Author: Lisa Millar

Less Than Three Hours Until Shoetopia Opens Its Doors!!

Less Than Three Hours Until Shoetopia Opens Its Doors!!

by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

So I’ve just woken up after finishing my last RL night shift for this cycle. I’m off until Tuesday..so plenty of time to get into Shoetopia, right?Let’s be honest, it’s not going to happen.  The event is going to be packed to the rafters for the majority of the fortnight run, and judging by the quality on display I’d say that’s rightly so.  Elysium Hynes has pinned practically ALL THE THINGS again, so you can use her Pinterest board as a reference guide to what treats lie in store. All bases are covered, with many different styles of shoes; Courtney Stoddenesque towering heels, classic pumps, wedge heels and a fabulous selection of mens styles are all on display.  This is what her pinboard looks like, you can see it by clicking HERE.

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Looking at Ely’s pins I’m just blown away by the imaginative designs and fabulous finishing.  SHOETOPIA is the kind of event that makes you PROUD to be in Second Life, and we have had a LOT of those this year. But don’t despair when you bounce along the sim borders, desperate to find your way inside. You can sort of get your shoe fix by joining the Shoetopia Demo Group.

What I am doing at the moment is trying on all the shoes to determine which ones I am interested in buying. Doing this in the comfort of your own home, before the event, makes perfect sense. There is nothing worse after all than buying some gorgeous shoes only to find that actually, they don’t fit and don’t look as good as you’d hoped.

Using Ely’s Pinterest as a cross reference, I’ve been looking to see if the demos of the shoes that I’m interested in are in the demo group.  If they are, I’m trying them on for size..

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These are actually the first pair I tried on.  They’re the ADJUNCT  ‘As Above, So Below’ boots and as any Witch will know, that phrase has particular significance, so I simply HAD to try them on first!  They’re pretty swish.  I zoomed in and out, took my time while sizing them and adjusting to find my perfect fit and yup, these are definitely on my ‘MUST BUY’  list, although I’ll be opting for black rather than purple.  That said, the purple color really shows the great texture and pattern on these boots doesn’t it? To get even more of a shoe fix, keep your eye on the official Shoetopia Flickr.

A final note; it goes without saying, and it’s certainly something that I’ve spoken about before, but please be considerate to fellow visitors at this event.  By that I mean dress down, remove scripts and generally be an all-round good egg. I fear that the popularity of this occasion is going to inevitably cause problems by way of sim restarts and lag, so anything that we can do to help is a bonus.

Last but not least, this is an event contributing to an amazing charity, so be generous, but most of all, enjoy yourselves! This is going to be FUN!

Shoetopia 2013 opens its doors at Noon SLT (20:00 UK TIME!) and runs until November 30th. 

 

Kitty’s Getting Ready For Shoetopia-ARE YOU?

Kitty’s Getting Ready For Shoetopia-ARE YOU?

by Lisa Millar ♥ 3 Comments

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You know, I was never really a shoe-girl.

In real life you’ll find me trudging around in a pair of Crocs (yes, I know I’ve committed a supposed fashion-crime by wearing them, let alone loving them, but I do so there!) or my battered red Converse.  I have some fabulous  Catwoman Converse, too, and some Hello Kitty Vans.  Oh, and I have a pair of flat pumps in a burgundy leopard-print for work/going out, and a nice pair of clumpy faux-fur boots that I adore. But that’s it;  hardly a collection, let alone a fashion statement!

To be honest in real-life I’ve never understood how women could go all ‘Hello Lover’ at a pair of heels so cripplingly high that they would give you a nose bleed and bunions as soon as you dared to put your toe into them.   As if that wasn’t enough, the price of the ruddy things is completely beyond me. I don’t care if Manolo Blahnik himself made them, if you can’t guarantee that by wearing those shoes I’ll win an arse-kicking contest with a porcupine then I am just not interested.  In my eyes if you see nothing wrong with spending the equivalent of a mortgage repayment on a pair of heels then there’s something very wrong with you.

To begin with in Second Life I wasn’t much of a shoe fetishist. For a long time my go-to heels for my posher virtual outfits were an old pair (well I guess you’d call them vintage now) of TESLA heels. They were a gift many years ago from the ever-amazing Codebastard Redgrave, and I still wear them.  Tesla Miles made brilliant shoes; I do miss that brand!

But this year I’ve started to get wise to the wicked ways of the (virtual) shoe.

It’s the GOS BOUTIQUE shoes that started my transformation from footwear luddite to convert; Gospel Voom’s  fantastic brand of heels and boots that are nothing short of pornographic.  I swear to god, the Angelina peep-toe heels in ‘Black Python’ are the virtual equivalent of making  mad, passionate love to Ms. Jolie herself. They are ASTONISHING.

ILO’s workboot collection for THE ARCADE spoke to me in a way no other boots ever  have in-world, and I became obsessed by them.  As a result, I’ve barely taken them off, and most of the time you’ll find me trudging around the grid in a pair of my gacha-won treasures. They were created and textured so perfectly  how could I not love them? Oh, and don’t even get me started on Siddean Munro and her amazing SLink feet and footwear..GAHHH!

As you can see, my conversion once it started came on suddenly , and I would now consider myself well on the way to becoming a Second Life Shoe Addict. 

And there isn’t a cure, in fact, my addiction is going to fully reveal itself come November 15th (Friday folks, FRIDAY!!) when SHOETOPIA 2013 opens to the public.

Now, I did a VERY SILLY thing by not entering the photo contest to be an official blogger (Damn you real life!!!)but no matter because some of the very best bloggers that Second Life have to offer will be covering the event for you. And what an event it promises to be!   Readers, there are OVER FIFTY (gulp) footwear designers contributing to the show.

There are Gachas too (because we’re all addicted to those, right?) and all of this will take place across two sims that have a ‘Shoe Heaven’ theme. (Check out the fabulous photo on Moka’s Way-isn’t it breathtaking?!)

The event will last from November 15- November 30 2013, a total of 14 days, which is good because I imagine it will packed solid when it opens and will prove very difficult to get into.

But the very best thing, apart from all those beautiful, fabulous shoes, is that the event supports the charity SOLES 4 SOULS.  The fact that it’s supporting such an amazing charity is reason enough to go and splurge all your Lindens, but  Soles4Souls have committed at least 200,000 new pairs of shoes to the rescue, recovery, and rebuilding lives effort in the Philippines following this weekend’s dreadful typhoon disaster. 

You can see a few of the treats in store by visiting the official Flickr group, and of course I’ll be showing you my lovely purchases once I’ve managed to get in!

This is one event that you really won’t want to miss; I’m considering camping on the sim border for the opening.  Sell a virtual kidney, pawn all your virtual jewellery!

Fabulous shoes + Money for charity = WIN!!! 

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Berry’s Memes: Best & Worst Meme

Berry’s Memes: Best & Worst Meme

by Lisa Millar ♥ 3 Comments

Time for another Blogger Challenge !

I’ve not completed one of these for a while, and this was a nice one to have a think about.  Many thanks to the ever-fabulous Strawberry Singh for providing this Meme! 

What is the best thing about Second Life?

There’s so much! For me, it allows me to just switch my RL brain off and engage with the virtual world as Kitty for a while, so that means shopping, dressing up and taking photographs, decorating a virtual space and exploring amazing locations. I love it; I still find so much new stuff to enjoy after almost 7 years in the world!

Worst thing about Second Life? 

DRAMA. Causing a fuss about nothing and hiding behind a keyboard is one of my pet-hates in the virtual world that I call home.  As I said in my recent 1500th blog-post there needs to be a lot more love and a lot less hate in Second Life right now, and trust me when I say that drama, and those who cultivate it, are always best avoided.

What’s the best thing in my inventory?

You know, I don’t think I can choose just one thing because I have new favourites practically every day! I think this year has been all about the Bazar Arizona house for me, so that’s definitely one of the best things in my inventory, even though I’m not living in it at the moment. What, you didn’t know? Shock horror! (There’s a blog post coming soon about my change of dwelling, although truth be told I miss my Arizona house..)

What’s the worst thing in my inventory?  

It’s probably a gesture. Oh my, can you remember when gestures were a thing? They were so annoying! I’ve been to so many gigs in the past where gestures spoiled the sets because people just wouldn’t quit it with them, especially a silly whip-cracking sound and action that used to drive me insane.

What’s the best thing you’ve learned because of SL?

 I’ve learned lots of things through my involvement in Second Life actually! For example, I’ve learned how to use WordPress through my blogging, and basic photo improvement and enhancement for the images that I feature on my blog.  I’ve acquired basic building skills in the world too, and although I will never create masterpieces I know enough for my own needs and requirements. (In other words, I know how to make a box. YAY ME!) You know there are probably lots of skills that I’ve acquired over the years through my involvement in this mad environment that we call home, and I’ve never really thought about it until now.  Wow!

What’s the worst thing you learned because of SL?

The realisation that haters are gonna hate, real life or Second Life or both.

Unfortunately, some do it incredibly well in both lives, but I reserve a special kind of loathing for people who generate shit-storms in Second Life as you can probably tell.

What’s the best thing about blogging? 

The best thing for me is when people like a post that I have written and they care enough to share that with me. Also, I’ve received some lovely notecards over the years from content creators thanking me for featuring their work, and I treasure those.  Receiving a blogging package always gives me a buzz, that’s never gone away, and being selected to blog an event is especially rewarding, although it can be stressful too  because you desperately want to do a good job for the event and the people that selected you. But most of all I love it when I’m writing about something that I’ve found in world and I know it’s fabulous and really want everyone else to see how amazing it is. I get a real buzz from that; blogging is my equivalent of jumping up and down on the spot whilst pointing and shouting “Look! LOOK AT THIS THING!! Isn’t it AMAZING?!” I’m like a kid in a sweetie shop when I have my blog-happy on!

What is the worst thing about blogging?

For me, it’s missing self-imposed deadlines and being my own worst critic. I’m a typical Virgo when it comes to self-critique!

Then there’s the panic that sets in when you haven’t had time to blog, and the feeling of failure when I go through one of my ‘bloggers block’ periods, and sadly there have been a couple of those over the years.  Also, it really annoys me when  people assume that I make money from blogging! I’ve had a few people seriously believe that I am paid for this, and nothing could be further from the truth! Also, I dislike it when people assume that EVERYTHING you blog about has been gifted to me. This year (my sixth year of blogging) has been my most fruitful in terms of items received, BUT I would say compared to other bloggers I receive very little. But that’s not a complaint on my part; I am always grateful for anything I receive and always try my best to blog what I get, although of course that’s not always possible.  I don’t like approaching designers and asking for items to blog either; although I have done it a few times this year in response to being invited to do so.  To be frank, I’d far rather retain my autonomy, and the creator be paid for their amazing work.

Best thing to have with french toast? 

And here’s where I lose some of my allure….what’s french toast?

Is it like eggy bread?! Look, I’m Northern, we don’t have french toast! We have crumpets or toasted teacakes or toast and jam, we don’t have french toast around these ‘ere parts!

Worst thing to have with french toast?

Seeing as I’m not sure exactly what it is, I’m going to say the worst thing is probably….spam.  I don’t imagine spam would go down very well with it at all! (That is, if French toast is what I think it is..)

OOOH HANG ON!! Berry said: “..The twist is, the final question you need to change and make up your own best & worst that you want to share..”

Right, scratch the french toast answer. Let me try again:

Best thing in the world ever? 

TEA.

Worst thing in the world ever? 

NO TEA.

There you go, simples! Be sure to pop on over to Berry’s Blog to see all the other participant answers!

Kitty Loves: The Keira Shirt From ERRATIC

Kitty Loves: The Keira Shirt From ERRATIC

by Lisa Millar ♥ 7 Comments

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Today was threatening to be a very stinky day in Second Life for me because I’ve tried a number of times to get into C88 without any success. It’s been a nightmare, made worse by the fact that when I do manage to get in my Linden balance suddenly disappears.  Yes, the old L$1- bug has returned with a vengeance.

So instead I’ve decided to tell you about this rather fabulous shirt that I’m wearing. This is the ‘Keira’ shirt from ERRATIC, and I’m completely in love with it.  It fits perfectly and looks absolutely outstanding, as I hope my picture adequately displays.  The shirt is casually styled; tucked in at the front and hanging loose at the back with the most authentic looking creasing I’ve seen in a while. The shading (best seen on the lighter shirts) nails it.  I know I harp on about the importance of textures in practically every post that I write,  but the shape is of course  just as important, and this shirt is probably the best of its type that I’ve encountered in-world.  It’s available in a selection of plains and prints and offers tons of potential for mixing with your favourite separates and  accessories. It’s an essential purchase in my book.

Alas, quality does NOT come cheap, and at L$375 a shirt you may think twice before buying, but I assure you that once you’ve demoed this beauty you will have to own one! Never have I been more tempted by a ‘Buy Everything’ button, but alas, my avatar needs to eat, and I do plan on getting into C88 at some point this month..<shakes fist at screen>

I must also very quickly mention this fabulous hairstyle that I am wearing too.   I must’ve missed the memo that said that MAGIKA had released new hair; so it’s a ruddy good job I was perusing blogs earlier, and I happened across this gorgeous style featured upon Heidi Volare’s ‘The Fashionable Heart’ blog (looking absolutely amazing too I might add!).  This long bob is called ‘Sudden’ and is practically perfect in every way. In fact it’s almost as good as ‘Plenty’, another Sabina Gully style that has totally rocked my world in 2013.  I love the strands of hair at the front of ‘Sudden’ that frame the face perfectly. It’s an incredibly simple style but can be dressed up or down with ease, and I think I’ll be getting a lot of wear out of it.

Right, time to try my luck at C88 again.  Have a lovely Sunday!

Kitty Wears:

  • Shape: Kitty’s Own.
  • Skin: GLAM AFFAIR ‘Vera’ (Jamaica, 10H)
  • Make-Up: MONS – Black Eyeliner, series 3
  • Lashes: MC ‘Falsies’
  • Eyes: IKON ‘Destiny – Maya’ (ML)
  • Necklace: ANE ‘Sexy’ Necklace
  • Hair : Magika ‘Sudden’