Putting Together the Summer Wardrobe

Now that summer has begun, you will quickly notice that the events in Second Life pick up rather quickly. Within the past week, I have put at least three new events on the calendar with many more to come. As I attended a couple of events last week, it was evident that the wardrobe needed to be updated. After all, it is now summer throughout the European and North American continents, and oddly enough, the users tend to dress their avatars to match their RL location...strange isn't it?

To get started, I decided to load up some money, and shop around some of my favorite places to see what new little dresses and summer pieces were being offered. In most cases, the new summer pieces were gorgeous and plentiful! I also decided to buy several outfits in one outing by mixing and matching the accessories from different stores to create unique ensembles. I would also llike to remind the readers that I kept within ranges of L$500 for each outfit. In many cases, I was well under that range due to my philosophy that you can remain very simpatico in SL for not a lot of money.

One of my first stops was to Nicky Ree's main store on Tropical Orchid. The range of clothing is great and her high-end designs are gorgeous! The color of her creations and the store atmosphere make for a very welcoming experience and should be tried at your earliest convenience. I will try to do a separate entry for the Nicky Ree store at a later date, but here is your first taste. Her price range is also affordable at anywhere from the low L$100s to a couple of thousand for really high end pieces that should be kept in mind for costume or very regal events.

I mention the Nicky Ree store specifically because she not only has a few new very cute sundresses which I will show you below, but right now, she has a wonderful selection of fun pumps that are so colorful they will fit with most of your new dresses. In fact, I may have returned to buy a different color for each of my new outfits with the exception of one. Each pair is only L$150 and some with spring/summer patterns that are adorable!
I ended up purchasing two dresses from Nicky Ree as you can see below:

This yellow sundress with the daisies is one of her new lines just to the right of the entrance and available in many different colors. Cost is L$380, fairly reasonable, and the shoes are one of her spring collection with little yellow flowers print and purple up around the sides...too cute! Hair is by ETD which I will profile further down the post, and the jewelry is a freebie I picked up somewhere a few months ago. I think this dress calls for flower jewelry, but that's just me.

This next dress is way in the back of the store among some of the higher end and more expensive designs, but was so summery and unique, I couldn't pass it up. I decided it was festive enough to buy for the upcoming Second Life 5th anniversary party. It just screams birthday festivities! The cost was L$480, the highest I paid for anything during this trip, and the shoes, one of Nicky's summer collection matched the dress material perfectly! I was in love with this outfit immediately! The hair is one of the L$1 freebies from Diversity Hair "Jess" in so many colors I won't ever use them all. I love the Jess design. Nice long flexi ponytail with cute bangs and really nice shading. I use this hair style a lot lately, very cute and convenient.

My next dress purchase came from the main DeFleur store. I will have to rave more about this store later regarding their incredible selection of renaissance period dresses of beautiful detail at amazingly low prices. Take your time shopping here, and be sure to hover over every dress...she likes to make the less popular color designs free or greatly reduced!! These offerings change, so be sure to landmark this store and visit frequently for new bargains!

I found this cute little brown number in one of the little loft areas to the right of the entrance. Fly up there for some cute dresses at really nice prices. This one has wonderful unique textural designs with a realistic silk gathering at the waist. It is a part of her seasons of the day series, and I am wearing the sunset dress. The pink noon is on my radar for equal cuteness and I may go back for that one later. The prices in this line are around L$200. A great deal on such nice quality designs.

I recently wore this to an art gallery opening on Info Island and was happy with how it fit in...not too fancy, yet very classic design. The hair is from ETD, another freebie I think, and the jewelry was free from an unknown source (While some freebie clothes can be plain or of really low quality, we Sim-Patico girls NEVER pass up the free jewelry!! Most are fairly nice and expensive jewelry cannot always live up to its higher prices!). Shoes are from the Nicky Ree line mentioned above.

This next little dress was found at ETD. They are more known for their hair, but the clothing section off to the side has plenty of really cute designs.

This is one of the new babydoll dresses for spring available in several different colors. The hair is from ETD, shoes from Nicky Ree, the jewelry is another freebie, but the sunglasses are from Role Optic. Not copyable, but the only sunglasses you will ever need as they come complete with animation that allows you to change the position from on your head to on your nose in a nice realistic manner. Did I also mention the lenses and frames are customizable with color, bling and opaqueness? Available in several different styles at about L$200 - L$400 depending on what you like. Summer is all about the cool sunglasses!! Thanks Angie Mornington for blogging about them!

My last little ensemble is more casual and fun, a blue and white capri outfit from Dernier Cri. Charisse is working on a post to introduce you to Dernier Cri, so I won't spill too much about this new place except to say that the clothes are cute unique designs at fabulous prices, and her skins are beautiful at a reasonable L$900. I splurged and bought one of her skins because summer dresses reveal more, which means the shading throughout the body should be attractive and not one shade - as you can see from the back that accentuates the shoulder blades wonderfully. I am wearing the Dernier Cri skin throughout this photo shoot - taken with un-altered simple photography at Calavar/Pendragon, the most beautiful sim I have ever seen! I will blog more about this newly renovated sim at a later date.

While this little capri outfit comes complete with top and pants, Dernier Cri allows you to buy tops and pants separate with tops below L$100....a great deal!

My shoes are also from Dernier Cri and the little flower ankle bracelet is a freebie from the entrance of the store. Hair is a L$1 freebie from ETD. While not flexi at all, the color and style seemed to be just right for this outfit.

Well, there you have it! Most of my summer wardrobe bought in just a few sessions. I will next be off to look for some cute yet modest (with skirt) bathing suits for the beach parties. I will also keep my eye out for some more casual wear like the capri outfit. My biggest advice is to shop around and don't buy everything at one place. Be frugal and picky to look your best on a budget! Oh, and don't forget to take stock of the skin you're wearing. Almost anything can be worn in winter clothes, but summer requires more revealing outfits so take a look at the back, knees and elbows, etc. Some great skin can be found for free or at low cost, but think about investing in a higher priced skin for the season. At least go to the higher priced skin stores to try on the demos. You will quickly see the differences among sellers! Most shapes can look entirely different with various skins!

Here's to leading a great double life!
Sifriya