Sim Crossing - Azure Island (Part 3)

Every couple of weeks (RL-willing), I drop in on a Second Life sim -- one square on the grid -- just to see what's there.  And every couple of weeks, I find a treasure or two.  One never knows what one will find in an unknown region!  This feature details the results of my explorations.  

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Well, I am sure you just itching to know what I found in the Dirty Souff Shopping District of Azure Island.  Before I show you my purchases and finds, though, I should clarify that I did not try on all of the pants that I found.  A big part of the fun I get out of dressing an avatar is the puzzle aspect.  That is to say, it can be tricky to put together an outfit around a fantasy species (such as a faun), and that challenge makes it fun.  (I would never claim to be a fashionista.)

First, let me show you what I purchased.

The sunglasses are from B&G, and built by Gaby Perenti.  They cost me 100L, and I love both the look and the color.  Unfortunately, they do bling, and I was wrong about touching to turn them off.  I may have to contact Gaby, and see if she'd be able to fix me up with a bling-free pair, because I love how they look otherwise!  The Pacman rings from Iced took a bit of adjusting -- I think they were built around smaller hands than mine -- but the idea is clever and I love them.  They are by Scarlet Chandrayaan.  The vest and tee, by Malaysia Nowles, are from Swag on Deck.  I am pleased by the colors and the texturing.  The top would probably benefit from a pair of high-waisted jeans, but that's not the shirt's fault!  The rings set me back 75L, and the vest 100L.

And here is that tee from Level 5 Toxic, which is by Chime Philly.  It's the sort of thing I'd wear on an evening when I'm not really functioning, mentally.  It was originally designed for a male avatar, I believe, which is why the midriff is not exposed.  Which I like.  It does come with a prim collar and cuffs, but I opted not to wear them due to time constraints.  (Did I really spend an entire day on this sim?)  They were being very fussy, as they started big, and my avatar is on the small side.  Still not a bad find for 25L.

The rest of the outfit is from other places.  The hooves, jeans, horns, ears and tail are from *Epic.* The eyes and manicure are from Sterling Artistry.  (Hi Silverr!)  The hair is from Tiny Bird (since closed, but possibly on the Marketplace by now), and the skin is from Imabee.

Okay, on to freebies!  I won't show you all of them, just the ones that seemed to work for me.  The base outfit credits for these are the same, save for the legs and hooves, which are from Fauntasia in the following pictures.

The top and shorts here are the "UW" Casual girl freebie outfit from Urbanwear.  Designed by jesica Banufong, the top involves a very bouncy prim, and the shorts have no prims at all.  I do like how the top is textured, and can imagine it pairing well with a high-waisted skirt.

Here is the Free Pink Rocawear Fit from CM Designs, designed by Disembodied Hand.  The hood needed a bit of adjustment, having been designed around a taller avatar, but that was easy to deal with.   I like the colors -- this is not overboard on pink -- and the wrinkled texturing.  The pants fought a bit with my prim legs, but still managed to look good.

Here are the "lil miss cutie overalls" by FOREVERSTAR25.  You can pick them up at MX Designs.  Aside from the usual pants competition with the prim legs, I really like them with this avatar.  Torn denim over brown fur looks excellent.

This is the cupcake pajama set from Adorkable Swagg, by Tamasa Vanderbor.  Not having prims, this set looks just fine -- adorkable, even -- on an adult avatar.  Well mine, anyway.  If your avatar is a big beefy dude, um, just use your best judgment.

And last but not least, here are the free Witch and Halloween hats from Demon Kitties.  They are by misseuro Chau, and she's gone into great detail with them.  I particularly like the witch hat, with its witch rat familiar and particle wand.  These were still out as of Sunday, November 6th, but as it's after Halloween, I would suggest stopping by there as soon as possible if you want them.  Who knows how long they'll be out?

Well, I had fun with Azure (and you can read the first two posts here and here, by the way), and I did indeed find some cool things there, but next time... well, I'm hoping to land somewhere more rural.  Whew!

Sim Crossing - Azure Island (Part 2)

Every couple of weeks (RL-willing), I drop in on a Second Life sim -- one square on the grid -- just to see what's there.  And every couple of weeks, I find a treasure or two.  One never knows what one will find in an unknown region!  This feature details the results of my explorations.  

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Now it's time to weave my way around the interior shops of Azure Island!  I begin with Iced, on the north side of the sim.  This is just across from Killa Customs, and boasts some very nice-looking jewelry - including piercings - and poses for models and groups.  Custom jewelry can be ordered from here.  There is a set of Pacman rings that catches my eye, and for 75L, I feel I can afford them.

After putting them in my folder of souvenirs, I go next door to HooDGirlz & Boyz.  This is a store full of club gear, as well as belly chains and other jewelry.  There is a free, pink mini-dress near the back, right underneath a landmark giver, which provides the address of the mainstore.  OMG Fashion has similar offerings, with more emphasis on shoes and accessories.  It's a wee bit more in-your-face than HooDGirlz, and a bit more sparkly.  I'm actually a little surprised I haven't encountered a club around here yet!

Continuing east, I check out Dope Swaga.  A men's clothing store, it offers denims and baseball caps on the first floor, with tops, shoes and more on the second.  Yes, I would certainly send a casual sort of guy to this sim, if he wanted to go clothes shopping.  MX Designs is nearby, and offers club gear for women.  For a woman wanting ripped jeans, well, I'd send her to this sim, too.  They are everywhere, including here.  There are also freebies by the north door, in big pink boxes.  You can't miss seeing them.

I go from there to a new block of stores, starting with Pandora's Box on the corner, in the vicinity of Hot Whips.  It is mostly lingerie, with a couple of interesting dresses thrown in for good measure.  Next door, on the same block, is Sweet Lips, which is a club gear store.  It is having a half price sale right now, and there are some nice looking leggings available.  Um, and body paint.  Moving on, then.

The Vuitton Lvfe Style is a low-key, wood-floored building with portraits of women's outfits on the walls.  They are club gear outfits, but some of the best I've seen in this island so far.  They do not function as vendors, however, and I don't know whether that is intentional.

I almost miss DonDa VBKing Gestures, as it is a small storefront tucked between Vuitton and BLK DMNDS, a men's clothing store.  DMNDS, in spite of the name, isn't a jewelry shop.  Instead it offers men's casuals, baseball caps, and sports jerseys.  Oh, and male skins.  Can't forget those.

Before I forget, I should warn you about the lag.  I've been pushing through pockets of it this afternoon, some of it at Grumble levels.  Part of it may be my connection, but it's hard to know for certain.  Be prepared!

Now I'm ready to move on to the next block, starting with Rekless Ambitions on the northeast corner, across from Body Wear Jewelry.  There are some excellent women's tees in Rekless, many of which are wonderfully geeky.  One of my oldest friends in SL is a self-described hipster.  I'll probably be sending her a landmark to this store.

On the next corner, across from Boo Jhetto, or whatever that store is called, is Adorkable Swagg.  The decor here is rather artsy, with fuchsia and cyan paint spatters on whitewashed stone walls.   It is a youth-oriented store, but I do like the plaid pants.   There are also freebies on the second floor.  I have no idea whether they would fit an adult avatar, but I decide to give the "Free cupcake nitez" a try later.

After that, I turn the corner to Yumz Classy, and the first vacant storefront I've seen.  I'm impressed by that, actually.  This mall may not be rented to capacity, but it's close, and that is a rare thing!  Anyway, Yumz seems to have mostly club gear, but there are some nice women's casuals, too, with high-waisted jeans and surprisingly modest sleeveless tops.

Detroit Baby is on the other side of the vacancy, and while it is club gear, my inner Michigander compels me to take a look anyway.  Most of it is too skimpy for me, but I could imagine myself wearing a cute denim number, which is somewhat more modest, if I ever do want to go dancing at a friend's club.  I'll have to keep that one in mind.

Diamond Disease Clothing is on the next corner, boasting casual men's clothing.  It's sporty, and of course there are baseball caps, but the white Polo cardigans are the most eye-catching to me.  En:Vi:Us Couture proves to be the last rented store on this block.  (There is also a second vacancy on this here.)    This is a place I would shop for club gear, as it has some very cute, short dresses and deemphasizes grunge. No torn jeans here.  Just attitude.

I think I have one more block of stores to check out before I take a look at the courtyard.  I start with Kali's Dopest, right across the street from Diamond Disease.  There is a wide selection of men's jeans and shirts here.  The next two stores, I.D. and Spoiled Most Envied, both offer club gear for women.  The leggings at Spoiled are very tempting.

The other side of the block faces the courtyard, which I'll get to soon, but I have a few more stores here first.  HardStyle Ink is incredibly similar to Kali's Dopest, right down to some of the t-shirts.  Stylo Drift sells sports cars, a somewhat different selection of caps, as well as jeans and accessories for men.  (Guys, if you need a masculine backpack, they have them here.  One of them involves swords.)  The last, and apologies for the name, is F*CktheFAME.  (I just report them like I see them.)  Mostly club gear here, too, but there are some scarves and wool coats just in time for the onset of winter.  I wish I could see what they look like on an avatar, but they aren't modeled, and I really want to check out the courtyard before seeing about those colorful vests.  I bet I have a pair of jeans that would go with one of them.  Oh, and I do pick up a freebie pack from a giftbag just outside the rudely named yet promising store.

The courtyard is dominated by a fountain and a grounded hot air balloon.  There are many platforms that suggest the place has been used for fashion shows, and there is one stray contest board still titled "Best in Halloween Co," left from last month, I'm sure.  The most intriguing thing in this area is a construction area beneath the shopping courtyard.  Camming in, it looks very young, colored in pastels and already decorated with giant toy blocks and a cartoon tree.  There is also a desk, so my first guess is an adoption agency, though it could easily be the beginning of a child-oriented store, or possibly a club if the desk is to be transformed somehow into a DJ booth.  Anything is possible!

Now, before I leave to try on some things, I seem to have missed a store.  That would be Neek, right across from the construction area.  It is a two-story place, mostly with skimpy women's tops and bras, but there are accessories, too.  The knee socks are particularly cute.

Well, it's time I hopped back to Swag On Deck.  The vests come with dark blue jeans, and while I won't be able to wear those as a faun, I do have fauny jeans in a similar color that may work just as well.  Being in an autumn mood, I choose the dotted vest with the orange shirt for 100L.

I think I have seen about all there is to see right now at the Dirty Souff Shopping District, so it is time I headed home and tried some things on.  Stay tuned for Part 3 to see what I found!  (Part 1 is here.)

AZURE ISLAND AT A GLANCE

Location:  Azure Island

Use:  Shopping (Club gear, men's casuals, kids' clothes, cars)

Highlights:  Swag On Deck, Hot Whips, Rekless Ambitions, En:Vi:Us Couture

Sim Crossing - Azure Island (Part 1)

Every couple of weeks (RL-willing), I drop in on a Second Life sim -- one square on the grid -- just to see what's there.  And every couple of weeks, I find a treasure or two.  One never knows what one will find in an unknown region!  This feature details the results of my explorations.  

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I would recommend not landing right in the middle of Azure Island via the World Map.  This region is very built up (which is why it caught my eye in the first place), and you will land underneath the Dirty Souff Shopping District.  I teleport again to the northwest corner, landing on the surface.  Much better!

In spite of the idyllic name, Azure Island has a distinctly urban feel to it.  With many, many shops lined along clean paved streets, this seems to be the upscale shopping part of town.  It is densely built with stores.  It will take hours to look at everything for sale, but I decide to make a goal of shopping for a new outfit.  I'm not sure what yet.  It all depends on what I find.

The first shop I step into, Zentro, is a tattoo store.  These are highly detailed tattoos, in the 150L to 300L range, with the first floor devoted to men, the second for women.  Not bad, and I make a mental note of it, but a new outfit does not necessarily need new ink to go with it!

I head south, pausing to cam into a TrendStyle Reseller.  This is a fine little boutique for club gear, but I'm a bit more curious about Bella's Boutique next door.

There is more club gear at Bella's, this time for men as well as women.  Some interesting stiletto heels are also available, not to mention two gift bags.  One is for women, the other for children.  I will take a look at them after this exploration.

Continuing south -- I am walking the perimeter of the sim before I tackle the interior -- I find Jewelry of Truth.  Ranging in price from 150 to 1000L, this shop features colorful, even shiny, bracelets, earrings, rings and pendants.  The designs are fairly simple, but there is cuteness to be had in Hello Kitty section.

Next door is Fiend Made, an Authorized Ubu Reseller, which features some nicely textured men's clothes.  Very sporty!  Just south of that is Demon Kitties, which is very grunge-oriented.  Lots of hats, shoes and accessories here, though there is a bit of apparel for women, too.  Out front, two free Halloween hats are available.  I look forward to trying those on!

Before I trot into the Boys and Girls store, I note that this is a busy sim, already with some activity this early in the morning.  I have voice on, and I'm hearing a small group of people chatting and playing gestures.  While not laggy, this is by far the most frequented sim I've visited so far in Sim Crossing!

Okay, on to B&G!  This is big enough to be an anchor store, with the space equivalent of perhaps three of the previous boutiques, and a second floor besides, though that is vacant.  It offers mostly footwear, ranging from sneakers to stiletto boots, but also has shades and watches for sale.  I am looking for a good fauny outfit, so shoes are definitely out, but I like the look of the sunglasses.  There are bling warnings on the vendors, but that can be toggled with a touch.  So I purchase a pair of purple shades for 100L, and decide to move on with the next shop!

At this point I turn off voice chat.  Wow, this is an active sim!  I don't really want to listen in on other people's conversations, not that I was paying much attention to them.  The next store is Fashion Cents, and I'm getting the impression that if I were to get back into clubbing, this would be a great mall for shopping for the appropriate clothing!  This is a store of women's apparel, and it includes sheer minidresses and lingerie.  There is a formal gown that looks promising, though.  I do pick up a pink cam freebie to try on later, and move along to La Rosa.  There are women's casuals here, too, and shoes.  Yep, this is a clubbing oriented mall so far!  A pair of casual jeans catch my eye, but they are summery and I am in an autumn mood.  I still make a mental note to revisit the place.

Feisty is next.  More mini-dresses here, some apparel for men and children, and there's a dollarbie for men just inside the door.  Then comes Le Beau, a spare shoe store with vendors that don't really seem to be working.  Odd.  The Bad Bitch has raver pink apparel and accessories for sale, and Sassoon Bodies Shapes is elegant if self-explanatory.

Now I'm ready to turn the corner and head east.  It looks like there are some bigger stores on this side, the size of the B&G.  Revamped, the first, sells colorful, tight-fitting clubby clothes, and {X0} is more colorful yet, and with sassy casuals and minidresses for adults and kids.  (Is the presence of child avatar clothes why this sim is G-rated?)  The tattoos on the second floor of {X0} are interesting!

Next is Desirable Skin.  Textures are taking a while to load for me this morning (Apologies for fuzzy storefront pictures!) and the ones in here are no exception.  The Liana Skin looks pretty, though, so I buy a dollar demo to test out.  The skins, at 250L each, are not at all badly priced, and there is a freebie available out front.  I will try that, too!

Swagg Exclusive sells men's casuals, mostly, but also has two black skins for men that do not look to be shaded Caucasion skins.  I don't think.  Urbanwear has casuals, good for clubbing, and some stylish bags for the accessor-inclined.  There are also some cheerfully hostile t-shirts, and two shapes upstairs.  A freebie outfit is available near the front, and apparently contains a casual top and shorts.  I will have a lot to try on before this is over.

EminencE has two floors-worth of male casual outfits ranging between 250 and 300L.  There are some great looking plaids, and everything manages to look urban here.  I believe the next store is called So Sickness, though it may also be Boo Jhetto.  The storefront does not make that clear.  A hip-hop sound clip greets me as I step in to find club-oriented apparel, accessories and gestures for sale.

I am ready to turn the corner to check out the east side of Azure Island.  I haven't had any inspiration in terms of new outfits yet, but there's still so much to see.  I am not even halfway through!  The first store on this side is /CS/, where one can purchase sport caps and jerseys, casual shoes and apparel, including three pop culture hoodies.  Batman, Superman and… Mickey?  Nice!

Moving along, Swag On Deck has some fun, colorful tees and tanks marked to women.  I particularly like the shirt and vest combos, and if I can find just the right skirt to go with them, I will have to come back this way and pick a color.  This is my favorite store here so far!

After that is Baby Girl Swaggerlicious Exclusive.  I'm pretty (but not 100%) sure they have kids' clothes there, so I wander on to Body Wear Jewelry.  In addition to the aforementioned jewelry, there are silks and skimpies for sale, which would indeed help show off some of the goods.

Diamond Air Fationz, next door, offers shredded jeans and sleeveless tops for women, but what really catches my eye is the leopard-print carpeting.  Its neighbor, Hot Whips, is not the S&M store I expected to find, but rather an auto shop, with a playful assortment of cars!  I did not even know cars with Kool-Ade paint jobs existed, but they do.  They are pricy, so I won't be buying one of these on a whim, but they look wonderful!  I can at least daydream about tooling around in a Trix car.

Suave CEO sells casuals for men, and club gear for women.  You know, I guess I should clarify my usage of the phrase "club gear."  I used it to refer to clothes that tend to be on the skimpy side, the sort of thing I've come to expect to see at a typical dance club, worn by patrons or, more likely, staff.  I have nothing against it.  It's just not the sort of thing I typically wear, and I have a difficult time describing in detail.  That being said, there's more of it at Brooklyn Wave, so I move on to Level 5 Toxic.  There are some cute vans and retro cocktail dresses, but I particularly like the geeky t-shirts.  I pick up one for 25L.  It will look great with blue jeans, I think.

The last store on this side is 302 Unlimited Stylez.  It's club gear here, and I still haven't found a good knee-length skirt to go with that vest I liked.  Maybe there will be one on this last side of the Island, though!

No luck at the first store on this side, Glam-Or-Us.  This one is clubby.  There is a free blue jumpsuit offered.  It seems to be a tank and a miniskirt from the picture, but the tank looks promising, so I pick it up.  Medaking, nearby, has men's casuals, mostly t-shirts, and CM Designs, which is shockingly yellow, offers club gear for women.  There is a free gift near the front.  T.T.G. Casuals proves to cater to guys.  The texturing on the jeans looks great, in any case, and guy jeans can still look excellent on female avatars, and are less likely to expose one's crack.  Sinnful Desire sells women's shapes with heavy emphasis on big hips and small waists.  Skins and club gear are also available, as well as a male child shape out front, which is free.

Total Knockout is a men's clothing store.  Really, the men's clothing selection at this mall isn't bad when it comes to casuals.  The name of the store is literally a boxing reference, I think.  The interior decor really does make me think of a boxing ring, with its dark textured floor and two red stripes running along the wall.  The second floor offers more of the same, plus sports jerseys and and t-shirts.

Killa Customs is the last store I come to on the perimeter of this region.  Two stories, it is primarily guy-oriented and casual, though there is club gear for women on the second floor behind the spiral staircase.  There is a free baseball cap out front, though you may have to derender its case if you want to purchase it.

At this point, I need to take a break, and you may want one.  I will have to split this sim into two or three posts, I think, as I still have to explore the interior stores, and try on my souvenirs.  I will show you my favorites when I do!