In a world where we really can wear anything, I said recently that I still generally stick to items that I feel I would wear offline, even if the opportunities were few and far between. The point is, much of my SL (and offline) wardrobe is “wearable” in a fairly broad sense.

However, among the SL designers I have come to follow and respect, there are those who have pushed fashion into places where the result is more abstract or interpretive - not to mention, completely unexpected. It’s not as easy as “click to wear,” which I think might be the point. Marni Grut - a RL fashion student - is one of those designers, with her brand Royal Blue.

Marni wearing Draconic Kiss skin, Hair from Zsa Zsa’s House of Beauty, Lico Lico crown, Fleur gloves and Royal Blue Frills top

I first met Marni sometime last year and was a fan of her style and her completely unapologetic use of shapes to create items far off the beaten path. Her earlier releases were original but still wearable. I definitely remember thinking, “Oh, interesting…” but it wasn’t, “Wait, what???” In fact, Marni’s very first design was crafted on only her second day in SL - a Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis inspired suit, not surprisingly.

Moving along though, many of her releases became more abstract and in some cases, left me thinking - I might not be “getting” this. It’s the same with other kinds of art, I think. There are painters you understand and those who leave you thinking, “how am I supposed to see this?” or this case, wear.

So when Marni began releasing items like her Eternal Universe dress and Poof Poof skirts, I found myself wondering if I could pull them off. At the same time, when you see someone bringing something truly unique to the mix, you have to respect it, if not embrace it.

I sat down with Marni to talk about her designs, look at what’s new and get a sneak peak at what’s next…it turns out the only requirement is a sense of humor.

Our discussion and her designs after the cut…
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It’s been a while since I checked out Pin Upshaw and her shop Pin Up Dolls, featuring mostly casual, retro designs of days gone by. However, Pin has released a series of gowns and short, sassy dresses for the color lovers out there. The bright colors in the short “Cosmo” dresses were the pick me up I needed today as I continue to plow through RL work on a weekend. She also released a series of gowns that you can see later.

The short Cosmo dresses come in 8 colors (with gold or silver bodice detail) for $200L each (no copy/transfer) - so an excellent price. A pack of 4 costs $700L.

I didn’t accessorize much beyond ETD hair, as I felt like the dresses were the real focus. I’m loving the colors (particularly the orange) and the gather details in the bodice, although there’s something with the skirt movement that’s more like a flutter than a full flex. You’ll also need to watch the skirt with certain AO poses, as your bumm and hips may find their way out of the skirt.

See the Cosmo gowns and more after the jump…
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I think I have said numerous times that I can’t imagine another coat in SL that I would need, seeing as I feel like I have purchased dozens over the last few months. But inevitably another comes along that I have to have *someone stop me*. I did have some restraint though, I picked this Militia Coat up at Canimal in navy only, although it’s available in olive, black and brown as well. It comes with jacket, base pants, flexi coat bottom and sculpted collar and cuffs.

With apologies to Canimal for completely girling it up.

I paired it with the new Heartwood necklace in silver from Earthones and Ice Queen earrings from Diamonde. I added fishnets from Celestial Studios that have been stuck to me for several days, gloves from Fleur, and the Asuka boots from L&E.

The sculpted necklace has a navy wrapped chain, so even though there’s nothing military-style about it whatsoever, I was definitely wearing it for a little contrast.

My hair is Truth Bridgette and skin is PXL Creations Linda Light Passion (natural eyes).

Quickie (for once). Check them out at Canimal for $400L (they’re no copy/transfer).

(ps - I snapped these in Windlight and am much happier with the outcome now).

My time in SL is very limited at the moment due to RL work, but I did want to show you one of the (fairly) new releases from a continuously evolving designer, Annah Whitfield at AnnaH. She’s someone I’ve known for a while and I’ve had fun watching her offerings evolve to more sophisticated ensembles with layer options, texture depth and detail, and mixing and matching potential.

But here’s the outfit I picked out of the group of new releases from AnnaH. This is “Simone” and it comes with numerous layers and ways to wear it. My favorite mix is the shorts, paired with the bolero jacket and silk tank (with great detail). I added a scarf from Veschi (from the Muffin Top dress), but in general, I try to show releases as they are provided.

The shorts have sculpted cuffs, as does the jacket. I would have preferred a more finished cuff on the shorts, rather than having to add the prims, but that’s my personal preference and I know a lot of people like sculpted attachments. I tend to use them mostly with jeans and other trousers.

Now, in the production viewer, the attachments basically blend with the mesh textures. There’s always some difference with prims skirts, cuffs, etc, but in general, it’s usually not stark and doesn’t detract significantly from an outfit. However, in Windlight, here’s what sculpted cuffs look like for me. This is not an issue with Annah’s items; it happens to me with many I have tried and seems to be especially bad if you have direct local lighting nearby.

Myg talked about this very issue yesterday on her blog. I don’t know if the answer is a different tinting strategy by designers or to make all attachments mod so customers can try to fix this issue themselves depending on their pre-sets. The catch is, Windlight is still quite buggy, so not every designer is working in it yet - and even if they are, since each person can change their personal lighting scheme individually with vastly varying presets and local lighting, attachments might not look the same to everyone. I don’t know what the answer is…but if someone has thoughts on the best way to mitigate for your average shopper, I’d love to hear them. Perhaps it’s not affecting everyone the same way?

More…
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