Thursday, July 10, 2008

The Missing Difference

Look Of The Day [July 1/2008] 1

Sometimes in Phil's Place, we forget to root for the little guy. The big mega-brands get a whole lot of attention, they can afford to send review copies to everyone, they have customer service reps who handle the day to day, and the money just rolls on in. Unfortunately, little shops, no matter how brilliant they are, face an uphill battle, particularly if their creators cannot spend full-time working on new product to feed our massive hunger for newness. D!FF=> was one of those little guys, and unfortunately, they closed up shop a few months ago. It is a shame, they had some really lovely items, and I have many of their things. The question is, do we blog items from sellers that are no more? I say yes, we do, because it serves to remind us all that we need to support small business in-world, as well as the big guys (& gals). The adorable Isometric Dress was one of my last purchases from D!FF=>, I love it's simple summer style, the lovely print and colour combination, and the fact that I didn't have to shell out brand name bucks for it.

I went for dark almost bronze gold accessories, inspired particularly by Violet Voltaire's brilliant No Love Lost Set in Bronze. Violet is a "Wizard of Primery" (I made that up, but it's true), I love her little cogs, bows, and other unique details that make her work so interesting and desirable. That and she doesn't charge insane prices for her stuff. I pulled in a freebie from ~*Fresh Baked Goods*~, this from the Velvet SIM Launch, a sweet candy coloured Gold Charm Bracelet. I think these are still available, along with matching earring on velvet, but on Retrology they have the same set in pretty pinks and baby blue. The bag is new from [Armidi Gisaci], the Focsani Bag in 24K Gold could carry a lot of my fashionista must haves. I pulled in a great Purple Showtime Shoe from (Next Step), a really fun fussy Stiletto Pump.

Look Of The Day [July 1/2008] 2

This hair was a freebie I nabbed at the opening of [The oBscene], they have some great skins too, but I really love this Ceres Style in Black. This is my favorite skin from bianca F., the Bloom make-up with it's pinky-purple shadow. Lashes are from [Detour], and it is clear I am seriously addicted to these Love Lashes. Eyes are Freak Fantasia's Glassy Mustard Green Hazel Beauties. Let's not let those Different and Unique places go missing again, remember to blog what you love, not just what everyone else is wearing.

Shopping Details:
Dress – Differ*nt, Green/Purple Isometric Dress [No Longer Available]
Shoes – (Next Step), Showtime II (Purple)
Bag- [Armidi Gisaci], Focsani Bag (24K Gold)
Necklace, Earrings – Violet Voltaire, No Love Lost Jewelry Set (Brass)
Bracelet - ~*Fresh Baked Goods*~, Velvet SIM Launch Gift – Gold Charm Bracelet
Hair – [The oBscene], Opening Gift – Ceres Special Black
Skin – bianca F., *bf* fata2-ivory-bloom
Lashes – [Detour], Love Lashes
Eyes - Freak Fantasia, Glassy Mustard Green

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Jhuzen -

I completely agree with you that the little guy often gets lost or frustrated with the demands of running a business. I've spoken with several designers who love to design but hate to deal with packaging and promoting, customer service, etc.

I, on the other hand, can't create anything. I can hardly make a prim box but I have a RL background in Marketing and PR and the reason that I created my store - Black, White, & Couture - was to offer the small and up and coming designer a place to sell their goods without a lot of overhead. I'll help with vendor display boards, packing, etc and all I ask for is a relatively small percentage of their sales - so basically if they don't make any money then I don't make any money.

I think it's a new concept in SL and I hope it catches on with some of the smaller designers. :-)