DrLife - The Best Skins in Second Life

Mariko Nightfire - Exclusive Client of DrLife

Mariko Nightfire always receives the most wonderful compliments. My avatar is the creation of Leena Ying of DrLife. Lenna Ying, the owner of DrLife, is an awesome talent and the creator of absolutely the finest skins in all of Second Life. Her avatar creations are unique in their artistry and so distinctive is their art that one can always recognize one of DrLife’s clients, and they stand out in a crowd. In real life, Leena herself is a very lovely lady and lives in Beijing, China. She is also my oldest and dearest friend in Second Life. Leena treasures stories of heroines from Chinese history and mythology. She is also a great fan of popular actresses from China and other Asian nations. This enthusiasm for Asian culture carries over to her avatars. Leena specializes in creating classic Asian beauties. She also adds exotic tanned and dark skin tones to DrLife's product line and creates an exciting line of skins and shapes with the more Western features of Eurasians and Amerasians - the loveliest people on the planet, having inherited the best from the East and the West.

Click on the pictures to enlarge them for better viewing.

DrLife's skins are known for their artistry

.DrLife has a long established reputation within Second Life’s Asian community. However, word about these extraordinary skins has gotten out, and DrLife is getting the wider recognition it deserves. The realism and beauty are just incredible. The first thing you will notice about these skins is that their facial features are softer, and the skin tones, translucent. The effect is stunning, like a portrait painter applying delicate brush work to his art. The details are exquisite. I use DrLife skins exclusively. I would never consider using any other.

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The demos at DrLife are very generous. At the store, you will have access to demo copies of all shapes and skins in the DrLife collection to aid you in making a selection. Shapes are priced at between $500L and $1000L. Skins are available in a number of shades – Olay, Fair, Natural, Tanned and Dark. A complete set of skins in one shade costs $1800L. DrLife also offers skins with an advanced feature called Complete Makeup. This feature allows you to apply makeup to your avatar through the Appearance Edit function. With Complete Makeup you can achieve a personalized makeup that is perfect for your outfit, as well as the occasion and the time of day or night. Skin tones sell for $3500L. Be sure to join the DrLife Group and pickup the free skin that Leena makes available to members as a gift. These gifts are always examples of their finest creations.

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The Best Testimonial:

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[18:36] S_ B_: Mariko... I want to know why you can manage to look so elegantly cool in what you are wearing and if I tried it I would look like a wally head lol
[18:39] D_ M_: Oh my. . . what a sight. . .
[18:39] S_B_: What?
[18:39] D_ M_: Mariko you are positively stunning.
[18:39] S_ B_: She's gorgeous
[18:39] D_ M_: I don't even know how to act now.
[18:39] T_ W_: She is always very well put together.
[18:40] Mariko: Thank you D_.
[18:40] D_M_: I feel all awkward she's so pretty.
[18:40] S_ B_: That's when you are meant to get polite and gentlemanly
[18:40] D_M_: Almost taboo - like dating a republican.
[18:40] T_ W_: Don't worry she doesn't bite (so I have been told anyway).
[18:40] T_ W_: •´¨*•.¸. HahahaA •´¨*•.¸.
[18:40] S_ B_: T_.... shakes head
[18:41] Mariko: I don’t bite but I have sharp claws :)
[18:41] S_B_: oooo scratches....

Leena and DrLife, thank you ever so much.

DrLife Skins and Hair are available at Mariko in Mont Saint Michel
Mariko
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Mont%20Saint%20Michel/228/117/31

Apala by Jador Fashion

Apala available at Mimi's Choice

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Our guest model is the strikingly beautiful Dakota Applewhyte. Dakota is tall as an amazon and poses with an easy grace. She projects femininity and strength, pride and confidence. It is only natural that Dakota should model the exciting Native American inspired outfit by Jador Fashion called Apala. Designed by ziamola Loon, Apala is available at the mainstore of Mimi's Choice, one of my very favorite stores. Mimi's Choice offers selections from many of the finest stores and fashion designers in Second Life. Here you will find the best from Jador Fashions, Orage Creations, MEB, and Lady Thera, among others. Selections are made by store owner Mimi Juneau who has a fine eye for fashion magic.

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Apala utilizes deerskin, denim, feathers, and traditional quill and shell work to create an look that recalls the Native American tribes of the northeastern woodlands. Their tribal names - Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, Onondaga, Seneca, Tuscarora, Mohican, Wyndot, Susquehannock - stirs our national memory to the eloquence of their oratory, to their stoicism and humor, to their dreaded war whoops.

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Apala sells for $900L but you get a large package for the price. The Apala package includes shirt, short pants, long pants, boots, and some wonderful accessories. The feathered headband is gorgeous. You also get a leather necklace, feathered upper arm bracelets, and feathered thigh band. I like wearing this outfit with the long denim jeans in the package. And these boots are awesome. The details on this outfit are exquisite. To see the details, click on the pictures to enlarge them. I recently wore this outfit to a live performance and the complements just poured in.

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I would like to thank Dakota for her fantastic modelling. I am sure that everyone has enjoyed these pictures of her. And be sure to check out Apala at Mimi's Choice.
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Journey Home

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Mimi's Choice Mainstore:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Deep%20House%20Island/208/10/23
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Jador Fashion:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Jador%20Fashion/9/164/25
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Photos taked at The Space between These Trees, Welch Lakes:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Welsh%20Lakes/106/28/32
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Yippies and the Forbidden City

New Yippie in the Forbidden City

 .I love Second Life fashions. I love blogging. So naturally, I love Second Life fashion blogs. I read a number of them; one of my favorite is Fashion Diaries by Nina Raymond. Her blogging style is different from my own, but she is highly prolific and very informative. Her avatars are attractive, and she puts together some awesome mix-and-match fashion plates. I trust her fashion sense completely. One of her recent posting turned me on to a marvelous item of fashion magic that I decided to highlight here in my own blog. The item is a top called New Yippie. It is colorful and dramatic. It has a retro look about it that reaches back to the hippie era of the baby boom generation. I did research on the term yippie which places it in the late 1960s and early 1970s. New Yippie moves the look forward to our own time and for our own generation. In searching for a photo location to highlight the exotic appeal of this item, I choose the Forbidden City in Beijing, China.

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New Yippie is available at Baiastice. Baiastice is another great find. As I walked around this store, I found myself placing item after item on my 'Definitely Want' list. The fashions on display at Baiastice are outstanding. New Yippie is designed by Sissy Pessoa, owner of Baiastice, and sells for $295L. It is available in five colors: Orange, Yellow/Purple, Purple/Green, Magenta, and Cian. I am wearing orange. In my mind's eye, the silks hanging from the sleeves and belt resemble the feathers of hawks and eagles. The influence of ceremonial Native American costumes on the design is apparent. The effect is gorgeous. And I love how this top moves and flows as I walk and change poses. To see the details of New Yippie, click on the pictures to enlarge them.

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To complete the mix -and -match, I complemented the top with (F/Skinny) A001 Jeans sold by Armidi Limited for $145L (the color is Dusted Classic) and with Stiletto Boots by Blaze. The boots come in 6 colors (silver, chocolate, white, red, champagne, black). I am wearing chocolate. The boots are currently on sale for only $100L and all 6 can be bought as a package for $300L. Get them for this price while you can. You can buy them as either No Copy/Transfer or Copy/No Transfer. Unless you are buying them as a gift, the latter makes better sense.
Best of all is this hair. I usually do not like oversized hair; but, this is the exception. Its fantastic. The hair is from Bish Wear and is called Toss Me Around. It sells for $375L which gets you a package of 6 hair colors (auburn, black, brown, blonde, red, and wine). I am wearing brown. The hair is designed by ShyOne Lehane.
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Now for a little history. I did some research on the Yippies, and this is what I found:

.Once upon a time there were Hippies, then Yuppies and between them, Yippies. Yippies were members of the Youth International Party founded in the late 1960s by Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin. Hoffman and Rubin were children of privilege playing proletariat revolutionaries. Yippies are remembered for childish street theater pranks and for inciting the riots in Chicago during the 1968 Democratic Party Convention. Jerry Rubin later renounced his youthful stupidity and became a stock broker and an advocate of free market capitalism. Abbie Hoffman never grew up. Both met unfortunate ends. The party's headquarters is now the Yippie Museum, Cafe and Gift shop located in Greenwich Village, New York City.
Fashion and a history lesson. Only in a Mariko Nightfire blog. I hope that you enjoyed this fashion magic and scenes from the Forbidden City. And I would like to thank Nina Raymond for bringing New Yippie to my attention.

Baiastice:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/BAIASTICE/154/126/25

Armidi - Hair, Clothing, & Accessories:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Armidi/134/128/25/

Blaze:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Blaze/73/118/23

BishWear:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/BishWear%20Island/176/182/24

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Photos were taken at China Forbidden City:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Obscuro%20Valkyrie/69/197/26

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More or Less

More or less at Madame Haute Couture

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Oh have I found a saucy little number. It is called More or less, and I found it at Madame-Haute Couture. Madame has a great selection of finely designed fashions ranging from formals, to clubs, to casuals. The main store at Peacock Park is very customer friendly, providing demos that allow us to try on the outfits before making our selections. Every store in Second Life should be so customer friendly. And also friendly is Madeliefste Oh, fashion designer and owner of Madame-Haute Couture. It was a delight to meet her as I found her warm and personable and very helpful. I bought a number of outfits from Madame that day, and all have drawn marvelous complements from the crowd when worn for an evening’s excursion.

More or Less was a delightful find. It sells for $475L and is available in 4 colors: Pink, Red, Blue, and Apple Green. I am wearing the red. To see the details of the outfit, click on the pictures to enlarge them. More or Less comes with 2 tops (open and with collar), 3 skirts (short, medium, and long), stockings, pantie, and bra. This outfit is so versatile. By mixing and matching the tops and skirts, you can create at least 6 different looks, going from more to less. The long skirt can be used to create a formal look. Combining the tops with the medium skirt makes a very stylish outfit. But my favorite matches the tops with the short skirt to create a look that is so teasingly playful and deliciously sexy. The more daring among us will dress down to the very racy matching lingerie.

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The Hair that I am wearing is from Top Hair & Accessory. The style is Ballerina. Its creator is Heidi SeraKorea. Ballerina is available in many hair colors. Individual colors sell for $85L but it is also available in packages of 3 colors for $205L. I purchased the Basic Pack which contains colors Black, Chocolate, and Pecan. I am wearing black.

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.I hope that you enjoyed this creative outfit from Madame. I know you will want to visit the store and try on this and other fashion magic from the delightful Madame Madeleifste Oh.

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Madame - Haute Couture Main Store:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Peacock%20Park/162/235/63
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Top Hair and Accessory:
.http://slurl.com/secondlife/Sera%20Korea%207/71/27/26
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Pictures taken at Opar, my personal estate
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New and Fashionable

Suki Naminosaki

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Our guest model is the lovely Miss Suki Naminosaki. Suki comes to Second Life from Hong Kong and is a very recent arrival, only a month old. But she has made extraordinary strives for a newbie in such a short time. Of course, one of the best places for a newbie to begin her second life is at DrLife for shapes and skins. Diana, the owner of DrLife, creates the loveliest asian woman in Second Life. With a new shape and skin from DrLife, Suki hit the shops and has shown a fine sense for fashion. Today, Suki will bring us some of her Fashion Magic and models one of her choicest finds.

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Suki is wearing the Tropicana Halter Dress available at TRUTH for $275L. The dress was designed by Truth Hawks. TRUTH is a store comprised of a complex of buildings offering quality hair, skins, as well as clothing. It is a pleasant place to shop. Their Tropicana Halter Dress comes in eight different color combinations, each named after a tropical locale such as Maui, Bali, and the Seychelles. Suki is wearing the color combination named for Fiji. I really like how refreshing Suki looks in this outfit. Starting from the halter, a tapering reverse S-pattern will have an admirer’s eyes flowing down the dress and taking in the figure it accents. It's a wonderful effect.

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Click on the pictures to enlarge them and to see the details of the pattern. They could be roses on this dress or fruit on another color combination. It’s in the mind’s eye and very playful. To take advantage of this power of suggestion, I have placed Suki in a field of wild roses and the outfit looks fantastic among them I really like the realistic folds that highlight the top. It is such details that add up to quality. And the overall effect is breezy and girlish. The look is perfect for late spring/early summer.

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Hair from BooN
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The hair that Suki is wearing is from BooN. The style is called KRC02 hair C&Ma and the color is chocolate. The hair is designed by boo Nakamura and sells for $220L. When I visited the store, I was pleasantly surprised. I expected just traditional hair styles but what I found ranged from traditional to the imaginative. I ended up buying several hair styles. In addition to hair, BooN also sells skins, eyes, belts, and dreadlocks.

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I would like to thank my lovely guest for modeling such an attractive outfit. Suki is always wearing something that catches my eye. She is one of the best dressed women in Second Life, and she is so new. I’m certain that she will grace this blog again.

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TRUTH
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Truth%20Island/111/211/26
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BooN hair styles, skins, eyes, belts, dreadlocks
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Zapico/12/148/36
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Pictures were taken at Opar, my personal estate.
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Enlightening, Exhilarating, Extraordinary

Fashion Magic By the Waters of the Nile
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Enlightening, Exhilarating, Extraordinary is the motto of ALB Dream Fashion. The Africa and Moroccan inspired fashions by designer Analee Balut are indeed enlightening, delightfully exhilarating, and truly extraordinary. Drop in the ALB Dream Fashion main store and be prepared to be excited by the breadth and beauty of the fashions and items on display. At the store you will find quality clothing, footwear, hats, skins, jewellery, and accessories for women and men. And the fashions are to dream for - great textures and colorful styles that are full of grace and harmony. The store itself is a joy to shop in - tasteful, airy, Moorish and set in the exotic North African desert sim of A'ksha Dunes.

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ALB Anna Set

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I have four Annalee Balut designed outfits in my clothing inventory, and all are among my favorites. Today, I'll highlight a colorful and elegant outfit called ALB Anna which sells for $599L. Through the magic of Second Life, I took this Africa inspired design to Ancient Egypt to display its enchantment among the monuments and lost mysteries of the Nile. Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

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Cascade of Colors

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The ALB Anna set includes top, flexi sleeves, pants with attached belt, long flexi front skirt, flexi flat skirt, and red pumps. The sleeves and the skirts are very sheer (so wonderful), and the outfit is a veritable cascade of colors. Note the exquisite detailing and patterns revealed in the above picture. I absolutely love the color orange, and so I love way the designer utilizes the color as a highlight to draw one's attention to the outfit and the wearer.

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You can create different looks with this versatile outfit

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This outfit is shock and awe. It guarantees you a grand entrance at any event. The outfit is also versatile and dresses down to some delicious looks. Remove the large front skirt and you are now wearing a sexy top and the flat skirt becomes a gorgeous cloak, very sheer and light. The white pants are a more prominent part of the look. It has a great texture and a colorful matching belt. As you can see, the white pants complements the flow of colors. Now, remove the flat skirt and you have a very sexy casual look that is fun and attention grabbing.

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Dressed down to a very sexy casual look.
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Hair by Analog Dog Hair
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I usually find the hair styles at Analog Dog Hair rather pedestrian and not well proportioned (much too large) nor especially well made. Imagine my thrill when among the dross I discovered some fashion magic. The hair is called Amber. It is flexi hair and sells for $350L. Amber is fabulously ethnic. The hair is pulled back tight and then set free to billow and flair. Its a marvelous effect. The curling strands of hair off to the side is a little touch that provides a lovely accent. Your Amber purchase gives you a several colors - black, brown sugar, brunette, cinnamon, and copper. I am wearing copper. This hair is a great find and is possibly one of the finest hair pieces to be found in Second Life.
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Daughter of Isis and Queen of the Upper and Lower Nile

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I hope that you enjoyed this look at a very exciting piece of fashion magic. I hope to feature more Annalee Balut designs in future posts.

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ALB Dream Fashion main store:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/A'ksha%20Dunes/185/74/51

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Analog Dog Hair

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Analog%20Dog%20Hair/126/204/21

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Photos were taken at Ancient Egypta, Egypt Valley of the Gods, Cultural Arts Museum - Ancient Egypt Tomb Exhibit

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Another Look at Spring Magic

Magic in Nantucket

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This picture is too good not to post. Click on the picture to enlarge it. I am wearing my early spring mix-and-match outfit while visiting the lovely seaport sim of Nantucket. I hope that you enjoyed another look at this outfit and are further encouraged to put together this mix-and-match and take a trip to Nantucket.

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Nantucket:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Nantucket/128/128/10

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Early Spring Magic

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Spring will be arriving in just a few days. Early spring bulbs are already accommodating a landscape eager for color after a dreary winter. And the Japanese in me is looking forward to cherry blossoms, always the highlight of spring as the season’s most spectacular show. And we definitely need to start planning our fashions for the new season. Early spring presents a change-of-season problem as we have some of the vestiges of winter and not yet the full glory of warm spring sunshine. This fashion problem is perhaps best solved by mixing-and-matching to put together that magical outfit for early spring. Mixing-and-matching is such great fun. The sheer joy of it was wonderfully expressed by my friend Smidget Beaumont, ‘I love taking bits of random outfits and smooshing them together to make something different and a little funky.’ I recently smooshed together a few pieces to form an outfit for the season. Perhaps not funky, but maybe more smart and casual. Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

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Argrace Beanie with Long Straight Hair
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March is the windy month. So I wanted a hat to cover my head and keep my hair in place. My sister Wynter (as Victoria) wears a very cute beanie that is perfect for the look that I wanted to create. She took me to the Argrace Main Store where I purchased the Argrace Beanie with Long Straight Hair for $250L. The hat is designed by Rika Owen. What is great about this beanie is that you can click on it to change its size and color. The colors are: Sand Beige, Daiquiri Green, Pink Mist, White, Rainyday Grey, and Black. I selected Pink Mist from the menu. The beanie can be purchased with hair or without hair (to fit over your existing hair). I find that the beanie without hair is very difficult to adjust to your existing hair. I would recommend buying the beanie with hair. It can be purchased with long straight hair or with long layered wavy hair. Available hair colors are Black, Blonde, Light Brown, Dark Brown, Red and Platinum. I bought the black long straight hair.

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This lovely top is also found in the Argrace Main Store and is called With You. As you can see in the pictures, With You is very flattering to your figure and has a wonderful texture. It is designed by Air Winx, the owner of Argrace, and sells for $300L. It is available in White, Wine Red, Browny, DP, Olive, Light Grey, and Black. I purchased Wine Red. Your purchase gets you two models, a long sleeve and a medium sleeve model. I am wearing the medium sleeve. With You also comes with a very cute plaid muffler that is perfect for when the March wind has a brisk snap.
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'With You' from Argrace Main Store
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White Satin Pants from Redgrave Women's Fashion

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I completed this spring outfit with the White Satin Pants available at Redgrave Women’s Fashion. The pants are designed by Emilia Redgrave and sell for $400L. You might choose to finish off your outfit by purchasing some great jeans at Argrace. But these white satin pants are one of my favorite items for mixing-and-matching. They do so well with so many other pieces. They are perfect for taking a top from one of your lovely formals and creating a less formal look that is just credibly sexy.
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Voila - Mix and Match Fashion Magic for Early Spring

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I hope you have fun creating your own mix-and-match fashion magic for early spring. And please go hanami (flower watching) when the sakura cherry trees are in peak blossom. Look up and view the blossoms against a clear blue sky. And take pleasure from the shower of soft white falling petals as they cover and spread over the receiving ground as if a spring snow.

Argrace Main Store:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/shin%20zushi/150/162/26

Redgrave Women's Fashion:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/REDGRAVE%20Womens%20Fashion/242/225/23
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Pictures were taken at Opar, my personal estate.
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Miss China Town creates Fashion Magic

Mousebi Erin, Miss China Town

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Our guest model is Miss Mousebi Erin, the reigning Miss China Town. The Miss China Town contest was the popular highlight of the Chinese New Year celebration held in the China Town sim, and it was actively followed by the SL Chinese community. The contestants for the title of Miss China Town were a collection of some of the loveliest asian women in all of Second Life. Mousebi Erin, a beauty from Hong Kong, was awarded this year’s title by popular acclamation.

A casual sophisticated look with a hint of intrigue

I was introduced to Mousebi while visiting China Town during the New Year celebration. I was shopping with Selina Heron, my good friend from China, when Mousebi walked into the store. As the newly crowned Miss China Town, she had a celebrity presence; but, I was even more impressed by her fashion sense. Mousebi put together a marvelous outfit and a look that imbued her with an air of casual sophistication while also hinting of intrigue. I could imagine her as the femme fatale to Simon Templer or James Bond. Selina provided the introduction, and, while we chatted, Mousebi would occasionally puff long on the cigarette held in her right hand to great effect. When next we met, I asked Mousebi to model that outfit for my blog. She agreed, and so I am pleased to provide you with the details of this intriguing look.

Mousebi is wearing only the top portion of the Lima Trenchcoat offered by Armidi Gisaci. Surprisingly, this works well in creating her look. And I especially love the collar on this coat. It is reminiscent of the film noir of Bogart and Bacall. The color is Hazel, and the coat sells for $325L. I have also recreated this look for myself; but I choose the color black. This works well too. The wide black leather belt is a marvelous accent which sets off the top from the rest of the outfit. The belt is from COCO and sells for $150L. COCO is located in the Cocon shopping mall of the Gion Shirakawa sim. Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

Mousebi is wearing the (F/Skinny) A001 Jeans sold by Armidi Limited for $145L. The color is Dusted Classic. These boots are terrific, and they are a great find. They are sold by L'Atelier Storm Schmooz Exclusive Second Life Footwear and are their Storm Schmooz Maitresse boots. Mousebi choose the color Chocolate. They sell for $500L. For my look, I choose Black Classic for the jeans and black for the boots.

Mousebi's hair is is from Mirai Style and is their Caly hair. The color is Latte. This hair sells for $200L. The finishing accents include dark glasses from Armidi Gisaci and is their Lifestyle Aviators. The glasses sell for $325L. Her necklace is from CeeJay's Miscellaneum and is their Isis Necklace.

I would like to thank Mousebi for sharing with us her wonderful mix-and-match fashion magic. I hope to feature more of her magic in future posts.
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Armidi - Hair, Clothing, & Accessories:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Armidi/134/128/25/

L'Atelier Storm Schmooz Exclusive Second Life Footwear:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Sawsnake/157/238/23/

Coco:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Gion%20Shirakawa/66/176/42

Mirai Style:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Takaraduka/150/216/33

CeeJay's Miscellaneum:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Lonicerae/73/201/418

Pictures were taken at China Town sim
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