Hurrah for the Red, White, and Green!

Lludmila relaxes in her dollarbie outfit.

I know I haven't been here much, but I did go on an extended vacation (and while they might have WiFi at Mesa Verde, I don't really want to be on it when I'm there) and shortly after I got back, my graphics card died and Dell dragged their feet about replacing it.  Although two other cards have bitten the dust, first they made us wipe the harddrive before they would admit it was the card again.  Sigh.

My enforced absence from all but the barest minimum of virtual life (I did try to keep up with my hosting job at Grizzy's Cafe) soured me on the whole idea.  I started cleaning and ironing, for Omssake!  Worse yet, I was enjoying it.  It's taken me some time to decide what I'm going to do and I guess I'll stick with this virtual existence, but I'm going to start adding more real life to the mix.

That said, I found this very nice dollarbie at justB.  Apparently, it's a monthly thing.  Join the group (get the freebie roller skates from the notices) and keep your eyes peeled for a regular bargain.  I paired it with the slingbacks from G. Field.

Fashion Blog-togopher Caught In Slutty Outfit

Well, let me explain.  I hang out at Grizzy's Cafe and they raise money for charity there.  Lately I've been short some Ls, so when Grizzy mentioned that she doubted they would make their goal of 60,000L that week because they were 16,000L short, I asked if there was something I could do.

Essentially, I bet them that they couldn't raise that amount in the three days left.  If I was wrong, I would wear the bunny suit for a month.  This was announced to the Cafe Group and, to get the rabble inspired, I taunted them on Group IM.  [Grizzy also agreed to wear the outfit for a further 2 weeks.]  Well, it worked.  They raised the money in two days and I have to wear the sleazy men's club waitress outfit for four weeks.  Fortunately, it's September, and there are only 30 days.

To help me through this dark period of couture, I have been given some special uniforms to mix in with the plethora of colors I'm embarrassed to admit I already own, although I had to tailor my own ears by adding some fun textures to the Curio Oscura ears and coordinating the cuffs, collar, etc.).  This is the SL equivalent of being given a few yards of material and being told to get busy. If you want to see them, you'll just have to come by the Cafe some evening or check Grizzy's Flickr Group page.

Vintage Undead

Many years ago, perhaps three (three years is a long time in the Virtual World. Marriages only last a week here), I finally found an outfit for Lludmila that I liked. It was this Victorian Sailor Dress that came from Ivalde, a generous and worthwhile provider of Vintage Clothing. Lludmila wore this all the time. Recently, there was a "Come As You Were" party at TX950, the roving club for librarians, and, after absolutely tearing up my inventory, I finally found this ancient relic. I wore it with an even more antiquated freebie skin (not pictured, from the Gnubie Store and made by Eloh Eliot) and the system shoes. Everyone remembered the dress. I must have never taken it off.

Later I put my zombie skin back on, but left the hair, which was the first prim hair I bought, for about 15L from Mae Best. [You can still find textures by Mae at Knot Mae's Best (ha ha!) Where there is a poofer poster showing another version of the hair.] The hair as pictured only shows the system hair part. There was an elaborate prim bun on the back and some optional prim finger curls that pointed downward, stiff as daggers. I was thrilled with the look at the time. Just goes to show ... something, I dunno.

Surprisingly, I still have a group membership to Ivalde. It comes in dead handy in December when there's a daily advent calendar gift for group members, if you can live through the lag of other group members materializing to get the goodies.

And, of course, there are regular gifts to members, that you have to brave the lag at the store caused by Lucky Chair stalkers to pick up. Sometimes I look at the promotional picture and decide it isn't worth it, but this month was different.

Ha! This is just the ticket for the Vintage Undead! And what a versatile outfit Yelena is! The top has that lovely retro neckline (that actually ends not that far from the neck - say, above the nipples), the high waist, and three bottoms: the standard prim skirt, a system skirt with ruffle that matches the top, and the tight capris that show how black really does make your butt not look so big! Or perhaps that's because I cut down on Lludmila's bottom for the Sailor Dress at top so that the cheeks didn't stick out from the skirt. I hate it when that happens, but I am the one that made her so ... cheeky.
The hair is WWII Romance in Bombshell (Blonde) by JetDoll. The shoes are some great Balmoral pumps that came in about eight colors from Truth Fashion.

Imagine my delight to discover (or perhaps rediscover) the Ivalde Discount Store right nextdoor! Items ranged from 10L to 150L and I found this great little dress for 10L! Grey is my next favorite color to purple. I've added some shoes that were the first shoes that made me so happy I didn't want to take them off. Grizzy will remember - I kept pointing them out to everyone at her club, Grizzy's Cafe. It's a great spot for friends and dancing and something is happening there every night.
Hair is Claire by ChiChickie, I found the shop during a hunt and stayed to try on hair.

Oh look! A close-up of the shooooooes! Sure, everyone else might have had prim shoes with even more amazing details, but these were my first fancy shoes. Cut me some slack! They are called Snowflake, in Winter White Velvet by Ztique.