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Need to impress a date? Getting married? Having a fashion emergency? Whatever it is, we can help! Feel free to share any great discoveries you may have found, and ask others about anything related to fashion. Today, we are joined by the talented group of Miss and Mr. Virtual World candidates as well as our Best of Second Life (BOSL) readers and fashion friends and designers...and they do really know it all! Topics cover anything from eyelashes to nails, from couture to beachwear, from hair to jewelry and fashion accessories. To begin this thread, I will be sharing Miss & Mr. Virtual World's tips for impeccable styling: Miss Virtual World 2011 Serene Faith always looks fabulous. These are some of her top fashion tricks and tips: 1. Stay within the theme: If it's an elegant style you are creating, don't match it with crazy Halloween hair! 2. Know your colors: Experiment with colors that complement and don’t clash with your skin tone. 3. Use accessories: To differentiate yourself from others, try experimenting with makeup tattoos, jewelery, belts, bags, hats, jackets and/or scarves to add your own flair to an outfit. 4. Don't go overboard: Adding a bunch of stuff or modifying too much — it can be too much! Mr. Virtual World 2011 Jax Aster has a very handsome and well-styled avatar. This is his styling advice: 1. Be yourself: In any outfit — no matter if it is couture, retro, avant garde or some other theme — you should always be able to make it your style and add your own personal touches to the outfit. 2. Be prepared: Try and make time to prepare. Style your outfit, adjust your prims, and then go over everything again. If you have time, leave your outfit for a few days and then come back to it. You never know what new ideas you may have or might find. 3. Ask a friend: Always ask a friend what they think. Asking is also beneficial to make sure prims are in the right places and your poses or AO don't make your prims go all over the place! 4. Be picky: Know what you want and go find it. I always seem to have an idea of what I want, and can never seem to find it but KEEP LOOKING! It's out there somewhere. ABOUT FROLIC MILLS: Frolic Mills is CEO of BOSL, which includes BOSL magazine and the related blog, as well as the Miss Virtual World and Mr. Virtual World pageants. He is one of today's Fashion Experts and will be "on call" to respond to comments and answer questions both here and in the Fashion Forums from 9 am - 4 pm, Pacific Standard Time, Monday, September 19. 

Algumas das coisas que fomentam o mercado do Second Life são as inúmeras criações de moda que podemos encontrar. Entre roupas, skins, acessórios, sapatos, cabelos, o grande barato é o mundo de estilos que podemos assumir neste metaverso.  Há quem carregue para o seu avatar traços da cultura do seu país. Um exemplo prático, as indianas usam o Salwar Kameez, que são aquelas túnicas compridas usadas com uma calça mais larguinha por baixo. Ou então o Saree que é aquele lenço que atravessa a cabeça, a cintura e é jogado sobre os ombros. Este é apenas um dos inúmeros exemplos possíveis de que podemos trazer para o nosso modo de vestir dentro do Second Life estilos que nem sempre estão ligados ao que simplesmente é mais comum à maioria das pessoas ou o que é popular neste momento, mas que também pode retratar nossa cultura, nossos costumes e, lembrando que no Second Life podemos ser o que quisermos, o nosso estilo pode seguir o que nossa imaginação mandar. Outras pessoas seguem as tendências das celebridades. Artistas da música, do cinema, da literatura. Por exemplo, Lady Gaga foi motivo de inspiração para várias pessoas com seu estilo curioso na prisão no clipe Telephone. Recentemente, devido ao sucesso do filme Harry Potter, era fácil se deparar com um avatar usando o uniforme de Hogwarts. Alguns avatares reproduzem o estilo fielmente, por devoção aos famosos ou somente por curtirem o que eles usam. Muitos vão além do que se consegue vestir na vida real, tendo em vista que algumas destas modas certamente não teriam tantos seguidores com coragem de usá-las na real life, porém os mesmos usam naturalmente dentro do metaverso onde tudo é possível. Há também pessoas que têm estilos de vida alternativos na real life. Os naturalistas, os góticos, os hippies, os furries, etc. De uma forma geral, já que aqui é o nosso mundo, a nossa imaginação, por que não trazer tudo isso e mais para a nossa Segunda Vida também? ABOUT LAYLINHA TOMSEN: Laylinha Tomsen nasceu no Second Life em fevereiro de 2007, é brasileira, carioca, fotógrafa (http://www.flickr.com/photos/laylinhatomsen3/), fashion addicted e escritora do blog Second Ladies. She is one of today's Fashion Experts and will be "on call" to respond to comments and answer questions both here and in the Fashion Forums from 9 am - 4 pm, Pacific Standard Time, Monday, September 19. 

When I started as a new Resident, I explored Second Life but I didn't know what I was here for. Yet, I enjoyed what I was seeing and was visually stimulated by all of the user content. One of my favorite places was Creative Fantasy — this was my place to get lost in. Visually interesting, each build a scene of its own and each an inspiration for a photo, outfit or décor. This brought about my need to make things. I felt I had to put something — anything! — down on the grid and so I played with prims. Eventually, it wasn't enough. I found stores I needed to share with others. This need to create and share motivates us. When shopping, styling, and blogging, I envision a complete look. Most of the time I do not do location shots, as they can be problematic. But I do have a scene or event in mind. Other bloggers and photographers will tell you the same thing. They put together an outfit and off they go looking for a location to shoot it in. This gets posted to photo sharing sites, added to groups, shared on social networks, blogged and then someone else sees it. Next the inquiries start about where the content is from. Soon enough those items appear in another photo, and so on. A simple photo of a living room can inspire someone to create outfits they imagine the occupant might wear, or the use of the color scheme for clothing. The outfit I am wearing is influenced by an advertisement I saw. I was amazed at how well they paired black, red and purple. How many of us are influenced by another to create something? This is what makes our Second Lives so unique and interesting, and why I've stayed. Without user-created content we would easily be bored. We wouldn't be creatively stimulated or motivated. So many of us have learned and refined new skill sets to be able to interact in our world, like graphics editing programs, 3D modeling and animation. Our evolution is personal, while very much a part of our collective conscious.  ABOUT WHIMSY WINX: Whimsy Winx is a virtual fashion and event blogger for Virtually Dressed. She creates home and garden items for W. Winx, and generally plays well with others. She is one of today's Fashion Experts and will be "on call" to respond to comments and answer questions both here and in the Fashion Forums from 9 am - 4 pm, Pacific Standard Time, Monday, September 19. 

Sharing a fashion link from the Twittersphere #slfashion   See more pics and details about the items on the original blog post now..

Existem alguns aspectos no Second Life que são bem interessantes, mas nenhum é tão instigante e mexe tanto com nosso espírito que a moda secondlifeana. Acredito que nesses anos de Second Life, nada tenha movimentado mais em termos econômicos que a relação simbiótica da oferta incessante de novas criações e a busca incansável por novidades. Essas novidades são transformadas em tendências que estão cada vez mais conectadas ao constante aprimoramento tecnológico que a plataforma tem proporcionado somado a inquietação explosiva dos criadores. Afirmando isso, não estou querendo dissertar sobre possibilidades ou oportunidades, mas quero sobretudo apontar para o processo de inspiração que influencia cada vez mais o espírito consumidor, recompensando todo o investimento. O caráter artístico e a qualidade de um produto são importantes ingredientes nesse mercado e determinam o sucesso ou o fracasso de um grande investimento tecnológico. Não basta ter apenas uma grande tecnologia é preciso ter qualidade e um apurado senso estético somados ao conjunto. Durante muito tempo, o usuário com perfil consumidor teve pouca oportunidade para buscar melhores produtos, já que havia pouca oferta de qualidade e a inexperiência de saber como e aonde procurar. Alguns poucos criadores fizeram muitos sucesso há uns 3 anos atrás, tendo feito alto investimento em texturas com apurado senso estético, criando tendências. Ao observar essas criações de 3 anos atrás, vemos o primoroso trabalho que eles tiveram em uma época tão limitada onde tudo estava sendo testado e aperfeiçoado. Mas mudando o foco para os dias atuais, observo que houve muitas mudanças, sobretudo na oferta, o que faz com que existam mais novidades do que temos condição de consumir. Nesse caso o usuário precisa exigir constantemente qualidade nesse processo. Não só qualidade mas também o comprometimento constante dos criadores em oferecer bons produtos. Mecanismos de difusão como os blogs são importantes ferramentas e devem chamar pra si a responsabilidade na busca por esses objetivos. Esta maravilhosa ferramenta já demonstrou inúmeras vezes, e de inúmeras maneiras, seu potencial para a propaganda. Não me refiro somente à utilização comercial da propaganda, mas também na divulgação, principalmente, de idéias e opiniões. Da mesma forma que criadores precisam ser responsáveis e comprometidos com a qualidade de seus produtos, os responsáveis por blogs não podem permitir que a popularidade e o consumismo exacerbado se sobreponham às exigências do senso estético e qualidade. Lotus Mastroianni is one of today's Fashion Experts and will be "on call" to respond to comments and answer questions both here and in the Fashion Forums from 9 am - 4 pm, Pacific Standard Time, Sunday, September 18. 

Hi there! My name is Felicity Blumenthal, and you may or may not know me from my little blog My Second Closet. I started my blog back in April 2008 as a hobby, which it still is for me. In my Real Life, I am basically the typical soccer mom living in the Southern part of the United States. So, it just goes to show you — no matter who you are, you can do anything you'd like in Second Life. Anyway, I thought I might introduce myself here on the Second Life Blog by sharing with you some of my favorite creators, all of whom I've been blogging for years now. I really do blog mostly for myself, but I like to share the things I love with my readers. Things I look for in clothing are really well-sculpted items, like the skirt I am sharing today from League. It is my favorite new thing, and if you haven't visited the store, you absolutely must go! The skirt comes in a whole slew of patterns and colors, plus tons of tops to wear with it. Accessories: These are my two favorite shops — Zaara and Mandala. I find that I can rely on them to get really high-quality, well-crafted jewelry, and impeccable texture work — and their sculpts are amazing as well. Some other things that probably don't need mentioning at all because almost everyone on the grid has them: TRUTH hair and Maitreya shoes. You might have noticed my adorable prim feet peeking out from under my skirt — Onyx's new flip-flops are hands-down my favorite, and really ANY hair from TRUTH hair could be my favorite on any given day. Skins are another of my many shopping addictions, and without a doubt Belleza makes my favorites. The skin I’m wearing today is from the upcoming release — Chloe. You know there are tons of little things you can add to your look to really personalize yourself: eyelashes, eyes, nails and freckles. I could go on and on about them all, but most of those you will see I wear the same on my blog constantly. Old habits are hard to quit! Well, I hope you all enjoyed sharing a little of my addiction with me, and that I've given you some “run-out-and-buy” items for the day. Now hop over to the Forums so we can chat it up! Can't wait to meet y'all! Style Details: Skirt:*League* (Nena Janus) Nomad Skirt -Vintage Floral Tank:Nyte'N'Day - Racerback Tank (complete) - Brown Freckles:[PXL] (Hart Larsson) – FullBody freckles Freckles: [:T:] (Tuli Asturias) Freckles Hair:>TRUTH< (Truth Hawks) Abigail - quince Nails:[MANDALA] (Kikunosuke Eel) - NAIL/female Long Flip-Flops:Maitreya Gold (Onyx LeShelle) * Flip-Flops Fawn L Bangles:Zaara (Zaara Kohime) : Nizam Choodiya (bangles) gold *white* Earrings:Zaara (Zaara Kohime) : Sarayi wood hoops *gold* L Lashes:[LeLutka] (Minnu Palen)-Photoshoot II Lashes(NOSE) Eyes:[LeLutka] (Minnu Palen) -Ellis-Vine/M Necklace: [MANDALA] (Kikunosuke Eel) - KAGETORA necklace/wood/chest Skin:-Belleza- (Tricky Boucher) Chloe Pale 31 **not yet released** Pose:oOo Studio (Olaenka Chesnokov) Felicity Blumenthal is one of today's Fashion Experts. She'll be "on call" to respond to comments and answer questions both here and in the Fashion Forums from 9 am - 4 pm, Pacific Standard Time, Sunday, September 18. 

These days, the amount of stuff available inworld and on the Marketplace seems almost endless, and although this means almost anything you could ever want is out there somewhere, it’s very easy to get overwhelmed as you’re looking. While this will be old news for many skilled fashionistas, I think the most valuable knowledge I could share here is my method for finding whatever you’re looking for in this wide virtual world — with almost universal success! If you’re lucky you’ll already have the name of the product you’re looking for, the store it’s from, or the designer who created it. With that information, an easy inworld search is all you really need to do. But — what if the store has changed names, or the teleport dropped you in the middle of an empty field? This is why I’m a big fan of using a designer’s Profile Picks to locate their main store (and why it is so vital that designers keep their Picks current!). A designer’s name is more useful and more reliable than any other piece of information about an item. In a perfect world, you would always know the specific details of an item you want, but what if you have the wrong information, or no information at all? Maybe you saw someone wearing an amazing pair of faun legs, or maybe you’ve just always been a fan of mythology and feel like wearing something that shows it. Where to even begin?  The Second Life Marketplace is a great starting point, but many designers haven’t listed all the creations there yet and some don’t have Marketplace storefronts at all. So, how would you find them? Your next step should be to ask the Second Life Forums, which can be a wealth of knowledge. It’s also a good idea to head to a place where many Residents share information and pictures — image-sharing sites like Flickr and Koinup are ideal, and so are blogger networks like HeartSL. If network-wide searches there fail to turn up anything promising, broaden your terms. After all — if you can’t find anyone with faun legs, a blogger with a penchant for mermaids may still be able to point you in the right direction. Remember that when nearly anything you can imagine is out there waiting, getting what you want is only as hard as finding it! Iris Ophelia has been a SL fashion blogger for over 5 years and currently writes for New World Notes, where she blogs about both virtual world fashion and metaverse etiquette. Iris is one of today's Fashion Experts. She'll be "on call" to respond to comments and answer questions both here and in the Fashion Forums from 9 am - 4 pm, Pacific Standard Time, Sunday, September 18.  

Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day, "Snapshot_004," by Kotori.

Thanks Eve -- It would be awesome if you or any other residents started conversations in French in the Fashion Forums or threads about fashion in the French forums -- either now or during the Expert days! Mode de conversations en français est une excellente idée!

From Harper Beresford's blog "A Passion for Virtual Fashion": "Linden Lab recently announced an event where “Fashion Experts” will be chatting with folks, answering questions, and posing some of their own in the SL Forums. I was chosen to be one of those Fashion Experts (among a pretty august group of bloggers and SL fashion leaders), so it was quite an honor for me. On Monday, September 19, from 9 am slt to 4 pm slt, I will be available to answer questions, bring up topics, and generally have fun. I really hope you can join me." Keep Reading...

Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day for Sept. 14, "Snapshot_244," by Julala.

The movie-effects creator who designed the original R2D2 model for some of the "Star Wars" films will be judging machinima contest "The Machinima 48 Hour Film Project." Check out more details here.

Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day for Sept. 13, "Hello and Goodbye," by Icarii Naxos.

@Tillie, that sounds amazing! We'd love to see those photos. Why not start a thread with those images in the Fashion Forum during the Experts days? Or even now!

Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day for Sept. 12, "Taken at Basilica Cardinale Cathedral, Braunworth," by Lilah Morgenstern. Visit the location at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Braunworth/75/103/361.

Mark your calendars for Fashion Expert Days, held Sunday, Sept. 18 through Wednesday, Sept. 21, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Pacific) in the official SL Community Blogs and Fashion Forums. The Schedule of Fashion Experts (subject to change): Sunday, September 18, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. (Pacific) Iris Ophelia Felicity Blumenthal Lotus Mastroianni Monday, September 19, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. (Pacific) Frolic Mills Sasy Scarborough Whimsy Winx Harper Beresford Laylinha Tomsen (in Portuguese) Tuesday, September 20, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. (Pacific) PopTart Lillehook Casja Lilliehook Gidge Uriza Vick Spitteler (in Portuguese) Wednesday, September 21, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. (Pacific) Strawberry Singh Lily Karlsbar Ponino Oh Thereaver Barrymore (in Portuguese) Hear What Second Life Resident Fashion Experts Think in Real-time Each day of the event, as many as five SL Fashion Experts will be standing by to share ideas and images, and to discuss the vibrant fashion scene in Second Life. There will be exclusive Fashion blog posts and insider style tips shared in the Fashion Forums during this interactive community event. Ask Questions Experts will be on call in the community from 9 a.m. through 4 p.m. (Pacific) during all four days of the event (Sept. 18-21). This is your chance to ask these fashionistas any SL style-related questions you can dream up and hear their expert opinions. Newbies can get advice on how to improve their avatar’s appearance, and more-advanced Residents can get the scoop on the latest fashion trends and developments. No query is off-limits — just ask the Fashion Experts! Share Your Creations Want to share your own creations? All participants can post and share images of favorite fabulous fashions and creative combinations at this community event. Join the conversation and ask the experts and community what they think of your designs. Image courtesy of Poptart Lilliehook for Modavia Fashion Marketing. Don’t miss the fun! Join us live for this special Second Life community event, held on the Second Life Fashion Expert Blogs and Fashion Forums.

In celebration of its sixth year in Second Life, Bare Rose Tokyo has created an elaborate treasure hunt that begins with a click on the poster near the store's entrance. Once you click on "The Mother Dragon" poster, you'll receive a hunt folder that contains the prologue to an elaborate storyline and quest that will take hunters through several challenging puzzles and stunning locations. It all begins with The Blue Maze, where you must navigate your way to the exit to claim the first of many prizes. Weave your way through these crystal caves to find your way to the exit, where you'll be given the first components of The Armor of Ordeal outfit (in both male and female versions). You'll need to click on the "Next Chapter" sign at the exit to claim your gifts and receive a landmark to your next challenge. As you arrive at The Bridge of Red in the next chapter, you'll be faced with several menacing blades that you must carefully dodge. The task is made more difficult by the dodgy-looking, narrow stone bridge that you must stay on. Be careful here! If you fall, you'll land in the nasty lava pool below. Your reward for making it safely to the other side? More free items to complete your Armor of Ordeal outfit. In the next chapter, you'll encounter the daunting Wall of Green. Don't look down if you're agoraphobic! You must carefully descend from the small rock ridges to safely arrive at the exit below and claim your prize and the next landmark. You'll be rewarded with the final items to complete your Armor of Ordeal outfit and you'll also gain entrance to the next challenge. At last! You've arrived at The Room of Gold, where you'll find yourself face-to-face with a huge golden dragon. Find the vulnerable spot to claim your final prize...and it's a good one! You'll get a special, rideable dragon that makes the entire journey well worth it. So, that's the end of the quest...or is it? Rumor has it that there is even another hidden secret of this hunt to discover in the Bare Rose sim. Can you find it? This hunt is only around until Sept. 17, so quest seekers will need to head over to Bare Rose to get started before the fun ends. Happy Hunting!

Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day, "[...We going MESH...]," by PiStyle Primswitch.

Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day for Sept. 10, "Waiting at Home," by India Nadeau.

September brings new developments to Second Life for Premium Memberships, improvements to Profiles and an update on mesh. These are all part of Linden Lab’s ongoing focus in 2011 on improving service, performance and usability. New Premium Membership Benefits At the beginning of September, we introduced some new benefits for Second Life Premium members. The first improvements? Exclusive gifts and Premium-only sandboxes. Getting access to your new Premium rewards is easy. Premium Gifts can be claimed now by members via one of the many inworld Premium kiosks, and the Premium-only Sandboxes are already open. Even more benefits are on the way, so this is just the beginning. Read the original blog post for more details about Premium Sandboxes and Premium Gifts. Not a Premium Member? There couldn’t be a better time to sign up. We’re running a special limited-time promotion for new quarterly Premium memberships from now through Monday, Sept. 12 at 50 percent off the regular price. Get Even More Out Of Social Profiles with Location Posting September also brings a new social sharing feature to the Second Life Viewer. Residents now have the option to conveniently share where they are inworld by adding a location to their Profile posts as a tag: This means that people reading your posts live can teleport directly to your location and join you. Those who see your post later can also check out the location to see exactly what you were talking about — even if you’re no longer there. Of course, you can always choose not to use this feature — it’s just there when you want it. These “Locations” tags get really fun when combined with your Profile's “Nearby” feature. To check it out while you’re inworld, follow the menu Me → My Profile. Then, click on the first icon: Then click the second tab, “Nearby”: Now you’ll see posts from people nearby wherever you are inworld. Some of these posts might even be made by people in the same location at the same time you are there. It’s a great way to connect with others to start a conversation. You can also use this feature to browse through older posts, which can give you insights as to what kind of activities and conversations typically happen in that region. For example, you might uncover posts about recent or upcoming live music shows, hot new stores or the insider scoop on the hottest local dance clubs. So... let people know where you hang out and why — or keep quiet, and just see what others are doing and saying. If you haven’t heard the full story of Social Profiles, check out our post from last month for more details and the big picture. Mesh Update With the arrival of mesh, a number of Residents have already started to create some impressive mesh items inworld. Since its inception, we’ve seen more than 9,000 content creators enable mesh, and more than 20,000 items have already been uploaded to the grid. And we’re looking forward to seeing what creations you make next. There’s a lot of excitement around what mesh models can offer — for more information or to try it yourself, check out this page. You can also browse through some of the first mesh creations in our Mesh Showcase. The Lab is working on continued improvements and the next mesh release will include upgrades to how we show resource weight and land impact of objects. Mesh rolled out in August as an added option to all inworld building tools to help Residents craft even more creations inworld. For the best mesh experience, you’ll need the current version of the Second Life Viewer (Version 3.0) or a comparable viewer. Go create something great, Linden Lab 

We’re making Second Life Premium better than ever with new added benefits — and, for a short time, membership is now 50 percent off*. Now is a great time to sign up! In addition to saving 50 percent, members will enjoy more rewards than ever — including exclusive, Resident-created gifts. You’ll also gain access to Premium-only Sandboxes, special areas inworld where you can build objects, rez purchased items and meet other new members — all on specialized land where you are free to express your creativity. Plus, you’ll get your own Second Life home to furnish and Premium-only access to Live Chat support. You'll also enjoy a L$1000 sign-up bonus and weekly L$ rewards to spend however you like. Read more details about Premium benefits here and keep your eye out for even more benefits on the way soon. Pictured: These are just two of the many styles of Second Life homes that you can select as a Premium member. What style will you choose? Learn more and upgrade to Premium now. >> *Terms & Conditions for 50% discount: This limited-time discount offer is available only for memberships on the Quarterly billing plan. Discount will be applied to the first quarterly billing cycle only, and all future charges will be at the regular Premium price. To qualify, Second Life members must have an active Basic account or create a new Second Life account. Discount offer begins on Friday the 9th of September at 12:00 pm (noon) Pacific Standard Time (SLT) and expires on Monday the 12th of September 2011 at 08:00 am Pacific Standard Time (SLT). 

Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the day for Sept. 9, "Taliesin's Battle Of The Trees 17," by celestial elf.

PICTURED: Second Life Resident Keiko Takamura and her "real life" counterpart Amy E. Linden Lab, maker of Second Life, is now casting both humans and their avatars for a new promotional campaign that will be featured on Secondlife.com and across the web. For this campaign and a related video, we’re looking for people who are comfortable revealing their “human side” alongside their avatars in SL. This is your opportunity to participate in an extension and update to a campaign already in use on Secondlife.com and in various banner ads across the Internet. An example can be seen at: http://secondlife.com/whatis/avatar/. This promotion aims to spotlight the diverse and creative communities in Second Life, so contact us if you’d like to share your passion for SL with the world! Whether you role-play as a Roman or robot...or just follow the latest virtual fashions and music in SL, we welcome all individuals to apply. To be considered, please fill out this application form by noon (Pacific) on Sept. 12. All submissions will be reviewed by the creative production team for the campaign, but will remain private and undisclosed unless we receive your permission to use as part of the campaign. We look forward to hearing from you!

Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day, "Et la Hérone s' Envola...," by Eirela Lane.

Check out the Sept. 7 Flickr Pic of the day, "Seasons Come and Go 2," by Markski Glom.