Paradise Dawning

When the virtual world first beckoned me to begin my Second Life anew last year, I found early on that I was really fascinated with shopping on the SL Marketplace. It felt like an interactive catalog, with a variety of search and sort options, and I really liked that I could load up my cart, chill in a sandbox, and have a lovely bunch of parcels delivered right to me, ready for my unboxing pleasure.

These days, I do still find myself shopping the Marketplace on occasion; I particularly love it for purchasing gacha items, which is largely how I found makeup appliers for my beloved Genesis Lab mesh head. But last year, my friend Kess Crystal inspired me with her wonderful Mainstore Monday series, which found her sharing finds from designers’ mainstore locations, which she hoped would inspire others to broaden their horizons, rather than exclusively exploring the vast array of shopping events.

I loved this concept, but sadly failed to do it proper justice before going on hiatus. So this time around, I decided to make it a point to visit mainstores as often as events, because if I loved something a designer created for Collabor88, Uber, or similar, I was sure to be dazzled by items from their older, non-“event exclusive” collections as well. And I’ve been enjoying it immensely! I’ll never bid farewell to my love for shopping the events; it’s one of my great pleasures in Second Life, and I just eased back into maintaining my SL Fashion & Shopping Events Tracker to boot. But mainstore visits will definitely become a deeper part of my style-creating groove and technique!

However, it’s a bit funny that I wrote all of that to accompany a picture that largely does not contain mainstore releases. Silly Ever! But my look does contain two items that came right from the Marketplace, so it all makes sense in a roundabout way. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it! ♡

Please click for full size.

Look

Body // Lara Mesh Body v3.5 by Maitreya
Head & Skin // Melissa by Genesis Lab
Hair // Reading (HUD 01) by Magicka
Eyes // Eris Eyes (Pine Tree) by Inkheart

Style

Jewelry // Rope Necklace (Gold) by LUXE for Uber, through May 22nd
Top // Holli Tank Top Applier (Bronze) by alaskametro<3
Jacket // Amsterdam Denim Jacket (Faded Blue) by Emery for Collabor88, through May 6th
Skirt // Vintage Maxi Skirt by Lowkey Shawty
Shoes // Brazilia Sandals (Maitreya High) by KC Couture

Pose & Destination

Pose // Cassie 2 by Label Motion
Location // 0031