My First Second Life Fashion Show (and Maybe My Last!)

If you are not in fashion, you are nobody.

Lord Chesterfield

 

          GraciAnn Harte, my friend and Traveling Companion, recently invited me to join her at the Labor Day Fashion Show being held at A Tribute to Venice in Tribute City.  Graci was one of the models and thought it would broaden my horizons.  (Graci appears to have made it her mission to save me from myself in Second Life (SL) and to bring me to civilization.)

          Never having been to a fashion show in either SL or Real Life (RL) and always willing to support a friend, I decided to attend. 

          I arrive near the Grand Canal in Venice and see people arriving for the show.  I’m greeted immediately by my friend Jessii Warrhol who’s running the event with Ava Jhamin of L’Amour Management. 

Others are assembling in the cathedral and I walk over.  I enter and find myself face to face with my old friend, World Undercroft, who has moved on from being a vampire when I knew him with Nulli Secundus and had just arrived in SL.  Since then he’s moved onto modeling and recently won the title of Mr. Virtual World 2012. 

This event is starting to become like Old Home Week for me. (I’m probably spending too much time inworld.) 

          After World and I exchange greetings, he promptly tells me that I’m in the wrong place. (Story of my virtual and, come to think of it, real lives as well.)  Only the models are allowed inside.  Here begin my misadventures.   

          Returning outside I walk over near the Grand Canal where I’m told to go and wait for the show to start with other spectators.  A nice sized crowd forms. 

          The show is intended to celebrate workers in honor of the American Labor Day holiday which is being observed on this day.  Twelve models will be showing clothes worn by working people.  At the conclusion of the show, judges will select male and female best models from the models. 

          The models appearing in today’s show are World Undercroft, Raezelle Aphrodite, Vivy Coppola, GraciAnne Harte, Sidney Hax, Brendan Macarthur, Aradia Mistwood, Kitty Picadilly, Thayna, Steele Sirnah Undercroft, dee Shepherd, and Zivaaj Achyleus.  (Please click on the models’ names to see them in their outfits.  Rex Requiem took the pictures.) 

          The show starts and World leads the models out of the cathedral dressed in an outfit celebrating those serving in the Armed Forces.  Then as the others come out, I can’t see them.  So, I decide to switch places.  Using the mini-map I think I see where the models are.  I move across the bridge which looks empty when suddenly I receive an IM requesting me to move off the runway!  As Graci would later explain to me, I’ve made the classic faux pas of walking across the runway during the middle of a show!  (I suspect Graci’s rethinking the wisdom of inviting me in the first place.)

          I now find myself stranded on the other side of the Canal not being able to see the show at all.  I follow what’s going on as the models continue coming out as Nani Xue (who is dressed in an interesting and somewhat revealing nun’s outfit herself) shouts out who’s modeling and what they’re wearing.  (BTW, most of these work clothes would probably be frowned upon by most RL Human Resources departments.) 

          Unfortunately, I miss Graci when she appears in her French maid’s costume.  (Life, even SL, can be so cruel.)  After her walk, she checks in on me and tells me that after the models walk there will be a fanfare where they will all appear.  I sense a chance to get back into the mainstream of things. 

          Nani continues shouting about what’s going on and then announces that the judges are considering their decisions.  I ask the person who called me out for wandering across the runway if I can recross the bridge and she says I can.  I make my break.

          I arrive in the plaza before the cathedral and run into Graci who is merrily dancing away to the song YMCA.  Actually, I first thought she was having a seizure but she told me what she was doing.  Watching a French maid dance to YMCA without losing her feather duster is a sight to behold.  Trust me.  (Another reason why Graci will probably never invite me to her next fashion show.) 

          By this time, I manage to get into more trouble.  I walk in front of the photographer, Rex Requiem, while he’s taking his shots.  He’s really very nice about it.  (Yep, you got it.  Another good reason for Graci not to invite me back again especially since it’s her photos I’m ruining.) 

          There are winners.  For the female models, Graci and her French maid costume takes the trophy.  Brendan Macarthur takes the gold for the male models.  Both are exceptional models and I congratulate both of them!  (I also wonder why Graci lets me hang around.  Probably curiosity about what I’ll mess up next.) 

          Models and spectators mill about offering congratulations and chatting.  I notice that many start to leave soon after the winners are announced.  The after show socializing is not quite Paris Fashion Week.  (Maybe they should serve drinks?) 

          At this point I take my leave myself and return home.  I have enjoyed myself.  The show stayed true to its theme of celebrating workers and their outfits on Labor Day.  Despite the models and spectators, I experienced no lag.  (I crashed once but that’s a regular event inworld it seems these days.)  I haven’t blogged about the SL fashion world in a world and it was good to be back.  (The SL fashion world may have another opinion about that.) 

          Ava and L’Amour Management runs these fashion shows regularly.  The theme depends on the time of the year.  Recent ones have been Vintage Fashion Week and Sports Show. I recommend that you attend these when you’re inworld.  The fashions are stylish, creative, and fun.  The shows are enjoyable events in themselves.  (Please try not to be as disruptive as I was and if you are, you don’t know me!) 

          In closing, I’d like to thank Graci for inviting me and I congratulate her and Brendan for their wins.  They’re both exceptional models and I expect to see more of them in SL’s fashion circles in the future.  I thank Jessii and Ava for putting on a great event (and not ejecting me for my gaffes).  I also want to thank Ava for permitting me to use the show’s pictures for this story.  Rex Requiem did an outstanding job taking them.  More pictures can be found at the Tribute City News website.  And, I apologize to Rex for ruining some of his shots.  If I have done anything else to anyone else while I was at the show, please accept my most sincere apologies.  I promise to improve.

As always, I’m grateful to all for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives.

I’ve included a few pictures below from my visit.  They’re nowhere near the quality of Rex’s but they give a sense of the venue. 

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

     If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.

Photo No. 1 Church Plaza – Site of Show

Photo No. 2 GraciAnne Harte (on right) – Winner for Best Female Model

Photo No. 3 The Grand Canal

Photo No. 4 Church Exterior

Photo No. 5 Church Interior

Photo No. 6 Grand Canal Pathway  

Photo No. 7 Venice – Interior of Shops   

 

 

Among the Pirates

Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates.

Mark Twain

      

          After my trip last week with my Traveling Companion to Ancient Alexandria  I decided to go back and follow up on some requests from my readers.  Earlier, I had written about the Age of Sail in Second Life (SL).  I had met with BrendonPatrick MacRory to visit the world of eighteenth century sailing ships inworld and the communities involved.  While visiting I learned about pirates and I planned to go back and visit among them. 

          But, several of my readers wanted to know more about pirates now and as I always aim to please my readers, I decided to go back and look them up.  After all, going off and being a pirate is every little boy’s dream, right?  It’s up there with going off with Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn.  (Mark Twain nailed this space, didn’t he?) 

          So, how does one find pirates?  I cheated. I contacted BrendonPatrick and asked for an introduction.  (I wonder if I could meet Captain Jack Sparrow this way?)  And, BrendonPatrick came through for me with an introduction to Steve Decker, SL pirate extraordinaire.        

          Steve and I meet in his private workshop near the inworld pirate sims.  Steve says he’s still a relative newcomer to the SL pirates’ life but appears to have taken to this lifestyle if his outfit and projects underway are any indication.

          From Steve I learn that pirate role playing goes back a long way in SL.  There are six pirate sims in the pirates community that he’s involved with, some playing at the roles harder than others.  Steve tells me about some secretive pirates inworld who have built sims hidden away from everyone else and whom no one unaffiliated with them knows anything about. (Sounds like a future story here.) 

          Four (Fair Winds, Ocean Realms, Blake Sea, Jolie Rouge; AKA the United Collaboration Estates) of these six sims joined together to form Pirate Realms to recast the rules for more standard and fairer method of playing.   

          I ask if there are any pirate crews who are really just about raising mayhem in SL à la griefers outside of role playing.  Steve replies there are some Gor role playing pirate groups which get very messy (as in lots of blood) but many don’t play with these groups.  (Maybe it’s me but I would have thought that a place like SL would have some New Age cyber pirates running amuck somewhere.  I’m probably reading too much cyberpunk.)   

          In his own role playing, Steve also plays the smuggler and is building up his role.  He smuggles anything: slaves, spice without paying tax, drugs (note this is a role playing eighteenth century sim not Real Life (RL)), and weapons. 

          I ask if there is more to being a pirate in SL than just battles.  Steve replies in the affirmative and apparently in Jolie Rouge there is an economy with its own currency, crowns, whereby pirates can earn a living.  (I’ll wager taxes will be next!)  This currency is apart from Lindens which is the grid-wide currency used inworld.

          Steve adds that many pirates just have ship-to-ship battles but he will be writing new scenarios to add story lines. 

          Being a healthy male with a taste for adventure (at least in SL if not in RL, Significant Other reserves the right of final veto in the latter) I have to ask, how does one become a pirate? 

          Steve’s answer is simple but to the point.  One can just show up and join a crew or get press ganged someplace.  For those who are more law abiding there is the Navy where one can either enlist as a seaperson or obtain letters of marque and go out as a privateer.  Free starter kits and free boats are available for those so inclined to join the pirates’ life.  Why can’t RL be this simple? 

          Pirating is based on a tool, SPD Meter, which records hits on both ships and crew members.  Hits being received from cannon, muskets, swords or whatever else is employed in game.  Twelve battle coordinators assist in arranging and conducting engagements.  (Did Captain Kidd have one of these?)  Steve explains that the most popular pirate sims are the ones based on the seagoing engagements. 

          My time with Steve has taught me a lot about the world of pirates in SL.  However, I’ve barely scratched the surface.  Steve has offered to take me along with him on one of his sea battles in the future.  I’ll bring the story back when I do.  (I wonder if Traveling Companion will want to go along on that one?)  I’ll visit the United Collaboration Estates and see what happens there both at sea and on the land.  Then there are those mysterious, secretive pirate communities.  Maybe I can find them. 

          So, if you’re interested in pirates and SL, keep an eye on this blog as I keep blogging about another one of SL’s interesting communities. 

I’d like to thank Steve Decker for taking the time to meet with me and introduce me to the world of piracy in SL.  I’d also like to thank BrendonPatrick MacRory for introducing me to Steve. 

As always, I’m grateful to all for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives. 

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

     If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.

Photo No. 1 Steve Decker, Pirate, Smuggler

Photo No. 2 Pirate Hub at Jolie Rouge

Photo No. 3 Pirate Who Missed the Boat

Photo No. 4 Fair Winds Harbor

Photo No. 5 Fair Winds Dungeon

Photo No. 6 Fair Winds Man O’War

Photo No. 7 Ocean Realms, Dublin Harbor

Journey to Ancient Alexandria

Trouble's just the bits in between! It's all waiting out there, Jackie. And it's brand new to me. All those planets, creatures and horizons—I haven't seen them yet. Not with these eyes. And it is gonna be... fantastic.

The Tenth Doctor

          This week I’m doing something I haven’t done in a while, visit a good old fashioned Second Life (SL) sim where the sim itself is the main attraction and everyone keeps their clothes on (or at least taking them off is not the primary activity). 

          So, after bouncing around the grid for a bit I came across Ancient Alexandria.  A role playing sim which recreates the ancient world of the Ptolemy’s and Cleopatra’s in all its past glory. 

          Unfortunately, when I first came across Alexandria, I wasn’t in proper period attire so I wouldn’t enter.  (Contrary to popular belief, I try to respect sim’s rules about attire and behavior.  One reason why I’ve been bouncing around butt naked so much lately.)  I promised myself to return for further investigation.

Something else different about this trip is that I’m accompanied by my Traveling Companion, GraciAnn Harte.  (Hey, Doctor Who’s been doing it for fifty years.  Why not me?)  Some of my readers may remember her.  We’re neighbors in Nowaki.  Graci also accompanied me on my recent BDSM club tour.   When not suffering with my presence, she’s a model who has recently graduated from modeling school.  Graci has been wanting to go exploring inworld and I offered to invite her on some of my adventures. (Actually, I think she comes along to see what trouble I get into next!) 

Graci and I agree on a day and time and begin to prepare for our trip.  One thing about hanging around with a model is that she knows a lot about how to dress and where to get cool outfits.  We went shopping together where Graci’s great taste and common sense came into play.  Especially when she saw what period costume I wanted to wear.  She mumbled something about not wanting to be seen in public with anyone dressed as a slave.  Needless to say, I ultimately went with her recommendation.  I have to admit I do look spiffy in her choice.  (Significant Other thought so too.  Now, she wants Graci to go to work on my hair and eyes.) 

At the appointed time and date, Graci and I teleport into Ancient Alexandria. Graci has selected a traditional long white dress with period jewelry.  Her hair is done in a Cleopatra classic style.   She is barefoot.  (So much easier in SL isn’t it?) 

We arrive at the port area.  (Where else would people arrive in ancient times?) The famed Lighthouse is visible in the harbor.  We move onto a temple and then back to a market back near the port area. Along the way we pass through a residence and wander the streets. 

Since Graci and I had to make our trip early on a Sunday morning because of our schedules, many residents aren’t about.  In fact, we only meet two.  One, a woman driving a horse and wagon and another woman running through the city streets. 

The sim’s attention to detail is extraordinary and this is at two levels.  The first is the period accuracy and layout of the buildings, furniture, and other everyday implements.  Then there is the quality of the detail work for these objects.  Intricate patterns are woven into rugs and mosaics.  Having had the opportunity to visit some ancient ruins in Real Life (RL) myself, I’m impressed by the quality of the workmanship and the accuracy. 

Tapestries, fabrics, and other objets d’art are strategically located throughout the sim.  Again, attention to detail and quality of craftsmanship are evident throughout.

There is an eerie sense as Graci and I walk through the empty streets.  I’m reminded of a ghost town.  Fortunately, it’s daylight.  Otherwise it could be more scary than eerie.  (I admit it, I’m afraid of the dark.) The two people whom we do meet are busy and can’t spend much time with us.   

While we wander about, Graci is taking pictures.  Despite my nobleman’s costume, I look the part of a tourist from the provinces wandering aimlessly about. The people we do meet respond better to Graci than to me. Maybe it’s my red eyes? 

This is an abbreviated trip for Graci and me as we both have RL commitments which call us back sooner than we’d have preferred.  But, our brief visit has given us a chance to see another SL sim lovingly built and maintained by a community dedicated to one theme.  We’re grateful for their efforts and for allowing travelers like us to visit. 

Graci and I encourage you to visit and see the work which brings back images of a world long gone. 

I’d like to thank my Traveling Companion, GraciAnne Harte, for making the time to join me and I hope that she will be back for further adventures inworld. 

As always, I’m grateful to all for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives. 

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

     If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.

Photo No. 1 GraciAnne Harte in Period Dress

Photo No. 2 web Prior to Departure

Photo No. 3 Alexandria Arrival Hall

Photo No. 4 Harbor Lighthouse (Ancient Wonder of the World)

Photo No. 5 Harbor Breakwater

Photo No. 6 Ship Dockside

Photo No. 7 Public Baths

Photo No. 8 Murals in Public Baths

Photo No. 9 Street Scene at Night

Photo No. 10 Private Garden

Photo No. 11 Interior of Residence