Saturday, March 29, 2008

Good Pervert? Me?






Sometimes the sim and store names just jumble together and I'm not sure exactly where I am or what the store is called. I picked up this free tank top at BLEEZ KZ@CS Kanagawa. I was intrigued by the notice on the box, which says "please be careful on the occasion of wearing" and by the question the tank top raises, to wit: "good pervert?" So now I'm walking around, wearing the tank top, with no small degree of trepidation. Why exactly do I need to be careful? Is the shirt made of some substance that crows find absolutely delicious? Will I be pecked to death by a murder of crows?

And now I open it up to you dear readers: what exactly is a "good pervert"? Leave your comments and the best answer will win a prize to be determined with judging on a date to be determined. How can you not leave a comment with such an enticement?

Friday, March 28, 2008

Which Came First?

I found First Egg yesterday because I had decided to fly from one Japanese sim to another after checking a landmark and noticing the next store I wanted to go to was only 1300 meters away. I've often thought teleporting is like driving on the interstate highways, where all of the good stuff whizzes by without notice. About halfway to my destination, I decided to land and check the surroundings, where, to my delight, I found First Egg. Normally when I see a store packed with clothes under 10L I'm hesitant. The questions with such inexpensive clothing are always (a) is there a chance that this stuff is ripped off? and (b) did the clothes come from one of those full permissions resell megaboxes? Thank God I don't have to worry about cheap clothes with buttons falling off or shrinking at the drycleaners in SL. I saw some free camisoles though (a girl can never have too many of those) and then took a closer look at the outfits. The first to catch my eye was a green tweed number which was 6L. I said to myself, "what the hell, why not?" and bought it. As it turns out, it is beautifully made and, as a bonus, has not only the long prim skirt you see in the photo, but also nicely flared trousers, and even one of the old style non-prim skirts, so you have a variety of wearing options. I bought a few more outfits and am pleased to report that for 6L, you really can't do better. Each of the outfits below has multiple wearing options, and there are also skirt and sweater separates at the store and best of all, you can look great without breaking the bank.




Outfit: First Egg 026 (Set 007)
Hair: ETD "Maaliyah" in Elika's Red
Skin: Fleur Boutique Vanilla Parfait 2
Shoes: Tesla "Leather Vixens" in avocado
Stockings: acetone "Bio Clear" in cherry
Earrings: M-C-H "Key Motif Studs"
Nails: Love Soul "Dot Pink"
Poses by Long Awkard Pose






Outfit: First Egg 012 (Set 001)
Hair: booN NMR 32 in red
Skin: Fleur Boutique Vanilla Parfait 2
Shoes: Tesla "Leather Vixens" in blueberry
Tights: Sheer "Dots"
Earrings: M-C-H "Key Motif Studs"
Nails: Love Soul "Dot Pink"
Poses by Long Awkard Pose






Outfit: First Egg Set 024 (Set 005)
Hair: booN BON75 in black
Skin: Fleur Vivant Biba 2
Shoes: Minx "Sweet as Sin"
Stockings: Axienne "Shiny Black"
Earrings: M-C-H "Key Motif Studs"
Nails: Love Soul "Dot Pink"
With pants:
Belt: artilleri, taken from the "Eva" dress

**********


Saturday, March 22, 2008

Dot Lane, Badass!

Badass!

I teleport to a store and stand patiently waiting for the rez. After about two minutes the guy standing a few meters away says:

[16:58] Guy: You have freckles.
(Alert the media!)
[16:58] Dot Lane: I do, yes
(I'm blessed with self knowledge)
[16:58] Guy: Badass.
(Now that's an odd thing to say)
[16:58] You: better than measles
(They are better than measles. Measles aren't cute)
[16:58] Guy: Yes, definitely.
(My observation really didn't require a response, but the affirmation is nice)
[16:58] Dot Lane: I don't know about badass, but thanks
(I'm trying to figure out how freckles are badass)
[16:58] Guy: I have never seen an avatar with freckles. It's badass.
(Dude, you've been in SL since 20 July of last year and you've never seen freckles?)
[16:59] Dot: really? hmmmm
(I'm trying to process the concept of not having seen freckles)
[16:59] Guy: Yes, really.
(I guess he can cross "See girl with freckles" of his list of things to do in SL. I only hope "Have sex with a horse" wasn't the item right before it.)

To be honest, I'm still not sure if he liked the skin or if I had forgotten to wear my skirt shape with my new dress. Besides, it's Ms. Super Badass to you, pal.

Ms. Super Badass Dot Lane is wearing:

Dress: Red Ruin "Vintage Military"
Skin: Fleur Boutique Vanilla Parfait 2
Hair: Truth "Danny" in fire (currently 1L at Truth, but only for a few days)
Tattoo: Ink Stain "Multi Star"

Friday, March 21, 2008

Act Quickly!


Mayuki Nozaki Love1 Brown Houndstooth Dress


Mayuki Nozaki is currently offering one of her new designs, the Love1 Brown Houndstooth Dress, for 1L, which includes stockings. This offer is good for the next two days so act quickly. I've blogged before about her Dot Dress-Reira, which, at 80L, is a bargain, and I'm equally impressed by the houndstooth dress with its scoop neck and fitted underbust bodice. It's well worth a trip over to Happy Style Mall where you will find several stores of interest.

Skin: Fleur Boutique Vanilla Parfait 2
Hair: ETD "Maaliyah" in Elika's brown
Shoes: Tesla "Leather Vixens" in chocolate
Tattoo: Ink Stain "Multi Star"

A Ball Is A Dot


Sporty Dot continues to prepare for spring, this time in a Vogart check jacket green which has a detachable hood. I love the form fitting style and little strap buckles at the neck. It's 110L from the Vogart shop in Creators Pavillion.

Photo taken at TIM Stadium

Other details:

Fleur Boutique Vanilla Parfait 2
Hair: ETD "Maaliyah" in black
Nails: Love Soul "Pink Dot Nail" (gift at store)
Jeans: G.L.A.M. "Lucky" skinny jeans

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Le Dot Sportif

Shop 141 imujya in green

Shop 141 imujya and a free peace pose from C'est La Vie!



The Sign At Shop 141 That Enticed Me. Ishy Informs Me The Kanji Reads "Dog"

While strolling through the niQue Soil sim the other day, I ran across Shop 141, owned and operated by Ish Kidd, a Japanese designer. Earlier in the day I had been looking at track suits, thinking that my wardrobe could use more casual clothing. After all, when I sign on in the morning I can't go directly into high glamour mode--I need some transitional clothing. Normally a track suit wouldn't be something on my wish list but I had recently seen some Fred Perry suits in RL that I could actually imagine myself wearing so I figured why not in SL?

Shop 141 sells streetwear, mixed in with some dressier pieces (a embroidered black shift style dress with capped sleeves caught my eye) but it was the imoyja (I'm assuming that's Japanese for track suit) that made my heart sing. It's available in several colors: green, blue, red, and pink, with a detachable collar and knee pad. At least I think it is a knee pad, there is only one and it is on the left knee--perhaps one has suffered a knee injury? It also looked like it would be flattering and for $120L, the price seemed reasonable enough. Then I noticed the sign you see in the picture above. "Aha!" I said to myself, "the imoyja looks really cool with the Japanese writing on it." I clicked on the sign and got a notecard, which said, in part,

(※必ず①アカウント名欄へ『再送』と記入してください!)
 ↓
修正、変更等が無ければ直接
ish Kiddへお代金320L$をお支払い下さい。
ご入金後直ちに商品の作製にかからせて頂きます。
 ↓
商品が完成しましたら回答納期までにお送り致しますので、
商品の到着をお待ちください。

【専用注文ノートカードへの必須項目】

Well now. I quickly made the assumption that one could customize track suit for 320L which seemed extravagant but also really cool. With some trepidation I IMed Ish Kidd and after some negotiation (her English is much better than my Japanese, which, sad to say, is non-existent) we nailed down my school level (3-B, which she said is popular in Japan--I don't know why it is popular but I'm taking her word for it) and the name I wanted on it. She asked for 24 hours to finish it and sure enough, within that time it appeared. Let me just say it came out even better than I had hoped! The fit is perfect, and how cute is my name on the front and back? I suppose if your name is longer you'll have to come up with a Japanese word. I love customised clothing and this is my new favorite outfit.

Thank you Ishy for your hard work! <3 style="font-style: italic;">Skin: Fleur Boutique Vanilla Parfait 2
Hair: ETD "Maaliyah" in black
Nails: Love Soul "Pink Dot Nail" (gift at store)

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Little Round Dots Bleed Blue Blood



Blue Blood is a new store selling goth and punk-inspired clothing. This is a crowded market segment in Second Life, but the proof is in the design. I'm wearing a dark purple Chinese-inspired pantsuit that was given away in store and I'm impressed with the quality and styling, especially the keyhole opening and the detailed frogs under the opening. This is slinky and sexy and we can always use more of that in SL and you don't have to open a vein to afford it. Stop by and check them out!


Hair: booN BON75
Skin: Fleur Vivant Biba 2
Collar: Eat Rice Charm Collar II
Shoes: Minx "Sweet as Sin"

Dot Lane Wearing Fleur Boutique Vanilla Parfait 2

I'm testing the ability to blog from Flickr. I'm wearing ETD's Davina II hair, a Fleur Boutique Vanilla Parfait 2 skin, the Punki ruby collar, and a rose corset from Pop Feel.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

As Easy As 1-2-3

Ros has tagged me for the latest craze. What might that be? Well, here are the rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

Of course, me being me, the closest book is a book of poetry, John Betjeman's Collected Poems. Page 123 has exactly three sentences, so I am going to bend the rules and post the poem in its entirety.

South London Sketch, 1844

Lavender Sweep is drowned in Wandsworth,
Drowned in jessamine up to the neck,
Beetles sway upon the bending grass leagues
Shoulder-level to Tooting Bec.
Rich as Middlesex, rich in signboards,
Lie the lover-trod lanes between,
Red Man, Green Man, Horse and Waggoner,
Elms and sycamores round a green.
Burst, good June, with a rush this morning,
Bindweed weave me an emerald rope
Sun, shine bright on the blossoming trellises,
June and lavender, bring me hope.

And I tag you: Vidal Tripsa, Valle Giulia, Creamy Cooljoke, Chartreuse Muni, and CronoCloud Creeggan.

Tu N'Aime Pas Mes Cheveux?


booN sent out a notice for new hair today and as soon as I saw the picture, I knew I wanted it. I also knew that people would have strong opinions about the style--this is heavy duty hair, not for the faint of heart. My friends have been brutally honest but I love this hair so it's staying on my head for a while longer. I'm wearing a Fleur Vivant Blush Biba 2 skin, booN KAR07 hair in black, +9's "Yugao Sweater Set", and Minx "Sweet as Sin" stilettos. The photo was taken on the Eiffel Tower in Paris 1900. This was also my final submission to the Jolie Fleur flickr group for their photo contest. If you want to see some amazing photos of beautiful women (and one handsome guy) pay it a visit.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Handsome Girl Modeling School

Kisses For Sale...Anyone? Anyone?


Dot Lane In A Rare Unfriendly Moment


You Mean Guys Walk Around With Their Pants Off In Second Life?

Give Peace A Chance

Lean Just A Little Closer.....

It Must Be Jelly, Because Jam Don't Shake Like That

This morning I found a mother lode of free good poses and facial expressions, which is perfect because I'm sure everyone is sick of seeing me in the same poses with the same dopey expressions on my face. For the close ups I'm using the free Hengao HUD, which has 19 facial expressions you can choose from a menu. Not all work equally well (the angry expressions, alas, do really bad things to your lips and teeth) but I found that at least half provide good face animation suitable for taking pictures of myself. In the full length shots, I'm using the Lovely? (yes, there is a question mark after Lovely) animations, which are 1L for 10 standing, 9 sitting, and 2 laying down animations. This is a remarkable bargain, given that of the standing poses, only two exhibit the terrible flaw of having one's hand disappear into one's anatomy which has always been an issue for me. The Lovely? poses come for different sized AVs: 140cm and 180cm. Since I'm 162cm (approximately) it didn't seem to make any difference which set I used but since most girls are taller than me, you'll probably want the 180cm set. There were also a number of other free and inexpensive animations available as well, and I've made a list below and will blog them or put them on Flickr soon. Incidentally, you can see more photos of the expressions and poses at my Flickr account, so if you want to see more of what these goodies can do for you, by all means visit. I also like that the animations include a duplicate set of poseballs. Really, it's hard to go wrong here.


Poses, gestures, and animations available at Vol's Shop at KSS Mall

Free and inexpensive poses:

uunOX_pack free
ega_pac
hengao hud (on the ceiling, so look up)
Lovely?140 Lovely?_pack 1L each
bielmaan_pack contains thriller pack (the thriller pack is inspired by Michael Jackson)
camerapose_pack
serihadance_pack


Monday, March 10, 2008

From The Land Of The Rising Dot

A number of things to post today, some of which were found during my Happy Style Mall trip, others from a favorite store, Pop Feel. You can also find me on Flickr now, although most of the pics there are the same as from the blog--I'll start adding pictures exclusive to Flickr soon because I know you can't get enough Dot Lane, even if I am starting to get sick of myself.

First up is Tracolore's "Pleat Onepiece". I purchased this outfit primarily for the top which is long, lovely, and form fitting. I'm still fiddling with the skirt, which has an integrated belt that raises the level of fitting difficulty a degree or two. I like the way the shading emphasizes my bust and the half sleeves are a look you don't see enough of in SL.

Pop Feel sent out a notice of a new dress so I headed over to check it out--you all know how I feel about Pop Feel. I bought the Classic Rose Dress in both red and black, along with the Rose Corset and Overskirt, and you can see me wearing the rose corset and overskirt with the skirt from the red dress. I love the combination--the overskirt is brown and the corset itself has a beautiful book matched pattern. There are also other corset/overskirt combinations designed to be worn with the skirts from the dresses. You'll find corests in camouflage, black sparkles, red tartan (although the pattern doesn't seem to match well, which kept me from buying it) and a few other surprises. The dress as a standalone is quite nice as well, and you see me modeling the black.

I had tried to buy the Mayuki Nozaki's purple Dot Dress Reira yesterday, but SL choked on the transaction which meant I needed some customer service help in getting a refund. I dropped a notecard to Mayuki Nozaki who refunded my money overnight along with passing along the black bolero top you see me wearing in the last picture. The Dot Dress Reira was 40L on sale, 80L at regular price and if you're looking for a beautifully made casual dress, I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better value. Thanks so much Mayuki!

And now for the pics--click to make them big big big!



Tracolore "Pleat Onepiece"
Hair: ETD "Maaliyah" Black
Skin: Fleur Boutique Parfait Vanilla 2
Earrings: M-C-H "key motif studs"
Shoes: Shiny Things "Lollies"



Pop Feel Classic Rose Dress Red Skirt, Overskirt Corset Rose
Hair: ETD "Davina II" in raspberry
Skin: Fleur Boutique Parfait Vanilla 2
Choker: PUNKi "Rubi Collar"
Earrings: M-C-H "key motif studs"
Shoes: Tesla "Leather Vixens" in Cherry




Pop Feel Classic Rose Dress Black
Hair: booN NMR32 in red
Skin: Fleur Vivant Paon 4
Shoes: Minx "Sweet as Sin"




Dot Dress Reira

Bolero

Mayuki Nozaki "Dot Dress Reira" in purple
Mayuki Nozaki "Bolero" in black
Hair: ETD "Davina II" in obsidian, booN KRC02 with the bolero
Skin: Fleur Vivant Blush Fleur SE
Choker: from *A*l-k (alas, no landmark so I don't know the store name--Princess Berry?)
Choker for Bolero Pic: Eat Rice! Charm Collar II
Shoes: Minx's "Sweet as Sin"

Leave marriage proposals and lindens at Dot Lane's blog, Dot Lane, Girl Reporter

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Doesn't The World Need More Dots?

Dot Lane Wearing the Mayuki Nozaki Dot Dress-Reira


Dot Lane Sobbing Upon Learning the Dress Wasn't Named After Her


Dot Lane Looking Wistful, Wishing Someone Would Name A Dress After Her

I love Fashion Consolidated because it sends me all kinds of notices for stores I would never find on my own. A recent notice came through from Mayuki Nozaki with the announcement of a new dress, the Dot Dress-Reira. Although I try to resist the urge, I'm a sucker for things with dots on them so I hustled out to the store to pick up the purple model of the dress. There is an ending very soon 50% off sale in honor of the Happy Style Mall relaunch (they have three locations) so the dress was only 40L, which made my heart sing because it is so nicely made. When I went to check out the other outposts of Happy Style mall, I found the Dot Dress in brown, as a gift at the Happy Style Mall Sokri branch. How can a girl go wrong?

The nitty gritty:

Skin: Fleur "Vivant Blush Pin-Up 2"
Hair: ETD "Maaliyah" in Elika's Brown
Eyes: MM "Blue Eyes"
Shoes: Tesla "Leather Vixens" in chocolate
Earrings: M-C-H "key stud motif"
Ring: Hanauta "Thank You Kiwi Ring--Silver"
Choker: Cipher "Padlock Choker"

Who loves ya baby? Dot Lane, Girl Reporter does!

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Hellbound? What's Your Point?

Sn@tch "Hellbound"



booN's "BON 75" hair, Fleur Vivant Biba 2 Skin


Close-Up Showing the PUNKi "Ruby Collar"

Ivey at Sn@tch sent out a notice today of new designs so I hurried over to butter her up with compliments on the new clothes because I think "Hellbound" is one of her best yet. It's the prom dress of my dreams (yes, I was dark and bitter in high school as well, that's a shock, isn't it?), with a full tulle skirt, zipper fishnet stockings, a keyhole top, and a vinyl underbust corset that helps maximize my rather meager assets, which means my AV is mirroring my SL bank account. I'm also wearing Minx's "Sweet as Sin" shoes, booN BON 75 hair and a Fleur Vivant Biba 2 skin, which is about all you'll see me in these days.

I'd also like to make a special mention of the PUNKi collar I'm wearing. I ran into GabrielMascolo Burger about a week ago and commented on the cute hat she was wearing. It turns out she has a store where she sells hats and jewelry. Her wares are beautifully made: the close up of the Rubi collar shows a cross with an antique feel to it and I love the rubies and seed pearls and what looks like marcasite. It's also modifiable and transferable which means you could add scripts and give it to the sub in your life as a step up from the often hideous collars I see being worn. If you're looking for something different, I suggest a visit.

Friday, March 7, 2008

In Over Her Head




Just a quick post before the weekend. The Gnubie store has reopened in a new location with more designers--Fleur, Tres Blah, Ghost, Artilleri, and Gritty Kitty are but a few of my favorite stores with freebies or dollarbies available. I'm wearing Gritty Kitty's "Scalped" hair in liquorice, paired with some non-freebies, the stunning "2048" dress from The Abyss, Fleur's Vivant Biba 2 skin, and Minx's "Sweet Thing" stiletto in addition to M-C-H earrings and a charm collar (me? charming? ha!) from Eat Rice! I've always wanted a mohawk so thanks to Noam of Gritty Kitty for making this available. As for the rest of what's in store at Gnubie, head on over and check for yourself!

If you love Dot Lane, visit Dot Lane, Girl Reporter

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Hair Today

booN "KRC02" in Jet Black, front and back

booN "BON75" Black

Aden "Suri" in Black


TekuTeku 1L Hair, no style name


Lorna Lubitsch convinced me to buy some more short black hair (which was also a request from Vidal) so I spent a little time yesterday going from shop to shop with Lorna and trying on demos. Lorna has an excellent eye for what would look good on me so the trip was as fruitful as it was pleasant.

boonN's KRC02 amazes me. Not so much for the front, which is flattering and well done, but for the back, which might have the best texture I've seen for straight black hair--it's glossy and full and beautifully shaped. This is the one for sleek and slinky fashions. I wonder how many people have printed an SL picture, taken it to their stylist and said, "I want this!" Well, this is the one that is going to tempt me to do just that.

booN's BON75 is not for the faint of heart: it clocks in at 213 prims which is enough to stop a small sim dead in its tracks. But shouldn't everyone drop what they're doing and look at how hot you are anyway? If you've got a Robert Smith fetish but want people to be able to still see your eyes (or if you think Billie Joe Armstrong should grow his hair out a little), this just might be perfect for you.

I'm not sure what to say about Aden's "Suri" other than it would likely really annoy Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise if their daughter came home with a hairstyle like this, so I suppose this is the perfect "Young lady, you're not leaving the house like *that*!" style. (Dot Lane waves to her own mother and apologizes for a certain haircut she had at age 15).

Finally, for those of you who are feeling light in the pocketbook, TekuTeku has a 1L short black hairstyle that is a perfect starter for those of you who don't think you can wear short black hair. If you follow the link, it's in a box on the counter in the middle back of the store. But once you've felt the power of a hairstyle like this, especially when paired with a skin like Fleur's Vivant Biba, you're going to want more. The first one is always free, isn't it?

Any other recommendations for great short black hair? Leave a comment!

The scorecard:

Dress: *League* "Strictly Business"
Skin: Fleur Vivant Biba 1
Earrings: M-C-H "Key Motif Studs"
Eyes: MM Blue-Eyes

Can't get enough of that sweet sweet Dot? Visit her blog: Dot Lane, Girl Reporter