Every Girl Loves To Play DRESS-UP! In Our Second Lives® We Get To Play Every Day! Here is a little taste of our Passion for SL™ Fashion, and where all those Linden™ Dollars Go!
As I went down in the river to pray, studyin' about that good ole way.
And who shall wear that starry crown? Good Lord, show me the way!
Oh, sisters, let's go down. Let's go down. Come on down.
Oh, sisters, let's go down.
Down in the river to pray.
Nikk wants to wash her sins away in:
Dress: Nomine Sookie Gown Necklace: Dark Mouse Stacie's Necklace in silver Hair: TRUTH Marissa in snow Skin:T U L I Jade tone 2 makeup 5c Poses: Olive Juice
One of my favorite characters in literature is Madame Defarge in Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. Based on les tricoteuses, the women of the French Revolution who sat calmly knitting while watching the blood of the executions flow, Madame Defarge is one bad-ass knitter.
Into her knitting, she weaves the names of those who are damned in the approaching days of madness.
In Chapter 16, she speaks of the coming storm: "I tell thee," said madame, extending her right hand, for emphasis, "that although it is a long time on the road, it is on the road and coming. I tell thee it never retreats, and never stops. I tell thee it is always advancing. Look around and consider the Eves of all the world that we know, consider the faces of all the world that we know, consider the rage and discontent to which the Jacquerie addresses itself with more and more of certainty every hour."
Although in many ways, she is the villain of the book, I admire her. She is determined. She is smart. She is watchful. She is passionate and she is patient.
And until the time is right, she is waiting and knitting. Knitting with her terrible code.
Nikk might be knitting your name in:
Outfit: Le Grenier du Chateau Patriot dress Shoes: Bax Ankle Boots (Le Look group gift) Hair: ETD Tiana in snow Skin: T U L I Audrey Tone 1 makeup 01 Scripted Knitting Needles: Knit This Ivory Knitting Needles with Lace (animated)
Nikk says when you cut the lights out think of me in:
Lingerie: Zaara Sumana Lingerie set in blue Shoes: Maitreya Chi Chi's in pastel blue Earrings: /artilleri/ Glitter Love in silver Bracelet: Fresh Baked Goods Sculputred Sugar silver gem Necklace: Dark Mouse '50's Necklace in silver Hair: TRUTH Chelsea in silver Skin: T U L I Audrey Tone 1 makeup 07 with dark lipgloss 5 Poses: Olive Juice, Just a Pose, Long Awkward Pose
Nietzsche famously said, "...if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." But sometimes I don't think the abyss just looks back at us, sometimes I think it calls us, beckoning us to the edge.
Taking the abyss as something literal, that void opening below us, who has not felt that urge? That little voice whispering in our ear as we stand on the edge of the canyon, on the top rung of the ladder, against the railing of an observation deck. That voice saying, "Go ahead. Take that step. Feel what it would be like to fly, just for a moment."
I tell people I'm a little afraid of heights, but that's not quite true. I'm afraid that I'll listen to that voice. Not out of some kind of death wish, but from a desire for that thrill. That same feeling you get as the roller coaster tips over the top of the hill, or as you leap off the high diving board.
That moment when time seems to stop, when you are suspended in the air, flying for one moment before gravity notices you again.
Nikk feels the pull of the edge in:
Dress: LeeZu Mirelle (Platinum hut item) Shoes: Maitreya Chi Chi's in white Jewelry: Dark Mouse Abstract Extravagance in Mercury Hair: TRUTH Lillian in snow Skin: T U L I Audrey Tone 1 makeup 04 with dark lipgloss 4
I can't decide whether you should live or die. Oh, you'll probably go to heaven. Please don't hang your head and cry.
Oh, I could throw you in the lake.
Or feed you poisoned birthday cake. I won't deny I'm gonna miss you when you're gone.
Oh, I could bury you alive, but you might crawl out with a knife and kill me when I'm sleeping.
That's why I can't decide.
Nikk is really only homicidal if you mess with her before she's had coffee in:
Earrings and Necklace: Dark Mouse Vintage Victorian Earrings and Locket Watch: Caroline's Rock Candy Watch Hair: Tiny Bird Nantes in White Skin: T U L I Audrey Tone 1 makeup 09 with dark lipgloss 2 Shoes: [Gos] Espadrilles in Meadow Dress: Ivalde/ -L'Abel-, Lilani dress (8/18 69L Humpday item at L'Abel)
Lyrics from Scissor Sisters "I Can't Decide" which you should probably not listen to at full volume in your office or in front of children.
Coat: Digit Darkes Determined Coat in plum Lingerie: INSOLENCE, Leslie Lavander Ensemble Stockings: GrueLing Designs- Misfit Fishnets Bracelets: Dark Mouse Vintage Nouveau bangle Necklace: Zaara Vanisri in onyx Shoes: Pixel Mode Kavika Sheen Ring: Paper Couture Water Over Wine ring Hair: T U L I Skin: T U L I Audrey Tone 1 makeup 08 with dark lipgloss 5
I love Italian movies. Granted, my introduction to cinema italiano was via the newer generation of great Italian films: Cinema Paradisio, Mediterranio, Il Postino...
But I've now come to appreciate the "pink neorealism" and the commedia all'italiana styles of the 1950's and 1960's as well.
These films, with stars like Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni, are filled with style and passion.
And really, who couldn't use a little bit more of la dolce vita in their life?
Nikk says ciao, bella in:
Earrings: Burroughs iMix3 DDee Hoops Bracelet: Eclectica Jazz Chinoiserie bangles Watch: Caroline's Rock Candy Watch Sunglasses: /artilleri/ Marla sunglasses in pink Dress: DPSerendipity Audrey Dress in brown Shoes: Magnifico Le Plateau in green/ white Hair: TRUTH Kami streaked snow Skin:T U L I Jade tone 2 makeup 2c Poses: Olive Juice, Striking Poses Location: Cinecitta
There's a woman I visit almost every time I go to New York City. Most people know her as Mrs. I. N. Phelps Stokes and she hangs on the wall at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In her 1897 portrait by John Singer Sargent, Edith Minturn Phelps Stokes stands confidently, returning the viewer's gaze with a lifted chin and an inviting smile. With her fashion-forward attire and her strong demeanor, she is every inch the new independent woman of her age.
While most people are probably not familiar with Edith Minturn Phelps Stokes, the name of her great-niece may ring a bell-- Edith Minturn Sedgwick, Edie for short.
In the 1960's Edie Sedgwick became a fixture at Andy Warhol's Factory. Appearing in several Warhol films, she soon became the "It" girl of the art and fashion scene. Her signature style-- short hair, dramatic make-up, large earrings, and a sweater combined with tights-- was quickly copied by avant garde fashionistas. On film, she exudes a nervous energy and vulnerability that perhaps hints at her troubled mental state. Sedgwick died of an overdose in 1971 at the age of 28.
Shirt: Emery Stripped Tee Tights: GLAM Tintable Metallic Lycra Tights Shoes: Periquita Funny Girl Flats in Black Earrings: {JUNK} onyx inlay Bracelets: Dark Mouse Vintage Nouveau bangle Hair: TRUTH Peta in Snow Lashes: [Glow] studio Innocent eyelashes in intensive (for The Dressing Room) Skin: Curio Gala Petal Winter Coal 2
John Singer Sargent's portrait: Edie Sedgwick in Warhol's Poor Little Rich Girl:
Mmm, I've really been looking forward to those plums I bought at the Farmers' Market yester.... hey, wait! Where are they?
Hmmm. What's this note say?
"This is just to say I have eaten the plums that were in the icebox
and which you were probably saving for breakfast
Forgive me they were delicious so sweet and so cold"
Dammit, Will! If you knew I was saving them for breakfast, why the hot hell would you eat all of them?! What on earth is wrong with you, you selfish bastard?
This is sooooo typical. Last week, you drank all the O. J. and put the empty container back in the fridge. The week before, you drove my car all day and left it with no gas in the tank. Well, this is it, Will! Why don't you go move in with your buddies Pound and Joyce? I bet they're a real bucket of laughs! They wouldn't put up with any of your produce-stealing bullsh*t, that's for sure! Son of a bitch- now I'm going to have to have a Pop Tart or something. Thanks for that, Will. Thanks a lot!
Nikk thinks maybe she saw some cherries in the fridge in:
Shirt: Shiki Kimono dress halter top Pants: Zaara Jeans {classic} blue Shoes: Periquita Silly Wedges Earrings: Zaara Sarayi wood hoops Bracelets: Zaara Ramya wood bangles in gold Hair: TRUTH Kami in snow Skin:T U L I Jade tone 2 makeup 8c Poses: Poses: PDA, Olive Juice Kitchen furniture by Blonde*.
This post very much inspired by this. And apologies to William Carlos Willams, who I'm sure, despite his fruitnapping proclivities, was a lovely person.
Photographer Diane Arbus established her reputation by capturing haunting images of those typically marginalized by 20th century society: circus performers, nuditsts, transvestites. In her work, there is a sense that she sought to convey the humanity of her subjects rather than highlight their outsider status. She gained such notoriety for her images that in 1972, she became the first American photographer exhibited at the Venice Biennale. While many found her images arresting and highly-nuanced, there were those who found them too confrontational. Norman Mailer once said, "Giving a camera to Diane Arbus is like putting a live grenade in the hands of a child."
Her choice of subject matter may seem strange given her early life and early career. Arbus grew up wealthy in New York City, and her early work was for staid publications like Harper's Bazaar.
Arbus was not only a photographer. She also shared her knowledge of the craft as a teacher at Parsons, Cooper Union and Rhode Island School of Design.
Plagued by depression throughout her adult life, Arbus committed suicide in 1971 at the age of 48.
Nikk looks for beauty in unusual places in:
Coat: Milk Motion fur coat Sweater: Push Button Industries The Afternoon sweater in Ink Pants: Zaara Jeans {classic} blue Shoes: Zaara Ilaida Mojri for shoe fair. Earrings: Dark Mouse Wood and Glass earrings Skin:T U L I Jade tone 2 makeup 5c Hair- TRUTH Peta in Espresso Camera: Chic Aeon
Many artists' paintings have been influenced directly by music-- take for example, the works of Whistler, Kandinsky, Mondrian, Haring. But having spent a lot of time in museums, I've decided that each one has its own special rhythm and melody as well.
The Metropolitan, that grand dame of museums, is stately, big, and full of surprises, like a Beethoven symphony. The Met's offspring, The Cloisters, is gilded and ritualistic like a Gregorian chant. MoMA, on the other hand, is more immediate and primal, like Stravinsky.
To the south, the Barnes is didactic and bombastic, like Wagner, while Barnes' rival collector, Duncan Phillips' museum is intimate and full of surprises like a Bartok quartet.
Then there are the twin sisters of the National Gallery-- The East and West Wings. The NGA West wing is linear and repetitive, like a Bach fugue. The East Wing, however, with its unusual angles and changing walls is like a jazz work by Brubeck.
Listen. Listen closely next time you are in a museum. Beyond the murmur of voices and the sounds of people walking through the galleries, you may just hear the faint sound of music.
Nikk muses on museums' music in:
Shirt: Baiastice Kean shirt in black Pants: Baiastice Kean high-waisted pants in black Earrings: Dark Mouse Abstract Extravagance in Mercury Bracelets: Dark Mouse Vintage Nouveau bangle Hat: Donna Flora Tania hat Purse: Baiastice Secchiello in red Shoes: [Gos] DARE bootie in Mono Skin:T U L I Jade tone 2 makeup 9c Hair: CurioGertrude in black
