Hello Kitty – Kittywitchin'

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!!!

In real life (yes, there is such a thing, honest!) I am probably best described as a Onesie obsessive.

The clock chimes for 6pm, and it’s practically automatic that my clothes drop off and are magically switched into a onesie of some design.

Well, OK, it’s not *quite* like that, but I’m sure you can understand my point. Onesies are perfect for very lazy people like me. Clothes off, Onesie on, and that’s me sorted for the night! The only problem is going to the toilet which is a darn inconvenience, truth be told, but anyway.. So I have four onesies in my real life wardrobe. Well, technically I have ONE onesie, and three Kigu, or Kigurumi. (You see there’s a difference, a Onesie has feet included, whereas a Kigu doesn’t, fact-fans!)

Anyway, depending on my mood I can be either a Midnight Cat, a Ring-Tailed Lemur or a Kitsune*, and if none of those will do I can sport my enormous Hello Kitty onesie. It’s pink, and I look like I’m having a mid-life crisis when I wear it, but I care not because it’s warm and snuggly and blissful.

Alas, until this week I hadn’t found a onesie in Second Life that was worthy of Kitty’s wearing, until INTRIGUE CO. dropped THIS upon the grid at Collab88:

I saw this and had a Kittygasm on the spot. Not only is it a onesie (well, OK, technically it’s a Kigu) it’s ALSO a CAT, and a black one at that! So much win!!

Once I’d recovered I zoomed off to Collab88, beating half-rezzed avatars out of my way in a frenzy and kicking vendors until they divulged the secrets of the wonders that they were holding inside. (Collab is always a nightmare to rez on the first few days after opening) I zoomed on home, tearing off my mesh clothing in a rather haphazard fashion (Seriously, I took my clothes off that quickly that you would have thought Alexander Skarsgard himself was paying me a visit!)

This is an absolute joy to wear with no issues at all. I put on the alpha, then the medium sized onesie, and voila! Job’s a carrot! Fits like a dream for only L$188. If only they were so cheap in real life!

Not only is this shaped perfectly, it’s also beautifully textured and really does look like it’s made out of fleece fabric.

The styling is great too; with ears on the draped hood and a tail, as well as matching kitty-slippers to make sure your feet stay warm. I must confess I’ve not changed out of it since I bought it, despite the grid being a Halloween fashion frenzy at the moment! I don’t care, I love this way too much.

It wears so well and I want exactly the same one in real life, if I can find it!

Yet again INTRIGUE CO. have proved that they’re at the front of the queue when it comes to bringing what’s fresh and funky in the real world into Second Life. They always make fantastic fun items rendered to perfection with stunning textures a given. Wouldn’t it be nice if they were to bring a series of these to the grid? I’d be at the front of the queue if they did!

This item is available at Collabor88’s October round, and is available in adult male and female as well as child avatar sizes. Go and pick yours up at C88 right now!

*These are all pictures of onesies that I own from http://www.kigu.co.uk; I wonder which one I’ll get next? (They’re awesome! )