Jonathan Hugo has been in SL for one year and has just begun his own clothing line, Fuse, featuring “casual, classy and understated” fashions for both men and women. Once I tried on the first item in the folder, I knew I would become a customer very quickly. It’s the texturing that truly impressed me - and not just in a “good for a new designer way” - but in a “wow, this is hand drawn and fabulous” way. I hope she doesn’t mind me saying so, but his work reminds me of the early Savvy? in terms of attention to detail and hand drawn fabrics.

At Fuse there is a small collection of items including my favorites, the “Manhattan” slacks, which come in three colors and are sincerely well done with hand drawn belt and careful detail. My pal Phoenix is wearing the chocolate trousers on the right, while I have the aubergine and pacific ones on. My sweater is by Armidi and the jacket on the right, the jacket from the Savvy? “Eve of Destruction” outfit.

Here’s hopefully a better look at the detail and the texture. It is understated - but if you appreciate those subtle details, you will like these a lot. Note, there are no prim accents (cuffs, etc) with these but it made no difference to me. I prefer drawn belts on tailored trousers in most cases.

Next is “Frida” - a flexi skirt and top outfit, again featuring excellent antique clasp detail and banded waist on the top (shown in several colors) and skirt base. The skirt is flexi but the movement is more of a flutter. My favorite part of Frida was most definitely the detail on the top and the richness of the colors.

More after the cut…
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But these aren’t sweaters, coats, or hats, these are fantastic new boots from Lyra Muse and Last Call Vamp and they made my day.

If you don’t own any of Lyra’s boots then you’re missing what I personally think are the most rich and realistic leather textures in SL footwear. This is my opinion but if you own any, then you know what I’m talking about.

The “Emberlei” boots come in coal, chocolate, gold and silver leathers with fur tops. These boots are something I could probably never get away with offline but feel totally at home wearing in SL. They are cheeky and fun - not to mention artfully crafted down to every buckle.

Here’s a look at the leather combinations available (coal/arctic shown above).

From left to right: Coal/Sable, Chocolate/Tawny, Chocolate/Sable

More after the jump…
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I don’t think I have ever had so many questions on where a pair of trousers I was wearing were from. So many that I thought maybe a quick little blog about them will reach the people that either wondered or more who would enjoy them. I am pretty sure these aren’t new at all (and many of you probably had them long ago), but the simple navy cropped trousers below are from Fashionably Dead in the newly redesigned Tableau. They’re not in any fall/winter theme, but I think they’re pretty perfect.

The blouses are the new sugar blouses from Honey Kitty. Available in other colors, but I chose white and soft pink. I also added riding gloves from Savvy? with the white blouse and pale pink heels from Paper Couture (which I believe is closed at the moment) with the pink.

The shoes on the left are from Periquita, where you can find a nice selection of sculpted shoes in a host of colors, patterns and styles. I am partial to round toed heels offline (well, I currently have two broken toes but you get the idea), so my favorites are those. Two styles I picked up are below: Suzzy Orange and Amy Gray for a very reasonable $200L each.

So, very simple but I liked it :p and I hope you all are well.

Skin ~ LF Chai Diabla and Midnight (cream); Hair ~ Armidi Milano in silver and pearl

My heart is so heavy and I know many feel tremendous loss, whether you knew him or just admired his gifts in Second Life. I think those who were blessed to know him were better people for having had that blessing. These last days and weeks surely have been beyond difficult, horrific really, for his close friends, partner and beloved family.

As for me, I was hesitant to show my own grief publicly for fear of diluting what’s inside me. But ultimately, he knows how I feel. What can I even say about someone who made my Second Life - and as our friendship grew, my Real Life - so much more special? How do you say goodbye to someone whom you never hugged physically but whom you looked up to and spent so much time talking to in this strange place? How do I properly show love for a friend whom I miss so much? I suppose, there is no one way. You just do what you can - think of what he might have wanted you to do - and be grateful to have had the experiences you did, however short.

If you weren’t lucky enough to really know him, then you might not know that he was one of the most generous people you could hope to meet. Generous, devilishly funny, so bright and so sharp a wit it was truly startling, and so very eager to please. You might not know that he took criticism to heart even though friends told him he shouldn’t. He did and there was surely no shortage of criticism - and sadly, probably still isn’t. He strove - literally tirelessly - to make people’s second lives a little better with his work, but yet, the ways he touched my life (and so many others) were far more profound than what he created in Second Life.

Not long ago, I was looking at his profile because I missed him. There weren’t many days that I didn’t talk to him about one thing or another. Stupid things and then not so light too. I found this passage on friendship in his profile picks and it very simply offers a glimpse inside a soul. Funny I had missed it until then…

“Second Life has been such an interesting experience for me. In any life, regardless of who you are and what you do, there will be those who love you and those who hate you. Every lesson learned is valuable and I’m a big enough person to admit I’ve made mistakes. But I’ve learned from them and after the very tough last two years in RL, it was proven to me time and time again that the friendships we are sometimes lucky enough to make in SL really can translate into RL. I don’t open up often to people - but I thank my friends in here, the ones who had patience to stick around and get to know me. Each of you is such a gift and a blessing. And I feel like a better person for just knowing you all. <3 All we have at the end of the day are the days that we’ve spent and the lessons they offer us for our wanderings tomorrow. <3″

Like an echo…

I miss you. Thank you for your friendship.

All my heart,

Gillian