Fairs are so popular not only because favorite creators put out new releases but also because they give us a chance to browse through others we haven’t seen before.

If you’ve read this blog at all, you can’t have missed my jewelry obsession. It’s one of the things that has carried through from real life to SL where I can indulge a lot more freely. I had a blast at this year’s jewelry fair and found 2 or 3 new (to me) designers I plans to keep an eye on.

Freebie-(Elate!) Square Stone Ring – Jade

*~*Illusions*~* *~*Orinthia Ring: Copy

Freebie-Dark Mouse 30’s Art Deco Ring

Dark Mouse Abalone Dreams – Copper

Dark Mouse Stainglass Blue Bangles & Earrings

Eclectica Herbals  Violet Set

Kunstkammer Black Forest Suite – Pearl/Crystal/Moonstone

PRIMALOT JF09 Freebie ‘Hortensia’ necklace & earrings

Outfit is from Mischief. The pants were a group gift. Hair is Rosie from SLink and the closest I’ve found to my current RL hairstyle.

One of those styles my real hair would never do. *sigh* Myrna by Ingenue.  The sweater and slacks are new releases by Mischief and the pin is a jewelry fair release from Whippet and Buck. The detail is really amazing.

This is my third alt. So far, she’s a lot like what I originally envisioned Amelia being. Don’t ask me why I made her, I just did. I used to have this list of places for new avatars to go get free stuff but when I was shopping for her I surprised that most of those places didn’t have that stuff anymore. I did, however, find other places to fill in the gaps.

Her shape is a freebie from Lemon. It is copy/mod although I hadn’t changed anything when I took this picture. The skin and eyes are from the Pixeldolls L10 sale that’s been going on. Her coloring is inspired by a friend who just got back from Iraq. Her hair is a 1L items from ETD.  Her clothes are from ETD too, the same sale area as the hair. Her shoes are a gift from joining the Maitreya group. And her earrings are from Junk which is always cheap.

Total to this point is less that 100L for a fairly personalized avatar. Where I really splurged was the AO. I could have probably made a fairly nice inexpensive one with some hunting but I opted for a fully premade one from Torrid. 350L for 15 poses, sits, walking and flying animations at this quality was just too good to pass up.

So that’s my experience with SL life on the cheap side. I might most more pics of later as she evolves.

Alts give us an interesting chance to explore parts of ourselves we normally don’t see. My first alt came about because I was bored. I had no plans for her (so she hasn’t done much) but everyone was shocked when she turned out to be Cyber Goth. And there was nothing I could do to persuade her otherwise.

This is my second alt. She’s quite a bit more idiosyncratic and trendy than Amelia.

They look almost nothing alike, which is one reason why I like her, she can wear stuff Amelia can’t. Yes, I could change Amelia’s shape but I like her the way she is, an individual. I spend much less money on my alts than I do Amelia. One of the more interesting things to come out of this though is that when I do buy stuff for them, it tends to be at stores Amelia doesn’t get much stuff from. This one in particular is a Truth girl. She wears the boots in the first photo a lot and the top and shorts are from Truth too. She has a set of skins sent to the news group a while ago that she wears often. I can’t wait for the release.

These are the other two tops I got at Pink Outfitters. On the left is the Flair vest in purple over a lace cami from Aphrodite Creations. With  the textured buttons it kind of required a punk look. The other one is the 9teen vest. It’s a very versatile piece that could go a lot of ways. I love the way it imitates an hourglass shape and the way it fits with the high-waisted skirt. The white undershirt comes with the vest but it can also be worn with alone or with other tops. The white shirt is on the undershirt layer, the skirt top is on the shirt layer and the vest is on the jacket layer.

Pink Outfitters had a sale on dresses so I popped by to take a look. And didn’t buy any dresses but I did get some tops. This is the first, the cardigan can be worn with the camisole or alone. Normally this kind of thing just begs me to do a prim and proper librarian look but that wasn’t what I was in the mood for. So it’s got a little bit of a punk edge, still perfectly appropriate for work.

And this outfit just makes me think of it. It’s from Ibizarre and comes with the skirt and top but both look just as fabulous with other pieces.

This is the Ana dress from Cat5 (Category 5). The tights are a freebie from Royal Blue and the shoes are from Aphrodite Creations. Every year Curio releases a great period hair every fashionista must have. This year’s is Betty Boop. I’ve been wearing the Audrey skins almost non-stop since they were released but I haven’t blogged them much (‘course I haven’t blogged much). I’m totally in love with the shading and highlighting.

So I finally got my computer to let me take pics again. Who knows how long it will last this time.  The hair is a new one from Truth. A little wild for me usually but it was just too perfect for this dress from Cat5 (Category 5) by Trinity Hartunian.

Shoes are a new release from Aphrodite Creations. They come in half a dozen colors but with three heel types per color. The bracelet is from Zaara.