Summer Fashion Festival (Last Day): ArisAris and Blue Couture - Designer Showcase: [Opal] and Moondance Boutique - Plus Zibska and KANDINSKY

Today marks the last day of the summer fun event, Summer Fashion Festival and I've two more items to show you from there before the day ends. If you'll notice, there's a simple black dress with white dots as the basic element of my styling. The dress is ArisAris, and its simplicity with just a few fine details like those around the bust are one reason I enjoyed this dress despite the fact that it looks similar to many I have worn. The accessories I used are from Blue Couture, and they were designed to accompany a night gown / lingerie set. Instead I pulled one of the feathered arm pieces, the unique belted posture collar and the belt and added them to spice up the dress.

Designer Showcase runs a month at a time and always brings new designers to the table, as well as providing a great venue for more well known designers to offer special prices and expose new faces to their great quality items. This styling includes items from two different jewelers, both with several pieces at Designer Showcase July. Moondance Boutique's Gaia earrings shine just a bit and lit my cheek up just a smidge when I was standing with the sun setting. It was a neat lighting effect. The ring comes in several color options from [Opal] and worked well into my shades of grey styling.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Corrupted%20Innocence/163/57/23

Zibska made this 'ball and chain' type hat for an event that occurred recently and I had not quite figured out when to use it. I almost used a different hat, but my sweetheart who's been home all weekend and thus eyes over my shoulder at times asked me, "Why would you wear a flower pot on your head?" So instead of explaining to him that it was couture and sexy ~grin~ I went through my box of hats that I haven't blogged yet and asked, "This one?" about 11 times before he said, "Yes!" So Zibska, like the judges on all these reality shows say, "You made it through." The hat's name is Sadie Noir. I just think it looks a bit like the old ball and chain used in some movies to represent poor old married folks, and in this case, the ball and chain helped me make a decision for this styling, so with tongue in cheek, yay!

I still have an array of items from KANDINSKY that I want to show. They're also from an event that concluded recently but I couldn't bear to through them away as they seem to mirror some of my favorite items from Game of Thrones, and for that alone, they get a bit longer in my inventory before I separate and discard, and low and behold, the Willow heels for SLink mid-high feet fit this style exactly! With all the puzzle pieces together, I really loved the overall look. Black and white stay in style every season. I promise to make the next blog POP with color but this time, shades of grey won the day.

So many great designers are represented here. Thanks to each of you!

Featuring from Summer Fashion Festival (Last Day) ArisAris Dots Tube Dress

Featuring from Summer Fashion Festival (Last Day) Blue Couture Sexy Night Set

Featuring from Designer Showcase [Opal] Tango Black & Silver Ring

Featuring from Designer Showcase Moondance Boutique Gaia Earrings

Featuring from Zibska Sadie Noir Hat

Featuring from KANDINSKY Willow Mary Janes for SLink Feet

1. JUMO Armorial Lips Black

2. SLink: Elegant 1 Hands

-- Female Mid-High Feet

3. Kyxe Skins & Shapes: Alabaster Skin Tone

4. KMADD/Moda: Mesh Eyes

5. EMO-tions: Pria

6. Gaeline: Natura Lashes

7. Manifeste Poses

Wedding Gowns and Lingerie -- Featuring Carrie's Lingerie, Truth, Gaeline, Kastle Rock Couture, JUMO, FINESMITH, {{BSD Design Studio}} and Image Essentials

Every month, a new creation appears for a limited time at Carrie's Lingerie. These limited delicious gowns/lingerie appear at the beginning of each new month, then disappear at month's end, into a vault.

This month, Carrie's has focused on Weddings, for June is the month of weddings, and the limited Trinity gown has all the accoutrements of a wedding gown from head to toe. And as you peel away the layers, hidden underneath is a gorgeous lacy lingerie. I appreciate the detail added to every new Limited, but I think this month's Limited exceeds all previous experiences I've had with the Limiteds. This gown is over the top. And if you always wanted to be a bride, but don't want the hassle of the relationship, visit Image Essentials Props and Poses for this handsome stand in, new this month!

Another monthly treat I look forward to at Carrie's Lingerie happens because I joined as a VIP member 3 years ago and ever since then, in addition to getting a discount on new releases and a special sale wall each month available only to those who are VIPs, there's also a beautiful VIP gift (one for the ladies and one for the gents).

I show the basic VIP gift in the black bra, panty, gloves and stockings set of the first photo. But then I added a wee twist to the photo of the same outfit zoomed in closer. Carrie's gone GACHA crazy and there are corsets in a variety of colors. The first one I got was the basic black and white, and for me, it was PERFECTLY suited to this styling.

Besides the new lingerie, you'll see new TRUTH hair, only released this week, Zoella. new heels from BSD Design studio, and a face veil from Kastle Rock Couture. Gaeline has several new sets of mesh lashes (on their very easy to use HUD system); I'm sharing Phantasmogoria in this series. For the black based lingerie, I only used one small piece of jewelry, the Labradorite ring from JUMO, and with the wedding photos, I used a new release from FINESMITH, called Three. I modified the earrings so they're each sized differently, so when you look at the photo, I don't want you to fret that you might get earrings that don't match. They doooo, I promise!

I'm grateful to each designer who added their artistry to make this style possible:

Featuring from Carrie's Lingerie June 2014 VIP Gift

-- Also Featuring from Carrie's Lingerie NEW Gachas Like Variety Underbust Black 1

Featuring from {{BSD Design Studio}} Supermodel Essentials Black

Featuring from Truth Zoella

Featuring from Gaeline Mesh Lashes Phantasmagoria

Featuring from JUMO Reina Labradorite Ring

Featuring from Kastle Rock =Mirage= Nashida Niquab in Pink/Black

1. KMADD/Moda: Mesh Eyes

2. Kyxe Skins & Shapes: Latte Skin Tone

Featuring from Carrie's Lingerie June Limited Wedding Gown

-- Shown with other elements included

Featuring from Carrie's Lingerie the Limited June Design Trinity

-- Full Gown, Night Gown, Basic Lingerie and many more combinations for you

Featuring from FINESMITH Three Gift Earrings and Necklace

1. Kyxe Skins & Shapes: Blossom Skin Tone Flowers from Asia

2 EMO-tions: Love

3. Maxi Gossamer: Fatpack

4. FINESMITH Roxaane Diamond Bracelet

Finger Likka Good -- Featuring LIKKA HOUSE from Fashion For Life - Also Featuring {ZOZ}

I've never tried anything by LIKKA House but when I tried on this precious outfit, I fell in love immediately. There's a black and white option that's shown in my photos and there's also a red/white/gold option.

You can find this set of outfits at Fashion For Life, and you've got to get there! It's on for 7 more days. Only a week, now. We're all doing an incredible job together to raise much needed funds for American Cancer Society cancer research for a cure.

If you'd like to donate directly, please use this link:
http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?px=37321408&fr_id=61576&pg=personal

Thank you to each designer who made this style possible!

Featuring from Fashion For Life LIKKA HOUSE Carousel-West of the Moon

Featuring {ZOZ} Classic Avatar Mesh Silver Nails

1. >Asset<: Steampunk Hair

2. Maxi Gossamer: Wild Full Thick Lashes

3. KMADD/Moda: Mesh Eyes

4. Kyxe Skins & Shapes: Orchid Skin Tone

5. JUMO Armorial Black Lips

6. Poses in Studio at Image Essentials Photo Studio

Royals -- Featuring from Fashion for Life *Schoen* and JUMO

I don't know if anyone will ever create an actual time machine, but the world that Second Life presents to us all allows us to travel into time, back, forward, sideways, upways and downways. I love putting on flamboyant costume, bold and unique gowns, representations of so many eras of fashion, and embracing them each with love and thought for those who lived in that era.

I put on this brightly colored, wildly adorned dress from Fashion For Life and ahhh'd at it's majesty. It not from Elizabeth's era, but it's one of those gowns that commands attention. You could not be a wall flower wearing *Schoen*'s Auffaellige Rosen. The jewelry comes also from Fashion For Life, by way of the artistry of JUMO, the Faraji set in Emerald.

I've done quite a number of styles from Fashion For Life. It's an event that I passionately hope has been embraced radically, transforming a 'little video game that some people play' to a backdrop to raise millions for research for the cure for cancer. If you haven't visited FFL, you should. Designers worked hard to make it an adventure of fun and shopping, and at heart want the same thing I do, success in the form of financial support for Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society.

Donate directly: http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?px=37321408&fr_id=61576&pg=personal

This look was created by the following designers. Thank you!

Featuring from Fashion For Life *Schoen* Auffaellige Rosen

Featuring from Fashion For Life JUMO Faraji Set Emerald

1. >Asset<: Hurricane Hair

2. [NikitaFride] Ludic Lashes

3. KMADD/Moda: Mesh Eyes

4. Kyxe Skins & Shapes: Blossom Skin Tone Lyric

-- Nail Appliers Gems and Pearls

5. SLink: Elegant 1 Hands

6. Morphine: Cat Eyeshadow Purple

7. Pichi: Rich Shimmer Lip Color Ruby

8. Corpus Model Poses

Shadow Ghost and Beautiful Blood -- Featuring Silken Moon and from Designer Showcase E C R U

I feel so alive, so on the edge of life and all things beautiful.

I've eased back (at a pace far too quickly according to one of my nurses) from all the medications that made my world a haze, and now I feel like flying, dancing, embracing every good and wonderful thing.

I had fun tonight with a series of black and white photos. I thought this second series, not quite as many to share with you but I felt like I could go on and on and on... are shades of grey. To take an identity and ghost myself inside it, without a skin on at all, only white paint, a mask of white, white hood, and all things white.

But red popped, up from the page, as soon as I pulled those E.C.R.U. boots on, from June Designer Showcase. And with that brilliant red, I knew how I would style the few elements that were not Chronophilia, the outfit by the extraordinarily creative Malicia Python - Silken Moon.

Lashes and lips and a good edit-able liner around the eyes, and I had created this ghost of self, so piercingly aware. (4 photos) It was shades of grey, a ghost of myself, oozing red, like blood, or beauty, or blood is beauty...

Always grateful for the designers who made my style possible:

Featuring from Silken Moon Chronophilia

Featuring from Designer Showcase E C R U Prey Boots Vermillion

1. Gaeline Mesh Lashes: Magnificia

2. KMADD/Moda: Mesh Eyes

3. NailedIt: Mesh Nails Fashion Pride Set

4. JUMO Armorial Lips Red

5. Special Lace Layer Under-skin by Caryn

6. DelMay Poses

7. Midnight Designs Poses

Making Waves -- Featuring from Fashion for Life !Lyrical B!zarre Templates, Kazimir by Kaerri, *~Damesfly, and {NanTra}, also new {{BSD Design Studio}}

I admit to being a little bit slow when it comes to math and other skills. I might have once known ratios better than I do today, however, I set aside that information once I had to know how many kisses it took to heal little boys broken hearts and other little life tidbits.

I say that because I've done a few things a little less right (meaning wrong, but shhhh) as I transferred my blog information to the beautiful Versus magazine. I was so grateful to be allowed to share my work there, and then facepalms, realized that it's not quite like it's supposed to be.

So I dusted off the trusty dusty calculator and did percentages on a calculator so I could figure out how to convert image size to the other way Versus does it, versus the way (we will henceforth call the wrong way) I did it. I think I have it correct now. I have two photos sized to share there, and one sized ... yes, now you see, the Caryn Ashdene way. Errp.

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?px=37321408&fr_id=61576&pg=personal to donate directly -- I'm wearing Waves by Lyrical B!zarre Templates, from Fashion For Life. I also have Kazimir by Kaerri's FFL necklace, poses from {NanTra}'s support of FFL, a beautiful new coif from *~Damesfly at FFL, and Bonne Chance in blue from BSD Design studio.

Thank you to the wonderful designers who make this blog possible:

Featuring from Fashion For Life !Lyrical B!zarre Templates Waves

Featuring from Fashion For Life Kazimir by Kaerri Necklace

Featuring from Fashion For Life *~Damesfly Zendaya

Featuring from Fashion For Life {NanTra}

Featuring from {{BSD Design Studio}} Bonne Chance Blue

1. Gaeline Mesh Lashes: Magnificia

2. KMADD/Moda: Mesh Eyes

3. Kyxe Skins & Shapes: Blossom Skin Tone

4. Candy Nail: Qween Rose Mist White

5. JUMO: Armorial Maravilha Lips

6. Morphine: Azuka Shadow Spring 7

Angels and Demons and Sandra Backlund - Featuring [AD], From Fashion for Life: HOLLYHOOD, and !Lyrical B!zarre Templates

Angels and Demons creates some of the most unique things I've yet worn to date like this Twink Mesh Dress. I paused to really think about the person who might wear such a gown. The first thing I did was reference Avant Garde in the search bar Google provides, ticking off Images, so I could see a whole wide array of looks, to see if something like this was out there, in our world, and where.

Sandra Backlund graduated in 2004 at Beckmans Design University in Stockholm and created her eponymous brand in the same year. In 2007 she won the Hyères International Festival and, in the following year, she was chosen by Franca Sozzani (editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia), as a protégé for a fashion fund. In 2009, she won the NextGen sponsorship, awarded by the British Fashion Council. She's the designer of the 'real life gown' I'm sharing here.

Someone who wears such a gown could be at a charity fund raiser, putting on the ritz so to speak in NYC. She could attend a black tie affair, a new artists debut in a little gallery in Soho, thought the dress could spoil the show, making the woman more interesting than the art. That would be a social no-no, or the making of a high fashion model, or probably both.

HOLLYHOOD entered Fashion For Life with a wide array of SLink compatible heels and this brilliant hot pink pair shows one design and color. With the black palate, I thought one bright color to pop would be fun. With all the sculpting of pieces in the gown, I knew jewelry could get lost in the mix, but the hairpiece from Lyrical B!zarre Templates worked well. I also have on earrings and a bracelet from Chop Zuey.

I'm grateful to each designer who made my style possible:

Featuring [AD] Twink Mesh Dress

Featuring from Fashion For Life HOLLYHOOD Hot Pink Hart Heels

Featuring from !Lyrical B!zarre Templates Lies Headpiece

1. NailedIt: Art Nails

2. Morphine: Cat Eyes

3. JUMO: Fashion Armorial Lips

4. Chop Zuey: Black Storm Earrings and Bracelet

5. Manifeste Poses

6. Kyxe Skins & Shapes: Pearl Skin Tone

7. KMADD/Moda: Mesh Eyes

You Don't Want To Miss This -- Featuring from Fashion For Life ~ghee, Rainbow Jewelry, KaTink and JUMO

Today, I put together a special outfit that seemed to suit the home of a friend and the ambiance there. Blue Porchers, a seasoned model and blogger in her own time, had agreed to do a pair photo and as with many things I plan to do, it takes a lot longer for me to actually do the things than I mean for it to but once done, it makes me smile.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Heckroth/159/84/33 -- Blue's House
Wicked2712 Bearsfoot Builder

The SLURL and the name of the builder are shared above, with Blue's permission. There is a security orb there, so you'd want to check with her before you just went to visit. I told her that it was such a terrific build, it should be reviewed by one of the magazines in SL that looks at home decor as a fashion all to itself.

 She said the gown she was wearing would be sold at the Fashion For Life event, but it would be a special red color there. I wore one of ~ghee's exclusives and I just couldn't believe how special Warm Clarity had made this gown. It's called a Gown Of a Different Color. For fans of the 1942 version of the Wizard of Oz might recall a horse of a different color in Oz. This gown reflects that concept so well. Every few seconds, it's blue, or green, teal, red, yellow or orange. It's a long dress in back with a miniskirt front. I love ~ghee designs, and I think this by far is my most favorite creation yet.

The pose pair set comes from KaTink, one of three pair poses that I want to share before FFL ends. Thsi one is called Arm Candy. I took a few shots and found the ones I liked best, showing each of us on each pose ball. From one angle, it felt like someone had paused action long enough to capture the photo of a pair who might be learning ball room dancing. I'm not nearly graceful enough, though I imagine Blue might be!

JUMO has several items set aside for Fashion For Life including the shoes I'm wearing in the photos. Unfortunately, due to angle of the photos, you can't see more than a tiny tidbit of shoe so I will certainly share them again soon! You can see the jewelry from Rainbow's Custom Jewelry & design. The amethyst and pearl twist looked exactly like the gown once in a while, and pearls went with every color the gown chose to shine.

This event has already raised a tremendous amount of money before the doors ever opened due to some fantastic participants who provided the sims, people who offered sponsorship, and the endless list of volunteers. Many designers have pieces that are 100% donation to FFL. It should all be an incredibly fun experience, for anyone who participates.

http://www.relayforlife.org/getinvolved/donate -- For anyone who'd like to donate directly to the cause

I'm most grateful for the designers who made this blog possible and for the guest Blue Porchers!

Featuring from Fashion For Life KaTink Arm Candy guest Blue Porchers

Featuring from Fashion For Life ghee~ A Dress Of a Different Color

Featuring from Fashion For Life JUMO Brighton Heels 

Featuring from Fashion For Life Rainbow Custom Jewelry Twisted Pearls and Amethyst Butterfly

1. Gaeline Mesh Lashes: Divina

2. KMADD/Moda: Lexx Light Blonde

-- Mesh Eyes

3. Kyxe Skins & Shapes: Blossom Skin Tone

-- Glamour Lips Ombre Apple

-- Innocence Shadow Spring

4. SLink: Elegant 1 Hands

-- Female High Feet

My Chrysalis -- Featuring KL Couture, Pure Poison and JUMO from FASHIONART Faire, and FINESMITH

Sometimes I hear a story in my head as I prepare the fashion looks I want to share here and on my blog. Before I was ever in Second Life, I was a writer, a passionate one at that, and I wrote erotica and children's stories.

I've published children's stories but never any erotica. I always have the funniest look when people know this detail about me, especially when they toss in Youth Pastor as another of the things I've done in my life.

So I took this gorgeous Butterfly gown from KL Couture and styled it with stunning new jewelry from Finesmith. Pure Poison - Fashion provided the handbag (and handbags are so hard to pose ohh emm gee... I'm so glad for Wicca's Wardrobe poses that had a series that worked!) and JUMO has new skins and makeup accessories for sale.

KL Couture, Pure Poison and JUMO's items are from the FASHIONART Faire that's open til the end of this month. After I put together a style, I think about the girl that emerges, this time very much like the escape from chrysalis that a butterfly makes, the first time a girl goes to a fancy part. The anxiety and excitement making butterflies in her tummy. The first time her wings spread and she can fly, but how high? How far?

I loved the illustrative art. I arrived at a beautiful ball room. The place was so beautiful. Someone invested tons of time into creating it and then it was empty. I thought of how heart broken such a pretty girl, ready to fly, would feel if she were meant to attend a ball and then it was cancelled at the last moment. There she is, captured in photos to share with you.

Many thanks to the designers who made this blog possible:

Featuring JUMO Armorial Lips Red from FASHIONART Faire by Glamourist

Featuring KL Couture Butterfly Storm Gown from FASHIONART Faire by Glamourist

Featuring Pure Poison Hbao Hand Bag from FASHIONART Faire by Glamourist

Featuring FINESMITH Nina Aqua and Gold Set

1. [elika]: Breathe

2. Gaeline Mesh Lashes: Divina

3. KMADD/Moda: Mesh Eyes

4. Kyxe Skins & Shapes: Pearl Skin Tone

5. SLink: Elegant 1 Hands with basic nail applied

6. Wicca's Wardrobe: Handbag Poses