There's a hair in our cake

Posted by Bettina Tizzy

That Pandora Wrigglesworth has struck again. I'm still chuckling, even as I type.

The annual Hair Fair 2009 in Second Life® is a massive (hairy?) affair that just about everyone loves, despite that fact that it lags us nearly to death (attendance is sky-high), but we like it especially because it benefits Locks of Love, the charitable organization that provides hairpieces to children suffering from hair loss due to chemotherapy and other medical reasons.

Now, Pandora is known for her utterly surreal, over-the-top and laughter-inducing creations and her exclusive coiffs for the fair do not disappoint.

She writes:

"None of these styles will be available until the fair opens and, for the duration of the fair, will only be available at the fair."


The "Lampshade Hairstyle"

"Why choose between glamour and frivolity? You can have both and be the life of every party! When you walk in with Lampshade hairstyle, you are sure to light up the room!

Lights up just like a Real Lamp! Just tug on the single spring curl beside your right ear.

Hide in plain sight from Stupid People!"


The Let Them Eat Cake Off Of Your Head! style

"The people may be revolting but don't hold it against them. Let them eat cake with the Let The Eat Cake Off Of Your Head hairstyle! Treat your guests to six delicious varieties of cake, artfully arranged within a tower of lavish curls and garnished with delicate flowers.

People can help themselves to any of the three cakes you are currently wearing simply by touching the cake they want. Forks and plates are complimentary."

Hostess and Buffet in One!

The most SCRUMPTIOUS hairstyle ever!

Infinite Cake!

The Cake Menu includes:
- Chocolate Cake
- Strawberry Shortcake
- Carrot Cake
- Cherry Cheesecake
- Red Velvet Cake
- Birthday Cake

It seems we can expect three hairstyles from Pandora, and we haven't seen the third yet. I am all anticipation!


Photographs by Pandora Wrigglesworth.

Object Hair: lat Oh and ALpha Hair

Posted by Alpha Auer

Many thanks go to MillaMilla Noel who alerted me to the existence of lat Oh and ALpha Hair at the Cyberbunker.



I have been developing a craving for what I have begun to call "object hair". So, I am indeed beginning to sport quite a little collection of it and now 3 of lat Oh's hair styles have landed in the so named little folder under the "body parts" of my inventory. And no demo hair either I might add - I am so going to be wearing these sweet babies!




(Please note that I even tucked my ears away from sight in full honor of the occasion!)

lat Oh's collection is small but each and every style is utterly exquisite. So check it out right here my friends and a merry day's shopping to you all!
;-)

Oh that Pandora Wrigglesworth! She has done it again!

Posted by Alpha Auer...

I would have expected nothing less than total hilarity from the lady who has endowed the metaverse with the clockwork brain, which is prominently displayed in my blogger picture to your right on this very page, but I really have to say that Ms. Wrigglesworth may have outdone even herself with this latest one - the Rococo Fantastico hair. Thus, without further ado, first a direct quote from the creator herself:

"Now is your chance to show that snooty Marie Antoinette who the real queen is. Rococo Fantastico is the biggest hairstyle you will ever see. It takes six zeppelins and four propellers just to keep it up! Includes clockwork ballroom with porcelain dancers. Choose your own color, bows, flowers, and style!"


...

So indeed, Rococo Fantastico comes with a full menu which allows you to decide on the colors of all its components and even gives you style options. Needless to say, I immediately went for the dark steampunk style. However, in the event the menu turned out to be a bit of a lifesaver beyond all of the stylistic issues: I was somewhat dubious prior to acquisition whether I would actually be able to wear this - the problem being my one pride and joy in this life; my ears (well, my tail too of course, but it is all an ensemble you know...). My ears must be visible at all times! This is indeed the one area in my life where I would rather die than give an inch. After all, I only have 768 pairs of them and visible they must be. (Not all 768 of them at once obviously - but I am sure you get my drift). But, I need not have worried: The construct - I hesitate to call it by such a banal phrase as mere "hair" - has a handy little re-sizer built into the menu and thanks to this piece of state of the art technology I managed to size down the hair to the point where my ears did in fact become visible. A bit of a mohawk style it ended up being but I quite liked that too for some reason.


...

I may or may not wear Rococo Fantastico. Who knows?... The occasion may indeed present itself! One thing is for sure though, if it weren't for the prim count and the fact that I am running perilously low, I would rez it on Syncretia in a nano second. This is utterly utterly wonderful!


The ballroom with puppet dancers (close up)
...

You can teleport to Curio Obscura, Pandora Wrigglesworth's shop, directly from here.
...

Dark Artistry: Tekelili Tantalus

I have been crazy about Tekelili Tantalus' work from the very first moment that I clapped eyes on it about 6 months ago. So what better material to kick off my career as official blogger of the NPIRL blog than his?


Tekelili's object hair, his jewelry and his magnificent weapons are dark, sombre and ritualistic. The kinds of things to be worn by high priestesses and priests. As yet we do not seem to have a form of worship unique to Second Life, but when we do Tekelili will surely be one of it's craftsmen. His sources of inspiration are manifold, ranging from writers such as H. P. Lovecraft and Michael Moorcock to ancient religions.

Before I talked to Tekelili I had an idea that the Arts and Crafts movement and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood might also have been a source of inspiration, that this period in art history would be something that he would have identified with. However when I alluded to these during our conversation Tekelili did not pick up on this. Later I realized that despite his not having done so, my gut instinct may still have been fairly accurate since the sources of inspiration that branded the output of this period and those of Tekelili's converge to a very large extent:

"Sumeria, Babylon, and the idea of the mythical kingdoms that are long gone, Atlantis, Lemuria. The occult is also a major inspiration: Ceremonial magic, Qabalah, paganism. Eastern art too, traditional work from China, India, especially India's a big one as well as Tibet. The complexity and the style of presentation found in these cultures I find hugely inspirational. I like to think of myself as a "meta-artist". I put myself "in character" and make the art of cultures that exist only in the imagination".

I have to say that I really have no difficulty whatsoever in putting these words of Tekelili's into the mouth of Edward Burne-Jones....

This is highly detailed, perfectly crafted work; one which takes on a deliberately constructed approach, very strongly founded in balance and symmetry. The colors and textures are powerfully contrasted harmonies. Indeed this designer is a master of color, with a sophisticated palette that achieves a perfect balance between the muted and the saturated with a keen eye for the combination of hues. Tekelili's hair is assembled out of various gems, bands, and then of course the hair itself. However on occasion snakes and flowers are also in evidence. Most of these hair objects are scripted to be color changed, one combination more appealing than the other.




Not to be left out are the merfolk avatars, called the "Deep Ones" and thus Xia and I dove into the coral reef located underneath one of his three shops to take photographs of this splendor.



So powerful do I find Tekelili Tantalus' design approach that I am sorely tempted to create an avatar that would fulfill its demands: Me with my naughty neko ears and tail - gear appropriate to a naughty, mouthy personality; or indeed prim and proper Xiamara, despite all of her asymmetrical beauty - we really are not the women that this opulence has been crafted for. We are ultimately women of today - no nonsense, no mystery: It would take a woman that lives by the creed of mystery, that moves and talks in a manner befitting to these objects to do them full justice. A bearer of enigma for enigmatic objects.

You can teleport to Tekelili Tantalus' shop at Hollow Earth directly from here.
You can view high reslution images of Tekelili's work here.

Mes cheveux sont tellement chic et NPIRL

It was one of those things I didn't even dare to hope for... great hair that would not be possible in Real Life.


Cog by Hairspray


Covet by Hairspray


Dark Garden by AVZ


Survivor by AVZ

Finally, exotic and imaginative hair is hitting the grid, and I couldn't be happier about it.

We learned about Hairspray hair by Sinnocent Mirabeau from Jo Heartsdale. - - teleport directly from here.

We learned about AVZ Cyberpunk Fashion hair by the delightful Hern Worsley from the very chic Ka Rasumson - - teleport directly from here.