Initially, we weren’t going to post on Achariya’s informal Bunny Blogger challenge, fun as it sounded. That is, until we actually wore the avatars and started clothing them. The bunnies themselves have a look reminiscent of the whimsical illustrations in classic children’s books and they were simply too adorable for us to resist from participating. Based on our memories of those illustrations, it was surprisingly easy to put together appropriate outfits, aside from a prim or two that needed adjusting.

Caliah’s outfit is an example of how pieces from entirely different genres can be worn together for a unique, yet cohesive look, from the Spanish-influenced blouse from Shai’s Traje de Mestiza Terno Filipino costume, to the Silentsparrow bloomers and gloves, the lace undershirt and cravat. The feather hat from Paper Couture adds whimsy to an already quaint little ensemble, as do the remaining accessories – monocle, skull-adorned shoes and cigarette holder.

Stephen’s choice of outfit, while just as suited to the bunny avatar, followed a slightly different theme: a sensible suit and waistcoat beneath a tweed overcoat. The rich colors of Shai’s Alfonso Three-Piece suit and the accompanying pocketwatch made it the obvious choice for a gentleman bunny, and though there are likely men’s coats that could have done the job, the Mimi Coat from LeLutKa (formerly Cachet) didn’t even need much resizing to look the part.

Shopping Information:

Avatars: *DP* YumYum Story of a Bunny (gray), prize from Creators’ Stamp Rally 2008

On Caliah:
Traje De Mestiza Terno (Blouse and Butterfly Sleeves), Casa del Shai
White Lace Shirt (undershirt layer), <3 Cupcakes
Cameo Belt (jacket layer), Pixeldolls group freebie
Cravat from Virginia outfit, Last Call Catwalk Collection (discontinued)
Pants and gloves from the Delphinium outfit (cream), Silentsparrow
Socks from the Asian Beauty outfit, Bare Rose
Nightmare Shoes in White, ::69:: Opening Hunt Gift
Hat from the Turtle Dove outfit, Paper Couture Fall 2008
Dark Knight Monocle, Guild of Crie
Alyssa Diamond Bitchstick switch cigarette w/ holder, Foxy’s Smoke Shop

On Stephen:
Alfonso 3 Piece Suit (olive) & Gentleman’s Fob Watch, Casa del Shai
Mimi Coat (dark grey), LeLutKa
Casual Loafers (black), Redgrave
Flugel glasses, Guild of Crie
Cane (Silver Cap), from the Little Gentleman outfit, Tiny Treasures

photography by Caliah Lyon, taken at Pididdle

In 10 Easy Steps

As everyone’s been experiencing difficulties connecting to the main (or even beta) grid lately and lamenting that they can’t get any work done, I thought to write a mini-guide for those who might be interested in running Opensim on their own PCs. If you want some basic information on Opensim I suggest reading the main page and FAQ. What this guide aims to do is get you started so you can test and refine uploads – textures, poses, sculptmaps – on your own standalone grid, running on your PC.

1. Download the binary here. All you need is the Official Windows Installer – if you have trouble running 0.6.1 on Vista, please download here: http://dist.opensimulator.org/OpenSimulator.v0.6.2.8068.zip, extract to a new folder and run Opensim.exe.

2. Run and install the .exe file.

3. Start Opensim (open the program menu and click on the icon). This will open a command window which will scroll through a few things as it loads.

4. You’ll then be prompted for the name of your starting region. If you want to keep the default value just press ENTER, otherwise replace it with the name of your choice.

 
5. Press ENTER to just set all the default values for the next few prompts UNTIL you see DEFAULT REGION CONFIG: First Name of Master Avatar [Test]: You can just choose the default value here as well but I chose to enter my own av name. After pressing enter it should prompt you for your last name, fill that in as well and press enter.
 
6. You’ll be prompted for your password. The default is “test” and again you can change it however you wish or stick with the default.

7. Press Enter and wait for everything to finish loading. Voilà, the sim is running and all you need to do is log in.

8. Open Start>Run and enter the path to your default SL client e.g. C:\Program Files\SecondLife\SecondLife.exe. Cut and paste this line after: -loginuri http://127.0.0.1:9000/ -loginpage http://127.0.0.1:9000/?method=login -multiple

The entire line should read: “C:\Program Files\SecondLife\SecondLife.exe” -loginuri http://127.0.0.1:9000/ -loginpage http://127.0.0.1:9000/?method=login -multiple. Press Enter.

(Alternatively you can copy the shortcut to SL on your desktop, right-click on it and choose Properties then copy and paste this in the Target: field. Rename the shortcut to something easy to remember like “SL Opensim”.)

9. Log in with the login info you specified during setup.

10. Be greeted by the sight of your Ruthed avie:

 
If you want to transfer all the items – shapes, textures and the like – that you created yourself so you can have all your resources at hand you can use Second Inventory. I haven’t tried it yet so that isn’t covered here. But with this very basic install you should be able to upload textures, animations and sculptmaps and tweak them to your heart’s content, then upload them to the main grid when it’s back to normal. You can also just save your shape values from the main grid and set the sliders manually so clothes fit properly.

From the site:

Windows Vista

To run on Windows Vista, you must first disable Windows Firewall. Under the new “Start” button of Vista, select “Control panel”. Then double-click “Windows Firewall”. In the window that pops up, on the left column, select “Turn Windows Firewall on or off”. You will have to give permission for this to run, then select the option “Off (not recommended)”. Click “OK” and exit from the Windows Firewall window.

If you have McAfee SecurityCenter, see the description below.

Once all the security features are disabled, right click on OpenSim.exe and select “Run as administrator”. This will pop up a window asking permission, select “Allow”. Your OpenSim server should run in a DOS-like window and accept connections.

Issues on Vista 64-Bit: http://www.adamfrisby.com/blog/2008/08/running-opensim-under-a-64-bit-environment/

Note: You may need to install Microsoft .NET framework. Click here to download and install.

If anyone has a tutorial for Mac or Ubuntu feel free to comment and I’ll link them here.

Thanks goes to Vaalith Jinn for suggesting that I try this and to Codebastard Redgrave for feedback on running it in Vista. Have fun!

 
Gisele Enroulent in Ecru, Armidi Cashmere Sweater (Men’s) in Charcoal, MNK Shop Tweed Pants in Black (two options, grey and black), *MM* Luxe Handbag in Winter Beige, Paper Couture Silk Wrapped Shank Heel in Ash, shu*shu Leather Belt, Muse Eclectic Necklace (retextured, unreleased).

Before the year ends – and the holiday season – be sure to pick up a few bargains at the Creator’s Pavillion annual Winter sale. These four picks range from 30L-90L and there are a lot of other goodies (for men as well). This sweater from Gisele comes with two options for both the body and collar, a “flared” and a slimmer fit, well worth it at half off. The Tweed Half Pants from MNK are very nicely textured with sculpted cuffs, a steal at 50L, and probably my favourite item from this sale. These Tartan Tights from !*G^G*! are only 30L for ten colours and come in a close second

Left: Honey*Soul Grandma Coat, Honey*Soul Texture Change Stole (F); Top:
!*G^G*! tartan tights, 10 colours. Shoes: Redgrave Men’s Casual Loafers (resized to fit the female foot).

Many of the creators’ shops have releases that I’d have liked to cover (especially MNK) but I’m out of time. This will be likely my last post before I get back to working on new releases, so have a Happy New Year and I hope you have a joyful holiday

Shopping Information:
Creator’s Pavillion (174, 182, 27)

Left: Clothing: Pinstripe Blazer in Navy, Armidi; Open Shirt in White, tinted, shirt and pants layers, E. Watkins; Lace top on the undershirt layer (from the Ericka outfit), Archange; High-waisted Jeans in Charcoal, tinted, Blaze. Shoes & Accessories: Stole in Black, CE Cubic Effect; Lucky Horseshoe Bag in Black, Bare Rose; Pilot Glasses in Black, FNKY; Woman’s Sandals in Black, Aura; Classic Tank Watch in Black/Gold, Muse. Hair: MMS Jessica (Bangs) in Charcoal; Skin: MMS London Fair Makeup 1b.
Right: Mimi Coat in Gray (Dark), Cachet; Cambridge Vest (from Aufren White/White Outfit), Armidi; Turtleneck Sweater in Lilac, (undershirt layer, prim neck reattached to chest), Cachet; Cropped Pants in Grey, Coco (lengthened leg prims); Shoes & Accessories: Kavika Sheen in Black, Pixel Mode; Focsani Bag in Lare, Armidi; Pilot Shades in Black, FNKY; Earring #110, Kraftika. Hair: MMS Grace in Ash Blond; Skin: MMS London Fair Makeup 1b.

Winter in Grey

This season once again brings us a variety of beautifully made prim coats – only this year the choices for open coats, jackets and blazers are plentiful where they were once scarce. Everyone may have these but it is up to you to put a personal spin on your coat of choice, and these two – the Pinstripe Blazer from Armidi, and the Mimi Coat from Cachet’s winter line – are my picks for this month.

I’d been searching for an open sculpted blazer the previous week (a texture-only open blazer is still a rare thing, let alone a sculpted one) to complete an outfit I had based on a shot of the very chic Ai Tominaga, when Armidi released these. SL still lacks a great many ingredients for those who like to mix and match subtler key pieces, among them unbuttoned cardigans on all layers and shirts with loosely sculpted bottoms, so I just made do with this shirt from E. Watkins, thanks to the help of Voshie Paine. For the lacy undershirt I used the Ericka top from Archange, threw on a scarf from Cubic Effect and the versatile high-waisted jeans from Blaze. I slimmed down the prim flares for a more up-to-date silhouette and added a pair of quirky strappy flats from Aura. I think the unusual design of these shoes adds a great deal of character to a subtle outfit. Note that like the shoes I featured previously the highlighting on these is a trifle bright. A leather bag and watch complete the ensemble.  

For the second outfit I’d been meaning to put something better together for this coat, which is my favourite piece from the Cachet winter line. Several others have posted the exact same coat, so I apologise if this is getting a little repetitive. I was too pleased with the result not to include it however – I’d been seeing these sculpted cropped-leg pants from Coco on SLMaMe for the better part of a week, and instead of using the wide-leg pants from CE that everyone else’s been wearing I thought to lengthen them to suit what I had in mind, to end just above the ankle. Note that the pants have a texture gap on clients prior to RC 1.22 because of the way sculpted prims are handled; changing the sculpted prim type to torus rather than cylinder in the building editor will fix this. Cocoro has taken note of this, but for those of you who already bought the pants, the above solution should work. I was iffy on matching this with the ribboned version of the Kavika shoe from Pixel Mode (which is a great value by the way, as, like most of the newer PM shoes, it comes with an extra pair) but as with the first ensemble I thought the more unusual choice would add more interest to the outfit. If you don’t want to bump into clones wearing the same coats I suggest saving these for a rainy day – they are too good to pass up. Dela also has a new open coat that I had no time to include in this post, but is another worth taking note of.

Guild of Crie

The second part of the post has to do with the newer releases from a little-known eyewear shop known as Guild of Crie. I believe they’ve been posted of before but thought their newest offerings were worth noting in this blog, especially as they offer some of the tiniest intricate primwork I’ve seen, on very unique and elegant pieces. I always appreciate such prim craftsmanship and attention to detail, and it’s my pleasure to include these monocles from Grazioso Alekseev in this post.
 
The first style, the =GC-Monocle (Dark-Knight clock)= is my favourite from this store. Elegant and intricately detailed, it’s worth collecting for the beautiful primwork alone; note the tiny gems in the clock face are separate prims, meticulously arranged. This monocle features a functioning clock that can be set to any timezone. All of Guild of Crie’s timepiece-style eyewear appear to have this feature.

The second style I’m featuring here is the no less gorgeous exclusive version of the Guildio monocle, available only at the new Magic of Oz sim. This is a fantastic piece – note the pair of ruby slippers textured in miniature along the top of the monocle and the emerald inlay, in keeping with the Wizard of Oz theme. Just as remarkable as the first monocle, it’s a fine example of Grazioso’s painstaking attention to detail and commitment to his craft.

The third piece I had the chance to review was the Flugel – a pair of quaint and yet very wearable spectacles that were inspired by the elegance of the piano as a classical instrument. The lenses and frames – separate parts including temples – are all colour-changeable (the colour names are in Japanese). I found this pair worked well with everyday styles as well as more formal or Victorian wear.

That’s all for this week. Thanks goes to everyone who put up with the making of this post and to Bridge Aya and Graziano Alekseev of ::le Reve du Crie::. Poses featured are from Grapevine by Grazia Horwitz.

Shopping Information:
Guild of Crie (mainstore) and at Magic of Oz (location of exclusive monocle)
Shop Armidi at http://shoparmidi.com/
Cachet & MMS
Cubic Effect
E. Watkins
Aura
Bare Rose
Archange
Blaze
Coco
Pixel Mode
Kraftika
Muse
Truth
Grapevine

L: Melish Boot in Black, L$175; R: Melish Bag in Red and Black, L$50, both by LINE.

 
Muffler and Corsage Cloche (color change) in Pink, both by *DP* YumYum.

Just a midweek mini-post on a few budget and freebie finds. I noted a pair of boots on a Harajukubox shopper and found out that the store, LINE by zippir Kayo, is having a 50% off sale on all items throughout the month. I picked up this boot and two bags at half-off, as well as a couple of legwarmers for L$40L each. The boots are adorned with a pair of fuzzy pompoms on each sock upper and very cute; note that the highlights are very sharp and bright, if you prefer more muted shading in your textures. Be sure to check the permissions of what you are purchasing as some of the items differ in that respect – the legwarmers are no mod, but zippir is very accomodating and will supply a mod version on request. There are a great many shoes here that would be suitable for newbies on a budget, including some men’s cowboy boots that would work on a female avatar – sale prices range from L$25-L$175. There are also some Chucks in the store’s camping chairs. (more photos under the cut)

*DP* YumYum has always been one of my favourite stores, though I haven’t blogged them in a while. Designer toraji Voom has set out three lucky chair prizes. I was fortunate enough to get all three, and glad I did, as they are well worth the wait. The muffler is a pink version of the recently released bow mufflers in-store, and the cloche hat can change colours to three shades of pink. It also comes with hair and without.

LINE


*DP* YumYum

Shopping Information

LINE by zippir Kayo, Free Land (163, 170, 25)
*DP* YumYum by toraji Voom, Isle of Tranquility (80, 157, 26)

 
A five-minute shot at the Rainy Town / Creamshop sim, which was difficult to take as there were avatars there almost all the time. I’m aware this is my first post in a while, but I couldn’t help but blog this, which I wore to the ice skating party at Oubliette earlier this week (a great time was had by all, thank you Saiyge and Whimsy). I’ve been out of touch with both shopping and new sights and sims, so Koinup’s Top Ten at New World Notes was very useful in seeking out the beautiful new sims that have sprung up in my absence. I also took this opportunity to post as I’ll be busy again before the week is up and won’t likely have the chance.

 
While I don’t normally wear plaid these sculpted coats from Cachet fit the occasion perfectly. They come in six colours and two options (with or without an AO, a good idea in case you don’t have an animation set that fits narrow or rigid prim clothing). Warmly bundled in one of Zaara’s lovely pashmina shawls (tinted, it worked well over plaid) I only had a few minutes to wear these chic leather boots with cozy sock uppers from Aura before I had to trade them in for ice skates. The boots themselves may show a bit of foot but they are mod, so you can fit or add invisiprims as needed. Altogether a simple outfit for the season – look for the coats to be released in the coming week or the next. The boots are available only on SLEX last I checked, though another version (with different uppers) is available at the Aura mainstore. ^^

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones, and thank you for all the support you’ve shown us over the past year.

Shopping Information:
Lala Coat in Plum (with AO) by Cachet, to be released
Sculpted Pretty Autumn Boots by Aura (Mapycr Roffo, available only on SLEXchange/XstreetSL), $450
Pashmina Shawl in Almost Black by Zaara, L$175
Signature Tote in Black by SLink, L$200
Han Hana Leaflet Earrings by Lucas Lameth Fashion Jewelry, L$179
Gloves from the Stan Outfit by Bijou, L$300
Pants from the Charm School outfit (underpants layer) by Savvy? L$100
Morgan Hair by Truth, Browns 1, L$225

Silver Pied

 Oops! Here I am again. It seems my leisure time two days in a row has been doing style posts with Paper Couture as inspiration. All I have to do is accessorize (since the outfits are whole) and think of ways how I can rock the new couture.

Let’s talk about this outfit. Eye pattern on the jacket (consistent in the whole collection) with humble hues for a man. Brilliant. Deep sexy v-neck slightly sheer grey shirt. Perfect. I tighten the loose pants (normally white) and tint them cream color to balance my gold hair. Muism scarf can practically be worn with anything but fits into this outfit since its simple and not too fluffy. White sneakers from Detour keep the outfit hip and young. Muse wrist watch and pearl earrings for a touch of luxury. You know, speaking of, I was reading about pearls on a forum on the web and some jewelers and stylists were debating if there was a place for pearls in mens fashion in the future. Maybe, maybe not, but I took this info as fashion forward and tried it out.

I couldnt decide on the angelic look or the modern white knight look so I decided to do both with Illusions (Siyu Suen) gorgeous sculpted wings along with G-Fields equally gorgeous sculpted roses. The rose is my sword and my white stallion the stretch limo (not shown). Cheers!

Visual Credits:Outfit (Jacket, Shirt, Pants) by Paper Couture, Hair by Armidi/Gisaci, Glasses by Nea-Ban, Skin by Subaru, Scarf by Muism, Shoes by Detour, Watch & Pearl Earrings by Muse, Flowers by G-Field, Poses by Happy Dispatch and FORM.

Hi! It’s been a while since I posted here. I’ve been engulfed in personal projects and store related styling to really commit to my personal style. Although I think it’s a good idea to get back to these posts since it’s fun and relaxing. I missed you guys!

The new long awaited Paper Couture Fall Collection ‘08 has finally been released and like always it was well worth the wait. I wouldn’t have known without Caliah tipping me off and teleporting me as a crowd of fashionistas (and a few fashionistos) chirped with glee. This Leather Scales outfit from P.C is stylish and sleek. All the couture without too much flamboyancy and just the right dose of testosterone. However I couldn’t help but buy the Everbloom Ring. As a jeweler, the shinies captivate me! What can I say? I love it and you will too.

Visual Credits:Outfit & Ring by Paper Couture, Hair by Happy Dispatch, Skin by Laqroki, Shades by Armidi/Gisaci, Tattoo by Aitui, Necklace by (luc) Fashion Jewelry, Pose Animations by AKEYO.

Mm. I got lost exploring the Japanese sims again. My favorite place to browse is creators pavilion sim. This time I found a store called Last Ride (where I bought my apple shirt) and its totally awesome. An equal inventory for men and women for a small store and really cute stuff. If i were a girl I would totally rape it. So check it out gals! Oh, and creators pavillion is having a sale, so it’s a good time to stop by.

I love browsing ETD and finding hair that makes me want to yell “UNISEX!”. There are some hair stores struggling to make long mens hair but really, honestly failing miserably. The mens long hair they make and sell is so ugly and feminine even the romance book fabio men will spit on them. Thankfully, elikapika (who is currently MIA because of computer issues or something) makes nice long hair that I secretly wear as a man. This one is called “Deidra” but lets call it “Deidro”. Its my new favorite long hairstyle. Wee!

I followed a link on the fashion feed to this watch and was so happy it came in a simple black. How often do you come across fashionably acceptable mens accessories? ALMOST NEVER. So this watch is a catch. Exploring the sim appropriately named “Ganesha” (beloved elephant deity) I stumbled on a cute store called Lovecraft where I found this CUTE monkey bag! They also had this nice red plaid backpack but hmm… plaid backpack vs. monkey backpack. Sorry plaid but you’ll have to wait.

I tried tried tried hard not to include any Armidi today. Not because we don’t love Armidi but because they are the obvious fashion power house who really has everything. — I ended up caving in and investing in these awesome emo stiched pants which are slightly different from my chino’s I have from them. Also I picked up  these cherry red shades from them a while back and was happy it worked out with today’s outfit.

Ofcourse everyone knows Shiny Things signature Painters Shoes. If you dont you should. Because 1) They’re awesome 2) They’re Free 3) They’re awesome

Well, that’s a wrap. Ciao lovelies!

SKIN Ethan 01 Portrait skin by Laqroki (Formerly known as RaC) HAIR ETD Deidra – Black SHIRT :::Last Ride::: T-shirts [Apple-blue] PANTS Armidi Limited – Modern Pants  (Light Gray) Leg (R) SHADES Armidi Limited – Machimo Sunglasses [Cherry] MONKEY BACKPACK *Lovecraft’s* Siennah LoveMonkey Backpack (White n Red) WATCH Vega Watch (Black) by Fetch TATTOO AITUI TATTOO – Reside ::method:: /Full Upper Body/ SHOES (Shiny Things) Freebie Painter Shoes POSES Standing poses by FORM, sitting pose by COVA

This look was a lot of fun. I promised myself to only play style diary for an hour but time flies! >_<

It all started with the Paper Couture mens outfit called ‘Plaid Casual’ but this look is pretty formal for the local hipster attending a fancy party. Kind of like how those South Park creators walked down the red carpet in J-Lo’s green bewb dress. Mind you they are hairy men with growing beer bellies. This outfit is like that in terms of statement except way less extreme. That is of course if the party is going to be super posh and you expect the other men to be penguins. — If you’re going to the prom with the cool kids then this is a fun get-up. Your parents will say “Is that how you want to remember your prom or [insert important event here] for the rest of your life?” and you respond “Hell fucking yes, Mother!”. Oh, and edited the pants to become shorts and put baggy in Appearance Mode to max. Here’s a picture of the South Park guys for your private pleasure and a funny penguin suit cartoon:

Fashion is not wearing the J-Lo dress as a man and not looking mundane like a pengiun.

It’s in-between the two. You figure out the rest.

(EDIT: Unless you’re a fabulous tranny or drag queen)

The boom box by FNKY (called “BigBass Boombox” aka “Big ASS BoomBox”) I’ve had in combo with this PC outfit for a while now and today I had the opportunity to show it off. I went back to UBU (AGAIN!) this time pick up the PornStar high lace boots. Since it has a gazillion different options (maybe like 30×3) today we added some polka-dots and made the laces yellow and voila! Hip hair from Armidi cover half your face because everyone will be flirting with you and you want to drive them mad by hiding your eyes and with a little extra more with Armidi sunglasses. Which I own in like five colors because they are too awesome to just own one.

Now, I know what you were first thinking when you saw this style post. Either: “Wow, that’s a lot of yellow.” or “Wow, that’s a lot of pussy.” If you thought the first part, yellow is totally acceptable in spring. Kick it! If you noticed the pussy, then this Mean White Kitty is just uber and you need him. He has a million different poses (ok, maybe like ten) that he randomly goes through including licking his nuts or scratching you or your friends eyes out if they dare touch him (not shown). The package also comes with one black and one white kitten which makes it the perfect friendship bracelet in prim-kitty-kat form.

Cheers!

SKIN Ethan 01 Portrait skin by Laqroki (Formerly known as RaC) HAIR Armidi Hair – The Individual – Magyk OUTFIT P.C. (Paper Couture) Plaid Casual (Pants edited) BOOTS UBU (Urban Bomb Unit) PornStar Xtra Hi-Tops v2 SHADES Armidi Limited – Machimo Sunglasses [Gold] (one lens edited for alpha hair) EAR PLUGS *DS* (Drifting Sands) Earrings Spider Web Plug BOOMBOX FNKY! BigBass BoomBox – Gold (L) (Shoulder Strap) POSES by Reel Expression KITTY SHOULDER PET Mean Little Kitten @ XD Fusion