Persona - Dita Knit Blouse

I think that I'm just going to make myself a huge sign for the wall that says, "Buy the Fat Pack!" because I never do and I always regret it. I knew that the Dita Knit Blouse from Persona was going to be fabulous and I knew I was going to have a use for each and every one of the seven colors, but do I listen to my little inner frugal shopper? Of course not! That would make sense! (Naturally, I wound up immediately buying two after trying on the first, LOL!).

Absolutely perfect for fall, this beautifully textured, highly detailed, soft and fuzzy beauty comes in warm, muted shades of white, purple, black, brown, red, green, and blue and works equally well with jeans or skirts. The individual price is L$125 per color and the Fat Pack (yes, buy it) of all 7 colors sells for L$611. The layer options are quite nice with a two piece combination choice of shirt/undershirt top and pant/underpant bottom or a full jacket layer. Add the prim sleeves and collar and you are out the door. (One note: The pants layer is mislabled as "top" in the green - it is indeed the wide knit bottom.)

Pull on an autumn delight at the Persona Main Store.

Top Left:
Top - Dita Knit Blouse (Green) by Persona
Hair - Miranda (Coffee Bean) by House of Heart
Eyes - Transparency Shine (Forest Green) by Glanz
Skin - Sunkissed V1 (Smokey 02 DB) by [KA] Skins
Jewelry - Crystal Charm Set (Money) by Earthstones

Bottom Right:

Top - Dita Knit Blouse (Black) by Persona

Kilt - Ruffian Blue (Women's) by Boom

Boots - Ankle Boots (Black Patent) by Bax Boots

Stockings - #24 (Torn, Lace Top, Black) by Sheer

Hair - Solid Wave (Neo Black) by Find Ash

A Perfect Place - SiniStyle (Goth Horror)

Graveyards, desanctified churches, gas lights, and absolutely magnificent trees make the SiniStyle Design Main Store sim a photographer's dream for All Hallows' Eve. From the Addams Family architecture to the occasional bat (both in the trees and in the air), this is simply a wonderful setting for any dark and stormy shoots. I received a review copy of EarthStones newest set, Desmodus, in gold and opal and decided I wanted to do a few shots as if I was entering the photo contest - All Hallows Eve theme with jewelry as the focus. Wow, so much harder than it looks...
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I bought a few copies of Desmodus myself (the bats are just too wonderful) in black steel and silver, red jasper and moonstone - so that I would have a few combinations to play with. Then I pulled out a variety of outfits and hairstyles and started posing, turning, playing with lighting and desperately trying to get a perfect shot. 104 photos. All over the sim. With and without bats, in church, in the graveyard, near the wrought iron gates. Black. Red. White. Lace and no lace. Updos and down, long and short. Heck, I finished a pot of coffee before I ever got to the first crop.
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Finally, though, after twisting and turning and zooming and moving - some shots I thought were about the jewelry and the goth horror atmosphere and not me or the outfit. I tucked the SiniStyle Design sim landmark in my "Great Settings" folder and you should consider doing the same (and don't forget to check out the store as well - it's haunted!).
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For all the Wednesdays in the world, feel at home at the SiniStyle Design Main Store Sim.

Top left:
Hair - Jasmyn (Black) by Analog Dog
Skin - Sunkissed V1 (Smokey 02) by [KA] Skins
Eyes - Transparency Shine (Clear Grey) by Glanz
Top - Knit Jacket (Black) by CE Cubic Effect
Jewelry - Desmodus (Gold/Opal) by EarthStones

Bottom right:

Hair - Coral (Black) by House of Heart

Jewelry - Desmodus (Silver/Red Jasper) by Earthstones

Dress - Scheherazade (Bloodstone) by DG Innovations

Group Gift of the Month - July

Well, this was a huge month for dresses and gowns - Dina from Evie's Closet, Cayon Classic from LMC, Satin Shine Glitter Gown from Nicky Ree, Amicitia Amy from Tuli, Vivaci from Kouse's Sanctum, Elsinore from Beauty Avatar and Amity from PixelDolls. Any one of these would have made me happy for the month, much less the hair from House of Heart and Philotic Energy or jewelry from Earthstones and Baiastice. There were also poses by Long Awkward Pose and Striking Poses as well as elemental particle effects for hands from Designs of Darkness. Maitreya gave away a terrific casual belt, silent sparrow gave a richly detailed suit and LeeZu Baxter treated her group to a great pair of leggings. An abundance of riches for sure, so I parked myself for a few hours and tossed on various combinations to try and get as many included as possible.

This was a month for a lot of group changes - some closed their doors, some were inactive, some overly spammy. I also dropped a few where all the notices seemed to be about my adding the store to my picks (which have even more limited numbers than my groups). That opened a few doors, however, and this month's winning gift came from one of those - the Ewing Events group. I joined this group after attending several of their Linden birthday runway events and have been overjoyed by some of the terrific post show bags from a variety of designers - not to mention the opportunity to attend some amazing events. One of the "party favors" just screamed winner - the House of Heart gift bag with 9 different hairstyles in colors to make everyone happy - even Ruth. ;)
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Ewing Fashion District at Ischia

(Group Name - Ewing Events VIP Guest List, Cost to Join - IM Required, L$0, Group Tag - Ewing Events VIP)

What About Ruth?

I never change my shape. I like my shape and I've adjusted so many things in my wardrobe to fit it just right that it seems like a silly thing to play with, especially since I'm happy with it. That said, when I saw Alaska Metropolitan's Ruth Challenge at My Virtual World, I just had to play. Since I was also working on my July Group Gift of the Month post, I decided it would be fun to see if Ruth could be a fashionista wearing group freebies as well since it was a terrific month for gowns and hair. Could some of the freebies from designers all over SL help the poor girl look less like a linebacker and more like runway material?

I created a brand new Ruth shape, hopped on the old pose stand and started analyzing. First, the shoulders. Eeek! Poor Ruth - I bet she can ring the bell at the county fair, but she sure needs some softer edges, so I went digging for feminine gowns and hair with some size to them. The Feral hair gift from House of Heart not only deemphasized the shoulder width, it softened the look overall enough to risk a more fitted dress to accentuate Ruth's waist. Nicky Ree's Satin Shine Glitter Gown complemented the deep chocolate of the hair perfectly and the delicate earrings and necklace from SLink finished the look. The full skirt further balanced the shoulders and and the classic restrained jewelry gave Ruth a very ladylike look overall.
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Update - Candy Flanagan over at iCandy has compiled a link list to the many blogs that gave Ruth a makeover.
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It's good to know that, if Ruthed, I have a backup plan. Check back for my next post where I look at more of the July freebies like the ones Ruth is wearing.
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Both photos:

Shape - Ruth (default) by Linden Labs

Hair - Feral (Bitter Chocolate) by House of Heart

Skin - Tasha 11 Portrait Skin (Tan) by Laqroki

Eyes - Transparency Shine Eyes (Forest Green) by Glanz

Dress - Satin Shine Glitter Gown (Red) by Nicky Ree

Jewelry - Diamond Solitaire by SLink