Twisted Unseelie Courts versus the Steampunk Hunters

I only wish I had more time to devote to both hunts; but I fear I'm going to miss some really excellent gifts on both. So I'm tagging some favs:

Sangre Noir, 22769, and CoLLisions:

I readily admit to my bias in favor of Sangre Noir. Noirran Marx has an eye for the gothic style with rich fabrics and small details that catch the imagination. Her offering for Twisted: Unseelie was one I knew I didn't want to miss because she never disappoints.

For the ladies there's a flowing silky shirt/dress, ruffled hem and flowing fabric attached to the shoulders and back with delicate dark roses. Like most of Noirran's designs, the fabric moves easily, and seems to slide against this skin. Worn alone, its a sexy mini or lingerie like casual. Worn with a skirt or jeans and it turns casual into elegant.

For the gents is the Unseelie Kilt, which obviously brought out my oft hidden dark elf side. Shimmering blue/black fabric, held up by a belt of roses caught on barbed wire. I like kilts. I like this kilt a lot.

The perfect match to the Sangre Noir design are two offerings from CoLLisions: Mab's Apprentice tattoo for the Twisted Hunt and for the men, The Pandemonium Necklace for Steam.

22769 rarely disappoints and being a ling time X-Men Fan (like prior to the current crop of cinematic representations) to see their take on two of the original X-Men in all their vintage glory fills me with glee.

For the ladies, Jean Grey effects her transformation into the elegant but lethal Phoenix, prior to any redemptive tales, and 22769 captures that leashed power an calm assurance we first saw in the First Lady of the X-Men. Cyclops is likewise captured; and I appreciate that the rendering eschews the overly ornate for the sleek lines and body hugging necessity of clothing a super hero. Or a pair of them.

All of these gifts are well done, are packed with imagination and creative spirit and can be yours for free. But like the silent movements of the Unseelie Courts and the unacknowledged heroics of the superhero set, the gifts too will fade from sight if you don't collect them soon.

When dog days were puppies

I've been a bit MIA lately -- wish it was because I was on a fabulous vacation but alas, mostly I've just been insanely busy. But, here's hoping June will be a little less hectic...and to start the summer off right, both Gabriel and Equilibrium have some cool stuff for you.

Gabriel swapped up the group gift to include a tribal tank in blue and black. Summer is the best time for tank tops and these graphics reflect that -- not a store logo, just a cool summertime sun emblazoned along one side.


That makes them perfect to be matched up with the usual generous gifts offered by Equilibrium -- this month there are three separate pairs of jeans and a fun Guitar Hero graphic Tee (in store gift -- look for the bag near the door.)

The pale blue jeans, with the dark shading are this month's Group Gift. For having the store in your profile picks, you can pick up these dark brown jeans, and the Midnight Mania offering are these open-waist blues (and fixed boxers - sorry those of you who like to go commando -grins-) complete with undone belt.

Over at Bellissima! you can snag this full outfit from their lucky board. The T shirt set (three versions, tucked and untucked ) are from the popular "Archer" animated series on FX --the outfit comes fully loaded: shirts, jeans, belt and boots. Even if you aren't a fan of the series, you can certainly be a fan for the generosity at Bellissima!

In the Free and Not Entirely Free category, I offer up the new monthly from F2H, which is one of my favorite places for nice looking , stylish looks that don't break the bank, Linden or otherwise. This red Racerback tank has a nice sheen, shadow and wrinkle texture, an unobtrusive logo and pride star at the chest.

I put it with this not free kilt from Sangre Noir (at the Shopatorium) which you should consider for a couple of reasons: First, its $200L which is an excellent price for a kilt of this quality. And what makes it quality, you ask - well, you can't see it in this static picture, but this kilt moves like it's made of cloth. It's a dark charcoal grey texture that looks like finely scraped leather and the triple wrap belt detail on it is amazing (take a look at the clasp sets). You actually get two versions of the kilt itself - one with a resize script and one without. Noirran Marx, the creative mind behind the Sangre Noir line, doesn't do men's clothing very often, but she's a kick ass designer and when she does something she does it well. (She also has a couple of turtlenecks available for men with equally nice detail and textures -- but since we're going for the summer theme here, I'll let you take a look at them for yourself.)