So now we're looking at the second half of the second week. With my photo challenge shot submitted, I felt better about taking the time to mull, to ruminate over what in the world I was going to do for the runway challenge because, yes, it was time for the dreaded ... *cues dire theme music*
Challenge #3: The Trunk Challenge
Oh yeah. One of those. For those of you who haven't experienced something like this before, let me explain how it works. Everyone participating in the challenge is given a number of items to use toward the end of styling a complete outfit. If you're a Food Network nut like I am, the principle is similar to shows like Iron Chef and Chopped and though I've played my own versions of these in the kitchen (nerd), the thought of being judged on my adaptability was really intense.
Thank goodness we had two very generous sponsors in Solde Rothmanay of Soul Designs and Cacilia McMasters of Obsessed, both of whom provided a BUNCH of options for styling. Which was helpful because everything in the boxes was MESH! :O It added another layer to the challenge because, as everyone knows, layering mesh is really, really, REALLY difficult. We were also required to use three of the trunk items, one of which needed to be from each designer, and, of course, to present a style representative of ourselves.
This is what I did:
Challenge #3: The Trunk Challenge
Oh yeah. One of those. For those of you who haven't experienced something like this before, let me explain how it works. Everyone participating in the challenge is given a number of items to use toward the end of styling a complete outfit. If you're a Food Network nut like I am, the principle is similar to shows like Iron Chef and Chopped and though I've played my own versions of these in the kitchen (nerd), the thought of being judged on my adaptability was really intense.
Thank goodness we had two very generous sponsors in Solde Rothmanay of Soul Designs and Cacilia McMasters of Obsessed, both of whom provided a BUNCH of options for styling. Which was helpful because everything in the boxes was MESH! :O It added another layer to the challenge because, as everyone knows, layering mesh is really, really, REALLY difficult. We were also required to use three of the trunk items, one of which needed to be from each designer, and, of course, to present a style representative of ourselves.
This is what I did:
Trunk Challenge Styling
I'll just go ahead and say that putting this outfit together drove me a little bit nuts. If you've seen my blog before today you'll know that I have a very definite aesthetic; the MMI competition drove me to consider exactly what that was and this challenge in particular .. was difficult to say the least. Initially, I was going to create a burlesque-style skirt made entirely of hats and the bows you see above (a piece meant to accompany a mesh dress) but that's when I encountered yet another challenge: the bows and hats were NO MOD! This meant, of course, that they could not be linked together or to any other wardrobe piece I might create.
Did you know that your SL avatar can only have 38 items attached to their body at once? This is a thing I learned in week 2 and, I'm not going to lie, it's a fact that played as large a part in the final outfit as the trunk challenge itself. Maybe it tipped me over the edge and into the madness you see here because from the minute I saw what our stage was going to look like (a gigantic closet) I knew exactly what I had to do. I had to create The Mad Modiste.
It's a bit of a play on the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland; you can see hints of that in some of the accessories (namely the 10% sign, quill, and hatpins attached to my homemade epaulettes). A hat would have been nice, but then I wouldn't have been able to wear some trademark Crazy Hair. So let's do a breakdown of item attachments right here. Right now. Full style credits will be at the bottom but humour me for now. This is crazy.
Styling - The Bare Minimum:
Item 1: DV C Hud - I needed this to participate in the runway show.
Item 2: Strut It Pose HUD - While I was prepared to work without this during the show, I was able to prioritize well enough that it wasn't necessary. Thank goodness.
Item 3: Hair - Not an option to go without hair. Sorry. I'm not that brave yet.
Items 4&5: Mesh Hands - See above. Mesh gloves were an option but I couldn't find a pair I liked enough and, too, I wouldn't have been able to wear ZOZ's wicked zebra-striped nail polish.
Item 6: Mesh Body - Okay, so I KNOW this isn't required but I do like to wear mine whenever possible. I've been spoiled by smooth lines and perky boobs. I'm sorry, but it's true.
Styling - The Mad Modiste:
Items 7 & 8: Corset and chino pants - As soon as I saw that these two items were just about the same colour, I knew they belonged together as the canvas for my descent into insanity.
Item 9: Epaulettes - I had a great time making these using various odds and ends I had in inventory. The base is actually a bird cage (read: fancy mesh hat) that came with one of the dresses in the trunk. The only reason I was able to make this item, though, is the fact that every part of it had mod permissions and so could be linked together. You know, to use just the one attachment point. ;)
Items 10-33: Yep, you read that right. I attached TWENTY FOUR no-mod bows to my avatar to make this outfit happen. After which I moved them, one at a time, to fit at the correct spots on my painstakingly-created-from-scratch...
Item 34: Wire Dressform Skirt - Made with regular prims. By me. Using the Path Cut and Profile Cut values in the regular Edit > Object menu to create the individual wire pieces that were then placed over an in-world dressform to get the approximate shape of a dressform skirt. To this, I added flowers from the birdcage/epaulettes and flowers and leaves I've had in my inventory since my days as a SL wedding florist. All linked together to create one more attachment point. Thank goodness.
Item 35: Sunglasses - It was a logistical consideration at first because I wear two eyelash attachments with my model shape but then I found these in my inventory and loved the look of them with the outfit.
Item 36: Pincushion! - Using a modifiable bracelet, I added a full-perm mesh pincushion and tinted the faces to work with the rest of the outfit. This might be my favourite part of the whole styling.
Items 37 & 38: Shoes - Yes, I could have worn rigged shoes and only used one attachment. That was my plan until I saw these striped platforms. They brought my crazy up to 11. ;)
And that's how it all came together!
Or mostly how it all came together .. I didn't add the flowers until the morning of the show and spent a VERY STRESSFUL hour adjusting prims backstage, finishing a bare ten minutes before my walk. Phew!
I'll just go ahead and say that putting this outfit together drove me a little bit nuts. If you've seen my blog before today you'll know that I have a very definite aesthetic; the MMI competition drove me to consider exactly what that was and this challenge in particular .. was difficult to say the least. Initially, I was going to create a burlesque-style skirt made entirely of hats and the bows you see above (a piece meant to accompany a mesh dress) but that's when I encountered yet another challenge: the bows and hats were NO MOD! This meant, of course, that they could not be linked together or to any other wardrobe piece I might create.
Did you know that your SL avatar can only have 38 items attached to their body at once? This is a thing I learned in week 2 and, I'm not going to lie, it's a fact that played as large a part in the final outfit as the trunk challenge itself. Maybe it tipped me over the edge and into the madness you see here because from the minute I saw what our stage was going to look like (a gigantic closet) I knew exactly what I had to do. I had to create The Mad Modiste.
It's a bit of a play on the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland; you can see hints of that in some of the accessories (namely the 10% sign, quill, and hatpins attached to my homemade epaulettes). A hat would have been nice, but then I wouldn't have been able to wear some trademark Crazy Hair. So let's do a breakdown of item attachments right here. Right now. Full style credits will be at the bottom but humour me for now. This is crazy.
Styling - The Bare Minimum:
Item 1: DV C Hud - I needed this to participate in the runway show.
Item 2: Strut It Pose HUD - While I was prepared to work without this during the show, I was able to prioritize well enough that it wasn't necessary. Thank goodness.
Item 3: Hair - Not an option to go without hair. Sorry. I'm not that brave yet.
Items 4&5: Mesh Hands - See above. Mesh gloves were an option but I couldn't find a pair I liked enough and, too, I wouldn't have been able to wear ZOZ's wicked zebra-striped nail polish.
Item 6: Mesh Body - Okay, so I KNOW this isn't required but I do like to wear mine whenever possible. I've been spoiled by smooth lines and perky boobs. I'm sorry, but it's true.
Styling - The Mad Modiste:
Items 7 & 8: Corset and chino pants - As soon as I saw that these two items were just about the same colour, I knew they belonged together as the canvas for my descent into insanity.
Item 9: Epaulettes - I had a great time making these using various odds and ends I had in inventory. The base is actually a bird cage (read: fancy mesh hat) that came with one of the dresses in the trunk. The only reason I was able to make this item, though, is the fact that every part of it had mod permissions and so could be linked together. You know, to use just the one attachment point. ;)
Items 10-33: Yep, you read that right. I attached TWENTY FOUR no-mod bows to my avatar to make this outfit happen. After which I moved them, one at a time, to fit at the correct spots on my painstakingly-created-from-scratch...
Item 34: Wire Dressform Skirt - Made with regular prims. By me. Using the Path Cut and Profile Cut values in the regular Edit > Object menu to create the individual wire pieces that were then placed over an in-world dressform to get the approximate shape of a dressform skirt. To this, I added flowers from the birdcage/epaulettes and flowers and leaves I've had in my inventory since my days as a SL wedding florist. All linked together to create one more attachment point. Thank goodness.
Item 35: Sunglasses - It was a logistical consideration at first because I wear two eyelash attachments with my model shape but then I found these in my inventory and loved the look of them with the outfit.
Item 36: Pincushion! - Using a modifiable bracelet, I added a full-perm mesh pincushion and tinted the faces to work with the rest of the outfit. This might be my favourite part of the whole styling.
Items 37 & 38: Shoes - Yes, I could have worn rigged shoes and only used one attachment. That was my plan until I saw these striped platforms. They brought my crazy up to 11. ;)
And that's how it all came together!
Or mostly how it all came together .. I didn't add the flowers until the morning of the show and spent a VERY STRESSFUL hour adjusting prims backstage, finishing a bare ten minutes before my walk. Phew!
Trunk Challenge Execution
I'm not going to write as much in this section because most of my energy was put into assembling the outfit itself. It was a little difficult finding poses that didn't have my arms, legs, and shoulders clipping into the dressform skirt and epaulettes but the outfit wouldn't have been the same without them. I'd estimate that more than 10 hours went into this styling from the time I started assembling pieces, selecting poses, and getting onto the stage for my walk. All voluntary, of course; I could have put something together in thirty minutes that would have been just fine .. but it wouldn't have been this.
Comments and Feedback
All great, actually! It was a risk going into a challenge with these homemade pieces and a styling that was, at best, 'edgy.' At worst, it was totally nuts. Thankfully, everything worked out just great; they enjoyed the details and the obvious work that went into making sure none of the wardrobe items clipped with my avatar's body. Time-consuming from start to finish but, man, it was worth it!
I'm not going to write as much in this section because most of my energy was put into assembling the outfit itself. It was a little difficult finding poses that didn't have my arms, legs, and shoulders clipping into the dressform skirt and epaulettes but the outfit wouldn't have been the same without them. I'd estimate that more than 10 hours went into this styling from the time I started assembling pieces, selecting poses, and getting onto the stage for my walk. All voluntary, of course; I could have put something together in thirty minutes that would have been just fine .. but it wouldn't have been this.
Comments and Feedback
All great, actually! It was a risk going into a challenge with these homemade pieces and a styling that was, at best, 'edgy.' At worst, it was totally nuts. Thankfully, everything worked out just great; they enjoyed the details and the obvious work that went into making sure none of the wardrobe items clipped with my avatar's body. Time-consuming from start to finish but, man, it was worth it!
Credits:
Skin: Lara Hurley-Fae natural/Milky ~ Lara Hurley
Eyes: IKON Promise Eyes - Quicksilver ~ Ikon Innovia
Makeup 1: DeeTaleZ Makeup NATURAL Lip Shades ~ Steffi Villota
Mesh Bod: Maitreya Mesh Body - Lara V2.1 ~ Onyx LeShelle
Mesh Hands: Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands - Elegant1 ~ Siddean Munro
Nail Appliers: -{ZOZ}- Animal Print Silver Polish - Zozicon Resident
Hair: Vanity Hair: Curly Gurly(MAT)-Light Blonds ~ Tabata Jewell
Corset: Obsessed ~ Pure Corset & Panty ~ Cacilia McMasters
Bra Applier: Blacklace ~ Primal: Zebra Edition ~ Mariska Simmons
Pants: Soul Designs Miranda Chinos for Women ~ Solde Rothmanay
Portia's Mad Modiste Wire Dressform Skirt ~ Portia Pexington
24 Obsessed Puff Bows (Obsessed ~ Sally) ~ Cacilia McMasters
Shoes: {U.R.} Black/White Sleek Platform Booties ~ Rita Hazelnut
Portia's Mad Modiste Epaulettes (Obsessed ~ Lydia Birdcage BLK/RED) ~ Cacilia McMasters, Portia Pexington
Sunglasses: [LG}KCSP14 Queen Bee Sunglasses 2 Brown Lens ~ Kim Lysette
Portia's Mad Modiste Bracelet (. aisling. Darshana Bracelet) ~ Damian Kleiner, Portia Pexington
Poses: *PosESioN* Raquel 9, Chic 2 ~ Dahriel Resident
Not Shown:
DV C System HUD ~ Draegen Vandeverre
Strut It ModelHud1.9 ~ Mango Splash
And yeah, I might have listened to this song a LOT when I was putting this outfit together. Can't think of anything else I'd listen to for ten hours on repeat, lol. ;) <3