Armory Armour

She's a very formal girl... 

the kind you don't bring back from ba-hars...

First of all, yes, I just slayed an innocent song by Rick James. Secondly, "ba-hars" is the two-syllable version of bars. Third, why would a formal girl be in a bar anyway? And, finally, yes I am very, very lame. You SHUSH!

It hit me suddenly that there was no formal attire featured in The Girl Vermilion. So I decided to throw something together using one of THE best gown designers in SL, The White Armory. I'm sure these real life and Second Life designers need no introduction, but if so, here an introduction:

Beautiful, yeah? Well, there's more where that came from!

I happened upon The White Armory when my partner wanted to reopen his Gorean RP sim, Port Shiva. Of course, I needed medieval (for the free woman role) gowns ASAP! I'm pretty sure someone recommended the Armory to me. And, I'm telling you, I probably have more TWA gowns than I have Truth Hair. And that's really saying something!

All objects are resizable. All objects and clothing layers are highly detailed; I don't think I have bought a gown that contained less than 13 pieces in its boxed version.

When I started buying TWA gowns, each was $899L. That's not bad for these beautiful, hand-drawn designs, but it was not so easy to buy as many gowns as I wanted. But the prices for gowns have decreased, and there are ALWAYS (do you hear me? ALWAYS) stupid sales going on at TWA. I just bought two gowns for 300L each only yesterday! I've purchased a gown for as cheap as 100L, I kid you not. If you want to know about and take advantage of these sales, join the in-world group. Speaking of ze group, EVERY Sunday, I get a TWA gown FOR FREE just for being a TWA member. EVERY Sunday. Not every once in a while, not because I paid a fee to join (because there is none), but just because I am a group member! Don't you want to have four TWA gowns a month?

It doesn't stop there; there's an entire upstairs outlet where most, if not all, gowns are 250L and down. Plus, the outlet is always fattened with more and more gowns! Now, the new releases are 799L each.

Here's the gown I'm wearing for this blog entry. It's called Quest for Power.It costs 699L in spite of the vendor art. This is a STEAL; go get it!

The next gown is the Heavenly Body gown! This was my very first TWA purchase; I bought it for the Gorean RP, Port Shiva. It's only 500L!

Finally, here is the The Heart Calls gown. It's 799L!

I own all three of these gowns, and although the vendor art is quite lovely, the in-world gowns are not done justice in my teeny weeny blog!  

And, before I go, the designers and store owners are some of the nicest people you'll encounter in SL. Bee Dumpling and Ida Donaldson are simply amazing! There's not a time when I have bothered either with a notecard or an IM and they were not absolutely willing to help and bend over backwards to bring a smile upon my face! They are great people. Seriously. 

There, get ye!

Mephisto

WHAT I'M WEARING:

TOP: Shirley Mesh Sweater in Blue / Gold (Baiastice)

BOTTOMS: Sorry Mom Jeans in Dark Wash (TokiDoki)

SHOES: Anais Boots in Copper (ALEIDA)

EARRINGS: of the 2009 AG Double Pearl Set (Only 20L! Buy here).

HAIR: Nina in Sin [Blacks] (Exile)

EYES: Natural Mesh Eyes in Dark Brown (Izzie's)

BAG: Lang Suede Satchel in Light Brown [FTLO Millennium Hunt] (PRISS)

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I fought the mesh trend for so long. I don't despise change, but after I'd read a post on the Phoenix Viewer blog about possible issues, I was very hesitant to try anything mesh. Then, you could always find me highly (and very vocally) resistant to making the change.

But then the promise of NO MORE PRIM SKIRTS persuaded me to think again. I just downright hate prim skirts. Shorts with "fabric" in front of them? Ugh. When my and others' avies move, the legs stretch and warp the texture of the prim. Ew!

After I tried my first mesh item, which was the Yippie hair from Lelutka, the rest was history! I'm a total meshwhore (or meshy whore?) now. I actually prefer mesh over non-mesh items, for the detail and for the simplicity. (Many mesh items, such as dresses, are one piece with no need for multiple clothing layers). 

Don't get me wrong; there are some GREAT non-mesh items, as you've seen. (For instance - and disclaimer; this may be a very premature estimation - I tried Truth's first mesh hair, Janey, and I'm more a fan of their non-mesh hair). But, for the most part, I'm a meshy whore! 

Mighty

Truth has released new hair!

WHAT I'M WEARING:

TOP: Flowered Tank in Coal (PRISS)
BOTTOMS: Sailor Shorts in Brown (Tres Blah) (from the February Collabor88 edition!)
SHOES: PsychoClassic Pumps (PsyChoTroPia) (from the Mix-N-Match Hunt)
EARRINGS: Ecks (Amorous)
BRACELET: Judith Bracelet (The Golden Fleece)
BAG: Bom Snake Leather Tote in Tan (Fleshtone) (from Black Friday Sale)
HAIR: Vicky in Treacle (Truth) !!NEW!!
NAILS: Drop Dead Red Manicure (Sexy Mamas)
EYES: Enchanting Eyes in Dark Brown (Nana)

I'm standing at the beautiful New Trails sim, eyeballing the store's (named New Trails) wondrous merchandise.

Benign

WHAT I'M WEARING:

Top: Crush #Grass (Emery)
Skirt: Ebby - Sommelier (Emery)
Shoes: Baby T's - Plain - Hot Yellow ([PM] Pixel Mode)
Hair: Ethan - Dark Browns ([BURLEY])
Earrings: Jeselle Earrings (Eluzion) - Group Gift
Bracelet:Wood Bangles Gift (Beachwood)

I was standing on the rooftop of one of my absolutely favorite stores, Amorous! Speaking of Amorous, here are some screenshots of some of her vendor art.

Enjoy!

(Also, I'm going to add another section to this blog, listing the SLurls for most creators of items I've worn).

Steady

Guess who?

Sooooo, have you heard of Amorous? If not, boy do I have a treat for you! Here's my latest outfit, featuring two different items from Amorous:

 

 

WHAT I'M WEARING:

Top: Olga Corset in Rose Lace (REMY)

Bottoms: High Rise Black Plants (d. Select)

Socks: Button Socks: Overknee (you can change the color of each button, by the way!) - (G Field)

Shoes: Troupe Shoes Bright (Miel)

Hair: Pippa - Dark Browns - (Truth)

Nails: Drop Dead Red Manicure (*Sexy Mamas*)

Necklace: Oceanic (Amorous)

Earrings: Swept (Amorous)

You've seen nothing yet as far as Amorous is concerned. Here's more of the quality that you can absolutely and continually expect from Amorous. (I've removed my hair in the following picture so that you may see less of it and more of Amorous).

ANTIQUARIAN CARAMEL

I frickin' love this set. I can't say enough about Antiquarian. Do you see the detail? I feel as if I can reach out and touch this jewelry - so beautiful and so real. This set includes FOUR versions of the necklace (meaning four versions of the necklace for the chest, and four versions of the necklace for the spine), four versions of the earrings, and four versions of the bracelet (that is, four versions for the left wrist and four versions for the right wrist). You can resize everything, as well.

AVE SATANAS:

If you're a bit devilish, purchase this set! It comes with a choker (both chest and spine options), upper arm attachments for both arms, upper leg attachments for both legs, wrist attachments for both wrists, and rings for both hands. And, even better, there are nine color options for each item. Here, you see white (left) and cyan (right). And yes, you can resize!

Is there any argument that Amorous is one of THE best jewelry designers out there? They'll be no argument from me. I discovered Amorous at the Vintage Fair 2011, and the rest was history. I've gotten the sets you see, plus Ecks, Requiem, You (which is free, by the way), Lacerated, Cathartik, Simplicity, Gyroscope, Luxuria and Antiquarian Absinthe (this is the one I bought at the VF2011).

Can you blame me for being a fool in love?

Go pay Matchbook Monday (the creator) a visit at Amorous (or at the Marketplace)! Not only is she extremely talented, she is very approachable and has one of the best personalities I've encountered in my SL experience!

Also, there's a link to her blog on the right. Stalk it as I do!

Solstice

I have GOT to get it together. I'll call my outfits one thing in my inventory and quite another at GV (this blog).

WHAT I'M WEARING:

DRESS: Crossroads Gown (Paper Couture)
SHOES: Suede Wrap Wedge in White (SLink)
HAIR: Uma in Bistre (Maitreya)
EARRINGS and NECKLACE: Cathartik (Amorous)
CLUTCH: Catalan Clutch in Honeysuckle (Indyra Originals)

So ... I found Amorous at the Vintage Fair. Then, I went to the Amorous mainstore and then lost my mind and my linden. I had to have bought at least five sets of the mainstore. This is some outSTANDING jewelry.

One problem I have with some jewelry is that the jewels or stones are not big enough to see!  These are sizable and "cooperative," in that you are offered enough color options to match the jewelry well with any outfit you choose to don.