Hair Fair Blogger's Day!

Hair-Fair-Lamb, originally uploaded by Zoe Demar.

I can't wait to pour out all the goodies that have arrived at hair fair - fortunately and unfortunately I have to run to work - but thought I'd share a quick peek at two designers whom I adore - lamb. and fri.day - check out my flickr for more pics!

Enjoy!
Love, Zoe

A Little Bit of Style by Zoe Demar - Locker Room

I like to check out the other gender every once in awhile and do a blog about it.  The main reason for this post is due to the latest release by The Abyss called 2043.  The skin is extremely realistic and causes me to be in awe.  I typically like to wear any Abyss skin with their shapes because they fit together effortlessly.  And I'm not about to go around tweaking guys shapes because they typically frustrate me by lack of certain arm and leg sliders available in SL.  The skin comes in 4 main shades but is tintable through the SL slider system.  I also stuck with one of the pairs of eyes from the tone 2 in the series called panther. I'm also wearing a shader (which is included) that helps give a more realistic flair in SL without photo editing.

I decided to go a bit sporty after picking up Emery's Wix sport jacket which comes in other neon stripe shades or basics like black and white.  I paired it up with some greed shorts from Blitzed which I found by accident while visiting another sim.  Love it when that happens!

The flip-flops were a toss up between two new pairs of sandals by Sey.  I decided to go with these due to the color flexibility - as it is hud script controlled for multiple combinations.  Sey also includes a wide variety of nail shades along with it.  Matching the skin tone also wasn't too much of a hassle and they include a few preselected tones.

Hair is a new style by Exile called Nathan.  One of two new styles for the guys.  I know how hard it can be to find good guy hair so hopefully he'll come out with some others soon.

Enjoy!

Love, Zoe

Credits:
Jacket: Emery - Sport Jacket Wix in Sailor
Shorts: Blitzed - Greed in gray
Shoes: Sey - Flip-Flops B
Hair: Exile - Nathan in Whiskey
Skin & Shape: The Abyss - 2043_1
Eyes & Shader: The Abyss - 2043_2 panther

The 2010 SL® Shoe Fair to Benefit Soles4Souls

is now open to the public.

Slurl

Dates to remember:

08/07 (Today!)

Flickr contest open for submissions (for info visit site)

Blogger contest begins 

                     

08/07 at 12:00pm slt  (NOW!)    

Fair opens to the public

08/20 11:59pm slt

Deadline for flickr and blogger contest entries

                                                          

08/21 4:00-7:00pm slt

Kick up your heels at the Shoe Fair's Hillbilly Hoe-down!

08/22 6:00pm slt

Shoe Fair Closes

Be looking for more information to come soon!

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 - Showgirl

Lately I've been helping my RL/SL hubby with SL photography. We had been visiting pose shops and one of the places we visited was LostAngels Industries. I noticed a new section was up with a few items and tried them out. The first thing I was thinking was, "OMG where the hell were these when I was working at Blacklace?" I contacted Evangeline Cortes to find out more information and requested to blog about it. She was excited that I showed interest and when I stopped by later on the next day we had a good conversation while she showed off the pieces.

The newness is called, Allure Retro' Multiposes Collection by LostAngel (official release today!). I'm not going to give you all the details here because you really should go see for yourself. But there are two groupings of furniture. One is what I'll call the Dressing Room, which I'm showing off the vanity and vanity chair. The other I'm going to refer to as, Music Lounge. Each piece of furniture holds on average 3-5 poses while others hold up to 10. I have enjoyed in the past the series that LostAngels puts out but was really happy to see something that related to what I spent a lot of time doing in SL.

Now for the fashions that this set inspired. I'm not going to go into detail of how I pulled the look together but the overall feel I wanted was vintage lingerie with a showgirl twist - which to me, meant bling with fur!

Enjoy!

Love, Zoe

Note: Image has been processed but clothing shown is not meant to be misrepresented

Credits:

Aoharu - Fur Coat in White

Ooh LaLa! - From Lined Corset in Pink

Ooh LaLa! - Seam Stockings in Black

Alienbear - Mimmi in Platinum Black

Maitreya - Verve in Black

LeLutka - Luisa in Blonde Fun

League - Taylor in Medium Blonde Feline

LeLutka - Reflections in Glory

Pose Set by LostAngels Industries

A Little Bit of Style by Zoe Demar - Fantasy Week: Wrap-up

Thank you for checking out Fantasy Week here on Z...complete over the past 5 days.

I think Second Life is a great opportunity to try out many of the different fashion creations available on the grid.  I really challenge yourself to appreciate what our fellow residents have created because our Second Life experiences certainly would not be the same without them!  

Chaospire, Graves, Deviance, BareRose, and Solange are awesome stores to check out for fantasy - but there are countless others striving to make their own marks.  Even during these 5 days I already thought of other places I wished I had mentioned and hope to give them their own highlights in the future. 

To the designers - thank you for creating fashions to write about and display over the past 5 days.  I couldn't have done it without your imagination, talent, and time.

Sincerely, Zoe

PS - Please leave comments with your favorite fantasy stores that you would recommend!

A Little Bit of Style by Zoe Demar - Fantasy Week: Solange

Solange immediately makes me think of some Arabian nights with seductive dancers.  The creator, Solange Cerveau, and I share the same rez-day by 1 day.  And I do recall making my first silk purchase back in 2006.  I can pretty much guarantee that if you're a silk wearer you have at least 1 silk from Solange if not more.


The reason?  The imaginative high-quality textures and prim fluidity that is standard in all that Solange creates.  Even an experienced Solange shopper can scour the walls and still come across something new - mainly because there is so much to look at.  The overall store design brings you back to a castle renaissance atmosphere which I feel properly reflects the time period of her attire (be sure to check out the underground for a fantasy setting).

Though the majority of Solange fashions are for the females, there is a good selection for the males in a multitude of colors.  A hint to the guys out there, a gift center is available if you would like to see your lady in silks.  If you're looking for a deal, there is a lucky board and bargain basement.  And if fantasy isn't your thing, Solange has a good collection of street-wear and lingerie as well as some business-wear, shoes, jewelry, and menswear.

If I scour the walls, I could pull out a few silks that catch my attention. Three of my favorite silk outfits are Goddess, Kadin, and Traction Silk (new & shown left - the gears animate!).

Now I need to find someplace to swirl around in silks for a day or two!  You seriously can't go wrong living out a fantasy in silk!

TP to Solange

Enjoy!

Love, Zoe

Note: Images have undergone some processing

Credits:
Solange: Traction Silk (not all options shown)
Analog Dog: Whimsy in Espresso
Dutch Touch: XaYa in Olive SmokeyEx (VIP)
MADesigns: Naturals in Happy Blue Pale Eyes
Redgrave: Eyelashes -29- Vampire
Redgrave: Girls' Biker Boots in Black
Pose by On The Cover (not currently available)