I’ve recently been exploring the art world of second life as a way of broadening my horizons as I also improved and expanded my ever-increasing wardrobe. I just recently visited the Gruntled Gallery by Alexx Fenstalker (aka Thomas Griffith) and wasn’t sure what I was expecting when I steped into his surreal reality. I happened to come across his work through the Showcase SL search and it states, “Apartment 5B is an art installation by Artist Alexx Fenstalker. The installation is meant to be a comtemplation of how mental disorder and family dysfunction affects the lives of those it touches. All aspects of the installation are handmade, including all of the texturse which were painted in gouache.”

I also decided to dress up for the ocassion and gallery viewing with a beautiful dress from | Aleida | that I came across while browsing through the online marketplace for some inspiration. They’re having a closing sale apparently so I’d advise to get your last minute buys while you still can. When I stepped into the so called “apartment 5B” which resembled a small house rather than an actual apartment I was initally confused until I turned on the music and just soaked up the images that my brain attempted to process. I found myself near tears within 10 minutes of visiting and whether it was the inspirational piano pieces by Michael Bartels warbling over the speakers or the desolate and painful images scattered around the room is unclear. But to have something affect me as no art has ever affected me has really brought a new perspective to me and my view on art. If you have the time or the inclination I’d suggest taking a peek at this art. They also have it on sale for a bargain considering what I think it’s work but definitely something that will inspire the senses.

Hair: Amrita – Sedna Blackolive
Belt: *Baiastice – Dita Corset Belt Red
Make Up: BOOM - Love my eyes Liner & Mascara
Skin: Al Vulo! Skin – Ninni – cocoa shine
Dress: | Aleida | - China Doll – noir/rouge
Shoes: P10 – Amara Heel SnakeSkin VIP Gift

Wow. As I write this I feel a little like sleeping beauty or Rip Van Winkle. It’s been so long since I’ve been back to second life and I’ve finally found my bearings again. Due to do some RL complications I had to take a sabbatical so could not do any postings but now that things are a bit calmer I plan to get back into the blogging game. I really agonized over what I wanted to do with my first post upon returning to the website and it took me a few days before I finally found the idea. I was reading through some RL fashion magazines as I’m wont to do during my downtime at work and came across a lot of ideas about color. It was the prevailing theme in the magazines I ran across and it really resonated with me deep inside.

Color is such a wonderful and creative thing and yet a lot of us fear it when interjecting it into our own wardrobe whether it be second life or our first lives. I found that I was guilty of this as well. I love color, especially when I am decorating my houses and dealing with interior design projects although I tend to stay with more earthy tones with pops of color. But in my wardrobe I can sometimes be more conservative with color, afraid that I’ll make a mistep with one risky move and instead of being something revolutionary I create something that is disastrous. It has happened time and time again as I’ve seen with many others and I didn’t want to fall prey to that same beast but I’ve decided to be a bit more daring with color and not fear it as much. I wanted to showcase a few outfits that I found that really display the beauty that color is. You’ll find the others in future posts as I finish processing them but I wanted to start off bold.

A tip for those that may be more afraid of playing with color than others would be to start off small. Play with your accessories and their colors first. Learn to add pops of color here and there to create dynamic looks that work for all sorts of occasions. Once you get more confident try playing around with a piece of clothing at a time- a bright shirt with subdued bottoms or vise-versa. Color is all about experiment and I sometimes laugh when I hear how some people think that females must have some special gene to know how colors go together. We know what looks right and what may look wrong but it’s also a matter of personal taste with a touch of societal and fashion trends that determine the way our style can go. It’s something that everyone has to experiment with constantly to make it work so do so. If you’re really a color-phobe then check out full outfits that showcase color in a stylish way that appeals to your senses as I did here. Blue and yellow isn’t something I would’ve originally thought to put together in such a bold way but it worked with this outfit so I had to get it. Buying full outfits in this instance is a way to immerse yourself, dipping a toe in the pool, before you decide to take the plunge.

What I loved most about this outfit wasn’t just the colors although they are eye-catching but the design and cut of it itself. I called it my hobo chic and while it’s not something I would classify as an everyday part of my wardrobe the individual pieces themselves could work with any other number of things I have in my inventory which is something I really look for in full outfits- whether they can be deconstructed later to be put into creative use with pre-existing pieces.

Outfit: *{ SeVered GarDeN }* Mina * Blue
Shoes: AZOURY – Les Bottines Lilium
Hair: TRUTH – Joanna Reds
Skin: [Al Vulo!] – Ninni – Cocoa