The latest suit in the shoppe for men is one of my new favorites. It's called the Nantes Suit and comes in four versions. This is a very versatile mix-and-match suit, with jackets interchangeable with vest-shirts, and multiple layered sculpted collars.
The BlakOpal Nantes Suit in black with a red vest has a wonderful houndstooth tweed jacket with a series of small buttons down the front, and a contrasting suede collar. The vest, in a shade of deep red with a subtle cog pattern, has a standing collar and metal buttons. The shirt underneath has a starched standing collar and french cuffs with cog cuff links. A classic silk bow tie is wrapped around the neck. The outfit includes coordinated pants with smooth pants flares. There is also a marvelous mekanikal belt buckle worn over the coattails with rotating gears and antique map.
Other colors include the BlakOpal Nantes Suit in chocolate brown tweed with a black vest. With it's own stylish standing vest collar, these outfits still looks fabulous without the jacket, for those time when you want to be a bit more relaxed. Separate collars also means you can wear a different vest with any jacket. The belt is also separate from the coattails, giving you even more opportunity to personalize your look.
The BlakOpal Nantes Suit in brown tweed with a copper vest.
And BlakOpal Nantes Suit in blue tweed with a burgundy vest.
I think any (or all) of them would make an excellent addition to any wardrobe! I do hope you enjoy them.

Many hugs!
=^.^= blakopal

BlakOpal Designs in Second Life (SLURL)

Ever since I made the Precious Metals Gowns, I have been wearing the copper gown around the shoppe. It's become one of my favorite outfits. But I kept wanting to wear a purple version. "But there aren't any purple metals", I'd tell myself. Then it hit me ... I should do some Precious Gems!
These gowns have the luminescencent glow of the metals gowns, with the faceted shimmer of beautifully cut gemstones. Available in a wonderful Amethyst purple, and a gorgeous Sapphire blue, which just happens to match the Men's Habsburg blue-vested suit.
Both the BlakOpal Precious Gems Gown in Amethyst, and the BlakOpal Precious Gems Gown in Sapphire come with three skirt options. It can be worn as a stylish tea-length dress, with the more formal long skirt, or with the addition of the victorian-style bustle. The sheer shoulder drape wraps loosely around the bodice, giving you a beautiful decolletage, and the elbow-length gloves add just the right touch.

This is an elegant, versatile gown ... one I hope you enjoy wearing as much as I do.

=^.^= blakopal

Photo info ...

Men's outfits:
BlakOpal Habsburg Suit in Black & Blue
Blakopal Levant Suit in Purple

There have been a few changes going on on Reachra Island, home of BlakOpal Designs (SLURL). This week we have begun creating a few specialty stores that might be of interest. I'll be writing about the new places as I get a chance, and of course you are always welcome to stroll and explore as you like. They are all located down along the streets that lead from the Main Store and along the docks.
Today's focus is on the store next door, BlakOpal's new Bridal Shoppe. You may have visited this storefront when it housed the Photo Studio. If so you'll be happy to know that shop isn't gone, it's just moved upstairs.

The new Bridal Shoppe is a gathering of a beautiful selection of white, cream, and platinum gowns from the various BlakOpal Designs collections, for easy side-by-side viewing. We hope that you will find it useful when you are looking for that perfect dress for your partnering ceremony, or any other celebration where you want a special white frock.

And when you are ready to find dresses and suits to pair with your selection, our main store is just a few steps away.

Wishing you all a wonderful day!
=^.^= blakopal

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. 

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.

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

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!)

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

Well, after a bit of a flurry over the past few days, with the last minute decision to join in on the Virtual London Fashion Week, Second Life's version of the haute couture fashion show going on simultaneously in the *real* London, i'm happy to say we are set to be a part of not one but TWO runway shows during the week! The first will be on Sunday at 1pm SLT, with our participation in the "Body Beautiful" show. This show will feature some of our lingerie and corset items, the focus being outfits that make you look and feel sexy. Trilo has put together a really wonderful music mix to accompany the runway show. Then the second show will be on Tuesday at 1 pm SLT and it will feature our fantasy, steampunk, pirate and victorian outfits for the "Theme" night.


We are really excited, and honored to have been chosen to take part in this show. The event producer seem to really know what they are doing, and have the whole production running really professionally. We went to a pre-show gathering of designers, models, and press folks today. Everyone was very excited about the upcoming show, with some surprises in store for the end of the event, which i'm not sure if i'm able to talk about, so i won't ... but it is quite worth keeping an eye on.


One of the nice things for me today, was to get to meet some of the other designers on the grid. Being a designer, my time in world is more often than not spent in my studio fashioning my next outfit ... and I'd imagine the same can be said for most of the designers on the grid who are trying to get new things out in a timely manner. So the opportunity to meet other designers really doesn't come up that often! so it was really great to take some time away from the workshop and say 'hi'.


As for what we will be showing, i think we've brought together a great sampling of some of our best outfits, and I'm happy to say that i did manage to scramble at the last minute and finish up the wonderful Airship Pilot outfit, which will be making it's debut with TriloByte wearing it at the Formal Soot Ball in Piermont Landing tomorrow night, and then will make it's way down the runway on Tuesday.

For those who might be interested in attending any of the runway shows, or checking out the booths at the show, here is the location in world.

Whenever i start a new outfit, i like to see what i can do differently, how can i make it a bit more interesting. collars have been on my mind a lot lately. i've seen a few new designs in world that got me inspired. ways that people have use sculpted prims to make them more dimensional, look more like real collars. something i've been wanting to work on. so i thought, for my next outfit, i'd try to come up with a new collar style.

This week I decided to try my hand at something a bit more exotic, and less Victorian. There had been several occasions for me to venture to places doing exotic dancing, and I was inspired by the colors and textures of the fabrics. I couldn't wait to bring some of those inspirations back to my studio and see what came of it. Working with flowing fabrics, and different styles of clothing was an interesting test. I had to throw away whatever patterns I had become fond of using, and rethink the way the outfit was put together. There are still quite a few failed attempts strewn about the floor of my studio, which I have kicked into a heap in my frustration. But I persevered, and came up with something that I think is beautiful, exotic, and very fun to wear. So fun, as a matter of fact, that I took the time to shoot some video on the banks of the river in Steelhead Shanghai because I was really enjoying how the fabrics flowed and moved when I danced.

See for yourself ...

I love wandering around SL and checking out what other designers come up with. Sometimes it's the way a designer handles a detail on an outfit that catches my eye. Other times it's the completely random build that excites me. The latter is one of the reasons that I enjoy being a part of the short-term themed events that happen around the grid. Some would argue that they are a lot of work for something that will only live for a short period of time, but it's the temporary nature and the unbridled creativity that that freedom inspires in artists that I love.

It wasn't more than a few weeks after I first entered the world of Second Life that I got accepted to be one of the Burning Life camps ... it had to be on the merits of having been to burning man several years running that put me on that list, since I hadn't built anything, and I don't think I had even created my first outfit yet. It certainly wasn't because of my mad building skills (lmao). It didn't take me long before the building bug hit me, and I figured out the tools and process that now makes it possible for me to do the things I do. And Burning Life was the first opportunity I had to see other artists make wildly creative and imaginative buildings. My build there was fun, working with what I knew how to do, I created a space with lots of twisty spires, torches of fire, and beanbags for weary wanderers to rest their bones and chat with others. We also had a second-story dance floor where TriloByte (in world even less time than I was) set up a DJ area and music feed for the camp.

After chatting with friends, it seemed that it is a good time for me to begin this blog. I'm hoping to be able to use this space to not only show off the fashions I have been designing for the virtual community in Second Life, but also share some of my tips and tricks on how I create my fashions. It was a steep learning curve for me when i got started (just a year ago!), and although i was able to find a lot of good information on the web, it took a lot of searching and combing through sites to get to the SL-specific, photoshop-specific, and fashion design-specific information i needed. Maybe this blog will help some new designers get started a bit quicker, or at least give them a glimpse into my process of working.