A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love. ~ Saint Basil
*LpD*
Pauciloquence and Kakorrhaphiophobia
Hair: Lelutka, Invert . Pose: Behavior Body, Squint (pose Fair) . Shoos: Similar Italian, Roma . Purse: JeSuis, Zebra clutch . Couturier’s Dock: Hat: Baoba, Carousel . Dress: Liv Glam, Imani
I know, I know! Another title of “alphabet soup.” I can’t help myself, as I’ve said, I love words. I’ve received a lot of positive reinforcement since yesterday when I stated at times I wish to walk away from SL.To all of you kind hearted people, you are the main reasons I stay. I’ve met so many good people in Second Life. We all have buried somewhere deep inside a good gene, we just have to wrestle it out at times, but in SL there seems to be a lot of good genetic markers in people. Or perhaps I am so sickly sweet the big meanies just choose to leave me alone. Which is fine, I am a steadfast believer sitting in the front row pew of the church of Mean People Suck. I’ve spent the morning working, my “day job” is working with numbers, so of course, my mind wanders. Oh wait, perhaps that’s why I got a grade of “C” in Trigonometry in college. One thing my friend Tai Galicia said as I was floundering around for something, ANYTHING! to blog struck me. When talking about me she said, “you style for the joy it brings.” More amazing than the fact what she said is true, is the fact she heard it a while ago, she remembered it, but I did not.
Hair: Lelutka, Invert . Pose: Behavior Body, Squint (pose Fair) . Shoos: Similar Italian, Roma . Purse: JeSuis, Zebra clutch . Couturier’s Dock: Hat: Baoba, Carousel . Dress: Liv Glam, Imani
I don’t really think it’s abnormal of me to forget, I am a self confessed, “flighty” at most times, it’s why my best friend is Draakje Dailey, she has a mind like a steel trap and makes sure I am where I am supposed to be with whistles and bows. I just suppose being human, I sometimes lack true commitment. I have a hard time being given an item and being told to “style this.” It’s not how my mind works. I’ve never asked a designer if I could blog them or join their blogger group, my blog isn’t about this. I just want to see really cool things, purchase them and style. So my apathy at times stems from these moments when I have commitments to blog but really no free will to put expression in the styles. So please forgive me this week, dear designers. I am actually ashamed of myself. I should do a better job on your gorgeous designs and will put forth more effort in the future.
That said, it’s actually something for all to think about. Don’t be afraid to add little expressions of YOU to your style, it’s what makes you stand out as different. I think when we are teens, most of us, are so scared of self-expression we all tend toward a popular conformity. Wouldn’t the world be an incredibly creative place if we were more accepting of our differences in styles and tastes? Inside all of us are little “style passions,” whether it be for certain colors, materials or shapes. We all have some preferences, lets start to share them with our viewers. Personally I love what I call, colors you can taste or feel. A sweet Tangerinish orange, a chocolaty brown, a red as yummy hot as “red hots” candy. I think when you feel passionate about an element of your style, the passion translates to the look creating a passionate feel. Today’s little cocktail is from Liv-Glam and the elegant hat is Baoba. Both are available at the Couturier’s Dock and perfect for any event that needs a chic elegant appeal.
Take from? Would it be my blog without one? It’s in the title. A person of pauciloquence is one brief in speech. Having just read another version of Cao’s Word and Peace, you’d think I surely don’t suffer from it, but in real life I do. When it comes to personal style, I, like a lot of you, suffer from kakorrhaphiophobia. We fear creating our look with our own personal style preferences because we fear failure. Create the vision that is uniquely you by not being brief in the conversation of your look. Let the unique elements of your style preferences tell the story because honestly? You can’t truly fail. Self-expression, when truthful and about you is yours alone, and who can tell you its wrong if it is what you think is beautiful? Think on it a while, it will come to you. Thank you, Tai! You’ve brought me back to my focal point. I’ve a few more pics to clear away this week but next week I think I will re-explore my passion for color. Taxi:
I’ll Be A Monkey’s Uncle
Hairs: Dura, Boy/Girl 38 . Couturiers Dock: Jewelry: Finesmith, Grapa .
I was going to stand here today on April fool’s Day and say I’ve decided to quit Second Life and this blog, but the feeling was so close to the current truth, I didn’t have the heart to put it into words. The fool’s joke would be on me because it’s an every other day thought for me some weeks. But leaving right now isn’t on the agenda for me, I’ve come so far and learned so much from other peoples comments, here and inworld, and about myself in these musings, I suppose, that leaving seems the cowards way out. You people are the best though, you honestly are, I can’t tell you how many encouraging comments and notecards I receive in a week from avatars and *wink* humans alike. It truly makes me smile and gives me the will to plod on. So thank you! I enjoy knowing you are there and knowing quite a few actually care.
Hairs: Dura, Boy/Girl 38 . Couturier’s Dock: Dress: AD Creations Dollhouse, Roze . Jewelry: Finesmith, Grapa . Pose/Bubbles Set: Flightly Pixels Couture, Bubbles .
Such an odd phrase, “I’ll be a monkey’s uncle.” Do you know where it comes from? There was a legal trial in the United States in 1925, The State of Tennessee vs. John Thomas Scopes. Scopes, a public high school teacher was charged with teaching his students evolution, which was illegal to teach in state funded schools. Scopes was unsure whether he actually HAD taught evolution, but he purposefully agreed he had because he thought the topic needed to be addressed in the legal arena. What ensued was a media circus pitting modernist (people with radical beliefs of the scientific and cultural influences of the Enlightenment) against fundamentalists (those who have a strict adherence to specific theological doctrines). I suppose technically if evolution is true, “I’ll be a monkey’s niece” would be the correct descending order. Though, the way we act sometimes, I often wonder if such a mix would be an improvement to man, but deteriorate the monkey?
Couturier’s Dock: Shoos: {{BSD Design Studio}}, Pia . Pose/Set: Flightly Pixels Couture, Bubbles .
Take from? Yep! It’s that kind of high-gravity Monday. We all need to evolve at times, whether it’s by learning a new way of viewing the world, defining our relationship within the world or by accepting the inevitable things we may not like and living with them peacefully. Of late there has been a great deal of talk about gay marriage in the news, and being a thinker and a watcher I’ve noticed, unlike past trials, there has been almost no discussion about whether homosexuality is deserving of the public’s moral condemnation. With that rhetoric and moral discomfort gone, I can’t help but think the children of homosexual parents will finally have their voices heard. Is this good or bad? Depends on “what side of the fence” you stand on. But personally, (and this is, of course, just my thoughts for what they are worth. Not too much I am sure) I think for the sake of these voiceless children, it just may be the right thing to do and the right time to do it. Mark Twain wrote much more eloquent than I ever could when he penned, “Loyalty to petrified opinion never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul.” If your thinking of checking out the current round of The Couturier’s Dock, you better hurry, its going to be open just a few more weeks. And looky there, I’ve even included the taxi for you! Taxi:
The Couturier’s Dock
Anyone who has followed me for a while knows I love to create fantasy pictures. It is one of my favorite aspects of Second Life. I’ve been a butterfly, elf, burlesque queen, hamster, children’s doll, Alice in Wonderland and many other a character. To me the fun is in the making and creating the style. I’ll be honest sometimes a style can be a month in the making because I want everything to be perfect when I go have the picture done. But even when I am not styling at the time, if I am out and about and see something really groovy and unique, I buy it and put it in a folder in my inventory called “cool stuff.” That way when I do have something to style, sometimes I already have components in place.
Yesterday to get the items for these three days of blog I went by The Couturiers Dock and picked up some of the inventory for sale there. When I saw what Nevery Lorakeet of *LpD* and Blackliquid Tokyoska of Blackliquid had created I had to try a style with them together! I further challenged myself by making Caoimhe style the rest with only items in inventory. *Lpd*’s item is the really incredible skin “Annalise” with a “harlequin” feel to it. Just LOVE this! And somehow it just screamed to be topped with the Blackliquid “Eostara” hair. Both are funky, and create a memorable avatar. My hats off to both of these great designers! The items in my “cool stuff” folder included the collar from the *Doll Coco* “cardster dress joker” and the *SoliDea FoliEs* bustier from the “Marinella” outfit. I happen to love the creativity of this bustier so much I worked it into one of my MVW stylings. What’s not to love about a caged heart? Right? Anyway, I hope you like my thirty minute styling.
We have a new designer joining us this round of the Couturier’s Dock. And it looks like Shaleene Kenin of Pure Poison is going to fit right in. For her first round she included this vibrant and gorgeous Jewelry set. This is a weighty piece that is a good addition to any runway show because it will be visible to the audience and is stylish to boot! All that was needed to complete this is headpiece, mask and dress by *SoliDea FoliEs* and hair from Boon! See even a Cao can be glamorous with a little help from friends!
I hope you like today’s preview (or would that be postview) of items found right now at the Couturier’s Dock. Don’t miss out on this, because when the items are gone, they are gone.. Sneaky peek, for tomorrow? It just may include AD Creations Dollhouse, Flighty Pixels Couture, BSD Designs, or Liv-Glam and Orage Creations. I hope you enjoy your Sunday, your Easter, and your family and friends. But if your looking for a place to shop today, I’ve even included the tax for you! Yeah, I’m kinda nice that way. Taxi:
Got Nothing To Wear Again?
Don’t worry about it! On March 29, 2013 at 1:00PM SLT, we are starting a new round of The Couturier’s Dock, featuring creatively minded designers, to you, our creatively minded consumer’s. Welcome to the Couturier’s Dock! We are Salimar Art SIM and it’s time to recycle this fun event and the inventory will disappear quickly and once the current inventory is gone, it is gone. We do not refill stock so don’t miss out on some of the incredible finds at the Couturier’s Dock. We purposely kept our designer’s list limited to some of the designers we feel have niched their own genre of fashion so the items available to you will be unique, limited to lots of 50 units, will be affordable at a price range of 50 to 500 Lindens (50% off the main store price) and we hope what you find will be a treasured addition to your Second Life inventory. We are very happy to have all of these dedicated SL designers committing items to this event and the only thing missing is YOU. Will you please join us?
The Couturier’s Dock: Taxi:
Cry.Me.A.River.
I’ve gotten kind of mean in my “old”age. Naw not really, I’ve just accepted who I am, and who I am not. I’ve a friend who recently asked for my help and so I gladly helped him. “All hands in” is my motto for friendship. After the initial thank you, well things went to ‘ell in a handbasket. Yep, no good deed goes unpunished. But it does bring me to today’s tip for aspiring models and new models. Be dependable. Seriously. Before you sign on for a show make sure you can make all of the practices and can be at the show an hour early. Attending the practices shows the agency and the directors that you are dependable and your work ethic shows professionalism. Two items all agency’s look for in their models. Get that reputation, its worth it, trust me. Being early for the show ensures you are presentable. Arrive an hour early and put on each outfit you will wear, and don’t change until you are completely rezzed. Doing this creates a “memory” and should help with rezz issues in high lag areas.
Take from? Sure! Sometimes real life comes up, but if there is even the remote possibility of this happening, don’t sign on for a show, it’s bad form. No agency wants to think they have everything in place set to go and then have a model come and “cry them a river” why they can’t make it. Or worse, to not show a’tall. If you want to make it to the top of Second Life’s modeling, be someone others know they can depend on. Today I am wearing one of my fave designers Nevery Lorakeets *LpD* (Les Petits Details). There is absolutely nothing about the new “Giglio” dress that doesn’t scream playful romance. The second I donned it, I just fell in love with it. The “Garbo” purse and “Candy” shoos are from *LpD* as is the skin. When I was shooting this yesterday, I wasn’t on my usual viewer, so I didn’t notice until I logged the pics were coming out a little ashen. It is a lucid pale offering available right now at the Skin Fair. The “Artica” skin is simply divine! To pull the look together to an adorable chic, I chose designer Chiaki Xue’s DURA brand “boy-girl17” hair which includes the hat! YAY! Love it when a plan comes together. All in a thirty minute styling. I’ve had so much fun, I’ve even included the taxi’s for you!
The.Playing.Ground.and.the.Big.Picture.
FFL- *LpD* Steam Cloud Makeup and Earrings.
I promised myself I wouldn’t do it, no Lil Cao thinking blogs during this Fashion for Life pre-opening week. Honestly I did try. I held it since Friday. But then there is always a catalyst. And I am, above all things, a watcher and thinker. I have a friend who is ill with Parkinsons Disease and suffers their days with debilitating pain, involuntary shaking and once a week excruciating physical therapy. In the midst of an argument the spouse of the friend complained everything that was wrong with the marriage was due to my friends disease, as if having the disease were a choice.
1st box I opened was menswear…. But, I loved it! (worn without shirt and tie) FFL- Hairs: Dura, FFL1. Suit: Innuendo Italian, Neth. Purse: *CoCo*, Lip clutch
I held it in, well until yesterday that is. The office I work in is along the waterfront. The waterfront is a vibrant area with a marina, a few restaurants and a huge playground where families gather to let their children play. After work while driving along the waterfront my travels were mired and crawling due to policemen searching in the water for a fisherman who was killed while boating. I was very angry when I noticed cars stopping in the road to watch the process, it’s a road, quit watching and just drive! Of course, this didn’t happen, while stopped so the idiot in front of me could watch, I looked at the crowd gathered along the jogging path watching the scene unfold. People were there with their children, young children, all under five years old, looking to see a dead body. I was simply appalled! Is this something a child should see? But then, while sitting there a moment longer, it hit me. When it comes to the big picture, I am as obtuse as my friends spouse, the spectators, and the idiot driver. In my small ego-centrical way, in my worry of getting from work to home so I could walk my Jack Russell Terrior…ist, the big picture was hidden from view. Someone had lost a son, brother, father, spouse, friend, lover, or all of the above.
FFL- Dress: *LpD*, Steam Cloud dress. POSES: *PosESioN* poses, Chic.
Take from? Yep, even this week. Cancer, like death, touches each and every one of us at some point. Whether in our own family, ourselves, a neighbor, loved one, or a friend. Are you the person who will help, or the person who will sit in your car and think about how your life has been inconvenienced by this victim? Me? I choose not to stand around and watch, I want to make a difference. Like this song, one of my favorite of all time, like The Fray, I choose to try to learn “How to Save a Life”. March 9th 2013, please join us at Fashion For Life in Second Life, it’s not just about Fashion. Together, we will make a difference. Remember 100% of the proceeds from sales goes directly to the American Cancer Society. SLURL’s are under the Fashion for Life Slurl’s page on the left of this blog. Feel free to use them through out the week of the 9th March.
Girls spend hours deciding what to wear, and all guys do is try to picture us naked.
All business today. I am without a home for the moment, so the picture quality may decline a little bit. I shot and styled all of these in just an hour (incuding cropping). I hope the style stands on it’s own though. I’ll be the first to admit, I am not a model. A tiny fishing village does not equate to high fashion on any playing field. But, I am a thinker. And, a studier. As an aside, when I grew up I was taught to never start a sentence with “and” or “but.” When I went to college they said that particular rule of English structure has been thrown out the window. Ah well, so here I am, even I picked up some of those radical liberal viewpoints whilst being brainwashed in college. I’m glad my mom doesn’t read my blog, though, my common memory of her as I was growing up were comments like “don’t dangle your participle!” I’d imagine using and and but to lead a sentence would pretty much spell the end of her sanity. But… I digress, as I said. I am a studier and thinker.
Today I was following up on the current Trends for Spring 2013 as presented by Style.com. Thinking it over, I decided to try to throw my interpretation on them. I had one set back, Second Life’s Spring lines aren’t out yet. But I think I did okay, well okay for a Cao. Who’s not a model. I’ll start with the 2013 styles will include modern plays on the kimono. See above? I am starting here, because what can I say, I love kimono’s. But also, because this picture is about a year old. See you guys think I dress funny, sometimes I am just a year ahead of the trend. 😉
The second trend we should be seeing is a continuation of contrasting colors. Not just black and white, like seen here. Also, Blue and orange, red and green. It is typically what you would think is a cool color, like blue and team it with a warm color, like red. These are brought down to singular, basic colors, but with so many colors on a spectrum, the sky is truly the limit.
The next trend mentioned is collage. I earned a collage degree in 2008, oh wait. nevermind. I earned a college degree. The collage look is the use of sewing together different patterns to create a new look. They always seem to look a bit ethnic, or eclectic to me. Perhaps a bit Boho chic. Zaara is already in the game for this look since this is a last years sundress.
The next trend for Spring will be what is called “veiled” styling. There were a lot of sheer see-thru materials out this year during the RL fashion weeks.This one just hasn’t really come about much in Second Life yet, but it will be fun to see it if any designer’s decide to play with it. I’m wearing the sheer blouse from Gizza included in the Blazer suit outfit. (found by way of Chloe, kudos girl!). The rest of the look should be layered elements, but I stalled here due to time constraints and threw on a pair of quasi-layered pants.
The next fashion trend you should be seeing this Spring is the flounce. I really like this look there are a lot of romantic and elegant things you can create with a flounce. Without the adorable layers of this dress, it would lose a lot of its depth and would be too plain to wear for anything other than everyday wear. I particularly love this look for Second Life because it adds a 3 dimensional effect in a basically two dimensional world.
And last, but certainly not least, and this is afterall, a look I wear more than others is the alpha female trend. Fuller eyebrows on women are back in (think Brooke Shields in the 70’s), as well as man cut jackets and pants. I like the look, but tend to like to soften it up some with things like wearing a bra as a shirt, or feminine jewelry.
Take from? Well of course, Second Life modeling isn’t really about playing dressup with your Barbie doll. You need to keep up with current styles, learn new styles or create a new trend in styles. It’s fun to throw on clothes, but to be the best at something you need to lead others by introducing those looks other avatars will crave to wear and own. I hope this was enough to get you excited about the coming Spring Fashions. Heck, I am just a lil Cao, a non-model. Just imagine what YOU could do! SLURLS are under the “Last known SLURLS page.
Outfit One:
Hair: Boon, BNG331
Makeup: Blackliquid, Winehouse
Earrings: Zaara, Hiral Wood
Necklace: ChopZuey, La Cascadeuse
Shirt: .Shi, Wrap Blouse
Skirt: Mon Tissu, Westberry
Shoes: Diktator, Dare Horseshoe
Outfit Two: Contrast
Jacket: Gizza, Blazer suit (female)
Pants: LWL, Harem IKat
Makeup: *LpD* Gia, eyes
Hair: Madesigns, Aria
Hairbase: 99 elephants, shaved
Jewelry: Mandala, Senjyu
Outfit Three: Collage
Dress: Zaara, Kitika Maxi dress
Hairs: Boon, PKJ371
Jewelry: Zaara, Hiral earrings, Parnini necklace
Outfit Four: Veiled
Shirt: Gizza, included in the Blazer suit (female)
Pants: Glam Affair, July
Hairs: Boon, PKJ371
Jewelry: A la folie
Outfit Five: Flounced
Dress: Tee*fy, Orelle
Necklace: LaGyo, Triumph
Earrings: Indy and Co, Maelle
Hairs: Boon, KBO906
Outfit Six: Alpha Female
Jacket: Gizza, Blazer suit (male)
Bra: Sea Hole, Catalina lingerie
Pants: Maitreya, Leggins
Hairs: Dura, boy/girl03
Jewelry: Mandala, ceekeeey earrings, Amida necklace
It.Begins. Couturier’s Dock.2013.
Closet Full, but still can’t find anything to wear? Don’t Worry About it!
On January 30, 2013 at 9:00AM SLT, we are starting a new round, featuring creatively minded designers, to you, our creatively minded consumer’s. Welcome to the Couturier’s Dock! We are Salimar Luxury District and it’s time to recycle this fun event and the inventory will disappear quickly and once the current inventory is gone, it is gone. We do not refill stock so don’t miss out on some of the incredible finds at the Couturier’s Dock. We purposely kept our designer’s list limited to some of the designers we feel have niched their own genre of fashion so the items available to you will be unique, limited to lots of 70 units, will be affordable at a price range of 50 to 500 Lindens (50% off the main store price) and we hope what you find will be a treasured addition to your Second Life inventory. We are very happy to have all of these dedicated SL designers committing items to this event and the only thing missing is YOU. Will you please join us? Taxi:
Designers*
AD Creations Dollhouse
Baoba
BeloD
Blackliquid
Drift
Finesmith
HMAEM
LibDescent
Loovus Dzevavor
LovelyMi Makeups
*LpD*
OC Creation
PiCHi
*SoliDea FoliEs*
White Widow
Violator
Outfit One:
Hair: Boon, ARK554
Hairsticks: Mandala Kimono chopsticks
Knickers: Ladies Who Lunch, Claire
Closet: Glitterati, Shopaholics Closet
Pose: Corpus 2013-006
SHOOS!!!! *NEW* (to be blogged next week) GOS Boutique, Marilyn (250 skin tones, just not Cao’s >.<)
an chailín álainn 