This post kind of doesn’t fit in any category I have. It is more than a “Quick and Dirty” but does not fall into my 52Weeks of Color Challenge either. It was simply something that came together quite easily and featured some items that I wanted to talk about!
As I spent time in SL getting ready for my next 52 WOCC entry, I had offer after offer for various types of 4th of July attire. Many were cute…and all were appropriate, but after a while they kind of started to all look alike. That was, until I got this offer from aDIVA Couture. aDIVA Couture is a “new” store for me. I am not even certain where I first heard of it, but recently I ran across someone that had just discovered them as well and was quite pleased with the find.
A quick trip to her modest store, revealed some really EXCEPTIONAL clothing at reasonable prices and GREAT group gifts!!! What’s not to love??? From what I have been able to ascertain through group chat the owner and creator of aDIVA, AnneJoy Paine had taken a “leave” from creating and has recently returned. I must say I am glad she did. This group gift for the Fourth of July was a gift from last year that she chose to give out again to those of us that had not yet received it….and I LOVE it! Everything she makes is very well made and the cute little ruffled top that wraps around and ties in the back combined with the scalloped polka dot skirt, revealing just a slight bit of leg, is the best I saw for offerings this 4th of July season! I have a feeling I will be wearing her clothing for a long time to come!
The skin is from Essences. This skin was an anniversary celebration sale offering and came in many different skin tones with 8 different makeups to choose from. I loved the red lipstick and got one in every skin tone she offered. Many times I like the “latina” feel that I get from some of Essences skins. Coming from the deep south in the States originally, I have been influenced by the latino culture for most of my life. Essences can always give me the look I am searching for. And she has many different skins for all types of ethnicities.
I knew that I wanted some kind of pony tail for this outfit….and when I started to picture it, D!va was what came to mind. D!va hair is always light and wispy and it is often what I am looking for when I want a spring/summery look. She has several lucky boards in the store that flip quickly…and really nice group gifts. And she has a shade of red called “Carrot” that IS just that, but not garish at all! It is one of my favorite “reds” (and V always comments on it when I wear it!…so if HE likes it, it MUST be good!)
Jewelry was once again from one of my favorite jewelry designers in SL. Ear Candy has the CUTEST jewelry. She always has a TERRIFIC sale in the 60L weekend sale each week AND the LOW letter sale as well. Maeve (the owner and designer of Ear Candy) not only makes adorable jewelry and nifty shoes….she makes things for the house too….lamps, fans, chests, picture frames…all kind of cute stuff for you to decorate your home with. You really need to check it out!
Another jeweler that I recently stumbled upon is WTG Jewelry. Not only does he have some really nice jewelry, but he has a “Runway” line AND a “Male/Unisex” line. In addition, his jewelry often includes matching nails!!! SO it came as no surprise, when for the 4th of July, he gave away these ADORABLE red, white and blue nails as a group gift. One thing that I like about his nails as well, is that he includes a “Nail reset HUD”. Ever been out on a special date…or doing a photo shoot and have your nails end up floating in the air instead of on your hands??? Don’t you HATE it when that happens??? Many times the only thing I could do would be to rez my pose stand and use the poses loaded in it to get my nails back on. But now…you can wear a Nail reset HUD…and all you have to do is click on it…and it will re adjust your nails to fit back on your hand! Just like magic! LOOOOOOVE it!
Another thing I just love, is when designers give us an amazing product and then let us do with it what we want! So you can imagine my delight when I found these CUTE little wedges (on sale, of course) from “She’s So Unusual Shoes“. They were just a simple wedge with a polka dot bow, but what I LOOOOOVED about them was that they came with a HUD that let you pick the color of EACH part of the shoe, not just choose from a color selection that they offered you…but REALLY get to pic the color YOU want, even giving you a RGB option to match colors. SO the basic part of the wedge is one color, while the bow can be a different color and the tie for the bow can be a third color if you like! I just love it when *I* get to choose!!!!
I have always been a big fan of eyes in SL and it has been fun to watch how eyes have developed over the last year or so. It seems like each week, some designer will come out with eyes that are quite natural looking and I have several designers that I really like, but I noticed that recently, I kept seeing a name associated with eyes that were absolutely BEAUTIFUL! That name is “Fashisim“. If you have not heard of them, you must be living under a rock. For the longest time, Vanish wore “clock” eyes…and they were SO cool..and really SO fitting for him, but it was so hard for me as a potential paramour…I wanted to see his EYES! And I will never forget the day he came to see me and had EYES! I was SOOOO happy! Eyes are probably THE most important part of an avies look for me. SO much so….that I went into Fashism…and spent LINDENS! I mean…LOTS of Lindens….ok….ok…it was a lot for me….haha. But those of you that know me well, know that I seldom spend Lindens on anything…so for me to make that kind of purchase shows how much I love them. Fashism eyes come in many different colors….each color varying from dark to light and each hue having 5 sizes to get a perfect fit for your avie! I LOOOOOOVE that the most. I have larger eyes than most avies and it has been hard to find eyes that fit me properly. Thank you Ikon! I LOVE them!
Lashes were by Redgrave. I love prim lashes too….and I have 3 pair of Redgraves, but have found a couple of new places that are giving them competition. And the poses were by Posies. She does some really cute pose sets, has really nice group gifts…and is just a nice person over all.
Finally, that brings me to location. These poses were shot at Dimrill Dale. I wanted a place that looked like country Americana….and I thought this was nice. AND I met some really nice people there! (waves at Lyla!) This is one of several different sims known as Cala’s Galadhon Parks. I wish I knew more pariculars…and could tell you all about the creator and what prompted him/her to create such wonderful places, but the truth is all I know is that they are really wonderful and quite varied. You should check them out on your next shoot!
I hope everyone had a good Fourth. V and I, as an international couple, have decided that the Fourth should be a national holiday in every country and ALL countries should use it to show their love for their country! We all have much to be proud of! May we all learn to live together peacefully, enjoying our different strengths as we overcome our own weaknesses. (Doesn’t that just make you wanna drink an ice cold Coca-Cola????…..hahaha) Bis Dann…..
STYLING NOTES:
Outfit: aDIVA Couture
Skin: Essences
Hair: D!va
Jewelry (necklace, earrings and bracelets): Ear Candy
Nails (including rings): WTG Jewelry
Shoes: She’s So Unusual Shoes
Eyes: Fashism
Lashes: Redgrave
Poses: Posies
Location: Cala Galhadon’s Dimrill Dale
