Iris Ophelia's ongoing review of virtual world and MMO fashion
From March 5th to the 26th, the Juicybomb sim is hosting Pure Juice [SLurl], a shopping experience featuring unique designs by a plethora of Second Life designers. Sweet pinks and luscious reds are the most common connection between the products available, with styles ranging from modestly feminine to blindingly bold. Since I'm such a sucker for anything pink and girly, I obviously made Pure Juice a shopping priority.
I put together a simple outfit with some of my favourite items available – keep reading for the juicy details!
I built this look around the edgy neon Amber minidress from paper.doll. It's available in 6 different tones, but the pink definitely pops the most in my eyes. This dress features studded epaulettes, an asymmetrical cutout on the chest, and it would really turn heads with a pair of shiny black tights and matching pumps.
The sweet pink tones of the Asian-inspired Aiko skin released by Lara Hurley for the event are to die for, but definitely too soft and delicate for this bold outfit. Lara's gorgeous and creamy-toned skins recently stole my heart, so I wasn't willing to give up on this one altogether. Instead, I've layered a brilliant fuschia lipstick from the Sandie series released at Pure Juice by Mons over Aiko's sugary lips. Although they're not a perfect fit, they're just close enough to keep me happy.
The cherry on top, and my absolute favorite find, is the delicious Cherry Baby hairstyle by Kavar Cleanslate of Exile. It's available in the usual range of natural and unnatural colours, but I love the look of this style with the pink-streaked blonde texture that comes in Kavar's Wild Cards color pack. Of course, if you're worried about how versatile a hairstyle full of fruit will be in your virtual wardrobe, the cherries are scripted to turn on or off as desired.
Pure Juice isn't a girls-only shopping event. I'm in love with the suits released by CheerNo, in particular the one with pink-striped lapels as pictured above, from their blog.
If your purchases from the event get your creative juices flowing, the organizers are also holding a photo contest on Flickr. Check out all the details here, and be sure to swing by Pure Juice before it's over!
Iris Ophelia (Janine Hawkins IRL) has been featured in the New York Times and has spoken about SL-based design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan and with pop culture/fashion maven Johanna Blakley.
I like the pale pink Cool Beans dress they have on sale at Pure Juice. :)
It is a popular event. The lag was horrid. So, be sure you have removed scripts form hair, shoes, and jewelry before visiting.
Rez time on some of the textures was ridiculously slow. But, I saw a number of people obviously waiting it out… just as I was. It was usually worth the wait. I spent way more Linden than I planned.
Posted by: Nalates Urriah | Wednesday, March 09, 2011 at 09:23 AM
Gosh, I'm sorry, I'm just going to comment on that first picture — it's absolutely stunning! It should be a showcase example of how good SL can render avatars these days, for the ones always complaining that LL's rendering engine is "old and outdated". The only thing that is outdated are user's computers, put a high-end graphics card from the latest generation in your computer, and you'll see SL as never before...
*sigh* I need a new Mac. That's the problem with Macs, they tend to last sooooo long that there is no incentive to upgrade them... my 2003 PowerBook, which I don't use any longer, still runs SL quite well (some 12-15 FPS on low settings). But of course the images are not even close to what Iris is able to do with her computer :)
Posted by: Gwyneth Llewelyn | Wednesday, March 09, 2011 at 04:01 PM
Cheerno was the only male oriented item I found. :/
Posted by: Spudgy Dean | Wednesday, March 09, 2011 at 04:50 PM
Gwyneth, since you are so keen on giving advice to other users regarding their GPUs, why didn't you yourself manage to escape the Mac trap?
Since they are using identical hardware to the average PC there is no need to spend so much money on them anymore.
Right, Macs are pretty, and well built (of course they are, coming from China this is a given) but way way overpriced.
The OS? Well, is it really better, easier, more logical, saver, more elegant than Windows? Maybe. But the amount of free- and shareware out there is gigantic. Please believe me when I tell you that the only piece of paid for software on my computer is the original Win7. All the rest I got for free, completely legal.
Still don't like Windows? So, go install some Linux and enjoy Mac-like operating, speed and safety. And save big bucks at the same time.
Once it was cool to own a Mac, it set you apart from the herd of sheepish clueless PC buyers. Mac fans used to be rebels against the bad Windows system. But these times are long gone.
Nowadays Apple provides you with the most restrictive and monopolistic system imaginable. Apple is as plump as a bull in the china shop. Everybody who still buys Apple products is just showing their ignorance and how easy they fall for Mr Jobs' clever marketing campaign. Mac users are the sheep now.
"runs SL quite well (some 12-15 FPS on low settings)"
You call that "quite well"? Clue up girl, kick your Powerbook (or any other laptop) in the bin, get a desktop machine, safe money again, and enjoy 60-70 fps on ultra eye-candy settings.
Please don't get me wrong, I love my laptops and I use them all the time ... when it's appropriate, on travels, when sitting in a café, and for non-gaming purposes.
Posted by: Orca Flotta | Thursday, March 10, 2011 at 04:11 AM
Yay Iris! Thank you for covering PURE JUICE! The hair looks great on you, and is also one of my favorites from the event as well, it's oh-so-juicy!
Posted by: Gogo | Thursday, March 10, 2011 at 07:49 AM
@Gwyneth Thanks! I coincidentally took this pic on my plain old 2008 MacBook! :D I'm hoping to upgrade my iMac shortly when they release the new batch, hopefully by the end of the month.
@Argo Every OS and every computer has pros and cons and is compatible with one person while being completely incompatible with someone else. That's just the nature of technology. There is no 100% right or wrong choice, and anyone who thinks that there is is as guilty of fanboying as any Apple user. I like my iMac because it's a display without a cluttery tower, I can still run any mmorpg I like in Bootcamp, and it's a brand and aesthetic I'm comfortable with and that I enjoy using. If Gwyneth likes her laptop then great, she's not strapping your wrists to it. The point that she made is essentially the point that you tried to make before getting sidetracked by your Mac spite, so picking a fight about it is silly. I mean for heaven's sake, this is an article about pretty clothes.
Posted by: Iris Ophelia | Thursday, March 10, 2011 at 09:08 AM
Whoops, I mean @Orca. I've been playing the Argo Online closed beta WAY too much clearly. :x
Posted by: Iris Ophelia | Thursday, March 10, 2011 at 11:29 AM