BlakOpal Designs

victorian • steampunk • pirate • fantasy

A Celebration of Red

12 February, 2010 07:31 PM | Permalink
This weekend, with Valentine's Day around the corner, seems to me to be a great time to celebrate. Not because of the traditional giving of hearts, cards, and candy (love should be celebrated every day, not only on one day out of the year) but because we get to wear RED! I love that valentines day is a festival of red. As anyone who knows me at all can attest to, i am a HUGE fan of red. *grins* ... So today's blog is dedicated to some of my favorite items, in my favorite color!
One of my favorite pieces of jewelry, which just HAPPENS to also be a perfect match for the holiday, is the Pulsating Heart Necklace from the Golden Thorn, shown here in Red-Black (but comes in a wonderful selection of colors!) and looking fabulous with the BlakOpal Anastasia Gown in black & red. Thorn Witrial is the designer, and I'm a big fan of his work. I highly reccommend you swing by there for this great piece. (SLURLS are listed at the end).
While you're at Thorn's place i'll also point you to my second favorite piece of jewelry ... his Daedalus rings. I love the Raven Ruby version, but it also come in other gem stones, and different metals. The winged styling of the ring goes beautifully with the fine lacework of the BlakOpal Dark Horizons Lingerie, among others.
Another necklace worth looking for at the Golden Thorn, is the Mystic Darkling Ruby Ivy Necklace. It's subtle, animated texture, and celtic symbols make this a real eye-catcher. Especially fabulous when worn with a low cut gown, like the BlakOpal Baroness Gown, with it's see-through lace bodice and embroidered velvet waist cincher.
My recent excursion into landscaping, while setting up the Botanical Preservation Atrium in New Babbage, brought me to Uni Ninetails shop the Forest Floor in Winterfell. The place is filled with some fabulous plants and flowers, and i was able to bring back a lovely Berry Bush to plant outside the gazebo in Reachra. The red of the berries was just what was needed outside the shoppe. Here I'm showing off the lovely BlakOpal Amaranthine Dress, with oodles of lace and sexy peek-a-boo cutout front.
And while I was out trying on my favorite outfits in red, I couldn't help but throw on the BlakOpal Valhalla Dress. This is the predecessor to the Amaranthine, with lots of openwork lace on the bodice, and a varied-length skirt that's just dripping with venetian lace, this still rates highly on my list of the outfits I just love to wear.
Anchored off shore on Reachra, is my favorite Pirate Vessel. It's the Cormorant from the BlackSpot Shipyards, which (YAY!) come with the option of red sails. I recently ran this ship in a race of Tall Ships during the New Babbage Fleet week celebration, and even though I didn't win, I had a great time sailing. Of course I had to show off my favorite sexy pirate outfit while I was at it *g*, the BlakOpal Vanguard Lady Pirate outfit with Skirt. Red sails in the sunset, indeed. 
My final selection for the celebration of red is my new skin, with it's fabulously lush red lips. Designed by CTL Skins, I featured this skin on a few of my signs, and immediately started getting comments and IMs from people, wondering where I got it. The first skin I purchased was a very goth-pale tone with darker lips, also beautiful. But this shade has become my new favorite. It sets off the BlakOpal Andante Gown beautifully, I must say.

Here are thelocations of the shops mentioned above:
The Golden Thorn (SLURL)
Forest Floor Gardens & Dreamscapes (SLURL)
BlackSpot Shipyard (SLURL)
CTL Skins (SLURL)

I wish all of my wonderful friends here, on twitter, avatars united, and in second life a wonderful weekend. 
Lots of love and hugs!
blakopal galicia
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The BlakOpal Anastasia Gown in four colors

05 February, 2010 10:43 AM | gothic, wedding, gown, formal, fashion, lace, victorian | Permalink
It's been a while since I have posted any news here. After the busy holiday season, and other busy times in RL, I decided I needed to take some time away from the virtual sewing machine. It was nice to be able to get some things done in the tangible world, but now it's time to get back to what I love … and that's making beautiful fashions! It can't be denied. *g*

So I am very excited to be able to present a beautiful, full, flowing gown I have named the BlakOpal Anastasia Gown.
It has an amazingly full skirt, with lots of layered tulle, accented with embroidered details, silk roses, and finished with rows of gathered lace. The bodice has a long-waisted tabbed corset that flows out from the waist with more rows of lace that hang over the top of the skirt. The corset top can be worn with or without the shirt underneath. Sheer with embroidery at the shoulders the sheer silk top is gathered into very feminine ribbon bows at the shoulders. The outfit is finished off with sheer lace embroidered gloves, thigh-high floral-patterned stockings, and panty.

This gown is designed to be as beautiful in motion as it is at rest, with full crinoline petticoats that peek out as you sweep across the dance floor. It comes in four color combinations … 
The Anastasia Gown in Black & White is beautiful in it's contrasting light and darks. With a black and white corset set off with black undershirt and gloves, and an overlay of black tulle over white satin skirts.

The Anastasia Gown in Black & Red takes the overlaying of tones and adds lots of sexy color. The red silk skirts are overlaid with black tulle with accents of white silk roses, and silver and black gathered laces and satins at the hem. Simply beautiful in it's rich detailing. 


The Anastasia Gown in Black & Purple takes things in a darker, more gothic direction with all black detailing on the tulle, lace and silk roses over a deep purple silk skirt, with a corset in shades of purple brocade with black lace and details. 

And at the opposite end of the color wheel is a gorgeous Anastasia Gown in White with tones of white and cream layered in lace, tulle, and embroidered details, and accented with white lace gloves and sheer top, and stockings.

I hope you get the opportunity to see these gowns in world. If you happen to see me wandering about the shop, feel free to ask me to model it for you. I'm always looking for a reason to put this gown on. *g*

Have a great day!
=^.^= blakopal

blakopal galicia
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BlakOpal runways show at Menswear Fashion week

11 January, 2010 02:52 PM | Permalink
I want to give a big shout out to all of the models who made todays BlakOpal Menswear Fashion Week runway show a success. The show lasted 1.5 hours, and we had 8 of the hottest male models showing off our clothes. We were well represented by (in order of appearance) Dragonbird Amiot, Mangioso Lohner, Cape Harbour, Liam Netizen, Lexi Vargas, Apollo Call, Locked Semaphore, and RicoRacer Flux … all models from the Siren agency, and our announcer was the lovely Lexie Jansma, the owner of Siren.

This was our fourth runway show and I was a bit apprehensive after a previous show didn't go off as well as I had hoped (let's just say i was cringing several times during that show, hoping that it was just me seeing the mis-matched outfits. *oof*). Having a bit more experience under my belt, i tried to be a bit more proactive about making sure things were going to go right, without being too much of a 'stage mother' (lol). We had a short list of male models we enjoyed working with and asked for them by name (Lexi and Locked, thank you!) and went so far as to put photos of each outfit in the packages we sent over to make sure the guys had an idea of what the outfit was supposed to look like. Not sure if this helped them at all, but it went a long way to quelling my fears!

The guys all looks fabulous, with each outfit looking really great as each model took to the stage and made their way around the runway. I spent the show busily cam-ing and snapping photos, trying to get just the right angle to capture everything just right.

... and that leads me to my one gripe of the show: the staging didn't seem to be very well thought out. The stage building was interesting, they did a nice job getting it to look a bit steampunk, though the textures on the wall were a bit too busy for my taste. Often the outfits were lost against the dark colors.

But when the models moved away from the stage things got even worse. The models headed in opposite directions along the circular track around the audience meeting up again on a raised bridge at the back of the audience, which was fun, but there were no backdrops! so the models were either viewed against a very dull blank horizon, or against the mall filled with shops. They could have easily put up some interesting backdrops to shoot against, which would have made it feel like more of a special event. (In comparison, The London Fashion Week runway shows we did handled this much better.) In addition to that, the bridge at the back had a very large railing at the front of the platform, which made it impossible to get any decent shots there.

i really wish the people running this show had thought a bit more about creating an environment that would show off the outfits and models a bit better. It could have had a much more theatrical feeling without too much more effort. (gripe over)

I don't mean to dwell on the negative here, but I think it's worth mentioning in the hopes that this will be better thought out in future shows we do. I do appreciate that a lot goes into putting these shows on, and I am grateful to everyone for putting their time in to make it a great experience.

I hope we had a few new converts in the audience, though with the high number of ladies present, I think they may have been there to more gaze on the models (and who could blame them!). Thanks again guys, and Lexie for a great show. I now can happily look forward to our next runway show without fear! *smiles*

=^.^= blakopal

Here's a selection of some of my favorite shots from the show … and this link will take you to the flickr set of show photos taken by Tillie Ariantho for Siren.

Dragonbird in the Airship Pilot outfit

RicoRacer in the Nexus Pirate

Dragonbird in the Desert Expedition Suit

Cape in the Levant Suit

Apollo in the Bentley Fur-Trimmed Coat outfit

Locked in the Nighthawk Suit

Cape in the Peacock Feather Suit



Lexi in the Cogsworth Suit with Animated Steampunk Gears Wings



Liam in the Ivory Feathers Suit


blakopal galicia
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Announcing: The Nexus Clockwork Pirate

27 December, 2009 11:04 AM | Permalink

At long last (and i mean long!), I am very excited to announce the newest addition to the shoppe: the Nexus Clockwork Pirate! An outfit that has been assembling itself in my head for a few months now, the Nexus combines two of my very favorite things, steampunk and pirate clothing. Designed as a classic pirate outfit, it includes lots of highly detailed and animated parts that gives this a decidedly steamy twist. It seemed to me a natural fit, since we are in the age of piracy of both the air and sea, certainly pirates would adopt mekanisms to help them in navigation, and survival. Like the mekanical arm with navigational instruments and rotating gears, and the gem-powered metal belt tied at the waist with rope.

This outfit is stylish and very detailed, with armored shoulders draped with sheer fabrics, and sturdy tricorn hat topped with several ostrich plumes (which are tintable to match your heraldry, if desired.) On the back is the power unit, with several rotating cogs and glowing gems, with tubes and wires leading in to the body.

The buckled front jacket is built with sturdy pieced leathers to withstand the harshest elements. Remove the solid leather shirt from beneath, and the outfit is tantalizingly sexy, with a gladiator-esque look.

The Nexus Clockwork Pirate comes in two color variations, black or brown.

And men, you will be happy to know the outfit includes a pair of low-top boots (or are they high-top shoes? i can't decide.) Which have stacked leather heels and soles, and several straps of leather with a metal buckle at the ankle. The boots are also available separately, in either black or brown.

All outfits are available now in the shoppes in SL (SLURL), and on xstreet. Photos shot on location at the amazing Steelhead Shanghai.

Happy pirating!
=^.^= blakopal
blakopal galicia
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Furry extravagance for men

14 December, 2009 10:32 AM | Permalink

I have heard so many men in SL bemoaning the fact that the ladies have so many fun options in their clothing choices, men simply aren't given that many choices. That's why I like to push the boundaries now and again and put out fantastical outfits like pirate outfits, and feather suits. Lots of guys send me comments on that one in particular, saying they were a bit worried about it, thinking a feather outfit a bit more 'out there' than they would usually go, but their girl wanted them to get it ... and once they had it were so pleased with how much fun it was to wear. *grins*

I love to hear stuff like that! It makes what I do that much more fun, knowing I am enabling avatars (and their typists) to find enjoyment in things outside their usual fare. After all, that's what makes SL so fun, am I wrong? I think not. And that in turn makes me want to do even more fun things with my designs.

So when the winter season hit, and snow started to fall I decided to try my hand at some furry coats. Of course, fur is tricky, and to get it to look right create some very high-prim attachments, especially when designing for men, since they tend to be larger than women. That said (end disclaimer), I have been having lots of fun creating a new line of fun and extravagant fur trimmed coats. The ladies have the Rousette Coat, and now the men have the Bentley Fur-Trimmed Coat outfit. A long tweed coat with a long fur collar and cuffs, that includes a vest and shirt with cravat, and pants.

I hear Trilo has been having a great time strolling around the snowy streets of New Babbage in this coat, maybe I can get him to post a few glamour shots to share. I'm sure he looks fabulous. *wink*

=^.^= blakopal
blakopal galicia
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Reachra's Local Shop

09 December, 2009 10:10 AM | Permalink

One of the things I'm really loving about Reachra, our little home island in SL (SLURL), is how it's really been starting to feel, well, homey. And by that I mean, more than just a huge main store plunked down on a tile island … it is becoming a wonderful place to stroll and explore. It seems every time I get to the island, I see visitors wandering beyond the main store, and that's wonderful! It is exactly what Trilo and I envisioned when we decided to build this place. *grins*

So it has made me even happier to now have my own place, beyond my workshop. It's a storefront just down the road and to the left of the port, next to the book store. I have called it the Local Shop, (a nod to a running joke from a british comedy show League of Gentlemen) but it is not much of a shop, though I do have some of my more decorative items on sale (or for free) in there, it is more of a friendly place to hang out and entertain guests. It is also becoming a place to display some of my favorite furnishings and curiosities from around the steamlands.

This is actually a new experience for me! For the first time since i came to SL, I am finding myself wandering around the steamlands looking for strange and wonderful little items that I can put out on display. Like Meadow McBride's Steampunk Cephalopod under glass. Just the perfect item for the corner of my desk, I think. (Meadow McBride's Atelier SLURL)

Looking around the room it's not hard to tell who my favorite furniture designer is, Canolli Capalini makes such beautiful things I usually have to restrain myself when I go shopping in her store! Her furniture is well made, with lovely sitting and reclining poses, and her music boxes are just masterpieces of intricate design and scripting. Capalini Fine Furnishings in Babbage Canals (SLURL) is always fun to visit.

I had been eyeing the Cottage Fireplace at Quaint & Curious Contraptions in Clockhaven (SLURL) for so long, I knew it had to become the centerpiece in my room … it's broad mantle will be perfect for collecting steampunk snowglobes. Now, where DID i put that New Babbage Soot Globe?

The door is always open at the Local Shop, and you may even find me there. (Writes a reminder to get mister Zanzibar to set out some refreshments.) Do come visit when you are on Reachra, I love guests.

=^.^= blakopal


blakopal galicia
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A Ladies Suit for the scholarly types

01 December, 2009 12:06 PM | steampunk, period, gown, ladies, fashion, holiday, victorian | Permalink

The Rodean School was one of the first universities to offer victorian women a real education, and by that I mean, one that went beyond the feminine arts of flower arranging, and such. So it seemed a fitting reference for an outfit one might be seen wearing strolling across the quad, or entertaining a group of most learned colleagues.

A bit more conservative and refined in it's styling, the fitted jacket has details borrowed from styles I saw on my recent airship journey to Paris for the Festival de la Couture: folded satin detailing on the cuffs, back, and jacket hem, with a bold satin lapel that sets off the contrasting vest. I like to think of the vest as the spark of color that grabs attention and says 'there's more here than meets the eye'. Underneath, there is a nice crisp white shirt with a soft lace cravat tied around the neck, for a very buttoned-up, professional look … but feel free to leave the shirt off if you have a mind to be a bit saucier. (It's also worth noting that if you happen to be wearing a Victorian Corset underneath, it will peek suggestively out of the vest decolletage. That will surely turn the head of that professor you have been wanting to know better.)

The Roedean Ladies Suit is available at this time in three unique styles, the first is fashioned from a gray & black striped fabric set off with red satin vest and hem details, second is a special Holiday version in striped two-tone green fabric with deep red silk detailing that would be perfect for holiday entertaining, christmas caroling, or strolling about town doing your holiday shopping, and third we have the Gold Tartan suit which uses the hunter tartan of the New Babbage steamlands on the jacket with a solid gold skirt with ruffled trim (we do have plans to offer other tartan variations).

Quite a wonderful collection! We hope that these outfits will make their way into your wardrobe, and wish you continued success in your studies, or whatever fun you are getting yourself in to. *grins*

=^.^= blakopal


blakopal galicia
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A caped coat for men in these snowy times

30 November, 2009 07:10 AM | steampunk, inverness, winter, coats, fashion, cape, men, victorian | Permalink

The weekend and it's 4-day holiday was a wonderfully productive time for me. Trilobyte can attest to the fact that i hardly left the computer, being immersed in one design after another (with yet another still in the nebulous phase ... but more on that soon). But first ...

Following the turn of weather in the Steamlands, I set about to make even more warm outerwear for residents and travellers alike. Following the Rousette Coat for Ladies, I set my mind to getting something warm into the shoppes for men. I rummaged through my bolts of fabrics, looking for just the right color and texture. Something the men of the steamlands just couldn't keep their hands off of ... and there, in the back corner of an upper shelf, I discovered the perfect one ... sure it was a bit ragged, and a little worn in patches, but it just screamed winter yumminess to me ... ad so the Inverness Coat was born. Based on a caped coat design I had seen recently on a gentleman in the streets, I attempted to add some original BlakOpal styling. I was thrilled to see the men dropping the crates off at the docks a few days later, being able to get the finished coats out on the racks just as the worst of the storm hit town. The reception has been very good so far, and I will be rummaging around the stacks of bolts to see what other long-forgotten yardage I can find for variations on the style.

I have already seen some wonderful photos of this outfit showing up in various places online, and I'm very happy with the overall look. I think it's one of my moodiest outfits yet. *grin*

Have a warm and wonderful week!

=^.^= blakopal
blakopal galicia
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Dressing up in style for winter

24 November, 2009 10:22 AM | winter, coats, fur, ladies, fashion, hat, red | Permalink

It looks like the winter season is upon us again. The air is getting crisp and cold, and flurrys are beginning to turn the world into a "winter wonderland". There is a bit of magic in watching the map in Second Life as regions one-by-one turn white with frost.

As a clothing designer, I can't help but feel the desire to put some warmer clothes on the neighbors, lest they catch a chill! And of course, having just the right outfit for Ice Skating on your favorite frozen pond, and sipping Hot Buttered Rum or Hot Cocoa outdoors with friends is just SO much more fun when you are dressed for the weather!

With that in mind, I present my newest outfits for the season ... The Rousette Fur-Trimmed Winter Coat & Hat. A warm, caped coat with soft fluffy fur around your neck, waist, and cuffs to keep you warm, and add a bit of fun. And we all know the importance of keeping the heat in with a warm furry hat! The coat comes with or without attached skirt, so you can wear it with other skirts, or pants if you like. In two color s: Burgundy with black trim, and one in shades of brown.

'Rousette' refers to a social gathering where boys and girls are each given ribbons or roses with numbers on them, and everyone skates around searching for the person who's number matches theirs. It's traditionally a Valentine's Day event, but I think it would make a wonderful ice skating party! *g*

Rousette Coat & Hat listing on Xstreet.

Happy winter!
=^.^= blakopal

Photos shot on location on the beautiful frozen lake at The Golden Thorn (SLURL). (free ice skates available!)

blakopal galicia
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BlakOpal Designs new Island and main store is open

17 November, 2009 07:05 AM | steampunk, new region, BlakOpal Island, fashion, new main store, victorian | Permalink


It's been a while in the planning, but I'm happy to announce that we have opened the doors on the new main store for BlakOpal Designs ... on it's very own Island sim. Trilobyte Zanzibar has been hard at work coming up with a unique theme (you can read more about that in his blog), and has been working non-stop getting the build just right, and doing all the behind-the-scenes work (like switching landmarks in all of the shopping bags! whew!). He's got things where he's pretty happy, though still tinkering on the outlying buildings, stairs to the airship dock and whatnot, so we decided to do a "soft opening", getting the new shop open, and we will do a big Grand Opening some time in the near future!

The photo was taken this morning as the sun was coming up behind the new region, called BlakOpal (Click for SLURL).

Our other store locations will remain open, since we enjoy being a part of lots of communities. This was just too good an opportunity to pass up, and we look forward to growing the Island, adding shop stalls perhaps, and more beautiful places to explore and entertain. We hope you'll come visit the new location ... and be sure to join our group in world to find out about the upcoming events! (Group invite signs are in or near the doorway of all the shoppes).

=^.^= blakopal
blakopal galicia
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