Release: Vogue Magazine

The 9th issue of Vogue was released today which you can check out here. I think the issue is a huge step up from the last two and with a bit of tweaking the magazine can surpass the quality of it's older issues. I liked the graphics more this time around as I think the technique works a lot better than the one used in previous editions. I still think the articles need to be focused on more but overall a good quality issue which I totally recommend checking out. Expect a review next week.

Hot Buys Weekly 5: Vintage Voyage

I can honestly say that I was rather shocked when I logged on this afternoon to find that yet another Weekly Hot Buys collection had been released! I'm making a stab in the dark at this latest release being a bonus collection of some sorts, being that there were few items; all of which were accessories. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this week's bonus collection. This "voyage" theme was neat, classy, and elegant, which was certainly a splash of ice water in the face for myself, if not for many who believe that the most recent years' Hot Buys collections have been nothing but non-cohesive flops. I certainly commend the nice designs in this week's release.

The Voyage Scarf was my favorite piece in the collection. I thought the sheer black chiffon and the deep violet pattern complemented each other very nicely, as well as the style and cut of the fabric. The knot of the scarf itself had an elegant look that would really look good with most neutral colors, or anything plain as a means of dressing it up without it being too overpowering.

Another favorite of mine was the Voyage Big Bag, which did credit to its name. It certainly was a large enough, with a smooth handle and a waxy appearance (thanks to the nice shading on the creases of the leather). The deep burgundy color with the orange-brown tan of the handles looked just like a vintage tote, with a simplistic enough pattern that is versatile with almost any darker color.

I wouldn't mind spending 9 Stardollars on the Voyage Stilettos, if they were a little more creative with the idea. I don't think the overly-modern and mundane design worked with the vintage theme at all, however the craftsmanship was pretty decent in regards to the shading and the shadows underneath the ankle-buckle. It looked a little too "Original Future" for me, not one of my favorite shopping destinations at the Starplaza.

The Voyage Fleur Bag had the potential to be a lovely piece, but in my opinion, it was ruined by the childish-looking flower in the clasp. The shading was gorgeous, and realistic enough to tell that the outer layer was a quilted plastic sort of design, which was quite nice. However I don't think the almost neon indigo color really worked with the theme. One thing I did appreciate in this design was the effort visible in the metal clasps holding the handles to the bag itself. They were subtle enough to go unnoticed, and subtle enough to be a shining star all by themselves. They really gives the shorter handles a lovely definition, and add to the overall quality of the bag.

The last piece in this collection was not an accessory, rather a themed steamer trunk in a lovely shade of pale pink and white. The Luxury Trunk is a lovely addition to this collection, and the wooden panels on the corners really accentuate the pale pink around the trunk, and the white quilted pattern on the inside. I really liked the white curlicues on the top edges, as well.

Overall, this collection scored an A-

So far, the ratings seem pretty erratic for most of the collections, with scores ranging from A's to F's. However, this was one collection that I was pleasantly surprised and relieved to see, after last week's low rating. I think they're really working on the craftsmanship with some of these pieces, but that as well, takes continuous effort, so we shall hope for the best! 

Timeline of Fashion #1

Limited Edition, which is often abbreviated as LE, has been a brand on Stardoll for more than 4 years now and has seen quality diminish over each passing season. Limited Edition began in December 2008 with it's first collection which Stardoll describes as:

"LE Brand: Limited Edition For Fashion Leaders who set the trends that others follow - Each beautifully illustrated item is available on a first come, first serve basis. Once purchased your LE Brand garments will permanently carry their LE Number Tag: The authenticity of each edition is preserved for all time. 

The core concepts of LE Brand explore the defining trends of Fall 2008
SEQUINS- Sprinkled Generously over the entire LE collection adding texture and sparkle for show stopping looks. 
STUDS - Writ Large, Oversized and Unexpected: clustered on the Studded Motorcycle Jacket, striping the Belt and punctuating the effect of our Boots
ZIPPERS - Now as Inventive Edge Treatment: tracing ruffles on our Shift Dress, Tank and Miniskirt, defining the shapes of our Platform Ankle Boots 
BOLD COLORS- Pairing fashions most graphic and energetic color combination: Black and Pink.

LE Brand: Exclusive Rights to the Future of Fashion"

With only 100-350 editions of each item the collection proved a massive hit, managing to sell out in less than 24 hours. Ecstatic about this news Stardoll got to work on their second collection. On February 11th 2009, three months after the first edition, Stardoll released the 2nd season of LE, often penned as the 'Hearts Collection' or 'Denim Collection'. 

This collection expanded to 2 floors with items holding up to 600 pieces. This edition was once again a storming success and flew off the shelves on the day of release, excluding a few items that sold out on the 12th, one day later. Although not quite as graphically 'top notch' as the first season, the second collection still had a beautiful array of items, with the rarest item (Cupid Dress/150 pieces) now costing thousands and thousands of stardollars. 

The third collection was released on April 16th 2009 and was once again 2 floors. It was a very Spring inspired collections that Stardoll deemed as very vibrant, floral and hippy chic. The collection once again sold out in a mere few days. It was a very beautiful collection and in my personal opinion, I think all three of the first LE collections rank equally. 

They truly marked what LE's original concept was and provided stunning, on trend items, at high prices, and at very limited numbers. They focused on quality rather than quantity and Stardoll made sure that LE would be a success. Now that Stardoll is primarily focused on business LE has went down the drain as they realised many members would buy anything they release from the brand. I for one really miss when these collections would sell out in 2 days, with the most recent edition taking over one month to fully go.

I could continue to rant on and on about how LE has sadly diminished into yet another boring and tacky brand on Stardoll, but I will leave you on a high note about the three beautiful first collections. Nearly all items from these first three releases from LE fetch more than 1000 stardollars in the starbazaar now. What is your favourite season from Limited Edition? 

1000 GIVEAWAY!

EDIT: This is your last chance to enter, the raffle will be closing very soon!

When I first took ownership of this blog in early 2011 it had around 600 followers. Two years on, and after many breaks, we are finally back and approaching 1000 followers. Thank you to everyone for supporting this blog, it means a lot!

If you haven't already follow the blog as you must be a follower to join this raffle.
The deadline will be shortly after we hit 1000 followers.

To be in with a chance of winning the 1000 stardollars all you have to do is answer the following question in the comments section below. Remember to leave your username in your comment.

• What fashion trend would you most like to see on Stardoll?

Good luck!

Release: X Magazine

X Magazine, created by Jack (queendetox), has released it's highly anticipated debut Spring 2013 issue.  The issue is very minimalistic featuring articles on Balmain, religions influence on fashion, a trend report, and an interesting interview with the covergirl Tania (cooldeer123).

The issue has already been dubbed 'better than Vogue' and 'the best magazine of 2013' so I highly recommend checking it out by clicking the image/cover above.

Miss Sixty, Fashion On Repeat

In recent days the popular real brand Miss Sixty released yet another Stardoll collection. There's no denying it's a nice enough collection with numerous stand out pieces, but haven't we seen it all before? Time after time Miss Sixty seems to be releasing very similar stuff. I say it's time to get some other real brands into the mix to balance out the continual clothing that Miss Sixty is forking out. Saying this, I have seen some beautiful pieces in the collection, some of which I surprisingly have not seen before. If you wish to view the collection just click here and it will redirect you to the starplaza (in another tab). 

On a side note, award for the most amount of floors ever goes to... Miss Sixty!

Maybe ought to clean the starplaza up Stardoll. 

Exclusive: X Spoiler

I present to you an exclusive spoiler of the highly anticipated magazine X just for the eyes of the TTT readers. I can also exclusively reveal that the magazine is due for release in the next 7 days. Keep your eyes peeled for the magazine which you can visit here. What are your thoughts? Excited about the upcoming release?

Food For Thought: Aging

Consider this thought.

"Any fear of aging, I think it is simply vanity. Because what comes with age is so many wonderful things: wisdom, understanding." -Leighton Meester

Brigette Bardot in her "glory days" as a young woman.

At some point we begin to think about ourselves aging past this stage of "youth" into mature adulthood, to middle age, and finally to elderly. When we are young, and people ask us what we want to become in life, we answer matter-of-factly with responses such as a policewoman, or a teacher. We live in that state of eternal youth where life seems to stretch into infinite days where life is defined simply. Yet, at one point we all realize the inevitable: parents die, siblings die, pet dogs die, and we, too, will eventually die.

I think this is where the fear of aging comes from. We are afraid of ourselves changing: our youthful, "beautiful" appearances change, and our souls wisen yet our bodies age and devolve. We are vain, yes, but personally I believe that this fear comes from our fears of dying, such as: what are we missing out on once we are dead? What will happen to us? Yet, there is nothing we can do to slow the process. We can remove our wrinkles through injections, get daily facials, or dye our hair to its original state, yet we are still going to age. 

Simply, society is the problem. Society is the root of so many problems. Problems with our body image, our clothing, our looks. Society does not find many elderly women attractive. Why, today I heard this girl talking about Brigette Bardot. "She was so pretty in her twenties," she said, "But now she is ugly. She's like, old. Like, 80 old. How attractive can 80 year old women be?" In my mind, I feel her perceptions are all wrong.
.

Brigette Bardot today.

Yes, she may not be the world renowned beauty she used to be, but she is still beautiful. We simply need to look for the beauty inside ourselves. Finding that beauty, I believe, is the key to our problems. Once we realize our self worth on the inside, corny as it may seem, aging does not seem as scary. Look forward to the day where you can relax after a lifetime of good work and realize you have accomplished and learned so much. Look forward to the day where you will be 80 and still see yourself as beautiful as you were when you were 20. If we can see in ourselves today, can we not make a better tomorrow for us all?

What's your opinion? Comment!

Weekly Hot Buys 4: Retro

Welcome back to the fourth installment of the Weekly Hot Buys reviews! A few things to remember while reading this, the first being that I was in a pretty good mood because Florence + the Machine had come on Pandora at the exact moment I decided to check out the Starplaza for this week's latest release, and my mom had just arrived with a huge case of Vitamin Water. The second being that, for these reasons alone, I was able to stomach this week's Hot Buys and charge through with equally uncharacteristic vivacity.

No, but seriously, this meme pretty much summed up my initial reaction.

I have to admit, I was rather confused by this week's odd theme. I pegged it as "retro" in the title, hoping it was somewhat accurate.

Here's a picture of the collection (courtesy of the Starplaza... and yes, this is another print-screened image. Sorry about that, but I don't get the ads anymore; not quite sure why. Once I figure that out, the picture quality should hopefully improve, haha).

So we'll begin with the Brooch Jacket, and I'm not quite sure I even know how to begin with this one. The overall design and pattern really threw me off. I think the color is nice, but the random, unidentifiable objects stitched into it were quite unflattering. However, I do enjoy the craftsmanship on the pearl buttons and the collar, but it certainly isn't worth the 16 Stardollars that they're charging for it.

The Mirror Skirt was another piece that I wasn't too fond of. The cut, length and color were actually rather nice, however I didn't like the reflective polka-dots sewn into the fabric. It just screamed, "shower curtain" to me.

I believe that in every Hot Buys collection, there's always one piece that you really can't mess up, and in this week's release, it was the Checkerboard Tights. Classic and versatile, these tights could be paired with several different colors and styles, but I feel that the best use for them would be in a kitschy / vintage theme. They really are quite nice, and the craftsmanship is lovely, especially in regards to the reflection of light off the surface, as well as the shading. 

The Medallion Clutch, however, was not nearly as nice. It reminded me of the glasses case I used to have for my thin, wire-frame glasses in the 5th grade, and the seatbelt-buckle strap only made it worse. The shading on the metal adjustment clasps were nice enough, however it wasn't enough to pull this accessory through to a passing grade.

The Beaded Heels caught my attention, that is, until I took a closer look at the overall composition. Sure, the craftsmanship was nice in regards to the heel and the strap, but the rumpled, pink fabric and sewn-in black and white beads really didn't belong there. Maybe if someone took an iron to the heavy, thick-looking fabric, or if the oddly out-of-place beading were taken out, it would be worth spending 7 Stardollars. 

Overall, this collection scored an F

I really didn't like this theme (and my opinion may not be yours), but I'm still on the edge of my seat to see what's on for next week! I would really love to see a 50's revival. God, I love the 50's; halter necks, big hair, poodle skirts, the whole nine yards! Well, a girl can dream, can't she? 

And on that note, I'll be seeing you all next week! Ciao! 

We Did it, 1000!

1000 FOLLOWERS

I'm not going to turn this into a lengthy and unnecessary speech but I would like to thank everyone that is a follower of the blog and getting it where it is. Less than a month ago we only had 955 followers and today we finally hit the milestone that is 1000. There's been a lot of uncertainty over the blog in months passed but I am proud to say this blog is doing better than ever! 

Thank you to Tyler for creating this wonderful blog, to Khol for being a great co-owner and helping to really bring this blog back and thank you to the writers past and present for doing an amazing job to get this blog where it is. Most of all though thank YOU, the readers. This really means a lot!

As I said previously there is a raffle to win 1000 stardollars, however the celebrations do not stop there... I'm planning a whole host of new competitions, plans and exciting opportunities that I'm very excited to share with you all in the next few weeks.

On a final note, thank you for getting us to 1000 followers! I hope our success does not stop here and we continue to grow into a bigger and better blog with even more wonderful readers and followers.