An Interlude

Before I get into the big blog article on the 18th century look, I thought a quick post about a recent adventure was in order; particularly since I have an amusing experience to recount and the pictures to go with it.

At the ball. I am wearing Ephemera, Madame X is in a gown by Arundel.

I was with Madame X, as usual; and I/we decided to attend a ball at a private estate residence that I'd managed to get a last minute  invitation to. We got all dressed up and went and after standing around for a bit, (yawn,) I suggested that we dance; and as there was a shortage of male partners; that we dance with each other. After I convinced her that we weren't breaking any period etiquette or other rules, we proceeded to have a pretty good time whirling around each other. After awhile I got really bored, however, so I asked Madame X if she wanted to take a tour of the place with me. I'd seen a sign at the entrance indicating a path to the "Winery," and I thought we should have a look. So we went for a walk on the balcony and ended up at the front entrance again, where we followed a stony path to a waterfront.

Some adorable little raccoons we encountered on the path. Aren't they brilliant??

We saw a rather large whale cavorting in the waves. Well, you can imagine what an experience that was, but we continued walking and after a bit we discovered a large building with an huge barrel filled up with grapes in front of it. Now it never would have occured to me to do this, but Madame X is fearless and before I knew what she was about, she was in the barrel jumping around and waving her arms in a most vigorous manner; pressing the grapes! Well, I tried jumping in, but it didn't work, so finally she told me to right click and select "sit here," which I did and sooner than you can say; "Reisling" I was in there jumping around like Lucy with Ethel!

Lucy and Ethel smashing grapes in the winery.

Soon we were laughing so hard tears were practically running down our faces. You'll notice it resembles the dancing quite a bit, rather amusing. I don't know if we broke any rules or anything, but it certainly was brilliant fun. Needless to say, I've chalked this one up as one of our more interesting experiences in second life.

Another disaster. Madame X and I at the bottom of the ocean where I crashed one of my new planes.
I am wearing the Amelia Earheart outfit by Reasonable Desires.

I still have some odd vehicles to show her so we can have some more bizarre adventures. A few planes, a huge roadster, and I'm sure she's found more as well. (As she is wont to do..)

Not exactly the right outfit to wear to drive an early twentieth century roadster.
From the second life marketplace under "vehicles 0L - 10L."

Who knows, maybe one day we will have an OOC (out of character) "Odd Vehicle Race" with other people who love dressing up..! Sounds like brilliant fun.

 It does seem to be a little competition we have going in a way; "who has found the weirdest/coolest most bizarre free/cheap vehicle in second life and how dressed up can we get to drive/fly/sink it???"  In all events, it's glorious fun and I look forward to many more.  I still have not had a chance to show her my free Millenium Falcon!  I wonder if it's a two seater?

Back to the Beginning

"Fezzig said, 'Go back to the beginning,' and this is the beginning."  ~ The Princess Bride

Various "Freebie" clothes and hair.

(In which I continue to thoroughly embarrass myself by showing my earliest attempts at creating my character in second life.)

So, continuing on with the story of my character and it's transformations...

I often wonder; with all the choices in Second Life, of who, (or what,) I could become, how did I end up looking so much like myself? I find it very amusing. I believe we were discussing this in an earlier post. Considering my goal is to create a persona and inhabit it in a virtual world; I could literally be a demon or a small fuzzy animal, (or a LARGE fuzzy animal,) a man, (done that,)a car hop, a piece of Swiss cheese, (only kidding,)a horned monster, a vampire,(done that,) or a seven foot tall banana. Considering my choices, becoming a red haired human with extremely creamy pale skin, green eyes, occasional glasses, a largish crooked nose and small lips would seem to be a little close to reality. 



Necklace by Virtual Impressions, forehead jewel by Grim Brothers, Fur by Icing, dress by Nicky Ree, hair by Ingenue



My look was determined in the beginning by the things I assumed I would be doing in Second Life. I thought for sure I would be engaged in some kind of steampunk scenario, or at least, Victorian role play of some kind. I ended up spending a lot of time in an Industrial/Goth club called Industrial Dreams, so I invested in clothes I wanted to wear there and in looking the way I wanted to look there. I always wore unusually over the top outfits to clubs in real life; so my sl wardrobe was similar; bustles, corsets, hats, period clothing of many kinds.




Bustle Gown by the Curious Seamstress


There was still, however, an awful lot of "all dressed up with no where to go," and I really needed some more to do than just walk around and change into different clothes. I visited the Legacies rp sim, without success, I also went to a few different clubs; but seemed to be going at the wrong times. Industrial Dreams was still a lot of fun, but I certainly wasn't going to create a club kid as my project! I had been walking around Languedoc Coeur for awhile and I managed to get on their events list. I went to one of the monthly balls where I danced with a nice young man. I also met a couple of the vendors as they sat in their shops. It was a start.

In the meantime the thirties had gotten a hold of me and I was going to The New Champagne Rooms whenever there was a show, plus I tried out Bogart's many times; hoping it was hiding some magic. Champers is a great place. The people are really friendly and the show is a genuine treat. I went to Weimar Berlin, but found I was too tall and it was too empty. I also visited several sims where I could be a Geisha; even one which offered virtual Geisha training!



Satin Top and skirt by Vita Bella, wig by Cut Up and Dyed, fur by Donna Flora

A friend mentioned Versailles in one of our chats; so I decided to visit. (As described in an earlier post.) I also visited St. Petersburg; and found it charming. But I still wasn't sure (and am not yet,) that either place was going to be for me. But the 18th century was/is growing on me.  So, we come almost to the present.

Gown by Ephemera, "Victoire" Wig by Yoohoo

Next: Of Courtiers and Kings ; How to get the 18th century look - I'll be talking about the search for an 18th century made-up look, along with the requirements for proper powdered wig and make-up for the Grand Habit de la Cour in role playing in Versailles - information applicable to both  Men and Women.




Gown by Ephemera, Portrait Miniature Brooch by Westbuitin, Animated Fan by Cherie, "Antoinette" wig

 



Back to My Future

Well, getting back to the present for a bit; I'm getting closer to a persona bit by bit, as I spend time in various places in sl and interact with the people there.

One of the places/periods (18th century: circa 1772) I'm spending a lot of time in is Versailles. The most unexpected things can happen there. Yesterday I bumped into this little guy:



A beautifully rendered little French bulldog named Bernard


His name is "Bernard" and he seems to be fond of lingering on the path between the teleport point/kiosk  and the outdoor market in Versailles. Dogs like this were beloved of Marie Antoinette, and consequently, the rest of the court. I'm assuming he's a french bulldog, and if you've seen the Sophia Coppola film; "Marie Antoinette" you'll remember that when Marie first comes to France from Austria, her beloved dog is taken from her because it is Austrian and she may not bring anything with her from a foreign court. Marie Antoinette was so fond of her dogs that she had her furniture legs and arms carved with little dogs' heads. Some of this furniture survived the revolution and can still be seen today.







Ladies of the court; one with an adorable little dog. The lady on the far left with her back to us
is me; wearing Ephemera. the lady in the middle is also wearing Ephemera. Other clothing unknown.


The first picnic I went to was attended by a young man who designs lovely jewelled portraits, sedan chairs and furniture, including little baroque dog beds. He had a little French bulldog with him, and  one of the ladies at the Charity Ball and Auction later the same week also had a dog.  You see him in her arms above; a truly sweet little dog. One of the coolest things I discovered in second life is that you can have realistic, virtual pets; as well as horses, cattle, rabbits, tigers, ferrets, etc. As I am not allowed pets where I live and also have always wanted to ride horses this is a very welcome discovery. The type of pets one had in the 18th century were similar in a way to the modern woman with her toy chihuahua. One's status is inferred by the clothes one wears and the pets one has. In the virtual world some pets require feeding and attention to be kept alive. I hope this is optional! I don't want to spend too much time worrying about an animal. I'm too busy shopping! Terrible, I know.



Late for a ball, I take the opportunity to take some images in a new gown from Ephemera.
Wig "Antoinette" by Canelle, fan by Cherie, Winter Fairy skin by Rag Dollz 

 Back to my future; I've now attended several court events and interacted with the courtiers there. Every time a serious one comes up I have a little excited/nervous flutter. The first few events I made some mistakes. The first one was showing up without a character and expecting to be able to role play; though this did not completely prevent it. A few people took pity on me; and unexpected things happened. I met a few people. I made a new friend. And one of the scarier, (and I mean this in the nicest way,) characters said something very nice about me when she thought I was out of hearing.

I then attended an event where the King was present and neglected to notice in the dress notes that a powdered wig and face are de rigour in his presence. I was wearing a huge natural coloured wig with an even huger hat with many ribbons. I couldn't see a thing and I was trying to back out of the tent. No luck. The King had sent an IM telling me about the wig requirement, and I was trying to make an inconspicuous getaway. I finally teleported out and went somewhere to change, but by the time I got back the party was breaking up and the King was either gone or about to be. At least I found out what I need to look like to be in the Kings presence!

At the charity ball in a dress by Ephemera, fan by Cherie, Äntoinette"wig by Canelle, sleeve, neck ruffles and chest ribbons from Trefusis

I was, however,able to attend several events, and I met several more people, in Versailles, Languedoc and St. Petersburg. I've now been accepted onto the online web site for the court of Versailles and I'm getting their announcements on second life, as well. I think they are expecting me to become a part of their court. I'm not certain that's what I want. It's not that I won't end up doing that, it's just that the character is still developing and I'm not certain that 's what it will want. I have to follow what the character wants.

For me, the psychology of character personification is complex. I usually prefer non-historical personages; but I have done a couple of real individuals; Elizabeth Eleanor Siddal; the poet and painter, and Mary Shelley; the author of Frankenstein. In each case, opportunity coincided with intellectual interest to encourage me to pursue this type of character, but usually, I go with a successive number of creative inspirations such as films, books, chance encounters, etc. Usually it's sort of a build up of coincidence which then inspires a tiny flame of a character. If this inspiration can be sustained through all the work that goes into character building, then I have a new persona.

The same seems to be holding true for second life. A desire to be a certain type of individual is emerging. It is coalescing; coming into focus.. Before I went online I had great interest in pursuing an 18th century character for a friends' role playing group. I bought yards and yards of ribbon and fabric to make up a wardrobe for her and watched every 18th century film I had over and over. I started reading about society in the period and practiced a french accent and the bit of french I have left over from school. (By the way, watch "Marie Antoinette" with the french dubbing. It's a lovely experience.) This is one of my language and accent learning methods; to watch film with dubbing in another language or in other languages. It works very well, for speaking. On sl, unfortunately, I need to be able to read and write French. And I keep misspelling Monsieur!

Wig "Äntoinette"by Canelle, headpiece by Ephemera, Gown by Wunderlich, chest
ribbons by Trefusis

Anyway, I'm at last feeling a distinct personality. This is a great sign. I've researched one historical personage I either want to become or I may base the character on her. I'll write about it more as I decide or feel out where it's going. I don't want to tip my hand. The ideal thing would be to be able to move between several  places. I think she may be a little more independent than she ought to be, but I think I need that.

And with that...