A Little Bit of Style by Zoe Demar - Holloway

I am a big fan of Mad Men after catching up with the series on DVD. We're nearing the start of the fourth season and thus I thought it would be fun to bring to life some of the Mad Men fashions to Second Life. Joan Holloway is the inspiration for today's look.

I knew straight away that I could find a dress that is suitable to Joan's curves at Icing. One of my all time fave stores on the grid, Icing has always offered a niche to the vintage style. Ultra feminine is this dress called, Femme en Noir. The pencil style skirt signifies a sensually elegant feminine figure which is accented by the stunning dragonfly pin.

No dress especially back in the 60s era would you be caught without some form of hosiery. I made a trip to pick up a thigh high lace-top stockings set from Blowpop. Seen here in sand.

The LeLutka Saffron pumps in nude are a bit more of a modern twist on the look. I opted to stay away from the typical black and stick with a neutral tone.

Joan isn't the type to over accessorize as she always tends to find the proper balance in her style. I kept the jewelry to a minimum with these earrings from the Antique Pearl Choker Set from Paper Couture.

Also being in the type of job she is she is constantly needing to keep an eye on the time. Thus this look would not be suitable without a proper watch. This watch called Naomi is from YV (by Yvette Vultee) and ties in a classic strap style with bracelet twist. And for future use there is a ton of scripted color options (black and white are sold together and are totally tintable).

Funny how it works out sometimes, but Truth's Zoe - which I have assumed was named after me (and even if not I'll say it is) really ties to how Joan keeps her hair. Maybe he had that in mind when designing it but it really fits well to how she wears it. I do hope that is a reflection of my own type of style - I do adore vintage styles but I know that I'm not alone! Truth certainly has not stopped creating - you can find new styles weekly which is quite an impressive feat on its own, especially if they weren't as good as they really are!!



I also decided to try a new skin brand called Mynerva. I saw Carissa Crimson blogging about it and went to check it out. I was pleased to see the different shades of eyebrows as well as cleavage option included with the skin. I wasn't crazy about all the make-ups but a few did catch my eye which I might go back for later. I really liked the glossy lips, and though typically Joan uses a darker shade - I thought this was still suitable. I did opt for the cleavage version because it didn't overpower the look. I do find that having cleavage options is nice but I also find there are outfits out there where no cleavage is necessary. The set I bought from is in a back room btw. There are also some tattoos for sale as well as elf-style ears.

Other tid-bits - I modded my shape to give a lil more curves to what I consider already curvy shape. The set that I used for background is by Click by Flix Saiman. I also reused LeLutka's Reflection eyes in Glory as she is a blue-eyed lady. One other thing that my hubby was mentioning, was that the actress that plays Joan Holloway, Christina Hendricks is not a natural red-head but a blonde! Huh!

I hope you enjoyed traveling back in time with Holloway!

Love, Zoe

Little Bit of Style by Zoe Demar in Black Rock

I've been wanting to do something a bit more wild - which I know I could be more but I think having ripped fishnet stockings and some chunky heeled boots is about where I wanted to go with this look. I try to keep things sexy but with a more glam side to it than all out dirrrty.

The main inspiration is the black mini-skirt by Kyoot. I like fashion items that choose something classic like a mini-skirt, then twist it up a bit to make it new. The cut in the front along with the textures makes it a bit more unique and harder to style a top with.

It took me a little bit of time to find something that I really liked with it - I'm sure there are many items that can work but I really liked how the top from Celestial Studios Aphrodixia top pulled together. It isn't pictured here but I thought the back worked out nicely too.

The biker boots by Redgrave was an easy choice for me to use and paired up with the seamed fishnet stockings by Blowpop really hit the mark. I love that Blowpop includes both a torn version and normal version of the stockings to really change the style one might go for depending upon the outfit of choice.

After having the majority of the outfit pulled together, I thought it felt a bit too light on top. I knew I had been wanting to blog something from Aoharu for awhile and decided to pull out the short jean jacket that I bought a little while ago. Paired with the mini-skirt, I really like how the mini-jacket balances the overall look and adds some dimension.

To accessorize, I kept it light but adding a matching bracelet and necklace from Aluinn. I have been a fan of the Y-necklace style and consider it a classic look. I really like the medallion design that Bratty of Aluinn used in these pieces.

As far as skin, it was easy to go with the newest skin from LeLutka's Eclat line. I really wasn't too fond of the lighter skins eyebrows but had seen the darker skins in the ads that caught my eye. I didn't pick up a fatpack but rather just one in a more dramatic eye make-up.

The eyes I picked up from Tres Blah - along with one of her new skins which I hope to blog about with another look.

To top of an finish the look, I decided to go with the Single Lady hairstyle by Exile. I couldn't decide between the black or brown shades so picked up both but choose to stick with mink for the highlights. I do however wish he would change up his textures a little bit but that's just a personal opinion. I especially like this hair using a hair base which is an included option with the LeLutka skin.

Enjoy!

Love,

Zoe

--please note that all pictures are unedited other than piecing them together into my layout--

A little bit of style by Zoe Demar in Casual Layers

I keep hearing about people trying to get into the hair fair. I have been pretty lucky about my timing and did make my rounds but for those of you that might still need to wait a few more I encourage you to hit up some of your old haunts.

Instead of using one of the new hairs at the fair I decided to mix it up with another hair fave place of mine, Zero Style. When I stopped by the store I saw a couple of new hairs including the one that inspired the following casual layered look.



The inspiration - the lovely long layers of Zero Style's Camille in Dark Chocolate. I think I've been more into bangs recently, but really enjoy how Zero Style utilizes flexi which increases the amount of play you can have when wandering the grid or taking a fun snapshot.

I knew that for the next item I wanted to pull something from Leah's store, Naive. She's not new new to the fashion world. I first got to know her through her photography. Though she still is taking pics, she has turned her creativity to virtual fashion and has a good selection of a mix of styles for both the guys and the gals. I really liked the textured in the jeans along with the length of the capri, perfect for a casual summer day.

I knew I wanted to keep the overall look simple and searched a bit through my clothing collection and found this gray t-shirt from Cyanide. Another new to the scene designer known more for her poses has made a stamp by releasing quite a collection of sexy tops in numerous amounts of transparency and colors.

The Ayumi waistcoat that I'm calling a vest here for easy communication was an easy choice to add another element to jazz up the look a bit and add some unexpected color. The red pulls out a bit from the shoes, hoodie, and lunchbox ensemble. I personally don't have a lot of experience with Ayumi but the quality of the vest does make me want to go check it out for more.

With the top taken care of, I knew I wanted to throw in a new style of whimsy that has been used in Second Life with the creation of sculpties. You might see the a more well known and similar style at Coco's, but this wrap around hoodie creation has been in my inventory long before from Sey. The designer, risey Arai, is Japanese. I discovered it randomly when I was exploring. Its a scripted piece that has 9 different colored checkered textures - great for mixing up your looks. I haven't been back to the store for awhile but putting this together - be sure I will be stopping back soon. If I remember right they also do hair. And I'm also going to do something a little nontraditional of my blog posts and will link to their blog HERE because I know they might be harder to find.

At this point I felt pretty good about the look and it was an easy choice to pull these Hoorenbeek shoes called Samoa from my inventory. I'm amazed at the amount of detail one can get from sculpts AND textures - especially in the "shoe" designer department. The amount of realism fathoms me. Though I might be a little off-put about the close tie of using the "real life" logos, he is changing it up enough to avoid infringement to my knowledge. a side-note: I'm fascinated by copyrights - and am always learning.

Another old piece in my inventory - is this cute lunchbox from Miau Haus. Creative humor in creations goes a LONG way with me. I couldn't resist having a chick stuffed between slices of bread - perfect for any neko's lunch.

The eyes in Predawn were a very easy choice for me from Miriel - and I recommend you head to her store soon as she will be closing up shop any day now. I was saddened to hear the news, but it has to be expected with people or items in SL as things change and people move to different roads. I do wish her luck and hope that you do have the opportunity to pick up a few items from her jewelry, hair, shapes, and eyes.



Now I needed to choose a skin, and so I wanted to go with something very new to the grid. The designer isn't new but the skins are as they're to be released TODAY! Annyka Bekkers of Blowpop has some mad skills. What I like about her new skins is that each "line" has their own personality. I chose her Elizabeth skin due to the freckle love. And though you'll see this skin has reddish eyebrows I like mixing it up with darker hair. I probably would choose another to do a close-up with but I don't like limiting skin with my various chair colors and styles.

Last but not least is the icing on the cake. I'm not sure who brought in the idea of prim lashes first to SL. I think the first place I saw them was from Celestial Studios, but my has it evolved to be a must have for many in SL. I know for my modeling and photography it is a must have as it really helps make the eyes pop. I've picked up a good selection of lashes from here and there but when Carissa Crimson decided to put her out I was very curious to see what would come from it. I must say that I've really fallen in love with the au natural lash style that she released. She does have other styles as well that you should check out and see what your fave style fits your personality as I don't think you'll be disappointed.

PS - POSE BY TORRIDWEAR :)

That wraps up the layers of casual style. I hope you enjoy and can add some new places to your repertoire of fashion.

Love, Zoe