A Little Bit of Style by Zoe Demar - Pretty in Plaid

Considering that I wanted to post this last night and haven't gotten around to it until now due to a lovely headache...I really love the simplicity of this look and how easy it was to pull together.

The inspiration flows in with the newest release by Artilleri.  And yes, I realize this first image does nothing to show it off, so if you're reading this on the feed I highly recommend you click through to see my other image.  If you're a reader - you're in luck because I've rambled on more than usual too!

I absolutely adore the Zara skirt by Artilleri - so much so, I picked up the fatpack.  It comes in 4 shades - blues, brown/blue, greens, and plum.  I went with this brown/blue shade mix, because first I love the two colors together. Secondly, the perfect blue shade pops out of the texture.

What I also loved is that it matched so well with the Myrina jewelry I recently picked up from Sigma at the, recently concluded, jewelry fair.  When it comes to jewelry pieces in general I appreciate creators that tend to go for things asides from gems and metals like this set does with the use of beads.  One of my favorite RL jewelry pieces that I own is wooden beads that is from the 70s.  Time to see more jewelry makers think out of the box a bit when it comes to inspirational materials.  Sigma is one jewelry creator that has done so.  

Whippet and Buck aka W&B has been releasing a lot of goodies which I have been eager to blog.  I jumped at the opportunity and was very happy they had this Boatneck top in a perfect shade of cream to fit with the look.  It was nice to have such a selection of colors to choose from to find the right match - not always an easy task when it comes to mixing looks!  I hope to blog more W&B soon!

When it comes to shoes, I'm pretty picky about shoe designs as honestly - I'm barefoot a lot in RL and in SL.  But when it comes to styling a look, I always try not to reuse anything I've worn in a blog before.  Luckily for me, Kalinis had some new heels out called Flirt - and yay for scripted color options!  I turned these shoes brown.  I would like to see a few more nail shades but you can't beat having 1 pair of shoes that allows for color change without having to pay a lot of linden to do so.

As far as hair was concerned, like many I had to opt for the new release by 69.  Many are most likely going to blog about Jessica 02 rather than 01.  I'm typically one for bangs but really liked how the hair was bobby pinned back to really show off the face.  I also felt this style suited the look I wanted to pull off.  I saw recently a plurk that wasn't happy about the blonde texture that 69 offers, but I remember the first textures 69 had and they're much improved compared to how all the textures were.  I could only buy the hair in a dark brown originally - so I'm really not complaining with what is offered today.  There is always room for improvement, but I personally don't have a major issue with the blonde texture - esp when you consider my other recent post, "from russia with love."

When it came to the skin - I could have gone with a lot of choices as I tend to be much more of a skin buyer than I used to be...so it says a lot when I repeat the use of a skin maker.  Pink Fuel is one of the skins that I am probably the most in love with lately - I'm not sure if it is because the skin fits so well on my standard Zoe shape, or if it is the quality of the skin overall that brings me back to it, or the make-up choices offered - but I truly adore Pink Fuel.  I'm very anxious to see the newest skin release but I'm not one to knock on a designer's door and say - ENOUGH I CAN'T WAIT ANY LONGER - because the best takes time.  Mochi Milena has a ton of talent with Photoshop and be sure as soon as I see any word about release, I'll be all over it!

Eyes - I went with some from The Abyss - because it was also what I used when I created the pictures for Belleza's newest male skins.  Apparently people have been asking - so this is kinda my way to put that out there (if you're still reading this that is) while showing off another set called Jewels from one of their female skins (sold separately).  I can't stress how important it is to have quality eyes in Second Life.  I will not blog eyes that don't meet my personal approval.  I do try to keep my eyes open for eye makers - so if you're an eye creator and want my honest opinion, feel free to send some my way.  Be ready for constructive criticism!

So that's my style ramble for the night - happy to be headache free even if it is extremely past my bedtime by this point!

Enjoy!

Love, Zoe 

Credits:

Top: Whippet & Buck - Cole Boatneck in Fallow
Skirt: Artilleri - Zara in Brown/Blue
Heels: Kalnins Footwear - FlirtBlue
Earrings & Necklace: Sigma Jewels - Myrina in Brown/Gold
Hair: [ 69 ] - Jessica 01 in Dark Mauve
Skin: Pink Fuel - Ember in Maple/Gossip
Eyes: The Abyss - Jewels in Sapphire


Pose by On The Cover (not available)

  

A Little Bit of Style by Zoe Demar - Betty

In honor of having Mad Men back on the air with season 4 - I'm showing off the two very different sides of Mrs. Betty Draper. The first being a very memorable moment with some neighboring birds. The second hitting more of the glam model side that she fronts when out meeting Don Draper's clientèle.

The inspiration started this morning with the announcement of new 69 hair by Kumii Yoshikawa. The BE style reminded me of Betty's hair and is one of three new releases which is only open to 69-VIPs until August 2nd. I'm happy to say she now includes a resize script for her hairs which I can appreciate as they've never fit on my head without adjustments.

Originally I was going to go for more of her everyday looks, but my husband brought up the time she had with the BB gun and thus this look was born. I headed straight to Artilleri to pick up the Wilma dress in yellow that reflects the time period extremely well with the button down styled top which you will see Betty wear numerous times on the show.

I wanted to find some yellow shoes to match, but as usual - color isn't always easy store to store so I picked up the Tuli pumps in steel and choose the golden bow texture from the menu option to match it with shades of the dress pattern. Shiny Things hasn't been producing a lot of shoes lately but it still definitely has the quality you expect from shoe makers of today.

The cigarette from FNKY is an oldie but a goody. The smoke is scripted to be turned on or off by touch and comes with a variety of other in-hand, mouth, or on land options. The shotgun was a freebie that I found on xstreet by Cisco Lane that is originally huge as it is supposed to be for Tank Girl - but I scaled it down to fit the image of Betty.

As far as marriage bling, I choose one of the best looking diamond rings I have seen in a modern style by Yabusaka. I stuck with the League's Taylor skin in blonde but in a new make-up called Angel - seemed fitting! I really like it on my shape and find it harder to switch it up. My other faves made it back are the LeLutka Reflection eyes in glory and Silhouette lashes in Au Natural (I wear these in both looks).

For the more dressy Draper, I was actually going to try to not shop at Icing, because that felt too easy - but after shopping in another store I decided enough and pulled out another fave from Icing called, Evening at the Opera. I paired it up with another of Icing's creations of the glam stole that includes an AO as well as 2 ways of wearing it - wraparound (shown) or over the shoulder.

Again, I was hunting for something other than Paper Couture because again, I like to challenge myself - but in the end - I came back to pull out the sparkling sphere set. The closer to neck feature fits Betty's style of not being too flashy - but definitely having a wow factor. It kinda reflects her personality, trying to draw somebody in but rejecting them in the end.

The Shaken by not Stirred hair by Clawtooth is an instant fave - I wanted to go there to see if there was a more reflective style to Betty's hair and when I saw this I knew it would fit well. It probably could pass for a Jane style, but I thought still appropriate for Betty. So a lot of good hits for Tableau sim tonight as both Paper Couture and Clawtooth are located there.

Finishing off the look was Maitreya's Neyya heels in Pearl Leather. The right sheen to blend in with the top of the dress as well as classy enough to pull off with the style.

The pose used in the gun happy Betty style was a custom made by my husband today specifically for the blog. The pose for the Betty glam style is one of Dove's (of LAP aka Long Awkward Pose) 365 poses project. I highly recommend stopping by to check them out if you haven't recently.

Enjoy!

Love, Zoe

PS Comment who is your favorite Mad Men character!

Please note that the Gun Happy Betty image has been photoshopped - the Glam Betty is unprocessed.

A Little Bit of Style by Zoe Demar - Miami Heat

Ah, its that time of the year to chill out in the night air. Its been awhile since I visited Florida, but I do remember enjoying the late nights where the heat stuck around while the ocean breeze would continue to blow. I wanted to reflect those memories with this fashion style.

Inspiration for this look was the Maitreya Gold Aequus heels. The striking but simple straps make these heels very sexy and elegant. Like other new releases these shoes feature a sculpted zipper in the back of the heel. They also allow the cuff to be color changed to various shades. I would love that the shoes would come scripted as well but know that would cut the earnings significantly - so that means not likely to happen, but I can dream!

I really wanted to do the heels in teal and looked for a top to match. In the process I put on this older fave, tropical teal shirt, from Artilleri. The teal didn't match up enough so I pulled out the brown that fit in with the tones of the skirt instead and put the cuff color to teal instead.

The second inspiration for this look came from Truth's newest release of Peyton hair. I really enjoy the new streaks that allow for some further customization with color change. I went with the brightest red shade of cranberry along with blonde streaks to reflect a more wild Miami nightlife.

The Larin skirt in ash by Zaara was an easy pick for me, it was kind of random pick that I had decided to stick with once putting it on and became another part of the focus for the look.

To finish off the look I didn't want to go heavy on accessories and once I put on Alienbear's Natasja necklace there was nothing that I felt would be better suited. The flowers reflected that in the tropical shirt perfectly.

The rest of the look goes to LeLutka - featuring their latest skin of Lola in the sunkissed tone. The make-up 6 on the eyes are what sold me with the nice shade of pink and brown. I felt like it really hit with the look I wanted. I was going to use one of the 2.0 pink lipstick layers but ended up snapping the pic in an original viewer. 2.0 still tends to be a big buggy for my full-time use. The shape and lashes are from LeLutka's Eclat Oksana. And to finish it all off the eyes are the reflections glory by LeLutka.

One photo note - I did decide to process these images for fun but please note that all items chosen are of high quality otherwise I would not choose to wear them.

Enjoy!

Love, Zoe

A Little Bit of Style by Zoe Demar - Three Way

I had some fun with some of the newness from Fri.day.

(click through to my flickr to see large view)

Enjoy

Love, Zoe

Zoe's Quick Pick - Artilleri

Yay for warm cozy sweaters!

I visited Winterstock today and fell in love with Artilleri's Marius knit sweaters! Thus they earn my Quick Pick!

(shown in all 6 available colors - includes Male & Female belly attachments - displayed with green color in above picture)

Winterstock is open now to January 3rd

CLICK HERE for a slurl to Winterstock

You can also pick up Artilleri's Winterstock unisex sweater for free along with other extremely cute items!

Enjoy!!

Love,

Zoe

Fashionable Relay Challenge #31

YAY - Fashionable Relay Challenge - I'm very pleased to participate and want to send a shout out of thanks to Sasy Scarborough for the idea and organization of this relay!

Who knew that yesterday I would receive the baton on the same day that I had RL surgery. Lucky for me I'm not in much pain and am able to still hold the baton, though maybe a bit slow and easy going.

Thank you to the lovely Cajsa Lilliehook for her post #30 on It's Only Fashion blog. I decided to go with a store that I hadn't been to before where Cajsa got her pants. I decided to stick with the "bloody" red and form a whole new twist to the punk rocker style pants that they are.



I'm calling this look Posh Chic Rock. Starting with the low rise striped pants in blood from Fear & Clothing by Damon Dollinger. I wanted to take these red and black stripes to a new level.
The first thing I pulled was immediately the sequin tank top in pewter by Tuli that would make the look stand out from the crowd. It is one of her newer releases in clothing that I grabbed while in attendance at the recently clothing fair for RFL.

I wanted some sort of jacket, I was thinking of a nice jean jacket but to get it to go chic would need something different. I pulled an oldie but a greatie from my inventory collection - the dictator shrug in black by Digit Darkes.

I had the most difficulty with what to do next. I wanted to put a skirt over the pants a but, something wild and funky without taking out the whole pant. I initially pulled an old Canimal skirt but it is no longer available and is part of a full outfit which goes against the rules of this relay. Instead I went shopping back at Digit Darkes where I knew I had seen this tulle skirt from another excursion. I did a mod by making a copy and removing the front prims to make it part and then raised it a bit higher on my avatar to make it look like it was attached to the shrug jacket.

Next I pulled out the hair that I knew would turn the look more chic - if you're a fashion feed browser I'm sure you've seen this hair before from VW (VINTAGEwear) by Vintage McMillan called Pushed and Shoved.

Shoes were next and not so easy either. At first I tried boots but it wasn't doing it for me and making the outfit too black heavy. As soon as I put on the frenzy banana shoes in black by Onyx LeShelle of Maitreya it was perfect!

As for accessories, it was pretty easy to pull the look off. I added the studded belt in black by Trinitee Trilam of Refuge. A menu controlled color change skull flower by Antonia Marat of Artilleri. And something not often seen in world, glasses hanging from a necklace (GH n68 in Red) that I picked up awhile back from Ottico by Youki Rau.

As for skin, I wanted to show off one the newest releases from Mayden Ushimawa of Mayden Couture, it is called Lilith N5. And the easter lilac eyes are freebies from Lano Ling of Poetic Colors which if you're quick enough you can get them as I did from the Bunny Hop hunt #011. And last but not least, the tattoo is something that I am commonly wearing these days called Ivy 1 by Kuja Akina of The Obscene.

Thanks for checking out my "little bit of style" here at Z...Complete. I now toss the baton over to Nieve Thor and her blog, Journey to be SL model. Good luck, happy styling, and hope you have fun!

If you want to check out all the blogs participating or read the blogs in sequence check out Sasy Scarborough's blog the Scarborough Flair

SLURL LISTING:

• Fear and Clothing (F&C)
• Digit Darkes
• Tuli
• Artilleri
• Ottico
• Refuge
• Maitreya
• The Obscene
• VintageWear (VW)
• Maden Couture
• Poetic Colors