Zoe's Quick Pick: Bijou's Vixen Dress

I'm a big fan of the unique styles from Bijou and this Vixen dress (shown in Navy) is amazing! I love the retro feel with modern cut - esp in the skirt. Feel free to go check it out along with some other awesome new releases by Bijou!



Credits to Zobovic, Tuli, Zaara, Maitreya, & Curio - AND to to Torridwear for the poses!

Enjoy!

Love, Zoe

A Little Bit of Style by Zoe Demar - Early Fall!

With the rainstorm that I experienced on Sunday night, it certainly isn't surprising that I'm pulling out the trusted umbrella and thinking already of the upcoming Fall. On the news it was announced that my area experienced the coolest July of 15 years! So on that note, I present to you an early Fall (or autumn for those of the British tongue) style.

My first major inspiration for this look comes from Bax Coen's brand new release of the Prestige Boots. I have been luckily enough to be one of the first few to try them on and I can't tell you how spectacular they are!! I resisted using them until they were released. There are also a ton of accent color options to play with that they truly can go with any look. They also come in black as you should be able to see on my flickr page, considering I took plenty of pics of them for Bax.



The other major inspiration is the hair from Tiny Bird - which is the creation of Autumn Hykova. I adore this style called, "Into My Arms," and absolutely love all the bobby pins including one that you can wear in your mouth! One of my earliest college buds would wear her hair in similar styles that I really found remarkably creative - and Autumn did not let me down in SL either.

The jacket from Bijou was my next major piece of the ensemble. An older buy of mine that I have been wanting to do a style with for awhile now and I'm so excited to use it here for fall. Bijou has a wide assortment of creative styles that I love to mix and match into new looks and is a store that I have used previously in my blog post. I thought pulling the jacket from Metro outfit would really tie in the modern classic style that I tend to go for and hope that you think so too!

The "With You" top by Argrace has a really nice sculpted collar that I loved to piece together with the jacket. A lot of jackets have sculpted collars which are nice but sometimes limit what all can be worn underneath - thus I thought this combination worked brilliantly. The top typically comes with a lovely scarf but I decided to leave it out since we're not quite to winter wear yet! Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves!

Yes - a new store on the grid with a good assortment of basics is where I pulled the charcoal trousers from. I think I'm a sucker for gray pants over black because it shows off more of the texture than what you can get in black, at least in my opinion. As you might have guessed they are from Fri.day - already hitting the rumor mill of alt-doom I really don't mind it and won't over think it too much if I enjoy the creations. The store honestly reminds me a bit of Tres Blah mixed with Miabella mixed with Maitreya and a dash of the Armidi collaboration personnel. I'm not trying to help fuel the fire but do have a certain curiosity as I do feel I'm probably one of the few without another active alt - though I'm sure plenty will prove me wrong.

The umbrella from the creamshop was another easy choice. I have yet to take a picture there but I adore the sim build and a lot of the creations found there. I decided to go with the border brown style over the vinyl option due to the colors to bring in some more fall colors of brown and yellow to reflect the green in the jacket and brown in the hat.

And moving onto the hat, I had a few choices of hats that I have also been wanting to blog about but the Kyoot Army's Old Money hat won out due to the pattern, shape, and color. I love how it sits on my head in this shot. I was a bit concerned of overdoing with pattern but I really felt that it does work and that it isn't too overpowering against the metro jacket. But I'll let you decide.



For skin I ended up going back to Curio to check out more everyday styles of make-up options and decided to go with the beach pack. 6 skins for the price of 3 is a hard bargain for me to pass up but it isn't something I can afford to do on a daily basis. I ended up going with the Sundust in Light tone with the beach collection in Crude 2 make-up due to the eye-shadow. Matched up with the vintage feeling hair, green eyes, and tipped hat really gives me the feeling of mystery and allure. Typically I don't like blogging the same skin brand twice in a row but I couldn't help it and I doubt you can blame me.

I did however pick up the light green eyes from Curio as well. I loved the light green reflecting the color of the jacket to make the overall look pop. I probably will go back to buy another color eventually. Note - I do try to blog about something different that I haven't blogged before - but no guarantees - especially when it comes to eyes. Being a photographer I'm really picky about those I shoot having good eyes. I really think you can have the perfect skin and hair but if you don't have good eyes - it can spoil the shot. So a tid-bit - get a good assortment of eyes if you plan on modelling.

There you have it - my early fall (don't kill me I'm already talking about fall) lil bit of style.

Happy Trails!

Love, Zoe

A little bit of style by Zoe Demar in Summer Edge Style

Sometimes it is nice to go a bit outside the comfort zone to push your look to the edge. Not only can it be artsy but really enjoyable too. I picked up some skins at Curio recently because I wanted to do some more artsy kind of shots and wanted to put a look together a style with it. I decided to go for a bit of beauty edge.



The skin is gorgeous. I used to be a Gala wearer way back when but am happy to see Curio offering a great diversity of make-up options for everyone on the grid. With the skin in place I knew I wanted to really do something different. I chose the rainbow 2 make-up in dark because of the awesome creativity and color that makes the eyes pop!

The Cubic Effect mini skirt wrap dress has been a fave of mine for awhile - I have it in a few colors and though I know some have a hard time with the prims not fitting their shapes, I will say that it is doable!! And looks stunning!

I knew that I had to go and pick up Aoharu's Python Gladiator heels for this look. I debated between doing red or black but decided I'm more likely myself to wear the black again. Colorizing the feet of the shoes was easy with the easy to use color hud. I love the toe nail color options too!

*NOTE* As much as I love having prim toes over the SL squished flat feet, just because it matches on your screen does NOT mean it is going to match on others! This is very important if you ever get your picture taken by a photographer - be ready to take more time on either adjusting the color in game with the photographer or having to pay more for adjustment services by the photographer in photo editing.

I chose the black toenails so had to match it up with some PXL Manicure nails in black - mind you these are not prim nails, but just painted on nails via gloves. Hart of PXL has created a huge collection of nail colors and shades.

I knew I wanted to put on some form of necklace for impact and Zaara's Nizam short necklace in white put some elegance in the edge to bring out the beauty of the look. It even had a nice red rope back that I had really wanted in the look and gold to match the buckles on the shoes.

The eyes are a part of the Abyss' new male skin collection called Dave Gear - I choose blue to keep the skin the major highlight of the eyes and to keep it bright.

And last but not least is the Ceria hair by Mirone - yes I highlighted the hair yesterday in my first, "Quick Pick" - but I couldn't resist using another of her styles for this look. Though I'm not one to ever wear my hair this way in RL it doesn't hurt to wear it this way in SL. I love it!

There you have it - my summer edge look! Thanks for reading!

Love, Zoe

A Little Bit of Style by Zoe Demar

I want to start by announcing that it is now officially the start of my THIRD year in Second Life!

My husband pointed out how much can change in three years and he is absolutely right! Though a lot has also stayed the same. I won't bore you with my story here.

I'm not doing a special blog or anything - just doing more of the same. I've been taking a little bit of an SL break over the holiday. Now that I have been back I have been wanting to get something blogged. The Superbowl was something I could do quick and easy. I do put a lot of time into my styling and graphics more than my text because I personally am a visual learner. I did however make a little more effort with this post. Typically, I like pictures that speak for themselves. If you want my opinion, I invite you to IM me in-world.

To make-up for being away I have two drastically different outfits.

First up - GRUNGE





The inspiration came first from the wide pants from Barerose. The pants are pulled from the outfit, "Lowrise Heavy Cargo," and is typically teamed up with a tank top variety of shirts. As with all things Barerose, you get a WIDE range of color variety for a fraction of the cost of what the majority are selling one piece of virtual fashion piece.

While at Barerose I purchased quite a few things. One of them included the, "Rolled Up Type B," which does come in a multitude of colors and also a cute heart tank, not pictured here. Instead I replaced the tank with one of my all time favorite Blacklace lingerie pieces called, "Tease," in blue floral. I'm also being a bit of a tease because it is an unreleased item (don't worry it will be released post-fashion show which is this Sunday the 8th of Feb). It is part of my good friend, Mariska's Valentine's Day release.

Its hard to chose what to talk about next the hair, or the shoes!? I'm completely in awe at what is possible to create in SL! Especially after being around to witness the invention of FLEXI in designs! So, I'll go with the hair first since it has more flexi than the shoes.

The hair by Detour definitely stands out but is not for those with only a few lindens in their pockets. It is just under 500L for ONE color of the style. I even turned away the first time I demo'd it months ago! Then yesterday I spotted a picture that Bratty of Aluinn had done and was amazed at how well it photographed. So, yes I'm a glutton for good hair (especially one that photographs well) and picked this piece up called, "Johanna." I loved how the teal highlights made it stand out from my other hair styles and how well it went with the eye shade that I was wearing at the time (and in this style mix).

Now for the athletic heels! Something most likely not to be seen often in the real world, but my fashionista life is in SL, not RL. I love these! I picked up two pairs from Redgrave. It comes in six color variations so you can pick and choose or buy them all. Also by Redgrave is the skin that I am wearing. The skin is Naomi2 in Tan (might not be sold in the store but by special request). I'm also wearing Redgrave eyes from the Vivian skin line in teal green.

The look wouldn't be complete, at least to me, without a good tattoo which is another one of my faves called, "Tumbleweed," from a great tattoo store called, Etchd. They have such a good selection it is hard to pick just one. If you ever see me wearing a tattoo, most likely it will be from here.

Of course with the tattoos I had to be cliche and put on a piercing, but I was already wearing it prior to even piecing this outfit together. You will only be able to see it on the close-up head shot, but its there and gives that edge especially for this style. It is called, Diamond Medusa Piercing, Single. I adjusted it a bit to the side of my mouth instead of where you'll see it as advertised at RaveNation. She has a decent collection of piercings and other items worth taking a gander at.

Last but certainly too cool to be least, are the dual guns by Breach. They have everything for people that are much more into combat than I am, but are still wickedly cool for pulling off a look like this! This is the second pair that I own from Breach called, USP 1.1. They're extremely good about keeping items purchased automatically upgraded.



Next up - WINTER MUSE





If you can't tell where the inspiration came from in this next outfit, you're blind or just plain foolin' yourself! The stunning and brilliant shawls by Zaara! Like many of my friends it is hard to pick just one, but I had to do for now with my first color choice of the bright blue with pink floral embroidery patterns called, "Kashmiri". Color is one thing that Zaara is not afraid of in her Indian inspired creations. She recently opened a sim and had a flickr contest to coincide with it (yes, I did participate). The sim is a treat to visit and dance at. The first time I saw Zaara's designs, I was impressed. Her Black Swan creation recently was absolutely stunning and a piece that I am very happy to make a favorite in my collection along with many other fashion pieces. Anyway, I could go on, but the shawl is why I pieced this outfit together.

This was a task because I loved this shawl paired up with another top but it didn't suit other items as I went along. Finally I decided to make it a nice warm winter feel by pulling out the long sweater in Navy by Novocaine. I love the contrast between the two blues. The sweater does come in a variety of colors and you can find a lot of other great styles unique to SL at Novocaine. I am always eying their hair too!

The wool pants that I added into the mix have a wonderfully textured wide leg. They are from LeLukta formally known as Cachet. I will miss the brand name of Cachet, but will get used to learning LeLukta. Though sometimes it can be pricey if you pick up a few items, I tend to repeatedly go back to fill in some gaps in my ever growing inventory. The textures typically meet the high standards that I will gravitate for along with providing classic and trend pieces.

The boots! Talk about eye-candy for the boot lover. Bax has stood out offering very high quality and unique style in SL. I luckily was appointed to help with the vendor picture of her ice skates, which I couldn't get over the detail of! The Patent Black Ankle Boot was an easy pick to dress up the outfit along with keeping it in the winter theme. They're also ultra sexy and I like how they peak out from under the wide legs of the pants.

I think the second thing one will see if not the first in the picture is the hair! It is such a cute vintage style that I had to have it after I first laid eyes on it via a blog on the feeds. I loved how it pops with the skin. It is by Curio. Which also has its own sim that you have to check out if you're a fan of Victorian Mansions. It reminds me a lot of Clue, and I plan to go back often. The style is called, "Gertrude" and comes in all the typical shades and more.

When choosing the skin I wanted to blog one that I hadn't used before and one that you don't see blogged often. Fashionably Dead has been housed on the Tableau sim and is extremely original. If you like Nylon Outfitters, you'll love Fashionably Dead. This skin pops with its blue eye-shadow and pink blushing features against the blue and pink of the shawl. It is what inspired going winter the most and I absolutely adore it with the mix I created here. The skin is part of the, "Noise," collection in the light series called, "Blush Blue."

Last but not least I pulled a usual prim lash style by Celestial Studios with some very ice blue eyes by MMS now LeLutka called, "blue." You can see how they shine in the close-up head shot. I also added the touch of accessory with the, "White Pearl Bauble Flower Ring," by Caroline's.


Thanks for reading! Have something that you would like to see pieced together in one of my style mixes, send me a note card in-world. - Zoe