It’s not easy to keep white shoes clean when you live in post-apocalyptic ruins. Let’s be honest—it’s never easy to keep white shoes clean. Not really. It’s just something that has to be done, if you’re going to wear them. But with a city falling into wreckage around you, it’s an especially daring (and problematic) fashion choice. What with the abandoned cars, broken-up streets, buildings slipping into sinkholes and all. And the dust!—the dust alone is enough to make anyone cry and pull on some grey high-tops. Read the rest of this entry »
Bigger is not necessarily better. I know, I know—size matters, and all that. People do say that. But as always, it’s not what you’ve got: it’s what you do with it that matters. Read the rest of this entry »
The snow crunched under Etienne’s feet as he slowly and deliberately made his way across the great open space that would, in warmer weather, be a verdant lawn. It was a long way from the manor house to the stand of trees on the south side of the grounds, and already he was beginning to feel the chill. It would not do for him to be shivering with cold; it simply would not. Read the rest of this entry »
No shepherds here. No wise men. No baby. No stable, either. No bright, bright star up in the sky. Just an angel. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s almost embarrassing, really, how much I love pea coats. You may remember that I’ve featured more than a few here over the last few years, and I’m highly confident that I own at least a few others. I do have one in RL as well—just the one, but it’s a very nice one, and my favorite coat. But in RL I have just one, and in SL I can have as many as I want. You do the math. Read the rest of this entry »
Everybody remembers at least one. You know what I’m talking about—that one teacher who everybody kind of fainted over, got wobbly in the knees for, maybe actually lusted after. Maybe not in the “Give me an A, or at least a B+, and I’ll do things for you” way, but still. Read the rest of this entry »
No story this time. Don’t worry, we’ll all be fine. 
Because sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, and an outfit is just an outfit. Which is not to say that “just†signifies anything diminished or less worthy in any sense, in this or any context. But, just as there’s nothing wrong with a fine cigar being what it is, there’s likewise nothing wrong with an outfit that’s well put together being what it is. Because, after all, a well put-together outfit is already more than the sum of its parts. I find myself exceptionally pleased with how this particular ensemble came together, and I hope you find something worthwhile here, too. Read the rest of this entry »
When he stepped off the train into the empty station, he felt not fear or apprehension but, rather, simple annoyance. He hesitated for a moment and turned to signal the porter, but the porter had vanished back into the car and the train was already pulling out of the station in chuffing clouds of steam. He was annoyed because it had been no small task to secure passage to New Babbage on such short notice (notwithstanding the urgent nature and secretly noble origins of the request), especially in a style to which he was most comfortably accustomed. He was annoyed because he could see clearly that, in spite of all extravagant promises to the contrary, no one was there to meet him. He was annoyed because he could see that the nearby hostelry was the Mechanix Arms—no doubt a fine enough establishment, but it was not the Brunel Hall Hotel, where he had rooms reserved for his immediate occupancy. Read the rest of this entry »
As a rule, out of professional and general courtesy, I make every effort not to co-opt someone else’s idea for an ensemble, no matter how impressed I am with the accomplishment. However, a while back I was at one of my more favorite dance clubs, and it was a theme night, but a non-specific theme night, if you know what I mean—I think it may actually have been Come As You Are. It definitely wasn’t Sands of the Sahara, Enchantment Under the Sea, or Pocket-Sized And Smokin’ Hot (at least, I don’t think so). Anyway, I noticed a guy there rather boldly attired all in pink, and I thought, “Unexpected, and yet it works.” So of course, as one does, at least as I do, I sent him a complimentary IM and hoped he would volunteer a shop name or even a landmark (otherwise, I would just have to inquire more directly). Turns out he was called Galen Dudek, and he was in fact the designer of his own ensemble, which just goes to remind us once again how very small the Second World can be. Read the rest of this entry »
I believe firmly that we can all learn from History. In terms of cold-weather attire for the male of the species, History shows us (if nothing else) that oh, I do so love a good pea coat. In RL, I have a calf-length pea coat in a wonderful foresty green, with burnt-orange lining—not exactly traditional, but really quite handsome. In SL, on the other hand, I have…well, not just one but two more. At least. Three (or possibly more) pea coats should surely be enough, at least one would think so; yet how could I resist one more? As it turns out, I could not. Read the rest of this entry »