Make-A-Wish® SLebrity Auction

Studio Red presents the Second Life™ Celebrity Charity Auction.  It will be held Sunday, December 28th at 1pm in the Patch Thibaud Auditorium. I'm proud to participating in this wonderful charity event along with 20 others.  I'll probably be the bargain of the night, so definitely swing by and bid for a great cause.

Read more about Make-A-Wish®

Check out the Auction Catalog

Taxi to the Patch Thibaud Auditorium

The SLexcellent Adventures of Jula and Chalice

Most people enjoy a good laugh and no one makes me laugh as much as Chalice Carling my dearest friend and her partner in crime Jula Carnell.  These two hens cackle like you wouldn't believe and are always have the most interesting adventures (i.e. lesbian love den in the sky). Whenever I get to catch up with Chalice, I hear of the latest installment of their tales.  You can't help but laugh so hard your stomach hurts.  Well, now they've put their adventures down on paper for the world to share.  Each week will bring a new installment to the unfolding story, stay tuned...

I invite you now to read Episode 1 of the SLexcellent Adventures of Jula and Chalice entitled, "The Impotence of Being Earnest" excerpt provided with permission from Flickr.  I encourage you all to join the group pool on Flickr to keep up with the on-going saga.

"Jula and Chalice met at Evely Lane's runway when Chalice was launching her international modeling career. Jula used to stand in awe of Chalice wishing that she too could command the $1L per hour fee that Chalice enjoyed under the tutelage of the (in)famous Evely Lane. Since that time, Chalice helped Jula on her way to becoming a model and they became firm friends sharing each others successes and failures.

Jula was married to wealthy SL entrepreneur Mr K and lived in a big, beautiful mansion by the sea while Chalice, beautiful and successful but financially struggling due to her shopping addiction, lived in a small apartment with a lesbian brothel situated in a sky box overhead. Hearing the thuds of human bodies falling onto her roof each night when in moments of passion, the clientele lost their footing and fell off the balcony, Chalice used to spend much time in the home of Jula and Mr K dreaming of marrying a successful SL businessman. Someone like Frolic Mills or Patchi Poo Thibaud who could provide her with the lifestyle she craved.

Jula had confided to Chalice that Mr K was often preoccupied and avoided being intimate with her. On the rare occasion that they did partake of marital coitus, Mr K struggled to rise to the occasion leaving Jula wondering if he was having an affair.

Chalice consulted with her hairdresser who happened to know Jackson Vantelli, an excellent naturopath who was also a first year sex therapist student who dispensed an eye dropper full of bile from the 3rd stomach of a South Sea oyster. Well known in those parts as a powerful aphrodisiac guaranteed to raise the Titanic, Chalice prepared a pot of Mr K's favorite dish, Crawfish Etoufee and squeezed the contents of the eye dropper into the mixture while Jula made Mr K's favorite dessert, Colonial Day Snickerdoodles.

Chalice, eager to hear if Mr K raised the roof, phoned Jula the next morning to hear the news. Jula mentioned nothing of Mr K's performance so Chalice asked her if she and Mr K had enjoyed a night of passion. Jula with saddened voice described how Mr K spent the entire night running to the toilet. Chalice disclosed to Jula what she had done trying to help get Mr K's mojo back explaining that there was not one recorded case where the aphrodisiac remedy didn't work.

Jula, heart sinking, said "It must be me Cha Cha what can I do?

Chalice promised Jula that she would consult everyone she knew from her friends list and let Jula know of the results.

Meanwhile Chalice took Jula shopping to MMS, oBscene, Detour and for some decadent gowns, LeeZu Baxter. Jula, sated by her shopping spree, went home with a special little outfit from Chic Boutique to wear in her boudoir that evening. She would invite Mr K in and he would take one look at her and fall to his knees in lust. She would break the drought that they had been living in and the garden of love would be rejuvinated again.

Unaware that Chalice was spying from the wardrobe, Jula squeezed herself in to her lingerie ready to rain on Mr K's parade.......................

Does Jula unleash the animal within Mr K? Can Chalice make it out of the wardrobe undetected? What lay ahead for the SL Supermodels? Does Chalice get her Mr Frolic or Mr Patch???? Stay tuned for another episode of The SLexellent Adventures of Jula and Chalice."

Syndication + Publication

For those that follow my Flickr, you'll have noticed some additions in December.  I'm the new Assistant Fashion Editor for Avenue Magazine working with Rusch Raymaker and crew on one of the best publications in SL©.  If you haven't checked out the magazine, what are you waiting for?

I have a monthly column, "Fun with Fashion" offering styling tips, mash-ups, SLURLs and tricks of the trade.  Pretty much a syndication of my blog style.  In December, I shared my love of Armidi's Journey tweed slacks.  I bought one pair in black and the other in a golden bronze.  The two looks turned out quite differently, showing the versatility of a great pant.  At the time, www.shoparmidi.com wasn't open and at $175 L each you have no excuse to pick up these slacks.

Here's and excerpt from the column (p. 124):

"Who here loves fashion? If so, raise your hand. /Me raises both arms excitedly! If you didn’t raise your hand, let’s ask why. Does fashion scare you a little? Are you stuck in a creative rut? When you TP to the hottest fashion show, is someone else wearing your outfit?

Well, let’s be honest. Even the hottest pixels on the grid get a little scared when styling looks for a go-see, interview or party. I think we can all admit to asking for help from our friends. Any of you that read my blog, Love & Fashion, will probably note that I hit some creative ruts, as evidenced by my lack of posts. And, I personally know of at least TEN top models in Second Life® who have shown up at an event in the exact same outfit."

Military Charm -
Hair - Kin Trish in White
Skin - Blowpop Honey Aden Black 1
Lashes -Cake Bedroom
Eyes - MMS Turquoise (No Longer For Sale)
Belt - Mezzo - Jaguar Ribbon Chain Belt in Gold
Shirt - Amodica Lookr - Vain Inc. 1 Year Goodiebag Gift - Red and Black Shirt
Gloves - Cachet - Red
Scarf - Stitch by Stitch Pandora Scarf (From Outfit)
Coat - Muism Military Coat in Black (Prim bottom not worn)
Pants - Gisaci - Journey Tweed Slacks in Black
Shoes - Kookie - Natasha in Tartan



Gilded Glamour-
Hair - Tekuteku - Wing in Redbrown
Skin - Blowpop - Tuesday Honey in Aden Black #2
Lashes - Cake - Bedroom
Eyes - MMS Turquoise (No Longer For Sale)
Shirt - So Many Styles - Pattern Shirt in Orange (From Outfit)
Corset - Paper Couture - Divinchi (From Outfit)
Pants - Gisaci - Journey Tweed Slacks in Golden Bronze
Stockings - bijou - Gold
Shoe - Shiny Things - Tuli Pumps Brown with Color Change Gold Bows
Bag - Baiastice - Mini in Gold (Free Hunt Gift)
Earring - Dela - Dianni in Gold
Scarf - Barerose - Donna in Brown (From Outfit)

Barerose Appreciation Week!

Winter Jefferson, has thrown down a blogger challenge for the week. A Barerose appreciation extravaganza for all the awesomeness that they have to offer. Since I first came to SL, I've been in love with the store. Its imaginative, fantastical, and fashion forward. Each time you go there are new releases. Its like fashion mecca!

Back in July of this year, I did a shoot with the awesome Elysium Eilde of Second Look Studio for a mermaid fashion editorial in Second Style Magazine. One of my outfits was from Barerose, the Pisces set.

It's one of my favorite outfits and I was tickled to wear it in the magazine.

Enjoy!




Photographer: Elysium Eilde of Second Look Studio

The second photo was a sneak attack shot!! Its not in the magazine, but I'm so glad that Ely took a close up. The Blowpop skin by Annyka is just to wonderful not to see...

Model: Vixie Rayna
:::B@R::: - Pisces Lady
Eyes - Less than Three <3 - Frost (pale blue)
Lashes - Cake - Bedroom
Hair - Magika - Bits - White
Skin - Blowpop - Tuesday Marshmallow - Aden in Black #1 - White

Model: Dionysus Qualcar
:::B@R::: - Pisces
Skin: Nomine - WL Male china white - White brows (custom made for this shoot)
Hair: Mystikal - Ash Pony - White
Eyes: EYE IT UP - Human Eyes - Ice

Pose - Pisces custom pose set - By salacia Gustafson of Gor-jus Creations and Animations

Chai Skin Preview

Launa Fauna the Wunderkind behind LF Chai and Chai Skins blessed me with a little bit of newness. The new line is called Double Shot and it features all our favorite makeups like Celebrity, Morpho, and many more. The make-up I'm wearing is completely new and is called Lilly. Each skin purchase gives you FOUR different skins, with and without Freckles plus a new choice...with or without Cleavage. Choose cleavage for a sexy push-up bra effect or without for the more natural look. The skins come with many eyebrow/pubic hair options (set for colors to make life easier). No word on the release date, but it should be very soon! All new skins will be less than $1000 L each. Three cheers for Launa!!

Taxi to LF CHAI

Model/Photographer: Vixie Rayna
Skin: LF CHAI - Double-Shot in Freckled Lilly Tone 03 (no cleavage)
Eyes: LF Chai - Blue 01
Lashes: MMS - Photoshoot
Hair: Truth - Renee in Auburn
Flower: Swallowtail - Hair Clip (Above) or Truth - Antie Flower (Below)

Newness!!!

Today seemed to be a bit of a lazy one when I logged into Second Life®. See, I've got a deadline approaching and it seems I'm doing anything and everything but work. Apparently, procrastination is alive in both worlds.

As I'm lounging on my sofa, and flipping through this month's magazines I stop in my tracks when I see the new Vain, Inc. "It Girl". November's girl is none other than my new friend Beatrix Hienrichs who I met through Kasabian Beck. Super sweet girl who loves the Easy Bake Oven as much as the next. Well, I shoot her an IM and rave about her wonderful style page. She's as sweet as ever, and we get to chatting. It seems that Bea has opened up a new store in SL, called lis_noir. Of course, I TP over like a crazy person and I'm tickled to find a cute little shop with these AMAZING shoes, jewelry, hair, and eyes. She is a new shop owner only having been opened since September. I proceed to run her over buying every pair of shoes in the shop and run home to blog.

If you are as excited as I am you will run run your little tushies over to lis_noir and check out the newness!

Model/Photographer: Vixie Rayna

Style Card:

Skin: Soda Custom 

Eyes: Miriel Gray

Lashes: KM Starry

Hair: Maitreya Yasmine in Pitch

Bracelet: Zaara Kaya in Onyx

Shoes (Worn): lis_noir Bows Shows **Limited Edition - On Sale until Saturday Nov. 8th**

Pose: Torridwear Geometry Sit

Shoes (On Ground): L-R - lis_noir Le Clique **Limited Edition**, Robin in Tropical Punch, and Robin in Smoke

While I was shooting the shoes, Bea and I chatted some more about her shop. The inspiration comes from her RL closet, a mix of modern and vintage designs. She enjoys color and the avant garde. Her amazing new shoe line is classic in shape with a wonderful play on color with cool modern twists. She's working on releasing more jewelry in the store, and I got a sneak peek at the new vintage floral earrings. Let's just say this is one designer to watch. The quality of her work is amazing and she really brings a fresh new vision to Second Life®.

Model/Photographer: Vixie Rayna

Style Card:

Skin: Blowpop Tuesday  Honey 6c. Plum Portia Freckle Black

Hair: Truth Jasmine in Raven

Eyes: Miriel Gray

Lashes: KM Starry

Bracelet: Untone Farther

Shoes: lis_noir Le Clique

Pose: Pididdle/Yuk Fu 

There is a season...

It is deep into Autumn here on the East Coast. Each year, I look forward to the change in season and our beautiful foliage. After months of green the skyline changes to a sea of fiery oranges, reds, browns and yellows . It truly is a beautiful sight. As each leaf falls to the ground and a new season approaches, I am reminded how the world is in a perpetual state of change even when things seem the same. This post was never intended to be a commentary on the election. And its just now that I realize how much I had lost faith. For the first time in years, I'm excited about the change our country now faces. Tonight was historic. Even in the midst of crisis there is hope.

I have hope.

We have hope.

Model/Photographer: Vixie Rayna
Style Card:
Skin: Blowpop - Tuesday Honey 6c. Plum Portia (Black Freckle)
Hair: Truth - Jasmine in Smokey
Eyes: Miriel - Gray
Lashes: KM - Starry
Hat: Wild O - Hydrangea Hat
Skirt: Pididdle - Foliage **Not yet released**
Scarf: Nova - Cashmere in Burgundy
Shirt: Muism - Open Silk Hana in Black (Sleeves Only)
Muism - Cotton in Brown (Jacket Layer Only)
Tights: Veschi - Verticle Dots Tights in Brown
Shoes: Armidi Gisaci - Vidalia Pump in Dark Brown Croc
Earrings: Untone - Beyond Stud
Bracelet: Untone - Father
Poses: Animazoo - Female Pose 6.1

Thank you BRU for the awesomely inspirational skirt! Love you!!!! Long live Pididdle!

Poperations 2.0

"Window Cill" from Sunday Alone series courtesy of Kasabian Beck - Visit Poperations 2.0
Artist: Kasabian Beck
Model: Vixie Rayna
Skin: Blowpop - Tuesday - Honey Aden #2
Hair: Maitreya - Loelle Pitch
Shirt: Artilleri - Zee Tank in White
Panties: Chic Boutique - Cherry
Headphones: Muism - SL Headphones
Lashes - Cake - Bedroom

Kasabian Beck is back from the dead and SL should be shaking in their boots. He's here to take the art and music world by storm. Poperations 2.0 is open with a new series featuring a voyeuristic look into a "Sunday Alone". The series can be see now in-world on the Wandering Spirits sim.

Working with Kas was a great bit of fun, he works very spontaneously and its a really organic process. He randomly IMs me after my good friend Kali Meads suggested me as a model. He brought me over to his studio and showed off the Polaroid series he was working on...let me just say I was AMAZED. Of course, I agreed to participate! He asked me to pop on some black lingerie and asked me go through my own poses. I mostly heard, "next, next, NO, next...STAY!" He walked around fluidly to find the perfect angle. He asked for a few wardrobe changes and more poses. It all happened so fast and then he was done. A few hours later, he's showing me the work he'd completed. It was the seventh piece in his Polaroid series.

The very next day, I get a texture from Kas and its completely different. He says that he's been inspired. A taxi cab is sent for me and I arrive in Poperations 2.0 and my jaw just drops. Its this entire gallery of raw, erotic, and devastating works entitled Sunday Alone. Kasabian showed me this video by Death Cab for Cutie - What Sarah Said. "Love is watching someone die...so who's going to watch you die?" 

In Kasabian Beck's words, "I wanted the series to be about someones first Sunday alone after a long breakup..what the feeling is like when you wake up in an empty bed, stare at yourself in the mirror alone for the first time after say a couple years. Its a very intimate, yet distant place. Sure you take comfort in say listening to the music you want, but what's the point if you don't have someone there you love to share it." He continued by saying, "Its like you depend on someone for so long that you wonder what to do with yourself now that you're sure you made the right decision, but you're still alone in the end."

Sadly, Kas doesn't post any work online. He must be the last person in SL without a Flickr or Koinup. ;) After a bit of prodding, Kas was kind enough to watermark a few of the pieces so I could promote the series on Flickr and on my blog. Thank you Kas! I've given you a little taste of the series, hopefully this motivates you to see more. Please check out series in-world before it retires.

"The Floor" from Sunday Alone series courtesy of Kasabian Beck - Visit Poperations 2.0
Artist: Kasabian Beck
Model: Vixie Rayna
Skin: Blowpop - Tuesday - Honey Aden #2
Hair: Maitreya - Loelle Pitch
Bra: Insolence - Salome in Black
Lashes - Cake - Bedroom

All works courtesy of Kasabian Beck. All rights reserved.

**Update 11/4/08 with Quotes**

**Update 11/3/08 - Kasabian's new indie-music club, Mixtape will be opening November 8th at 8 pm with DJ Lizzie Schism. IM Kasabian Beck or join the group Mixtape for more details.**

Positions of LAP

Photo courtesy of Kali Meads - Visit Koinup or Captured©.
Photographer: Kali Meads
Model: Vixie Rayna
Skin: Blowpop - Tuesday Honey in Aden #2 Black
Hair: Maitreya Loelle in Pitch
Lingerie - Insolence - Salome in Black

Photo courtesy of Kali Meads - Visit Koinup or Captured©.
Photographer: Kali Meads
Model: Vixie Rayna
Skin: Blowpop - Tuesday Honey in Aden #2 Black
Hair: Maitreya Loelle in Pitch
Lingerie - Insolence - Salome in Black

Dove Swanson of Long Awkward Pose, created four poses for an editorial in the premiere edition of Captured©.  I am excited to announce that Dove will be releasing these poses very soon her store.  Everyone give three cheers for DOVE and LAP!!

Please check out Captured© to see the full editorial.

Visit Vixie Rayna's Flickr

Visit Kali Meads' Studio and Gallery 

Visit Kali Meads' Blog - NeAt TrIcKs

Visit Kali Meads' Koinup

Visit Long Awkward Pose [LAP]

Visit Dove Swanson's Flickr

Visit Dove's Blog - Long Awkward Pose

NeAt TricKs

One of my very first connections in Second Life© was with Kali Meads, this amazing photographer/artist/builder/gallery owner/ curator/sim owner/awesome friend. She was so down-to-earth and approachable, as a noobie I must have been annoying. /me cringes at the memory of Kali watching her "build." Over the last few months I've jumped even further into my career in fashion, but we still keep in touch and work together pretty often. Some of you may recognize her name from the premiere edition of Captured©.  There was a featured focus on Kali and Neat Tricks with a collaboration of poses created by Dove Swanson of Long Awkward Pose.

Photo courtesy of Kali Meads - Visit Koinup or Captured©.

Photographer: Kali Meads

Model: Vixie Rayna

Skin: Blowpop - Tuesday Honey in Aden #2 Black

Hair: Maitreya Loelle in Pitch

Shoes: Stiletto Moody - Gladiator in Black

Lingerie - Insolence - Salome in Black

Pose - Custom Pose by Dove Swanson

Visit the Wandering Spirits sim and jump into a surreal 1950's world. Watch out for the giant robot, as he's got pretty good aim. The gallery is free and supported by donations from the public, so if you like what you see, please donate a few lindens. Visit the SIM and see SL© artists such as Cala Rossini, Maded Shepherd, Nedeko Kohime, Raul Crimson, and even Miss Kali Meads in the Gallery. If you haven't been to Wandering Spirits, you must check it out now.

Photo Courtesy of Cala Rossini (Trixibelle) - Visit Koinup.

Walk across the street and you will find Kasabian Beck's gallery, Poperations 2.0.  He is back from the virtual dead folks!  Kali was kind enough to recommend me to Kasabian as a model for his upcoming Polaroid series.  He randomly IMs me to come down and shoot for that series. The next day Kas shows me his final work and to my surprise,  SIX pieces were created as a stand alone collection entitled Sunday Alone.  You can see the ENTIRE series now in-world at Poperations 2.0. 

Photo Courtesy of Kasabian Beck from the Sunday Alone series entitled "She Loves Me." 

Neat Tricks will celebrate its One Year Anniversary on November 30th, 2008. Yesterday, a murder mystery hunt unveiled itself on the sim. The reward for solving the mystery...the ability to enter a photography competition. First prize is 5,000 Lindens and the cover of a Real Life art book developed by Neat Tricks to be released in Spring 2009. This prize will be judged by Kali Meads herself. Second prize is 2,000 Lindens and a free place to stay at Bellecere Estates furnished by Ladydesire Benoir of Bellecere Estates. Second prize will be voted on by the public the last week of November (one vote per avatar). Winners will be announced at the One Year Anniversary party on November 30th - there will be live bands and a party at Mixtape (the new club built by Kasabian Beck).

For more information on the Neat Tricks Anniversary Competition - visit Neat Tricks website.

For more information about the Sunday Alone series by Kasabian Beck - visit Vixie Rayna's Flickr.

***UPDATE - Dove Swanson will be releasing the custom poses she created for the editorial in the most recent edition of captured.  If you would like to see the full series, please visit my FLICKR. ***

Vixie has been CAPTURED

Impacratrice Breiz was kind enough to send out the Captured Photography Book tear sheets last night. Here are a few highlights from the latest issue along with a few styling notes. Working on this book was an amazing experience. Impa works a bit differently than most photographers in SL. With Breiz, there are NO pose stands. As the model you are expected to show up and WORK. All of the following shoots were on location (except for Swallowtail Designs). None of the locations are photoshopped in, and we all travel in one large troupe and run over the sim like crazy people trying to get the shots done. And, yes I mean run (ctrl-R). Its a wonderfully unique part of working with Captured, we work as a team and make it fun. If you haven't applied for a spot in the next book - What are you waiting for? Click here for details.


Photographer: Impacratrice Breiz
Model/Stylist: Vixie Rayna
Designer: Swallowtail Designs by Natsuko Paravane
Details: Full Prim Pearl Earrings (Short), Branch Necklace (Long)
Location: Studio
October/December 08 Issue-CAPTURED
(C) Breiz Creative Concepts



Photographer: Impacratrice Breiz
Model/Stylist: Vixie Rayna
Designers: Digit Darkes and Sky Everett
Details: Digit Darkes Midnight Dress, Sky Everett White Feathers with Diamonds
Location: Emvee Cuba
October/December 08 Issue-CAPTURED
(C) Breiz Creative Concepts



Photographer: Impacratrice Breiz
Model: Vixie Rayna
Designer: Free Speerit
Details: FS Skin Desidella Miwu
Location: Emvee Cuba
October/December 08 Issue-CAPTURED
(C) Breiz Creative Concepts


Photographer: Impacratrice Breiz
Models: (L-R) Kay Fairey, Vixie Rayna, Keno Beardmore (Standing), Chalice Carling (Sitting)
Designer: Alchemy by Constanza Volare
Details: Alchemy Outfits - Aire in Purple, Happy in Red and Lime, and Supernova in Sky
Location: Tombstone
October/December 08 Issue-CAPTURED
(C) Breiz Creative Concepts

*updated 10/2/08 with SLURL and Links

Have you been CAPTURED?

This was the best weekend ever in SL! After months and MONTHS of hard work, the premiere Captured Photography book was released on Saturday, September 27, 2008 at the Captured Trade Show. The 12 hour event was filled with 8 runway shows featuring the designs of well-known brands such as VictoriaV, Digit Darkes, Baiastice and some amazing new designers like Sevenstar Amat of Stitch by Stitch and Irie Campese of So Many Styles. The SIM was a one-stop shopping extravaganza featuring all of the above designers and many more. If you didn't get a chance to participate in the event, you really missed out on a wonderful day.

The event celebrated the release of the premiere issue of the Captured Photography book. Please enjoy a sneak peek into the book.


Photographer: Impacratrice Breiz
Cover Model: Imogen Miklos
October/December 08 Issue-CAPTURED
(C) Breiz Creative Concepts


Photographer: Impacratrice Breiz
Model: Vixie Rayna
Designer: Digit Darkes and Sky Everett
October/December 08 Issue-CAPTURED
(C) Breiz Creative Concepts

The Captured photography book is the vision and dream of Impacratrice Breiz. Featuring the best in ART, BEAUTY, DESIGN, FASHION, and LIFESTYLE. The book is seasonal and only comes out FOUR times per year. The book is an advertisement free book featuring high quality editorials photographed and produced by the Breiz Creative Concepts team. Selection is competitive as there are only 250 pages per issue. We are currently accepting applications for the January/March 2009 issue. Feel free to contact me (Vixie Rayna) in-world via notecard for an application to be a featured creator.

Online version available here. Pick up the premiere issue of the Captured book today in-world, ONREZ or SLexchange.

Photographer: Impacratrice Breiz
Model: Vixie Rayna
Jewelry: Swallowtail Designs
October/December 08 Issue-CAPTURED
(C) Breiz Creative Concepts


Photographer: Impacratrice Breiz
Model: Ella Quinsette
Skin: Free Speerit
October/December 08 Issue-CAPTURED
(C) Breiz Creative Concepts

Photographer: Impacratrice Breiz
Model: Imogen Miklos
October/December 08 Issue-CAPTURED
(C) Breiz Creative Concepts

Captured Photography Book is now CASTING models. You could be one of 20 models selected for the January issue. Visit the Breiz Creative Concepts headquarters today for your application. Deadline for submissions is October 13th.

Please allow me to say thank you all of the wonderful designers, creators and models involved with this issue. It was a wonderful pleasure to work with you all. Stay tuned for the upcoming issue in January. We are just getting started.

I would like to also say thank you to the Breiz team for their incredible hard-work especially in the last two weeks. Working behind the scenes is a tough role, and everyone stepped up beyond my wildest expectations. To the Breiz MUSES: Chalice, Dmitri, Ella, Gemini, Imo, Kay, Keno, and Laya - you each played an essential role in making the Captured Photography book and Trade Show an unbelievable success. Together we made an incredible TEAM. And finally, to Miss IMPA (aka Impacratrice Breiz - CEO of Breiz Creative Concepts). You shall forever be our fearless leader, visionary genius and waffle queen. We love you.

A Fashion Fairytale...

There once was a girl named Vixie, who lived and breathed fashion. Each day, she threw back the covers and jumped out of bed eager to begin a new quest for fashion fun. She crossed sim after sim in search of the best skirts, shoes, hats, and earrings in the land. One day she stumbled upon some of the most unique designs she had ever seen, with patterns and textures galore. It was as if the heavens opened up and shone a light onto the most glorious fashions in the land. Her eyes grew large as she spied the most spectacular hat she had ever seen. As she stepped forth to pay, evil stepped in and took the hat vendor away. With tears in her eyes, Vixie searched far and wide to find the maker of the magical chapeau of her dreams.

Thus began the story of Sevenstar Amat, designer of Stitch by Stitch, and Miss Vixie. Read the original adventure here.


Its hard to believe that just over a month ago a simple quest for a hat could lead to one of the most unbelievable experiences I've had in Second Life. After that initial conversation with Seven, I blogged about my experience and her designs. Just after I published the blog, I contacted Seven again in-world to provide a link. She loved the post and pictures. As a thank you, she sent me hats and a few outfits. During this time, I was doing a lot of work with Impacratrice Breiz for the Captured Photography Book. She also enjoyed the Stitch by Stitch post and asked if I would consider writing a feature for the book. Impa asked me to edit the article a bit, and to also include more looks. Well I was over the moon with excitement. I finished the styling, shoots and updated article in record time and emailed over to Impa. Within hours she uploaded to Captured, and I was in awe of seeing my article in print. Completely thrilled! **I've included some sneak peeks from the October/December 2008 issue of the Captured Photography book. Full styling details are in the book. Please pick up your copy in-world via OnRez, or SLexchange. If you want to view it out of SL please visit ONLINE VERSION HERE**



Photographer: Vixie Rayna
Model: Vixie Rayna
Designer: Stitch by Stitch
October/December 08 Issue-CAPTURED
(C) Breiz Creative Concepts


Photographer: Vixie Rayna
Model: Vixie Rayna
Designer: Stitch by Stitch
October/December 08 Issue-CAPTURED
(C) Breiz Creative Concepts

Oh so proud!! But, the show had to go on and I was kept busy with styling and shoots for the other features.


A few days passed and I got an excited message from Seven. She thanked me for the article, and I was just so humbled she thought of me. I asked her how she had heard (it was to be a surprise), and she mentioned Rusch Raymaker of Avenue had been given a preview of the book. Good news travels fast! I was just thrilled others enjoyed the piece. Another week past, and the idea for the Trade Show was hatched. Of course we wanted to include Stitch by Stitch, and Seven was generous enough to provide us wardrobe for the show. Fast forward to Saturday, September 27th... I was helping Chalice Carling with some final preparations for the Stitch by Stitch show, and she said, "Vixie, I have something to show you. This is Seven's newest dress and she's designed and named it the 'Miss Vixie' after you." I was absolutely speechless and the tears just sort of welled up. Fashion for me is art, and I'm completely inspired by the content creators and artists in SL. Its an honor for me to even wear their clothes. I feel like I am part of living art. This blog and my work with Captured was a way for me to give a little back to the community that I call home. For me to be able to shine a little light on the work of others gives me such joy. To hear that you somehow inspired another person leaves me with no words. Thank you Sevenstar Amat, for your unbelievably sweet gesture. I am the luckiest girl in SL. HIGGIES! ;)




Style Card:
Skin: Blowpop Honey - Plum Portia
Hair: Novocaine Antoinette - Port
Outfit: Stitch by Stitch Miss Vixie's Dress and Hat
Shoes: Aoharu Ribbon Heels - Black
Earrings: JCNY Diamond Studs - Modified Metal and Gem
Eyes: MMS Turquoise (No Longer for Sale)
Lashes: KM Starry

Southern Comfort

It's been a lazy weekend for me, and now it's Monday. BOOOOO! Have you got the workday blues, too? If so, glam it up with this amazing dress from Kunglers. I tried my best to capture the wonderful layers of the skirt prim, it's too delicious for words. The prim is a mix of animal prints, feathers, and sheer fabrics. The dress is exceptionally well made and is part of Kunglers' couture line. We won't get into a couture in SL debate. Personally, I don't care what the designer calls their clothing, as long as it looks good on me. Yes, I'm vain. In fact, I told one of my friends that I felt like a lioness and rightfully declared myself "Queen of the Jungle." She laughed and basically called me an idiot as lions live in the Savannah. Obviously the designer of Kunglers knows this little fact too as the dress is named Savannah. ;)
Enjoy your Monday and remember, Fashion is FUN!

Model/Photographer: Vixie Rayna

Style Card:
Skin: Blowpop Tuesday Honey in Shir Seductive
Hair: Maitreya Mica 2008 in Autumn
Dress: Kunglers Savannah
Hosiery: Sheer Fishnet Tights
Necklace: JCNY Stella Couture Fashion Necklace (Metal Changed to Black)
Shoes: Stiletto Moody Bitch Bootie in Black
Eyes: MMS Deep Blue (No Longer for Sale)
Lashes: Cake Bedroom Lashes

Music: The Donnas' Fall Behind Me

Feathered Elegance

Here's a little secret about me...shhhh. Vixie loves LOVES peacocks!! Anytime I see a peacock feather in world I do a happy dance. Seriously, you have to see it! You should be picturing the awkward yet adorable Matt dance about now.

Everyone knows about the gorgeous peacock lingerie outfit from Nyla. It was one of my first fashion crushes in SL, I wore it more than I care to admit. But, I never tire of the wonderfully exotic look and mystery of the feather's design. It calls to me..."vixie, vixie, VIXIE!", and I usually end up spending a bunch of lindens to feed my feather-lust.

On a wonderful shopping excursion to Bijou, ***edit 9.12.08 - An anonymous poster informed me that they couldn't find the freebie boxes - I've updated the SLURL and double-checked today and they are still there.*** I spied with my little eye some FREEBIE boxes. I'm not really a freebie whore, but I usually pick them up in the store and check them out when I get home. 90% of my freebies are trashed after inspection. Let me just say that this wasn't the case with the Bijou freebies. They are FABU!! Run, run, run your hot little pixel asses there now to pick up the goodness.

Imagine my sheer giddiness when I opened one of folders and spotted the name "Chanson Fur with Peacock Feather" in the DIVA outfit. As soon as I attached the prim I started dancing, and then quickly regained composure as I was naked. Bijou's Chanson outfit itself is quite splendid with a fitted purple ruched cocktail dress. Its definitely the best freebie dress I've ever seen, but I wanted a challenge. And, as an avid mash-up artist, I decided to can the the freebie dress portion and dig in and find some wonderfulness to show off this fur.

The fur and feathers are amazing textures, and I really wanted to play with that concept some more. Baiastice has the most wonderful formal dress skirt prims. I chose a silk and lace skirt from the Black Tart outfit. For the bodice, I had to go with Nicky Ree. The Florence gown has two bodice options, and I went with the fitted corset. The lines were simple yet sleek and it didn't distract from the fur. JCNY's Ballerina Diamond bracelet was the perfect evening jewelry. On my feet, I'm wearing the Maitreya Grace heels with Sheer stockings. Additionally featured items include: Blowpop Tuesday Rai Sins in Pink, Bijou Luminous eyes in Sapphire (normal size), Cake Berlin hair in Cocoa and Cake Bedroom lashes. Poses are from Pididdle and Luth.

Even when we are being elegant, its still about fun my lovelies! Go out there and express yourself in this wonderful art called fashion!

Model/Photographer: Vixie Rayna

Music: Mayonnaise by Smashing Pumpkins, This Year's Love by David Grey

Casualness...

Some days you just feel like throwing on shorts and a tee, and heading out to do errands.  Today was the perfect day to play up some casual-ness.  The Elephant Outfitters shorts, are some of the nicest in SL. The texture is amazing, and I love the prim leg cuffs.  Purple is one of my favorite colors, so I added a flowy tunic tank from Random to top of the outfit.  Swallowtail has an AMAZING new collection of jewelry.  This bracelet is from the Naturalist collection, and I never want to take this bracelet off.  The flower details are stunning and the colors are bright and fun.  Of course the new ribbon hair from MMS, just brought the look together.

I added these to my Flickr stream a few days ago, but I wanted to drop a little blog to share a bit more.  Enjoy!! And, remember that Fashion is Fun!

Style Card:
Skin: Blowpop Honey -  Rai Sins in Pink 
Hair: MMS Ribbon in Chestnut (Ribbon Modified to Yellow)
Shirt: Random Solid Braided Tank Tunic in Purple
Shorts: Elephant Outfitters Jordyn in Twig
Bracelet: Swallowtail Naturalist
Earrings: +plus Yellow Plastic
Eyes: MMS Turquoise (No Longer for Sale)
Lashes: Cake Bedroom Lashes
Pose: LAP and Pididdle

Music: Magic's in the Make-up by No Doubt

Beat City

There is something to say about music, how a simple song takes you back to a time and place.  Do you remember the first time you heard "Beat City"? Most would say Ferris Bueller's Day Off, sometime in the 80's.  Honestly, I think the first time I really heard it was two months ago. One of those wonderful virtual dates that most just don't understand.  Yes, I was in virtual love.  "Was" being the keyword.  It ended some time ago, but I guess there are some days when you can't help but reminisce about all the things that could have been.  You are probably wondering why I haven't named some sappy song, but I guess that isn't how the brain works.  I randomly heard "Beat City" and bam...I'm missing Dave.   

In an effort to distract myself, I tore through my inventory to find something a little bit tough. The Muism black suit with white suit, jumped out at me.  It sort of had this Chrissie Hynde edge to it, and of course "gonna use my style, gonna use my side-step...gonna use my, my, my imagination!" screams through my veins.  I head over to the Glam World sim, and walked about finding the perfect place to shoot as the music coursed through my veins.  I know its not obvious, but its me.

Style Card:  
Skin: Blowpop Aden in Black #1 in Honey
Hair: Novocaine Caelyn in Licorice
Oufit: Muism Black Suit/White Shirt (Rolled-Up Jacket and Cuffs)
Necklace: Swallowtail Circle Panic
Shoes: Maitreya Frenzy in Bordeaux
Pose: Vain Inc Bedroom

Music: Beat City by The Flowerpots, Kiss Off by Violent Femmes, and Brass in Pocket by The Pretenders

p.s. He was missing me, too...

++edited 9/13/08 added picture and labels++

Fall Fashion <3

Fall is upon us, and I couldn't wait to hit the stores and put together some fun outfits. Of course, the Aoharu Walk shoe sale was all over the feeds, so I had to jump over and pick up some cute shoes. While there, I went to check out the new arrivals. I was in fashion heaven, The colors are rich almost jewel tones, and the greens, oranges and browns screamed fall! I picked up some cute things and ran home to put together some looks. Only thing missing is the leaves!

**Note - The ribbon socks from Aoharu (pictured far right) were a mod mess. The ribbons are prims, which gives a great rich look, but you almost need to have an instruction card to fit them properly. Or maybe have a notecard with leg slider numbers that work.***

Style Card (L to R):
Far Left -
Skin: Blowpop Aden in Black #1 in Honey
Hair: Zero Style Ayase in Raven
Hat: Wild O PS
Shirt:Cachet Carrie Shirt (From outfit)
Vest: Stitch by Stitch Pauline Jacket (From outfit)
Pants: Gigi Couture Striped High Waisted Pants
Scarf: Aoharu Afghan Stole in Black
Socks: Neferia Abel Black Socks
Shoes: Shiny Things Ruffle Boot in Black
Pose: Grapevine Fashionality Stand 004

Middle -
Skin: LF Chai Cole in Ginger
Hair: Maitreya Chloe in Coffee (From Hair Fair 2008)
Hat: Part of the hair
Outfit: Aoharu Pixy Tunic Set in Brown
Bangle: Armidi Gisaci Healing Giraffe in Brown

Shoes: Aoharu Walk Back Ribbon Short Boots in Brown
Eyes: MMS Deep Blue (No Longer for Sale)
Lashes:KM Starry
Pose: Luth Movement 10

Far Right -
Skin: Blowpop Tuesday Rai Sins Nude Brun in Honey
Hair: Maitreya Mica 2008 Gold Blonde
Hat: Aoharu Fluffy in Brown
Outfit: Aoharu Short Coat in Brown
Socks: Aoharu Ribbon Socks in Brown
Shoes: Shiny Things Ruffle Boot in Brown
Eyes: MMS Deep Blue (No Longer for Sale)
Lashes:KM Starry
Pose: Luth Pose 14

Music: Daydreamer by Adele

WaRpAiNt!!!

Are you part of the Blowpop Army? If not, you could have missed out on Annyka Bekker's first Flickr contest.  She sent a massive order to all of her "troops" (aka group) "looking for your most spectacular photos, in your favourite Blowpop skin." Being the Blowpop skin whore that I am, I loaded my inventory and went to town finding the perfect look.



I had Elysium Eilde of Second Look Studio take a few pictures for the contest and the results were spectacular. The above picture was taken on location at SLS, and I'm wearing Yip's Golden Bird, Zero Style Hair, and Blowpop Shir Angelic in Honey.

Each day I checked the stream to see what had been added.  The entries in the contest were stunning, and the lucky winners received Lindens and billboard displays in Annyka's store.  I wasn't one of the lucky winners, but Annyka was kind enough to send out these special edition skins to all of the contestants.  The eye make-up is a wonderful splash of color that begs for one to go out and have a little fun.  



Style Card:
Skin: Blowpop Warpaint in Honey (Special Gift for Contestants)
Hair: MMS Hera in Coffee
Hairpiece: Artilleri Orchids In Yellow
Earrings: Natalie Defiant Vinyl Records
Eyes: MMS Deep Blue (No Longer for Sale)
Lashes: KM Starry Lashes
Model: Vixie Rayna

Photo taken in-world by Vixie Rayna with minimal editing with Mac's Preview image color correction sliders. Like this picture, check out my Flickr stream.

Neo-Japanese

Another shoot, another day! Impacratrice Breiz of Breiz Creative Concepts and staff contributer of The Best of Second Life Magazine is one of the handful of fresh fashion photographers in SL. Her work is extremely collaborative, she expects the model to MODEL! She called five models in and asked us to show off our Neo-Japanese style. We got all dolled up in our street wear and TP'd to the SICK sim. Good thing I was wearing Chucks, because we were running to get that shot. Impa's shoots are pure energy as you shoot guerilla style. We had a great time, and the shot came out wonderfully! See this picture and article in the latest issue of The Best of Second Life magazine on stands now.

Tips for Impacratrice's shoots: Be sure to have a monster inventory of poses to choose from because there is no pose ball magic on her sets. Oh and she shoots on location see wear something comfortable to run in.

Models pictured (L to R): Imogen Miklos, Eleania Rosenberg, Chalice Carling, Kay Fairey, and Vixie Rayna. Photograph and Graphic Design by Impacratrice Breiz for The Best of Second Life Magazine.



Model/Photographer Vixie Rayna:
Skin: Less Than 3 - Glam Skins 2 - Vice Versa Deux in Tan
Hair: MMS - Hera in Light Brown
Eyes: MMS - Turquoise (No Longer For Sale)
Lashes: Cake Bedroom Lashes Above (Bianca Foulon Feather Lashes in the Shoot)
Earrings: Natalie Defiant - Vinyl Records (Cassette Earrings in the Shoot)
Bracelet: 69 - Sprinkles in Black
Clothes: DeLa - Jessica Tank Top in Orange with Nemo Blue Stripe Stole, Dora Jean Shorts in Blue 02 with Turned Up Leg Hems and Button Flap Back Pockets
Socks: MiaSofia - Striped Wool Socks in Mia
Shoes: Akeyo - Chucks (Modified Purple and Yellow)

A Stressful Business

Kali Meads is a mad photography genius and this photo is proof! Not sure where she got the title from, maybe because Keno and I were having trouble balancing on a rock (darn SL gravity). Or maybe, its stressful when you start to lose your skin. :P It was fun times anyway.

Music: Morningwood's Sugarbaby

Style Card:

Hair - Minnu

Shoes - Stiletto Moody

Jewelry - DeLa (Vixie) and Armidi (Keno)

Skin - Blowpop (Vixie) and Redgrave (Keno)

Contest Time

One of my favorite activities in SL, besides shopping is checking out the contest scene. Its great fun, you meet people, and gain exposure in the fashion industry. I'm not contest crazy as I may enter one per month, but I've had some luck with them (/me gratuituously plugs her May JCNY title win). Its exciting to put looks together for a contest - because you get another excuse to shop and take pictures. Give me a V-A-I-N! :P

Finding out about the contests is pretty tricky, sometimes I hear from friends or group notices. But, the best group is Contest Central. You get weekly updates, and you can pick and choose which contests work best for you.

One poor little contest note card sat idly in my inventory until yesterday when I got "give me a project bug." Bianca Foulon is a well-known designer in SL for her inventive creations and wannabe ad campaign seen in many in-world publications. Some contests require you submit pictures in-world via note card or folder, while others ask you to post pictures on Flickr or Koinup. The BiancaF contest is featured on Flickr. The rules for this contest stipulated that you all clothing, shoes, accessories and skin be from Bianca F.

After visiting the store and getting a feel for BiancaF's new campaign, I settled into buying a few items to complete my look. I TP'd to my roof studio faster than you could blink and turned up my iTunes. A classic Bjork song "Army of Me" really inspired me to capture a fierce look oozing with intensity. It couldn't have come out better for me - the styling evolved as the shoot progressed. I guess some days you get lucky! Even if I don't win this competition, I had oodles of fun working on it and the response was terrific.

The flagship BiancaF store is on the Velvet sim and one of my favorite shopping haunts (FTV, DPS, Vain, Bax Coen, Mimiriki all have stores here). Check out the store and give the August contest a go! You have nothing to lose!

On Vixie:
Model/Photographer - Vixie Rayna
Skin: BF fata2 ivory mask special edition -- vain
Eyes: QS golden
Lashes: BF featherblack
Earrings: BF twiggycopper
Clothes: BF mash-up of boleroneropelliccia, blogoblack, cappa leggings, and daikirizebra
Hair: Kin aaron black
Shape: Vixie Rayna
Pose: BB 23 stand by Antossperandeo Allen

Photo taken on my roof, minimal editing through color correction sliders via Mac's preview image program.

Fashion Fun

Reading the fashion planet feeds is part of my daily ritual, and after DAYS of no internet I needed my fashion fix. As soon as I saw the Dressmaker's hat by Stitch by Stitch on the feed, I knew I had to have it. I SLURL'd it immediately. It did prove difficult as the SLURL took me to the location that didn't have the hat in it. But, I passed the time wisely buy snatching up an adorable tartan skirt.

The skirt is made up of multiple fabric layers each with a different tartan pattern. I loved the mash-up of the prints, its different but it just worked. After snatching up the skirt and every hat in the boutique - I searched the owner, Sevenstar Amat and visited her other locations. At the Stitch by Stitch mainstore, I found the Dressmaker hat and I swear I heard angels singing. It was as if I'd found the Holy Grail of hats.

Unfortunately, the vendor wasn't working. My shopping orgasm was squelched on the spot. So, I pulled up the owner's profile and shot her a friendly IM informing her of my vendor cock-block. She had me funnel over the lindens and I had my hat in seconds. Yippie!!! All was well in the world again. The owner is a lovely lady and we chatted a bit about her designs and my love of hats. She was kind enough to send me a lovely beret and an invite to join her group (there are lovely group gifties too). You really need to stop by the location to see them in person. I'm afraid my piccie doesn't do her hat justice. Its now my favorite hat - and that's no small feat as I own over 100 different ones.



So, after one of the best shopping trips ever - I headed home to capture the look for my blog. I unpacked the hat and swear that it was even better than I imagined. It has wonderful ribbons of many patterns and colors and some pins and a thimble attached to the side of the hat. I just knew the tartan skirt would be perfect compliment to the hat. As I dove back into my inventory, and attached the skirt I started to jump up and down. The skirt prim comes with that wonderful belt and fits perfectly (no resizing needed).

After a few minutes of basking in the glory of the skirt and doing a few twirls, I realized I had a challenge ahead of me to complete the look. I spent a good 10 minutes in my closet finding the perfect shirt to match. Shopping on the Retrology sim, I picked up this cardigan with prim scarf from Thimbles ages ago, and never found anything that I could wear with it. It works with the complex patterns of the skirt beautiful, complimenting but not over-powering the look. Although, the cardigan was unbuttoned and showing way too much skin, so I went back to my closet to find an undershirt layer. I played with colors a lot, until I found some patterned undershirts from my formal wear collection. This polka dot pattern camisole is from the Leezu Baxter Noir collection. Its from the Miriam dress and it played up the idea of patterns beautifully as there is a polka dot ribbon in the hat.

On to the feet, I pulled out my favorite ruffle boots from Shiny Things. The detail on these shoes is fantastic the are classic victorian with a modern flair. I added my yellow tights from the Yuk Fu cupcake outfit. I threw on a my Kaya black onyx and silver bangle from Zaara. Completing the look, I'm in my favorite Blowpop Tuesday skins (Aden #1 in Honey), Cake's Bedroom lashes, and Sophia hair in Pitch from Maitreya. The pose is Geometry 02 from Torrid Wear.