Before I get into talking about what I’m wearing, I wanted to quickly talk about two recent discussions I’ve had in the past several weeks with two individuals who have a completely different viewpoint regarding the marketplace and I found it to be quite interesting.

1. The first individual told me that they feel the marketplace is slowly going to kill the SL economy and Second Life itself. This person has noticed that ever since the onset of the marketplace, the traffic at their mainstore has decreased significantly. Their mainstore used to always have amazing traffic, I recall myself every time I went there it was always packed. Now, not so much. They still have great sales on the marketplace, but of course the Lab is taking a big chunk of each sale. They feel more and more people are shopping on marketplace and not many are visiting the stores anymore bringing traffic down for sims that need it. Places like clubs and other venues used the rent money from stores to pay for tier, etc.. and now a lot of them are not able to meet that and the situation will just get worse. People will have less to do inworld and will eventually just stop logging in.
2. The other person I spoke to says that they don’t see it that way. They feel the marketplace will assist in getting more sales for designers, especially the smaller designers that may not be able to afford a sim/mainstore inworld. They also feel that people will still login and hopefully with less people wanting to buy/rent sims, sim/land/rental prices may go down and then artists can afford to pick these up for doing art installations and such, bringing more creativity to the grid.

I’m not sure if I agree with every single thing either of them have said, but I do know that the marketplace does assist me in locating items I am looking for. Yesterday I was looking for a catwoman outfit, I searched and a bunch came up. After purchasing four different kinds, I settled on this one from Graves because it was the best quality. I know without the marketplace I would not have been able to find this as Graves is not a store I frequent.

So how do you feel about this topic? Do you think the marketplace is hurting the economy and will have detrimental effects on Second Life in the future?

Now on to what I’m wearing. A few weeks ago I was having a conversation with someone about Catwoman costumes and I was saying how I wish someone would make a really amazing and sleek mesh Catwoman avatar and/or costume. I’ve owned a Catwoman costume in the past but the quality was always lacking. For about a year I searched for a good quality one but then gave up. Since getting the FATEeyes I have been itching to dress up as Catwoman again so I decided to start my search again and hit up marketplace. I ended up purchasing four different ones and I was just blown away by this one from Graves. It’s not mesh, but it’s amazing quality and even comes with a whip. The only thing that I wish it also had was a tail.

The thigh-high platforms I’m wearing are mesh however they are not released yet. They will be released by Faint Paulse of Ladies who Lunch after the MAD Agency Fashion Show. Click here for all the details!

Credits:
*Skin: -Glam Affair- Amelie Light – Bl 08 by Aida Ewing
*Eyes: FATEeyes by Damien Fate
Outfit: GRAVES The Cat – leather latex costume by Jackie Graves
*Shoes: [LWL] Laurella Leather Pants with Platform (Jet Black) by Faint Paulse (MESH) (To be released on Saturday)
*Poses: Catwoman poses by Creamy Cooljoke (not available)
Location: Old New York

I’m totally going to show my age and share a youtube video of Jem and the Holograms. When I was 5 years old, I remember dancing around and singing to all their songs. I so wanted to be Jem. Anyhow, this post is dedicated to the truly outrageous Jem, and the Holograms!

There’s a few events I wanted to talk about this morning. First is the Summer Beauty Festival. It opens on May 1st and will feature 11 cosmetic designers for all your makeup needs. I’m wearing the pink glitter shadow from elymode cosmetics. For more details about all the makeups and colors that will be available from elymode, check out Miss Magenta DeVinna’s gorgeous post.

The next event, and the one I’m the MOST excited about is FaMESHed! FaMeshed will also start on May 1st and it will be a monthly event starting each month with fresh designs from Designer/Creators that have incorporated Mesh into their newest releases. The items released will be exclusive to this event so make sure you don’t miss it!

The dress I’m wearing will be available at FaMESHed on May 1st from NyuNyu Kimono of NyuConcepts.

Yesterday I was trying to take some blog pics but was having some difficulty when I remembered I was invited to a fashion event so the second picture you see in this post was taken at the “Sent to Destroy” event. It was a spectacular event, however I unfortunately crashed about 25 minutes into it and couldn’t log back on. Anyhow, that’s why I don’t have the name of the couch or pose you see in the picture. Even though the couch was a bit oversized for me (lol) I still thought this was just a fantastic power pose and had to snap a pic.

The shoes I’m wearing are from Ladies who Lunch and were created for and also previewed at the Sent to Destroy event.

Finally, I wanted to give a shout out and wish SL Style Academy a very happy first birthday. I’m really happy to be a part of the feed and also loved sharing my picks this month for my favorite designer and blogger. Check out the “faculty picks” on the sidebar, mine’s the first one!

Credits:
Skin: [Aura] Briar – Grass – colabor88 – espresso by Tyr Rozenblum
*Hair: >TRUTH< Georgina w/Roots - fairyfloss by Truth Hawks
Eyes: Mayfly – Deep Sky Mesh Eye (Deepening Spring, w4) by Arkesh Baral (MESH)
*Eyelashes: Miamai_Catwalk Lashes_Glitter 01 by Monica Outlander (MESH)
*Eye shadow: Elymode Cosmetics – Alato Due – light pink by Elysium Eilde (Available May 1st @ Summer Beauty Festival)
*Dress: NyuConcepts NYU – FaMeshed Dress, China Pink (Size 2) by NyuNyu Kimono (Available May 1st @ FaMESHed) (MESH)
*Shoes: [LWL] Troopa Boot (Soldier Black) by Faint Paulse (MESH)
Necklace: undefined lilies – be mine (white/silver) by Liliana Barrs
Nails: Candy Nail #FP006 Clear Glitter French 3color change by Peche Bury

Just because I’m a fairy, doesn’t mean I can’t celebrate Earth Day. April 22nd, 2012 is Earth Day. Don’t forget to get involved in your community and do something for the earth. Here are just 5 things to strive for that would make such a difference:

1. Plant a tree
2. Reduce, reuse and recycle
3. Give up your car for the day and ride your bike or take public transportation
4. Take a photo celebrating nature and share it on your social networks
5. Do some earth day arts and crafts, like decorating a reusable tote bag

I’m definitely going to try doing at least a few of those things. ^^

Faint Paulse of Ladies Who Lunch has been doing her part for Earth Day, inworld. She’s created a variety of things in honor of Earth Day. Check out her flickr for pics and details. I’m wearing the terrarium aloe earrings. They are beautifully made.

My hair is a hair debut from Azure Electricteeth of LaViere. She’s created three lovely hairstyles and I think they are definitely a great start. Remember to drop by LaViere and try a demo on for yourself.

Fantasy Faire started Saturday April 21 and will run till Sunday April 29, 2012. More than 130 of SL’s top fantasy creators are involved in raising funds for the American Cancer Society. There are nine sims, so make sure to visit this link for a map and slurls.

I am wearing the RFL exclusive from Evie’s Closet. It will only be available at the event so make sure to drop by soon.

Happy Earth Day! <3

Credits:
Skin: [Aura] Helena – Paper- Love Notes – VIP by Tyr Rozenblum
*Hair: -LaViere- Astris – Saffron by Azure Electricteeth
Outfit: Evie’s Closet Elora II RFL by Evangeline Miles (Available at Fantasy Faire)
Nails: Candy Nail #FP006 Clear Glitter French 3color change by Peche Bury
Ring: TOSL *Fruitylicious* Ring v1.4 Cerises (No longer available)
*Earrings: [LWL] Terrarium Earring (aloe) by Faint Paulse
*Poses: Exposeur by RubyStarlight Writer (Available at Pose Fair)

Wear Gray for a Day is an event that is raising funds for the American Brain Tumor Association. With over 80 established stores participating, it is the brain child of Sanura Snowpaw. It is now open, so take the slurl and get shopping.

I was recently linked to a post about a fellow SLer we lost last year to a brain tumor. His name was Epicurus Emmons and he was the co-founder of Fishers Island Yacht Club. I was moved by this post about him and after watching this video I really felt like sharing it here.

So I hope you guys get a chance to go by Wear Gray and do your part. I’ll be going by tonight myself.

The pose I’m using in the second picture is part of a phenomenal set of high couture poses from oOo Studio that will be released in May at Culture Shock.

Credits:
*Skin: -Glam Affair- Leah Grey skin BL by Aida Ewing (Available at WEAR GRAY)
Eyes: Mayfly – Deep Sky Mesh Eye (Deepening Spring, w4) by Arkesh Baral (MESH)
Hair: Asymmetric Bob (Black) by Truth Hawks (Inventory library)
*Eyelashes: Miamai_Catwalk Lashes_Glitter 01 by Monica Outlander (MESH)
*Dress: Miamai_Gauri by Monica Outlander
*Shoes: [Ladies Who Lunch] Pretender boot (Pearly Peak, White Sole) by Faint Paulse (MESH)
*Pose: oOo Studio Allegory High Couture by Olaenka Chesnokov (to be released in May)

From March 5th to March 8th Linden Lab is holding a special spring fashion event on the SL™ Community Fashion Forum and blogs. For my contribution to this event, I focused on mesh. You can check out my blog post at this link: Spring Mesh.

I’ve asked a few questions in the Fashion Forum as well. Login to the forum using your SL username and password and participate if you can:

1. What are your favorite jewelry stores?
2. Location Scouting: How do you discover new places to explore inworld? What’s one of your favorite places that you have recently discovered?
3. Mesh Avatars: Would you feel comfortable wearing a mesh avatar?

I will probably add more discussions later today so keep checking out the fashion forum and participate in some of the other discussions that the other participants have started.

Please feel free to IM, email or leave a comment in my blog post or on the forums if you have any questions or topics that you would like me to discuss!

All of my style credits along with location slurls can be found in my post here: Spring Mesh.