreal, but coming as an animal with a human face and body—that’s surreal.

What inspired my choice of a butterfly was the hair with the antenna that I found at Love Soul during a Crazy Arse Hair Hunt. It looked as though it had been spirited out of one of Dr. Seuss’ illustrations—color and all. I spent some time searching for wings and never found exactly what I wanted—something with heavy black lines and two or three bright colors. However, I found this great pair of purple wings at Material Squirrel.

To fit the Seuss theme I couldn’t go with a plain black body, and I didn’t have a skin that matched the hair, but it seemed more Seuss-like to wear a skin that was a different color anyway, so I chose a light green skin called Fern from the fantasy skins at CUPCAKES and added red eyebrows from the CUPCAKES London skins. Then I added green eyes from Avantgarda  Creations to reflect the green color of the skin. Of course, no surrealistic butterfly would be caught dead without her eyelashes, and mine came from Miamai.

Real butterflies don’t wear clothing, but a surrealistic butterfly would wear something unexpected. So, I donned  a black swimsuit from Nicky Ree, over-the-knee black boots from Thalia’s Fashion Collection and above-the-elbow gloves from the Empress Gown from My Precious. Since we all know that butterflies love flowers, I added the perfect necklace and earrings—the Forever Bride Set from FineSmith Designs that just happen to be the prize in the Pumpkin Hunt—and those completed the look of my surrealistic, Dr.-Seuss-llike butterfly. I suspect Dr. Seuss would have loved Second Life.

Next week’s competition will be Friday, November 5. The notecard is due to Yula Finesmith no later than 6:00 a.m. SLT on that day and the runway competition is at 9:00 a.m. SLT. (See the link in the first paragraph for specific information about what is needed.) The theme for next week is Classic. Hmmmm, now I wonder what that means in the art world and how that translate into fashion. If you don’t know either, I’ll see you on Google.

Photographer and Model: Xenobia Foxclaw

The 2010 Clothing Fair has opened. When you go, I know you’ll want to look your best. Here is my challenge to you–go to the Fair with an ARC of no more than 100 AND no more than one script. Here are some looks I put together for an ARC of 75 or under, and to be honest, if I’d leave off the hair, the ARC would be one for each outfit.

I will win no styling events with these looks, but I do not go to the fair to see others or to be seen by others.  I go to see the work of the designers I love and the work of designers I may not have discovered yet. I go the Fair to make purchases of the items the designers have so generously donated to the Relay for Life’s efforts to fund the very difficult task of finding a cure for cancer. I go to honor the memory of my grandmother, uncle, father, and younger sister who all died of cancer; to remind me of my friends who have survived cancer and their ordeals; and to honor the caregivers, among them my own mother.

You may have a powerful computer that allows you to be free of lag, but please remember that everyone who wants to go to the Clothing Fair does not have that luxury. Please help them by keeping your textures low so their computers don’t have to work so hard to render all of the textures you’re wearing. The easiest way to do this is to wear system clothing. In each instance above, I’ve selected pants and a shirt with no prims. I skipped the shoes and used hair that is low in prims–all but the middle hair–are available at Pocket Mirrors. The middle hair, by issa Gelber, is no longer available.

Please keep your scripts few in number also to help the regions running at their best and reduce lag. Except for the RFL vendors, all other vendors are unscripted. The builders and designers have done all they can to make this a pleasant fair easy for everyone enjoy. Please do your share too, it’s not a lot to ask.

Style Sheet

2010 Clothing Fair T-shirt: Part of the Treasure Hunt–sorry, you’ll have to find this one yourself–2010 Clothing Fair

Clothing: Style Starts Here

Center Hair: Designed by isaa Gelber (Hair no longer available)

Other Hair: Pocket Mirrors

Skin: CUPCAKES

Eyes: InSight Eyes

Poses: PDA (no longer available)

Model and Photographer: Xenobia Foxclaw

If you haven’t stopped by Agnes Finney’s store My Precious lately, you should. She has opened a new store in front of the old one, so you’ll want to stop in, explore, buy several of her delightful gowns, and pick up the five current specials. I love them all of the specials. The gowns/dresses mentioned in this entry are at the front of the store. If you want the member specials, you need to join the in-world group. The joiner is right up front. There are two signs–the one with the pink background is for the in-world group you need to join to get group prices. The one with the lavender background is for the update group; it doesn’t take up a group space, but you can’t get group member prices either. Right behind the sign are the specials I mention below.

Agnes Christell New Members

The two Christell gowns available at My Precious have a lovely pattern that just fascinates me and colors that I love. The neckline is perfect for the Alienbear Princess Yukiko Necklace I’ve added along with the matching necklace and bracelet, and they are on sale for 50% at Alienbear right now.

Agnes Chistelle New Year (VIP)

My Butterfly Princess

The Butterfly Princess dress is a beautiful gossamer that has the prettiest combination of colors. I love the whole bouquet of flowers on the front bodice and the feeling that I might float off at any moment. Pop over to My Precious to pick up this cutey that I’ve paired with Alienbear’s Kriscar II Earrings that are indeed on sale right now for 50% off, even better, they come with a necklace that I didn’t wear here because the dress doesn’t really need a necklace.

Agnes Beautiful Dream for Member

Anges’ My Precious Beautiful Dream gown is the fourth special. It’s a bit more expensive at 50L, but she has redesigned the skirt so that it is editable. This has long been a favorite gown of mine because of the color, and now that I can edit the skirt, I like it even more. I’ve worn the Alienbear VernaRosa necklace and earrings that are on sale for 50% off right now.

My Precious Babe Red

Last, but certainly not least, is this delightful My Precious Babe dress in red. I like everything about this dress, even the 50L price. I adore red and the texturing and shading really enhance the color. I love the two-tiered skirt. I love the princess neckline because it lends itself to so many necklace choices. For this dress I selected the Alienbear Platinum Queen Felicitas Set that is on sale for 50% off.

Alienbear Sale

Once you’ve picked up the specials at My Precious, you’ll want to stop by Alienbear. If you didn’t catch it earlier, Alienbear is having a 50% off sale on most of her jewelry. This is an annual event and one you don’t want to miss. To help you get there, I’ve provided a limousine. Have fun!

Style Sheet

Gown 1: My Precious–Agnes Christelle New Members (1L)

Gown 2: My Precious–Agnes Chistelle New Year (VIP) (1L)

Jewelry: Alienbear–Princess Yukiko Necklace (White) (50% Off Sale/175L)), Yukiko Earrings (White) (50% Off  Sale/75L), Yukiko Bracelets (50% Off Sale/125L)

Gown 3: My Precious–My Butterfly Princess (5L)

Earrings: Alienbear–KrisCar II Earrings (comes in set with necklace) (White) (50% Off Sale/200L)

Gown 4: My Precious–Agnes Beautiful Dream for Member (50L)

Jewelry: Alienbear–VernaRosa Necklace (White) (50% Off Sale/200L), VernaRosa Earrings (White) (50% Off Sale/75L)

Gown 5: My Precious–My Precious Babe Red (50L)

Jewelry: Alienbear–Platinum Queen Felicitas Set (White) (50% Off Sale/300L)

Shoes: Basevi Moda Shoes–ColorChange Stiletto (295L/2 Pack or 445L/Megapack)

Skin: CUPCAKES–Seduction v.2 (Copper/Obsession) (800L)

Hair: TRUTH–Lucy (Platinum) (Sale price 200L/fat pack)

Eyes: InSight Eyes–Stars (75L)

Poses: Striking Poses (50L/pose)

Agnes Finney has designed a gorgeous new gown called Princess Josephine that will make its debut at the My Precious Fashion Shows on Saturday, December 26. It’s a mermaid-style gown with a short train. I love border-print fabrics and Agnes uses those frequently in her gown designs as she has done so beautifully in the Princess Josephine. The front of the gown features a delightful sculpted rose that is actually a pearl necklace. The back of the gown has a lovely bow topped by a shiny-textured flower that looks as if it might have been carved out of a gigantic diamond. The waist is encircled with a menu-adjustable  belt composed of a double row of pearls and diamonds.

If you wanted to wear your own jewelry with this gown, you could detach any or all of these attachments and you have a enchanting gown with a bodice bordered with a delicate white lace. Be the first in your crowd to get this amazing gown.

Style Sheet

Gown: My Precious–Princess Josephine (We’ll have to wait until after the show to find out!)

Shoes: Basevi Moda Shoes–ColorChange Stiletto (295L/2 Pack or 445L/Megapack)

Skin: CUPCAKES–Seduction (Copper/Princess) (800L)

Hair: Diversity Hair–Katia (Light Blond/Beach Blond) (175/3-color Pack)

Eyes: InSight Eyes–Night Eyes (75L)

Eyelashes: Amacci Hair and Eyelashes–Lux (125L)

Wheelchair: The Free Bazaar in Stillman–Wearable Wheelchair (0L)

Poses: Striking Poses (50L/pose)

Agnes Finney’s latest gown, Queen of Legend, will become legendary for its beauty. From Ms. Finney’s choice of royal blue to her use of roses and ribbons to adorn the gown, this gown is indeed fit for a queen. The complete set comes with three skirt options as shown below.

Queen of Legend’s Short Skirt

When a short dress is what the occasion calls for, this one is a wonderful choice. I love the use of a small border print along the hem. The ruffles and white rose on the neckline of the bodice are feminine and negate the need for a necklace. (I neglected to take a picture of the bodice without the ruffles and rose, however, they can be removed and the princess neckline would be perfect to show off a favorite necklace.)

Queen of Legend’s Ball Gown

If you are headed for a ball, you want something more formal but without a train that slaps others when you’re dancing–having been overwhelmed by someone else’s train a time or two, I’m fully aware of that little issue. In those instances, you will find this to be the perfect skirt. You might get someone with the bow streamers, but they are transparent and having one of those run through you wouldn’t be so overwhelming. On the other hand, you can remove the back roses and ribbon if you prefer. I love the red roses at the waistline and the starry streamers of ribbon, so I’m not likely to remove them myself.

Queen of Legend’s Long Train Skirt

If you are going on a runway, this is the perfect skirt. The train makes a dramatic statement and the roses and ribbon provide the perfect punctuation. This is a beautiful gown for competitions and would cause judges sit up and pay attention. Once you have their attention, the rest is up to you.

Style Sheet

Gown: My Precious–Queen of Legend X (1000L)

Shoes: Basevi Moda Shoes–ColorChange Stiletto (295L/2 Pack or 445L/Megapack)

Earrings: Alienbear–Azucena I (Soft Antique Gold) (

Skin: CUPCAKES–Seduction v.2 (Copper/Holiday) (Limited Edition 250L)

Hair: ETD–Janae (Sunny) (150L/3-pack)

Eyes: InSight Eyes–Stars (75L)

Eyelashes: Amacci Eyelashes–Diva (125L)

Fingernails: CCD–Manicure (Red) (100L)

Poses: Striking Poses (50L/pose)

For those of us who came of age in the 60s and 70s, these new dresses by Simone Stern will bring back memories. While I was never thin enough in RL to wear micro-miniskirts, or even miniskirts for that matter, I watched students around me, models in magazines and dancers on TV wear dresses similar to these. Deciding which color you like best may be a challenge–personally, I might buy-by-the-name instead of the color. Simone must have had a great time naming these–Aquarius, In-a-Gadda-da-Vida, Lava Lamp, Lucy in the Sky, and Mad About Saffron–names that recall the great music of the time.

The white gogo boots are de rigueur.  Mine are a little high-in-the-heel, but I loved these boots by Enktan Gully from Enkythings. They look great with or without the stockings that come with the dress. These short dresses called for short hair, and the styles were frequently pageboys much like this one from R’s.

I’m going to quit somewhat abruptly. I’m getting tired of fighting with the cats for computer space on my lap.I know Simone will appreciate that.

Aquarius

In-a-Gadda-da-Vida

Lava Lamp

Lucy in the Sky

Mad About Saffron

Style Sheet

Dresses: Style Starts Here (250L)

Boots: enkythings (Cypa White Melania) (550L)

Skin: CUPCAKES–Seduction (Copper/Berry) (1000L)

Hair: R’s–Hs “Ai ver2″ bob (Bk) (300L/4 pack)

Eyes: InSight–Night Eyes (125L)

Eyelashes: Amacci–Lux (75L)

Poses: Striking Poses (50L/Pose)

Agnes Finney has once again come up with a most exciting gown–Fairy Princess. The sweetheart bodice is topped with tiny roses and paired with a skirt perfect for dancing. The skirt is short in front and longer in the back to show off those lovely legs. Part of the skirt looks like a giant rose that encircles the wearer. I’ve paired it with this marvelous necklace from Alienbear called Sirvart. When I first put Sirvart on I admit to letting out a shriek because I am greatly afraid of spiders in RL although I realize they are quite helpful critters to have around. So to find one perched on my chest was a bit unnerving. However, the more closely I studied the spider, the more intrigued I became–there she hung from a delicately wrought web. On my back the web continues with another tiny spider crawling up my back (shivers). As if that were not enough, I realized that after halloween, I could remove the spider because she is a separate part, and I have a gorgeous necklace I can enjoy year round.

Style Sheet

Gown: My Precious–Agnes Fairy Princess (Pink) (350L)

Necklace: Alienbear–Sirvart Dark Set (Pink) (500)

Hair: Simply Britnee–Gladis (Blonde) (currently closed for remodel)

Skin: Cupcakes–Seduction (Copper/Princess) (1000L)

Eyes: InSight Eyes–Night Eyes (125L)

Shoes: Basevi Moda Shoes–ColorChange Stiletto (295L/2 Pack or 445L/Megapack)

Poses: Striking Poses (40L/Pose)

One of the first people I met when I joined SL was Lovena Allen, the beautiful model for whom this lovely gown was made. I already had it in two or three colors when Amutey DeCuir of Bliss Couture came out with a limited edition earlier today. I had to see it and, wouldn’t you know, as soon as I saw it, I knew I wouldn’t be leaving the store without it. Unfortunately, the picture just does not do it justice–the texture is rich and glittery (without using bling) and gorgeous. See it for yourself before it’s gone forever. There are only 30 copies, and I already have mine! Oh, my gosh! I checked the shop and, as of this writing, there are only 18–oops, while I was standing there, it went down to 17 copies left!

Style Sheet

• Gown: Bliss Couture–Lovena Gown Limited Edition (998L)
• Hair: booN JUN762 hair (blonde) (200L) and hairpieces BOTA76 (blonde) (200L)
• Skin: CUPCAKES–Seduction (Copper/Glimmer) (1000L)
• Eyes: InSight–Nova Eyes (125L)
• Shoes: Basevi Moda Shoes–ColorChange Stiletto (295L/2 Pack or 445L/Megapack)
• Poses: Striking Poses (50L/pose)