Favorites Old & New

Taking time out to revisit some favorite designers and get acquainted with some new:

Redgrave is a perennial favorite; my favorite skin and my favorite footwear come from there (Biker boots - not shown and before they got a resize script which I'm really happy about. No script lag with those babies)

That said, I'm really fond of the newly releases Survivor boots in canvas and./or leather. Nice construction and detail, and like my favorite biker boots, well worth the price. While there I also found the relatively new release of a pair of vintage jeans. these are sharp looking for also being so worn and the detail options (keys or purse, smokers pack,) set them above other jean sets. Unisex and reasonably priced.

Another favorite is SF Designs. swaffette's been making us all look good for years and she's amazingly generous. The Grey Marl Double breasted cardigan is a free gift and it's sharp and classic looking.

Newer to my wardrobe are both EMO-tions hair and [Y] Style Jewelry. EMO-tions came to me highly recommend by a friend and I have several styles I wear but the favorite of the partner is this long look, Resurrection II. The hair is mod and since I'm not a Gor or Historical RPer I took the liberty of making the bone and skull accents invisible. I like the loose look around the fair and the heavily wrapped braids and ponytails come across just as wonderfully messy as any such style will after a day of fighting, foraging or if you are like me, knocking together furniture or digging in the garden.

Also new, is this great necklace from[Y] Style. Greta's been pleasing me a lot with her bold but simple designs. Most of the Quartet that make up StyleYakuza  have amazing talent for both style and statements and Greta's not disappointing anyone with her designs. It's a small set of offerings so far but growing and scarily reasonably priced. Be sure to hit her group as well, since as you'll see later, the lady gives out great gifts.

Another hairstyle from EMO-tions, this time shorter, but with the same kind of loose easy look as the more involved designs. Aaron comes in multiple colors as do all EMO-tions styles, many of which are unisex.

Destination and Infinity are new releases from GothiCatz, which is one of the first shops my SL mentor took me to in looking for outfits that met my style as well as my wallet.

The skin, left, was a group gift from Belleza, another favorite skin maker. The group admission isn't prohibitive and it's worth it given the regular price of their skin packs.

CPD {Chaos, Panic & Disorder} provided this Celtic Cross necklace over Christmas and I like the detail on it a lot. I have a few pieces I tend to wear all the time -- this just got added to that relatively small folder.

I've had these black sneaker boots from Duh! for awhile now. Given my penchant for boots, you'd think I'd wear them more often, but something abobut the GothiCatz outfit made them seem like the exact right thing. They are seriously a lot of fun, and like most of Duh's shoes and boots in credibly easy to fit and with a lot of little details that  might go unnoticed. Loose flexi laces aren't exactly a requirement in footwear but having them makes me grin since I can't seem to ever tie my shoes anyway.

The Zero Natural skin from Heartsick was a pleasant surprise in the Millenium Hunt. Find it secretly marked to $1L for the Millenium Hunt and you get 7 versions of the skin n a dark tan. Rich tones, fuller lips, and a great set of eyebrows. I wasn't as enamoured of the included shape - it ran a little too young for me -- but it's a well done shape if you are looking for a style that runs on the slim, youthful end of the body ranges. (Also included in the pack is a gorgeous set of skins and shapes for the ladies. This is a deal you don't want to miss.)

Back on track with the old reliables would be a really bad list if it didn't have Doc Eldridge's DE Designs in the mix. Doc's been a  favorite for a long time, he does dome amazing thing with his textures and designs and seriously gets how men's clothes should fit. There's not a lot of extra attachments beyond the necessary -- most of the detail comes from his amazing gift for laying textures and shades and shadows on textures which provides not only a seriously nice looking set of clothes but also a low lag fashion statement.

Rune is a more casual line for Doc and he's been adding to it steadily. Kain features a grey Henley (and I love my Henley's) with a plaid overshirt, musltiple sleeve options and open and closed. It also comes with a well worn pair of jeans in regular and low rise. Be sure to open the optional layers box and do not fear the underwear layers!

I finished this set off with another favorite trend setter -- Gabriel and the group gift of Black leather low boots. I may love my biker boots, but I also love my jean cuffs. Gabriel lets me have both.


Ali & Alli have made a name for themselves in both their prolific out put and the variety of styles they offer. the ladies are also generous to their group members (as well as pretty much everyone else.) Sticking with a shorter style is this crop cut loose look in black and silver, light weight and easy moving.

The necklace is the gift I mentioned from [Y] Style, multi-link chain that rest close to the skin. if you don't have an open shirt or jacket, then by all means get one to show this off.

Luckily for me GizzA had this tartan open jacket up for sale. I really like the look of this[ from the epaulets to the zippered edges and the loose fit of the bottom of the jacket. it's sharp and contemporary and would look as good  with striped slack, leather pants or a kilt as it does with jeans.

The first time I encountered Egoisme was on a hunt (crafty bastards). I've been a fan ever since -- not of everything (the collection is huge) but they never fail to impress. The Trekking boots are no exception. As with Redgrave's boots, the devil's in the details and the textures.

Tableau Vivant is doing some amazing things with fashion, but also with photography. M4ri1yn Magic and Aida Ewing both have style and flair coming out their pores (if avatars had pores) and they are the brains behind both TV and Glam Affair (and the former Beauty Avatar line) as well as a bunch of other amazing ideas and offerings. From Skins to clothes to amazing photo props, (and some killer photo shoots) you can't do any better than tagging along on the ride these two are taking a good portion of SL. Whether you want to spend 10L or thousands, you will get quality and style; and you can get great gifts too. The Noctis skin is a group offering  from TV and it's a stunner. Bluish undertone, glittersheened glam, without being cheesy, it's a great skin to offset the designs of other talented creators.

Getting this skin, I hunted for things to offset it and took in TGL's (Tokyo Girl) Eyes and Hair. I'm more and more impressed with TGL everytime I come across her work  - including the mesh belt in this picture. It's got some amazing details and handles and sizes like a regular prim or sculpted piece, which for me is important cause I like my shape.(and yes, Tokyo Girl -- think outside the box guys.)

Also pictured is a better view of the [Y] Style group gift, Harnessed. I also found the Celtic band tattoos from .:CoLLisions:. released last fall, worked amazingly well with this skin, (as did the Life is Beautiful tattoo) but I tend to think Guen Decuir is a pretty talented designer anyway.


Hair:
Ali & Alli
EMO-tions
TGL (Tokyo Girl)

Skins:
Tableau Vivant
Heartsick  
Belleza,

Eyes:
TGL (Tokyo Girl)

Jewelry:
[Y] Style
CPD

Tattoos:
.:CoLLisions:.

Clothes
Redgrave
SF Designs
GizzA
DE Designs
GothiCatz

Shoes/Boots
Gabriel
Egoisme
Duh!
Redgrave