Man-Tease

“Summer, it turns me upside down
Summer, summer, summer
It’s like a merry go round” – The Cars, Magic

It’s been hot.  Really hot.  I’m not a fan of hot, because if you strip off too many layers in real life and try to go out in public, there’s a very good chance you’ll be arrested.  Luckily, it’s never hot in Second Life.  It’s also never cold.  With that in mind, plus the fact that you can actually go where you want, as long as you have your naughty bits covered in a lot of places, people generally don’t care what you’re wearing.

Then this happened.  Actually, this is an idea that got thrown around on Plurk, and I ran with it.  I’ve never made anything like this before, and don’t generally wear things like this, but what the heck?  It was a fun exercise and now I have Manties.

What could possibly go wrong?  No matter how you look in real life, your avatar is usually made to look dead sexy.  Dead sexy in lacy underpants is even better!

The Mantease is a set of panties for male avatars.  These are Omega appliers, which should work on the majority of mesh avatars available inworld currently, though you might want to check the Omega blog to be sure (Google Omega applier blog and it’s the first hit).  Just for giggles, the system layer underpants have been included in all colors for those still rocking the default Second Life avatar.

I can hear all the “Oh Mys” now.  I’m looking at you, George Takei.

Available inworld and on the Marketplace.

Seeing the World Through Purple Tinted Glasses

It’s time yet again for //embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js” target=”_blank”>Vintage Faire in Second Life.  Avatar Bizarre’s participation in this event was purely by chance.  Well sort of.  The call went out to be a last minute fill in.  Literally last minute.  So last minute, that set up for merchant booths was supposed to be complete five minutes before I said “Yes, I’ll do it!”

But Vintage is what I do.  And lots of it.

As I scrambled to put together a few things for the booth, the Vintage Faire exclusive is this set of John Lennon-inspired glasses.  These are modify and copy, and include a color HUD with nine colors (the frames are kind of a blackie purple deal with all nine lens colors).  The glasses are materials enhanced for a bit of extra oomph.

This pair of glasses will look good on just about anyone, and I was told I looked like Top Gun Tom Cruise when I wear them. I’m not sure about that, but hey, if you like Tom Cruise in Top Gun, then I’m okay with the comparison.

There’s nothing like the rush of getting signed up for an event that needs you to be set up three days ago. I love every minute of this stuff, though, so hopefully you folks enjoy the Vintage Faire. There’s a lot of neat stuff this year; something for everyone.

Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair

A long, long time ago, when rock music was still very young, a movement started in San Francisco. It was a time of protesting and change. War was ongoing in Vietnam. People were dodging the draft and heading to the Height in San Francisco.

As the song says, “If you’re going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.”

Hippies gathered in Golden Gate Park for sit ins, and love ins. The sound of music filtered through the air, along with the aroma of incense and peppermint (and pot, but who’s counting?)

Twisted Summer of Love is the Twisted Hunt Events inaugural Summer Event, and we chose the Summer of Love as the theme this year. With bright colors and psychedelic patterns, you can be sure there will be plenty of vintage clothing, furniture, and other nifty things for sale from the 60 or so merchants.

We are proud to be an official team member of the Relay Rockers this year.  They perform a Woodstock event for Relay for Life in Second Life every Summer, so this was a natural pairing.

Avatar Bizarre has several brand new items being released at the event. The Relay for Life items are a male and a female Dashiki Shirt with a color HUD.  The Dashiki, inspired by the African tunic, has a brightly colored pattern over black.  These are rigged mesh, and come in the standard sizes.  The color HUD includes seven colors!  The male shirt definitely works with the SLink male body.  I can’t vouch for the female version, though I assume both bodies share the same alpha HUD.

Avatar Bizarre is also releasing a pair of denim shorts with a peace sign on the right leg. These shorts can be worn with the Dashiki. They also include a seven color HUD, and 5 standard sizes.

In addition to the Dashikis and the Shorts, There’s a new Twiggy-inpsired mini dress, and Go-Go Boots with a color HUD. So come support Relay for Life, and hit this amazing new event!

You can get there from here.

In a World of Pure Imagination

When you have a sweet tooth as rampantly out of control as mine, you tend to revel in all things chocolate, including Willy Wonka. When I first logged into Second Life, one of my friends was even more into the story of Willy Wonka than I am, and that’s saying quite a lot, considering I’ve been known to Cosplay Willy Wonka in real life. In fact, some folks only knew me as “M.W.Wonka” for the longest time.

When I first built Avatar Bizarre in Second Life, one of the initial outfits for sale was The Candy Man, a costume inspired by the Johnny Depp version of Willy Wonka. You know, the really creepy one, as opposed to Gene Wilder’s more frantic, chaotic, mildly sociopathic version. Love them or hate them, these men shaped how we think of the character. Naturally, Second Life needed influence from both.

Flash forward to a bunch of years later, and Second Life’s creation process has mostly ditched the old system layer clothing to favor mesh. Since I’m still a fan of the books and movies, I decided to let them inspire me for a new outfit. Enter The Chocolatier, an ensemble that is loosely based on the Johnny Depp Wonka.

This outfit includes a fit mesh jacket/waistcoat/shirt, a shiny top hat, a peppermint candy neck pin, a cane (with a pose), system pants in six colors, Omega clothing appliers (for those with mesh bodies), and a color HUD for the jacket.

There’s some really good news for folks who are into dressing up: This outfit is also available for women (regular and hourglass shapes), and femboys!

Don’t worry, folks. I got you covered.

Available soon for the Melting Pot event.

If It’s Not Baroque, Don’t Fix It

The thing I really love about Second Life is the abundance of fashions that never should have gone away.  Personally, I prefer a good frock coat to jeans and a teeshirt, and the latest design certainly proves that.

The good news about the Privateer outfit is the fact that you can get a female version, as well as a male version.  Or you will.  The female version’s not quite finished yet, but it will be soon.  It’s just an upload and a texture HUD away from completion.  The male version is inworld, and due for Marketplace madness in a day or so  But the truth is, I’ve been working flat out to get stuff ready for Fantasy Faire, Twisted Summer of Love, and a couple other events I’m totally blanking on, so putting out regular releases is getting pushed to the back burner.

In spite of all the procrastination, and making of things, and a flurry of “OMG I MUST MAKE EYE APPLIERS FOR OMEGA!!” I’ve taken a tiny bit of time to clean myself up a bit and show off the suit.

Privateer comes with a color HUD (six colors) for the meshy bits, an Omega clothing applier HUD for the pants (again six colors), plus system layer pants in six colors for those folks still rocking the default Second Life avatar.  It’s been materials enhanced, so the textures pop in the right windlights.

Never fear!  If you’re wondering, the boots in these pictures were made to match!  The Privateer Boots with Color HUD are sold separately, and feature a one inch heel for a little extra elan.  After all, if you’re going to sport a frock coat like this, you need some clicky heels in your dashing knee high boots!

Like the suit, these boots include a color HUD.  Each package contains two rigged sizes (male and female), and an unrigged pair that can be resized and/or repositioned.  Of course, they’ve also been materials enhanced for your viewing pleasure.

Yo HO!  Put down that barrel of rum, and head on out to Avatar Bizarre for your Privateer suit and boots today!

Credits:
Head – LOGO Ethan Male head
Body – SLink Male Phsyque
Hands – SLink male relaxed
Hair – Exile  Vindicated
Skin – Nivaro Crow Cream
Eyes – Avatar Bizarre Omega eye appliers – Sunspot
Suit – Avatar Bizarre Privateer with Color HUD
Boots – Avatar Bizarre Privateer Boots with Color HUD

Der Fledermaus

20Twenty is fast approaching, and this means Avatar Bizarre will have something new available at 20% off normal price for the duration of the event, staring April 20.

Fledermaus, which means “Bat”, is a Gothic suit that includes a high collared coat and shirt (mostly just the front part of the shirt), plus Omega pants appliers for mesh bodies.  For non mesh bodies, the system layer pants are included in all the colors.  The coat has a color HUD, and is materials enhanced.

I originally made this because someone asked me to make a Gothic coat she could wear.  But then things just sort of spiraled into a big production and the suit happened.  This coat fits nicely on the SLink Male Phsyique (pictured here, actually).  You just have to use the alpha HUD included with the body.  But it moves nicely, and works well for the discerning Goth.

The boots, pictured above, are sold separately and come rigged and unrigged.  If you look closely at the heel, you’ll see a little bat imprinted underneath.

Credits:
Body – SLink Male Physique
Hands – SLink male relaxed
Hair – Mina Harry Black
Skin – Nivaro
Head – LOGO Ethan

Photographed at Avatar Bizarre using Bryn Oh’s BLUniverse Windlight.

Welcome to Sherwood – A Sneak Preview

Fantasy Faire is nearly upon us!  This is the premiere event for all things fantasy and Relay for Life.  Avatar Bizarre is thrilled to once again be involved with the Fantasy Faire, and has several items for sale, starting April 21 (Faire opens at 9am, slt).

Robin Hood is a well-known and beloved legend.  Everyone knows he robbed from the rich, and gave to the poor, surrounded by his Merry Men.  He spent a lot of time getting the better of the Sheriff of Nottingham, and also managed to get the girl.

The Robin Hood is a versatile costume for anyone wishing to play in the forests of Merry Olde England, or any forest full of Faerie folk, dragons, and knights in shining armor.  The bandit outfit includes five sizes for the rigged mesh doublet, system shirts and pants in eight colors, plus an OMEGA clothing appliers HUD for mesh bodies (please be sure your body is supported by OMEGA before you buy this outfit).  There’s also a plumed hat, and alpha.

The boots pictured are “Gawain Boots with color HUD”.  These are rigged and unrigged.  All mesh items are materials enhanced for your viewing pleasure.

This outfit is available for women, as well.  While at the faire, a portion of the proceeds will go to Relay for Life.  Cost is 375L.  The boots will also be available for 175L.

Credits:
Head – LOGO Ethan (skin fair)
Hair – Wasabi Pills Roy Royal
Robin Hood outfit – Avatar Bizarre – available soon at the Fantasy Faire.

Fantastic Planet

At first, the colonists arrived on Mars as small crews aboard the fleet of rocket ships.  They fled their home world, which was devastated by atomic pollution.  Once properly terraformed, Mars was a popular destination, a new frontier; vast amounts of land for the taking, plenty of room for everyone, except…

They hadn’t counted on Martians getting in their way.  Peaceful though they were, the indigenous people wouldn’t give up their home to the human invasion easily.  Eventually, the conflict became vicious, but who is to say which people would inherit the red sands of Mars.  Men were the aliens, my friends.  But what else could they do?  Earth was no longer inhabitable.  They needed a new home.  It’s simply unfortunate the Martians wouldn’t let us have what they felt was rightfully theirs for the taking…

Avatar Bizarre has remade the original Martian Colonist Uniform for female avatars.  Like the male version, this uniform comes in standard sizing, includes a color HUD with seven colors, and is resplendent in opalescent materials shine.  The boots are separate, and also come with a color HUD.  They are unrigged, so you can resize them as needed.

The colors included on the HUD are Red, Green, Teal, Blue, Purple, Black, and White.

The Martian Colonist is available inworld and on the Marketplace.

Boots are also available.

 

 

A HUDding We Will Go

Do you love getting all the colors of a thing, but can’t stand the hassle of Inventory Bloat from buying a fatpack?  Do you love simple, easy to understand and easy to use HUDs?  Are your favorite outfits not colorful enough, because they haven’t been enhanced with delicious and amazing hues?  Do you ever visit Avatar Bizarre and think, “Now why doesn’t this dude make this thing for women?  Why???”

Then this is your lucky day!  Avatar Bizarre’s resident creator has been hard at work updating the whole product line.  Not only are a lot of things being put on color HUDs, but many items are being redesigned for women, as well as men!  Not just that, but many items that weren’t enhanced by the sheen and bumpiness of materials have been enhanced by all the sheen and bumpiness!

If you’re looking for the single color of a thing (and the single color things are a bit less expensive), they’re still going to be available on the Marketplace, never fear.  But for those folks who still shop inworld, most of Avatar Bizarre will include stuff on color HUDs, and with female versions.

Unlike a lot of stores, Avatar Bizarre does not segregate the majority of clothing.  Though there is a bit near the front that is labeled “Female Fashion”, most of the items are grouped by genre.  So, ladies, if you want to find that nifty outfit, each section of the store is clearly labeled as “Goth/Victorian, Historic, Casual, Shoes and Accessories”, etc.  It just made sense, particularly if you’re after a his n’ hers outfit.  Each his n’ hers outfit will be sitting together to make life easier for you.

Do you have a request for something you would like to see me make?  If there’s something in the store you would love to have a female version of, or if you don’t see a thing and believe I should make it (for both men and women), feel free to comment here, or bug me (Sredni Eel) inworld.  If you’re on Plurk, you know how to find me.

This has been a monumentally huge project, but it’s nearing completion.  Soon, oh so soon, my droogs and devotchkas.

Moonage Daydream

“I could make a transformation as a rock & roll star” – D. Bowie, Star from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

Folks who know me have either put up with, or completely embraced my lifelong obsession with David Bowie.  I had several of Bowie’s hairstyles while slogging my way through Junior High and High School.  My Walkman always had a Bowie tape in it.  I watched LiveAid just because he was scheduled to perform.  I scoured record stores for anything and everything even remotely Bowie-related, including pouncing on artists like Lou Reed and Iggy Pop, simply because they had albums produced by the Thin White Duke.  I actually yelled at Jennifer Connelly’s character in Labyrinth to stay with the Goblin King.  I would have.  When the man went on tour, I raced to get tickets to every show I could attend.  I had the massive Bowie shrine, including all the music, videos, posters, teeshirts, and anything else I could lay my hands on.  I threw glitter on him during performances of Hallo Spaceboy.  If you haven’t guessed, I’m just a bit of a fan.

Monday morning started just like any other; the alarm woke me up.  I squinted at my phone and read emails till I could actually drag my carcass out of bed.  I was puzzled by the sudden popularity of a Ziggy Stardust outfit I’d made for Second Life.  It wasn’t a huge seller…till now.  But still, things didn’t click in my sleep-fogged brain.  Then I saw an email from my oldest and dearest Second Life friend.  It was simply titled, “Shared Grief” and in it, she wrote, “E and I are thinking about you.  If you need to talk, please call.”

I was really confused now.  Who did we both know who had died?  That’s certainly the gist of the email.  I replied, saying, “It’s too early to call and I have to be at work in 15 minutes.  I’ll call you later.”

Then I saw CNN.

THE PLANET EARTH IS BLUE.  David Bowie.  On the front page of CNN.  It hit me like a ton of bricks. Right to the face.  My hero, an icon of my youth, the soundtrack of my life…dead of cancer.  I cried.  I sat at my computer at 6:15am and cried.  I briefly thought, “I need a bereavement day.” but I wasn’t thinking straight.  I went to work and it was the longest day of my life.

“Lady Stardust sang his songs of darkness and despair.” – D. Bowie, Lady Stardust from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

I came home and immediately put on the Ziggy costume, made a black armband for good measure, and headed to The Village of Nyght for the tribute I never wanted to host.  I sent out notices, and people poured in, commiserating, reminiscing, sharing stories, requesting their favorite songs, crying.  People who haven’t been in Second Life for years showed up just to be with other fans and give Mr. Bowie a proper send off to his home planet.

I’m afraid most of us were quivering heaps of jelly, curled into fetal positions, shaking and crying when I played Lazarus from his Requiem Mass, Blackstar.  It got even crunchier when I pulled out a rare live recording of Bowie and Gilmore singing Comfortably Numb.  The tribute set lasted four and a half hours.  Maybe a smidge more.  I’d have kept going if I didn’t feel so utterly wretched, wiped out, and still mourning the loss of a man I never met, yet loved with all my heart.  Besides, after all the tears, my eyes were dry and burning.  It was time for a rest.

“Give me your hands, because you’re wonderful.” – D. Bowie, Rock n’ Roll Suicide from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

It’s now two days later.  I still hurt, but life isn’t all bad.  If I wanted to, I could listen to Bowie non-stop for weeks.  But, it’s time to move on, just a little.  I had mentioned I made a Ziggy outfit in Second Life.  I’ve made a number of Bowie-inspired outfits through the years for Avatar Bizarre, and had a few in the pipeline that were to debut over the next few months.  Now I feel like it’s time to push these costumes to the front of the line.

The first to be built (and released soon for men, women, and femboys, I promise) is Moonage Daydream.  This is an outfit based on a design Bowie wore during his Ziggy Stardust tour.  It is a simple Asian design with thigh high satin boots.  It will likely be available with a color HUD.  But you need to give me time.  Between real life excitement, work, and whatnot, Second Life gets relegated to the back burner sometimes.  I would say after Further ConFusion (a convention in San Jose, CA) this weekend, I will have both versions available in the store and on the marketplace.

Love on, Ya!