The high-waisted pants series continues! (Finally!)  You can check out Part One here.  Today, we’re looking at sailor styles.  The sailor style pant is an iconic example of fashion appropriation: first, the civilian world appropriated a military style, and then the ladies took the mens’ pants and made them their own.

There are a few features that stand out when comparing these three pairs of pants.  First are the buttons holding up the front bib: a defining feature of sailor styles, the buttons have different arrangements and shininess.  The overall fit differs as well: the slouchiness of the pair on the left, the stiffness of the center pair, and the sleek tailoring of the pair on the right.  All three feature prim cuffs, each with a unique shape.

The rear view offers a few more details: the highlights on the bum, the seaming, the pocket style (or lack thereof).  The back of these pants may not provide as much visual interest as the front, but I think you still get a good idea of the creator’s style.

Credits:
Pants, left to right:
Veschi – Jeanius Pants – Indigo
A-Bomb High-Waist Pants – Blue
Muism High Waisted Sailor Pants – Navy

Hair: Clawtooth by Clawtooth – Somebody’s Lady – Autumn Mix
Skin: Adam n Eve – Bliss T1 – makeup Romance Freckles
Tattoo: Aitui – Fire Fish Sleeves – Method – Faded
Shirt: Icing – Puma Jie – White
Jewelry: Miel Lun Set
Shoes: Periquita – Funny Girl Flats (color change)
Poses from Long Awkward Pose
Photographed at Emvee Cuba

Disclaimer: Promotional items received: Muism pants and Periquita shoes.  I’m acquainted with some of the designers shown here.  However, I only blog things I like, regardless of affiliations or gifts.

The FilterCam, from Mechanized Life.  Version 2.0 was just released, and it adds a more user-friendly menu and more filters to the last version.  This tool — it’s amazingly awesome.  You want one. It’s easy to use right out of the box, and it’s also easily customizable with a bit of effort.  This will be a rather long post, so make yourself comfortable.

Getting started, the HUD attaches to your center HUD attachment point.  You’ll then want to go to File>Take Snapshot and check the “Show HUD objects in snapshot” box.  You’ll also want to remove any other HUDs, as they too will end up in your picture if you don’t do so.  (If you look at the pictures below, you’ll see HUDs I should have removed, but I forgot. Don’t look silly like me.)

Initially, you’ll also want to run through three basic chat commands: “/5normal”   “/5widescreen” and “/5ultrawide”.  These set the aspect ratio of the HUD to fit with your monitor aspect ratio.  I find the “Wanted” filter useful for determining which aspect ratio looks best.  Once you’ve found the correct setting for you, you’ll never have to fuss with this again.

To get started using the FilterCam, there are only two things you need to know.  First, a long click on the HUD will bring up your blue-box menu, from which you can choose from a large selection of filters.  Your blue box menu first presents several categories: Scatter, TV, Frames, Holidays, Horror, Artsy, Basic, and Custom (more on custom later).  Each category, when clicked, will show you several preset filters, all ready for you to use and take pretty pictures.

A few of the filters ready for use from the menu. There are lots more!

Second, a short click on the HUD will minimize it, allowing you to set up your composition, camming and alt-clicking and so on.  Clicking on the minimized HUD will bring it back to full-screen size.  I usually go back and forth with the minimizing, to make sure the shot is framed exactly the way I would like.

So, neat, you say.  But what if none of the preset filters are exactly what you’re looking for?  This is a powerful tool, with endless customization possibilities.  In order to take full advantage of its potential, one must understand how the tool works.  The HUD is composed of four layers — you can think of these as old-school transparencies, or tracing paper, or layers in a photo-editing software.  On each layer, you can assign a transparent image, or mask, and adjust the tint, transparency, and glow.  The FilterCam already contains a good variety of masks — some are basic frames; some are atmospheric effects; some are more like scrap-booking.  One, the ruleofthree, is a useful compositional tool for arranging major elements in a photo.

Personally, I found it useful to right-click>edit the HUD and get into contents and see exactly what masks were available in the HUD, and get a feel for how I’d use them.  These masks are the building blocks, the major elements, in creating your own filters.  I’ve grouped them into my own totally arbitrary categories, which differ slightly from the categories in the blue box menu.

First are the basic framing masks.  Umm, they frame your picture in a basic way.  They may not be flashy, but they offer elegance and structure.

I’ll be adding in wardrobe commentary through this portion, rather than at the end, to try and break up the headache-inducing line of animated gifs a bit.  Wardrobe commentary will be in italics. The hair is Malou, a recent release from Maitreya, and I’ve been wearing it since it came out.  It has a very natural RL feel that I can’t get enough of.  The skin is Dinah in Fall from Tyranny Designs.  This is one of three “Bare” faces, each with a different lip color, and each as a nice fresh-faced-while-still-wearing-makeup look that I enjoy.

Mouse Mimistrobell of Dark Mouse has begun creating her own sculpties, and I must say, this is some of my favorite jewelry she’s made so far.  The earrings, necklace, and bracelets compliment each other without being too matchy-matchy.  Large-scale and shiny, with organic, feminine shapes, I adore this set.

Next are what I call the scrapbooking masks.  These are playful and fun.

The outfit consists of new releases from elymode: the angle-waist skirt, the short sweater, and the bodysuit.  All three are available in six colors, on all layers, designed to mix and match.  The bodysuit contains two versions: one solid-colored, and one with contrasting trim.  As you can see, there are a variety of ways to combine these three elements (they’re equally versatile mixed in with other outfits.)  As always, elymode clothing is exquisitely textured, with classic clean lines.  I’m always impressed with the attention to detail; from a creator’s perspective, Ely always inspires me to work harder and be better at making my own stuff.

The atmospheric masks, as I like to think of them, are my favorite.  These can give your photo a moody, arty feel.  Most of the filters fall into this category for me, so take a minute to let the animation play through.

Now, the boots.  Bax Coen’s latest, a suede version of the amazing Prestige Boots.  The texturing and shape are outstanding.  Cuffs at the top can be turned up or turned down, and there are three colors of denim you can change the cuff to, if you don’t want them the same color as the boots.  The resizing system took me a minute to get used to, but the fit afterward is perfect — unlike most resizing systems, this one allows you to adjust the width of the boot without adjusting the height.

I used the same pose set throughout the pictures — Long Awkward Pose’s Red Carpet set.  It may not be new, but it remains an classic choice.  The poses are elegant and natural.  All photos were taken at the Zaara sim.  If you haven’t wandered around, you should — there are some beautiful spots both inside and outside the store.

Finally are the RP masks.  I admit I don’t have much use for them, myself, but they look cool, and I’m sure they’d be amazing in someone else’s hands.

The masks provided are lovely on their own, and you can layer them over one another for complex effects, using the basic chat commands.  To start, I’d go to your blue box menu and select “Basic” and then “Default.”  From there, try typing in any of the commands on the masks I’ve shown above.  There — now you’re changing the masks on the “0″ layer of the filter.  Moving on, by typing, say, “/5mask 0 grunge” and “/5mask 1 haze”, you’d be assigning the grunge mask to the “0″ layer and the haze mask to the “1″ layer.  Remember, you have a total of four layers, labeled 0, 1, 2, and 3 — you can assign a mask to each layer, like so:

You can also adjust the transparency, tint, and glow of each layer, whether or not it you’ve assigned a mask for that layer.  We’ve already learned that the /5mask command controls the masks, or images, used.  The /5filter command controls effects on a given layer.  If you look at the atmospheric masks I showed above, you’ll see that the static mask has a second command listed: “/5filter 0 white .5 0″  So, let’s look at what each part of that command does.

Just like working with the /5mask command, the /5filter command controls layers “0″, “1″, “2″, and “3″.  The color portion gets interesting — black blue gray green indigo magenta orange pink purple red turquoise violet white yellow cyan azure blueviolet brown and sepia are available, or you can use a specific vector color, like <1.0,0.5,0>.

I haven't played much with tinting yet, but this gives you an idea.

The transparency, or alpha, option lets you control the transparency of the mask and/or assigned color on a given layer, and can be set anywhere from 0 to 1.  (If you’re trying to assign a mask, and can’t see it, make sure that layer isn’t set to 0 here.)  Finally, the last part of the command controls the glow.  It too can be set anywhere from 0 to 1.  I don’t care for glow, myself, so I keep this set at 0, but play with it and see what works for you.

If you find a specific combination you enjoy, you can save it to be a preset in the menus.  Awesome, right?  (You’ll have to read the included instructions for this part, though you should read them anyway — there’s a lot I’m not covering.)  But you’re not just limited to the included masks.  This is where, for me, FilterCam is an enormously powerful tool.  You may have noticed I favor square images, and I tend to use the same frame on all my en scene photos.  It took a bit of tweaking to get my Photoshop file exactly the way I wanted for uploading, but check this out.

I created the frame I wanted, uploaded it in-world, dropped it into the HUD (read the directions for this!), and created a preset.  Once I get used to using it, all I’ll need to do is take my pictures using the HUD and crop them.  No more fussing in Photoshop.  The ability to add your own filters makes this an invaluable tool for bloggers and creators, who use some of the same elements in every photo used. So, like I said, Mechanized Life FilterCam=Awesome.  Easy to use for amateur photographers, and powerful enough for professional and business use.

Disclaimer: Promotional items included in this post: FilterCam, clothing, and boots.  I’m acquainted with some of the designers shown here.  However, I only blog things I like, regardless of affiliations or gifts.

Yay freckles!  Four more freckled faces to look at.  As always, we’re looking at the quality of the freckle — color, darkness, size, scatter pattern across the face, carryover onto the body.  Take a good look at these faces, and see how the freckles feel: Do they look natural?  Do they suit the skin for a cohesive look?  Do they have that special something that makes a freckled face feel like your own?

Freckles are mandatory for me, of course, but they’re not the only factor when looking at a skin.  Today’s selection lends itself nicely to a discussion on shading. We’re talking about the areas of the skin where highlights and shadows give the illusion of a three-dimensional form.  Look at the collarbones above — if you stare at them long enough, they become abstract studies in light and shadow.  Look away, and when you look back again, they look like collarbones once more.

For me, there are four factors to be considered when looking at shading: contrast, detail, style, and cohesion.  The contrast is the most immediately obvious — the dramatic highlights and shadows that create the illusion of three-dimensionality on the body.  Shading under the chin, for example, helps to visually indicate that the chin is closer to the camera than the neck, and shading along the thighs create fleshy roundness.

The next factor is the level of detail, and this is where personal preferences about body parts really come into play.  Look at the knees — do you want a kneecap just hinted at with a bit of shadow, or a realistic bumpy-looking kneecap?  Perhaps you like a well-defined bum, or only like lightly shaded tatas? How much do you like the stomach to be delineated?  Do you prefer a muscular or smooth back?

Third, there’s shading style, and I think this is what really makes skin-makers unique.  Two skins with similar contrast and level of detail will have dramatically different appearance from the style of shading.  Take another look at the collarbones.  In the full body shots, you can see that all four collarbones are well-defined.  However, when you look at the facial close-ups, you can clearly see that each creator has taken a different approach to creating the illusion of a protruding clavicle.  These unique differences give a skin its own charm, and contribute to how a skin fits a specific shape.

Finally, one has to look at how the shading of the individual parts comes together to form a cohesive whole.  Does any part of the body seem unnaturally bright or dark –  is the skin evenly shaded throughout the body?  If you isolate one part of the body — the back of the knee, for instance — is it well-shaded, but out of balance in relation to the rest of the body?  Does it look funny, by itself, but flow nicely with the overall feel of the skin?  Ideally, the shading of every part of the body should be able to stand on its own, and yet not stand out when compared with the whole of the skin.

I find shading to be so compelling simply because one can’t say that any single approach is better than another.  It really all depends on what you’re looking for in a skin.  Some prefer a more realistic, highly detailed, heavily shaded skin, while others prefer a more illustrative, flatter, softer style.  Your shape will determine some preferences — smaller-chested girls will most likely favor less dramatic cleavage shading, while a fuller-figured girl might prefer the illusion of volume that more defined shading can offer.  Your clothing preferences may be a factor; if the shading styles are too dissimilar, then your avatar won’t have a cohesive look.  You have to get out there and try different skins, see what’s new and exciting, and see what actually suits you and your avatar best.

All skins are, as usual, photographed on the same shape, in identical lighting, without prim eyelashes, so you can best compare the skins.

Credits:
Skins, left to right:
Tyranny Designs – Dinah in Fall – Wheat – bare – w/ light nostril
L.Fauna – Lapine . Tan 1 – Fresh-FR
Sn@tch – Plush Skins – Tone 2 – Naive/FR
YoLo 3 Natural Blush Freckle Face Lt Brow
Hair: Clawtooth by Clawtooth – Good Morning – Peeled Carrots
Lingerie: Lyre and the Muse – Felicity
Poses from Reel Expression
Photographed at Malady Bog

Disclaimer: Promotional items included in this post: L.Fauna, Sn@tch, and YoLo skins.  I’m acquainted with some of the designers shown here.  However, I only blog things I like, regardless of affiliations or gifts.

I seriously love shoes; just ask my husband.  You may have noticed I’ve blogged one or two pair of shoes for the Footwear Expo.  It’s closed now, but all the footwear is available at the designers’ shops.

I’ve saved my favorite footwear grouping for last.  The thing is, sometimes you don’t want to wear shoes.  Sometimes it’s nice to be barefoot.  Sometimes being barefoot is the best design decision, for a particular look.  But, but, the system feet are so hideous!  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen some very well-done skins, but skin creators don’t have a lot to work with, when it comes to our sad club feet.

Siddean Munro, creator behind SLink, has delivered us all from system feet.  I’ve been enamored with her bare feet since they were released; they were my first adventure in prim feet (I fought them for so long!)  For ladies, we have a choice of four foot silhouettes, from flat-footed to tiptoe, and the recently released extreme pointe foot.  (Gentlemen also have a few barefoot options, so men, you’re not left out!)

Now, I’m still not as good as tinting the feet as I’d like to be, but practice will make perfect, and the tinting HUD is very easy to work with.  The shading on the foot is incredibly detailed, with shadows between the toes, where light wouldn’t hit, and highlights indicating the underlying tendon structure.  Delicate subtle veins trace the top of the foot.  There are of course a variety of toenail options — both colored nail polish, and a range of natural nail shades to suit different skin tones.  I adore these feet, and if you’ve even once considered going bare-foot in-world, I’d suggest you give these a try.  Demos are free, after all.

Feet, left to right:
SLink- Jolie Pied Bare Feet, from left to right: Flat, Medium, Tiptoes, Extreme Pointe

En Scene Credits:
Hair: Tiny Bird – Precious Things – Stein Silver (tinted)
Skin: Imagen Skins – Irene 2.0 – Este – Natural (promotional sample)
Bubbles: Reasonable Desires Strippable Bubble Costume
Feet: SLink – Jolie Pied Bare Feet Tiptoes
Bathtub: The Loft – Oriana Bathtub

Disclaimer: Medium feet, Extreme Pointe feet, and Imagen skin are promotional samples.  I’m acquainted with some of the designers shown here.  However, I only blog things I like, regardless of affiliations or gifts.

I like ankleboots.  They’re comfy.  Neither as blatantly trendy as the bootie, nor as sexy as the knee-high boot, the ankle boot is a versatile in-between, working well with a variety of looks. That said, they’re still fabulous!  The selection shown here is from the Footwear Expo, which ends tonight!

Oh, and I know the last pair aren’t really ankle boots.  But they’re cute, aren’t they?

Credits, left to right:
Decoy Jully Boots in Ivory
Anexx FiveBeltsBoots in Gray
Nova Suede Ankle Boots in Espresso
Periquita Lolipolita (color-change)

Disclaimer: All boots shown here are promotional copies.  I’m acquainted with some of the designers shown here.  However, I only blog things I like, regardless of affiliations or gifts.

Clock’s a-tickin’, folks, Footwear Expo ends tonight!

There are several shoes styles that defy easy categorization, like these two.  Sure, technically, they’re flats and boots, but really, their unique function means they don’t quite fit in.  The pointe shoes on the left include prim feet, allowing the ribbons to really form to the foot.  The shiny rubber rainboots had me itching to find a nice rainy sim to splash around in.

The three shoes above also don’t fit nicely into standard categories, but then, normal isn’t really the target audience.  Lazy Places makes awesome footwear for those seeking a more unique unusual look.

Okay, so the boots with the furrrr aren’t really specialty shoes.  I could have sorted them by boot height, but then I wouldn’t have had an excuse to talk about the boots with the furrrr, and that song pops into my head every time I see boots with fur.

Footwear Expo Credits:
SLink – Paloma Ballet Pointes – Gold
Surf Couture – Rain Boots – Electric Blue

Lazy Places – Lola Boots – Equine – White
Lazy Places – Hen Tai Heels
Lazy Places – Ankou Boots – Beast – Brown

G Field – Long Fur Cuff Boots – Pink
Kitties Lair – Fur Boots Klondyke – Black

En Scene Photo Credits:
Umbrella: Smile Shop Fukuoka – Umbrella Blue – by yaman Oh
Hair: Philotic Energy – Tressa – Clinker
Skin: Imagen Skins Irene 2.0 – Este – Rita (promo sample)
Shirts: Armidi - Sheer Ribbed Tank – Black, MichaMi Ebba Tank – Purple
Tattoo: Aitui Tattoo – Demise Sleeves – Fresh
Camera: Tooter Claxton – Tootermat Camera
Backpack: Demina Design – Artistic Backpack – Black
Messenger Bag: Sn@tch – Messenger Bag
Jeans: Kari & TW – New School Jeans – Black
Boots: Surf Couture – Rain Boots – Electric Blue
Pose: Pulling Strings – Paparazzi Series – Get the Shot!
Photographed at Creamshop

Disclaimer: The skin and all footwear are promotional copies.  I’m acquainted with some of the designers shown here.  However, I only blog things I like, regardless of affiliations or gifts.

Only a few hours left to get to the Footwear Expo!

The pointy pump is such a classic shape — so polished, so versatile.  Some are suited to elegant dresses; others finish a professional suit.  Some are just plain fun. Each of the pumps shown above, from the Footwear Expo, are, I feel great examples, and each shows a unique style.   Sure, you may already have a few pair of pointy pumps in-world already, but do you have any like these?

Shoes, left to right:
Baiastice Claire decollete – fucsia
Baiastice Crystal – Ruby
House of Curios – MIB Stilettos (colorchange – both solids and patterns)
Periquita Chicky Chic (colorchange)
Periquita Q-Steps (colorchange)

Disclaimer: All shoes shown here were received as promotional samples.  I’m acquainted with some of the designers shown here.  However, I only blog things I like, regardless of affiliations or gifts.

The clock is ticking!  Hurry over to the Footwear Expo before it closes at the end of the day!

I’m not quite sure why we collectively equate shoes with sex, but we do.  And no shoe screams sex more than an over-knee boot.

These are, of course, three examples of knee-high boots at the Footwear Expo.  Structured, slouchy, or skin-tight, these boots will add sexiness to any look.  You know you want some — over-knee boots, that is!

Credits:
Shoes, left to right:
SLink – Sydney Overknee Boot – 50L Friday Gold Edition
Coco KneeHigh Boots
J’s Thigh High Boots – Black

En Scene Photo Credits:
Hair: Truth - Marianne – Copper
Skin: Sn@tch – Plush Skin – Tone 2 – Babydoll Fr
Jacket: part of iBizarre Soraya Bolero Jumpsuit – Blue
Leotard: Elymode – bodysuit – wine/blue
Tights: Sn@tch – Cheetah Tights – Black
Boots: SLink - Sydney Overknee Boot – 50L Friday Gold Edition
Pose: Long Awkward Pose
Photographed at the Kyoot Mainstore

Disclaimer: Promotional samples: Coco and J’s boots, Sn@tch skin, Elymode bodysuit.  I’m acquainted with some of the designers shown here.  However, I only blog things I like, regardless of affiliations or gifts.

Wheeeee! More footwear from the Footwear Expo!  I was planning on saying something about wearing open-toed shoes in winter, since it’s a virtual world, and our toes don’t get cold or wet, etc.  But, why do we always comment on the weather?  Why do we do so more often in the winter?  It’s funny how our physical worlds have such a strong influence on how we see our virtual worlds.

Ok, back to the shoes.  Obviously, these are sandals, a selection from the Footwear Expo.  All but the second pair in the first row have prim feet, so it was an adventure for me to learn all the different tinting HUDs.  I’m still a bit of a noob when it comes to tinting feet, so please excuse any errors.  What I find most interesting is that with the tinting HUD often do far more than just tinting.  From resizing to toenail colors to recoloring individual parts of the shoe, these HUDs offer far more options than old-fashioned click-to-change-color shoes.

A few final notes: All shoes were photographed from the same angle, and did my best to avoid tweaking the fit of the shoes too much.  The different angles at which the feet meet the leg is exactly how the shoes are designed.  Also, I know the spacing is terrible.  I don’t know what I was thinking when I compiled these pics; my apologies.

Credits, left to right, top to bottom:
SLink Jolie Pied Achillia Black
Decoy Alexia Heels – Grape
Kitties Lair – High Heel Sandals Gina – Red Gekko

Kitties Lair – Zara SilverSnake01 Display
YourSkin&YourShape – Illetes (color change)
Bella Donna Poison #7 (color change)

Kalnins – Dragoness (color change)
Kalnins – Conqueror (color change)
Maitreya Gold – Shanti – Snow Leopard

Disclaimer: All sandals but the Maitreya and the Kalnins Dragoness are promotional samples.  I’m acquainted with some of the designers shown here.  However, I only blog things I like, regardless of affiliations or gifts.

Have you heard that the Footwear Expo ends today?  If you’ve not been yet, perhaps these booties will tempt you.

First, I must say, booties are generally terribly unflattering to most of our RL figures.  The solid structure, ending abruptly where foot meets leg, destroys the leg line and makes you look short.  That said, I adore them.  They have a certain je-ne-sais-quois that just screams chic.  And of course in SL we can just make our legs a bit longer to compensate.

What I find most striking about this set of booties, all available at the Footwear Expo, are the textures.  I don’t just mean textures in the SL way; I mean the physical textures of the boot itself: soft suede, delicate lace, patent-leather shine, hard zippers, bumpy crocodile.  The implied physical textures make me drool — these are shoes that I would have to pick up and touch, if I saw them in a department store.

Footwear Expo booties, left to right, top to bottom:
Coco ZipperBootie
Baiastice Destructural Unkleboots crocco gold
Baiastice Fabric/Lace Unkleboots forest green
Nardcotix Cerra Bootie Zebra
Periquita Sweet Stilettos
R2 Nani Red

En Scene Photo Credits:
Hair: Tiny Bird – Precious Things – Stein Silver (tinted)
Skin: Adam n Eve – Amanda – Tone 2 – Ruby – Freckles
Gloves: part of Casa Del Shai – Always The Bridesmaid Dress
Bracelet: Dark Mouse – Buckle Bracelet – Reds
Sweater: Cipria Couture – Bolero – Cardinal
Dress: Punch Drunk – Glam Rock Dress – Black
Tights: Sheer – Tights 30: Wrinkled Black
Boots: R2 Nani Red
Photo set: Glitterati Sci-Fi Hallway

Disclaimer: All boots and photo set are promotional samples.  I’m acquainted with some of the designers shown here.  However, I only blog things I like, regardless of affiliations or gifts.