60 Hours of Fashion: Would You Watch It?

Fashion label Band of Outsiders has been claiming to have pulled off one of the most bizarre stunts known in fashion history. In their Paris debut, they staged a "fashion show" which featured a live male model living in a shop window for sixty hours, beginning this past Wednesday and wrapping up tonight (Friday).

Live streamed online for three days and four nights on the site, and Los Angeles based designer Scott Sternberg decided that every 90 minutes, the model had to disappear and change into a new outfit from the collection, which, in some critics' eyes, is more of a "fashion installation than a fashion show." Perhaps, but in a way, the designer still got his point across. "I am a clothing designer," he quotes, "but the line between art and fashion is blurred. For what I do, a runway isn't valid." Not shockingly, the Sternberg's idea recieved around 25,000 hits. Not bad for a designer who hasn't really hit the big time yet.

Live models in store windows? Creative or creepy? You be the judge.

And before you pick up your phones to call human rights agencies about the poor model who suffered, turns out, he didn't really suffer. Although forced to sleep in a tiny space, "He actually enjoyed it." says Sternberg. "We did feed him."

SHOP BAND OF OUTSIDERS

What do you think? Interesting or ridiculous? Comment!

The Stardoll Takeover

The world of technology may seem complex, but in actuality it is quite simple. No, not creating the technology, but rather the marketing schemes that raise each new creation onto a whole new platform. The 2000's are a group of years that will be looked in the future as a whole new beginning. When ideas began to evolve more than just a normal laptop or TV. 

Just like that, Stardoll is a force that is moving through the course of time, collecting bits and pieces that make it bigger and dominant over it's users. If there's something stardoll is good at, it's probably it's marketing techniques; advertising and spreading the news of it's existence is what it does best. We all know that Stardoll lures us with it's promises of shiny stardollars and endless creativity, and of course, we all complain about it. And then we all continue to chug away whilst playing Stardoll anyway.

Then there comes a point when it dawns on us; "is this going too far?" "Is Stardoll getting too close?"

Let me put a rest to those questions:

Yes, yes it is.

My mother always complains that I'm too close to my cell phone. Built with beautiful Android-ness and encased in brilliant shade of red, my mobile is one of my 'must take' items. Of course, I have friends, I have a life, but my phone is how I frequently connect to the world of technology. Or to be more specific: apps.

I can't say much here as usually I don't use apps. However, since last year, Stardoll has taken a multitude of steps toward increasing it's versatility. Releasing a collection of Apps for both iPhones and iPads, to Androids, Stardoll can now be reached with a click of your mobile phone.

First it was harmless, usually just games that earned your doll clothes.

"Download 'Cut it!' and get your medoll some free clothes!"

And if the word free doesn't catch your eye? Well, in that case I congratulate you because you are immune to Stardoll's petty bribes.

Anyhoo, after releasing small spin-offs of  'Cut it!', Stardoll decided to start trekking in another direction.

Prepare yourself, ladies and gents...I now present you:

Stardoll Access!

I suggest you click the image to read those beautiful words...

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'Money for Nothing', Stardoll?

Yeah, 'nothing' and endless amounts of our time whilst being on our phone...

Stardoll Access is how stardoll quotes it:

"Having Stardoll in the Palm of your hand"

Is it overrated to mention I shuddered a bit?

And to add to the already awesome features it has offered: now it comes with chat!

Yippee...

Ultimately, I have to say that stardoll not only has managed to choke up our internet history...but it might be churning up our GBs too. Stardoll is becoming smarter, creating new ways to access their intoxicating game. Younger children who are naïve and not able to control themselves will not only find themselves addicted to Stardoll online, but they might be poring over this mobile app that will grow to expand even more Stardollian possibilities. Even people who are older might find themselves succumbing to the lull of Stardoll.

Kudos to you, SD.

- - -

I'm just going to end with this:

Where do you stand with this technological growth of Stardoll?

Do you like appeal of the 'Stardoll Access' app?

Fame, Glory, or Enjoyment? (Part 2)

I was going to wait a day or two before I wrote this post but looking at the comments on my previous one, it looks like this had to come a bit soon than that. Let me straighten things out here. I enjoy figurative writing and my previous post, the part one to the duo, was meant, in a way, to be like a figurative introduction. By the looks of it, not many enjoyed it so I guess I shall just dive into the subject I had been meaning to get to all along. 

Blog writing. Why do we do it? In general, blog writing is meant to be like a creative outlet or a way to voice your opinions and have other hear them. It gives us a sense of importance. Stardoll blogs are no different. Many of us come here for the creative outlet. To be heard. Have other read our thoughts and opinions on a little world we all inhabit. Well, that was how it used to be. Nowadays, many use blogs as their way to fame. Now, this subject has been written about plenty of times before and in my opinion, gets more and more boring each time. For now though, I want to add my own little addition to this topic and hopefully there are people that will care to listen. 

Fame: 

In Stardoll, there are generally three to four ways a user becomes "famous". They either create fantastic graphics, they own some amazing blog or competition, and they are a good writer. Now, writing in my opinion is a skill not everyone has. You can definitely work on it and finally one day has great writing skills. Some however just start off with this fantastic skill. They know what to write about, how to write, what to say. Because of that, user will get recognized and be remembered and valued. 

However, because great writers are so hard to come by, standards are lowered and good writers become famed. As a result, many somewhat quickly work their way up and reach the "famous" rank. 

Glory: 

There is not much glory in writers on Stardoll today. In places that used to be an extreme privilege to write on, are now nothing more than a "has-been". In iswim19's post, she wrote about blogs that used to be on top and now have fallen to ruins. The current blogs that are on top too are losing their glory. Not because of the writers though. No, in this case, it is very often the readers. They either lose interest or use it to their own personal (mean) advantage. Nothing is more frustrating or more common than dedicating a crazy amount of time to a post and either getting no comments or absurdly rude comments. As a writer, you learn to let it go but it does take a blow to your confidence. That has taken the glory aspect of being a writer out. 

Enjoyment: 

The last aspect I can think of that motivates people to write is enjoyment. Some people have a passion for writing. They are able to combine it with other things they enjoy and it comes to be an escape from problems or boredom. Generally they are eventually recognized, even if it takes a while, but the talent and passion is easy to see in them. It is easier to enjoy what they write and is very interesting as well. 

It's truly funny to me. Writing does take a real knack. You must be very diplomatic because one wrong word and the 'reputation' you build up can either go crashing down or change very dramatically. I myself have been frustrated more than once with either lack of comments or surplus of idiotic ones. I will rant and rave to my sister about it and she always brings out a good point and a problem I always have. The diplomatic aspect of writing is knowing what to say, who to mention, and how to talk. If you are writing and possibly blaming readers, only a negative response is in store. Learning how to say things, what to say and when to talk about subjects have a huge impact on the response you receive and the impression you give readers about yourself. If you are successful, you get a great response and you look something like this:

However, if you are not successful, the response can be catastrophic and you will look something like this:

Well, with that I draw this post to a close. I truly hope you enjoyed it, and if not, than please (nicely) tell me what it is you would enjoy. I see my last post was not really taken as I had intended it so hopefully this clears it all up (and maybe changes your opinion on whether I really need such severe medical attention).

Thank you again,

Sara♥♥

Forbidden Language?

We're all familiar with Stardoll's One-Stop Rules. They're not too hard to memorize, considering they're just about the same as every other website I've come across. The first rule on the list is don't swear. It seems like a perfectly understandable rule, until you realize how long Stardoll's list of "swear words" is. It has swear words mixed in with words that would be completely innocent, if it wasn't for how some users act. It can get excessive.

Now, like I said before, not swearing is a perfectly understandable expectation. Stardoll's target audience is pretty young, and they don't want children to be exposed to all that. It's the way that they go about it that bugs me. Words like 'dirty' are banned, when they're perfectly innocent in some situations. For example, I roleplay a lot. Pretty recently, my character was upset because her outfit was torn and dirty. Only I couldn't word it like that, because their Forbidden Language Robots see the word dirty and tell me I can't post that. They also pick up on their forbidden words if they're a part of other words and separated by a space. For example, I wouldn't be able to type 'she's exactly...' because of the word that Stardoll picks up on. The worst part about it all is that it doesn't even work. People still find a way to bypass the filters to break the rules.

So, do you think that Stardoll is too strict about their forbidden language, or should they keep doing what they're doing now?

Fame, Glory, or Enjoyment? (Part 1)

Blogging is often an outlet for creativity. You can look anywhere on the internet, type in anything, and a blog is sure to pop up for it. People use it to express their opinions, thoughts, and ideals. People use them to be heard. The internet can be thought of as a little universe and like in our own universe, planets inhabit it. You can search all around and find different stars talking about different subjects. Maybe you will hit a planet or two. Then, in your search, you come across and planet that is booming with lights, and glitz, and glamour. From a far away point of view, this planet has two sides. The one side, pink and purple and glowing. The other side, darker, seemingly good until you look closer and see it is slowly rotting away. Each side equally envelopes this planet, each side is needed. Without one, the other would be nothing more than a meaningless star that flouts through space. Some of you may have figured it out by now, but others may be lost. What is this fictional planet I am talking about and what are these two sides. We know this planet as Stardoll, and its capitol, the one thing uniting these two widely different sides, is Dollywood. It's perched right on top of this planet and has an invisible hold over both sides. A wall stretches across this planet between the two sides. At first glance, you would think they were kept separate until you look closer and see doors in between, linking the two sides and providing a path way. After examining this planet, you decide to land and look around. That right there, many count, as your first mistake. 

You land on the lovely half filled with big, bright, and pretty lights. Vast buildings and streets of gold pave your way. You see signs flashing with "Starplaza" and "Covergirl". This futuristic Barbie-like city seems like the model city, the epitome of fame, fashion and fun. After you spend a bit of time there, you find you don't want to leave. Although the "Top Up" signs and "Need More Stardollars" flash at you constantly, you learn to not mind. You learn to adjust and you adjust well to everything being perfect. New clothes, new furniture, always getting new homes, more rooms, maybe you have even won a couple awards. Maybe it gets a little boring though. You are looking for some flare, something to spice up your daily routine. Then, a spark. You remember that other side. You think, "But it was rotting! About to fall about." Your curiosity gets the better of you though. You walk on the winding gold streets until you come to the planets diving point. 

You finally reach this big diamond encrusted wall. You are slightly stunned in place until you come back to your sense. You look around and notice a funny thing. People are all over, lining up to enter this new city. You realize there are countless people entering with folders labeled "Ideas" and suitcases entitled "Blogs". You then see an odd little. People enter, enter, enter, but none leave. You decide to ignore it and walk through the silver doors. You get in line. You peek through and see this big and fantastic city. You see buildings all over. They are just as they were on the Stardoll side but more Gothic in design. Finally, it's your turn. You walk in to find a person standing there, they turn to greet you. As they walk up they say four simple words. 

"Welcome to the Blogs."

(Sorry it took me so long to write. I have been out of town but I am back now and will be here for a while. As you saw in this post's title, this is part one. I will be writing one more post on this topic. I know this was a tad long and seemingly pointless but bear with me.  Anyways, just wanted to get those two things in there. Thank you)

Sara♥♥

How the Mighty Have Fallen

 

What was only two years ago seems like an eon past when I look back and reflect on my journey on Stardoll. When I joined in November 2009, I never expected to become part of something so much larger than just myself, this blogging world. I discovered the Stardoll blogging world around August 2010, opening up my own blog (which even I forget the name of, it's long gone now), and searching for a job on a more well recognized blog.

But enough about me. Today, I want to take the day and re-visit the mighty blogs of Stardoll's past. Of these giants, only a few actually remain to carry on the legacy, so let's talk about the earliest blogs that still exist today.

Early Era Media Giants In Existence 

 

This blog, Memoires of a Medoll, is perhaps the most outstanding, lasting legacy of Stardoll. Founded in July 2008 (happy almost 4th birthday, MDM!) by two of Stardoll's most celebrated members Noelle (Noelle_Page) and Isabella (Isabella.Arci), it is one of the largest, most powerful and popular blogs still in existence on Stardoll.

Underneath Stardoll (underneathstardoll.net) is also one of the most celebrated blogs in the history of Stardoll, however, caters to a crowd that is a bit different than MDM. With nearly 8,000 followers as of present day, Underneath Stardoll posts offers of free items, codes, and Stardoll regalia that is easy to use and also to find. Underneath Stardoll is founded by the leading ladies M_Themis, Mirka_17, and Superoh.

 

Giants in Extinction

 

Here are the most notable blogs, that, even after closing, are still remembered in our minds for the catfights, drama, and just plain aristocratic arrogance and crazy parties that are known in early Stardoll. Those were the days! Let's revisit some of the most notable:

Ah, PSG, the very notorious name of Stardoll catfights and drama. All I can say is that I'm very sad this blog is gone. PSG was actually the first Stardoll blog I discovered and followed with avid interest. The closing of this blog has marked the end of a long Stardoll era. Stardoll will absolutely never be the same.

Stardoll's Most Wanted (hotbuysbazaar.blogspot.com) was one of the largest blogs in existence on Stardoll, founded by Jenna (EmoRox4Eva). Although not exactly the same as Underneath Stardoll, it still has one of the largest followings. The reason I put SMW in the list of "Giants in Extinction" is that the writers never seem to post anymore, which truly is disappointing, and it seems the original group of writers have given up on the blog.

Did you read one of these blogs? What was your favorite? Comment!

Review: Forever Chic Magazine

After a year off, Forever Chic editor-at-large Nicole Jones (Tapstar321) has released a new issue of the magazine, and it seems a year was worth waiting as the magazine happens to be brilliant. The models are long-limbed and absolutely stunning, wearing fashion forward and thought provocative outfits.

Click on the magazine cover to visit Forever Chic Magazine.

So, as this post happens to be a review of the magazine (comment if you think I should do more reviews, by the way), I've created a rubric for my own reviews from now on.

Graphic Design: 8.5/10 These are some of the best graphics I have seen in a long while, although I can't exactly say they are the most brilliant I've ever witnessed on Stardoll. Keep up the good work!

Fashion Editorial: 5.5/10 The editorial is rather creative, as there are not just body shots but close-ups of models, and the poses are complex and intriguing, however there is no allusion as to what the models are actually wearing. I don't quite understand it, as it jumps from Elite-Girl wearing a high end piece of lingerie to JuciiMami827 wearing a baseball jacket in the next shot. There's no fluidity.
 
Creativity: 10/10 The Color Play and Hair Play editorials are especially daring, kudos to the Forever Chic team! I especially love the "Brow Pop," honestly I've never thought of eyebrows that way. I've never even seen this idea in any real life fashion magazine, props to you trendsetters!

Trends Shown: 9/10 The trends shown in this magazine are very on-track, such as the Ombre Hair and Back In Time: 60's. I would wear the ideas/items displayed in both of the articles, and I was especially impressed with the graphics in this article (which actually gave a huge boost in the graphic design score). However, the reason this wasn't a 10 on the scale was I didn't quite understand the silver article as there is no evidence in the idea silver is coming back in style. Who is to say it never went out of style?

Writing Style: 6/10 Honestly, I can't even say that there is much writing going on here. In the fashion editorial, there is no writing, and the authors of this magazine don't have much writing (besides the interview, I liked that). For example, there isn't enough meat in the silver article, and when the author writes "many designers," well, that's a logical fallacy, isn't it? There is simply no evidence provided that is finite enough to prove it to the reader. Perhaps, this sentence would better fit? "Silver is coming back, as shown in the collections of Prabal Gurung, 3.1 Phillip Lim, and Alexander Wang." However, I liked in the ombre article, there are designers listed and also a mention to a store on Stardoll where they can be purchased.

How did this magazine score?

39 out of 50 total points, at 78% or C+

My Final Comments: Bravo Forever Chic! In this rubric, I was especially grueling and judged your magazine more harshly than any critic probably has before. A 78% is a great grade, as I was prepared to scrape through your magazine for every single detail missed. Your magazine scored on par, and was beautifully done. Please continue to release the magazines as I am a fan of yours! 

What did you guys think? Should I do more reviews, and on who/or what?  

Comment!

One Ticket to the Art Museum, Please

Fashion has recently proven itself as a fantastic addition to contemporary art. Why the sudden awareness, you wonder. Hasn't fashion always been considered art? Well, no, not to the prestigious art museums of the Musee Pompidou and Museum of Modern Art. Usually these museums will attract large crowds with showings of the "hottest young artists" or even icons of the Modern Art Era such as Andy Warhol, but recently, couture has been taken to a new level, with say, the "hottest young designers."

Alexander McQueen's "Savage Beauty"

All kinds of fashion now is called art. This label of "fashion art" is not only just reserved for the likes of Karl Lagerfeld and Alexander McQueen, no: all manners of fashion count, from old to classic to just plain absurd, everything and anything that is being displayed is considered contemporary art.

There is a big cash-off for this art: museums display the art to make high fashion accessible for everybody to see, yet designers still profit from the ticket sales in the galleries. No longer does this only service the extraordinarily wealthy and famous.

There are now displays all over the world:
- San Francisco's de Young Fine Arts Museum is displaying Jean Paul Gaultier's 120 most reknown ready-to-wear designs.
- The Metropolitan Museum  in New York City is displaying Prada and an assortment of other mainly New York based designers.
- The house of Gucci opened a private museum in a palazzo in Florence, Italy showcasing Salvatore Ferragmo's world famous designs.
- The British Museum in London is hosting "Savage Beauty," the late Alexander McQueen's designs which was a blockbuster hit last year in New York City.
- Les Arts Decoratifs in Paris are hosting designs by Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs.
- Design Museum Holon in Israel is showing Yohji Yamamoto.

These are not the only fashion-art showcases in the world at the moment, but just a sampling of what is being displayed. High fashion has become beautiful art, and it will not surprise me when, someday, there will be an abundance of museums dedicated simply to the collection of beautiful fashion pieces, and perhaps a "contemporary fashion museum."

What do you think about art and fashion mixing? Comment!

The Effect of Our Standards of Beauty on Children

 We all grew up surrounded by television, billboards, and fashion magazines. None of us were oblivious to what is and what isn't considered beautiful, and unfortunately, today's small children aren't either.

 I remember sitting with one of my cousins one time, drawing, and she asked why I drew everyone so skinny. I replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Because skinny is better." I was eight years old. I knew that skinnier wasn't always healthier, because I saw a magazine at the store one day about celebrities who were "Scary Skinny", but that didn't change my mind about whether being really skinny is better than being a normal size. This applies to today's children, too. Even if they know something isn't always good, they view what's usually considered as beautiful as better. Studies have shown that attractive children are usually more popular, both with classmates and with teachers. Now, the less attractive children may be even nicer and smarter than the pretty ones, but that doesn't seem to help anything.

 Humans can recognize themselves in the mirror by the age of two. Girls can start to feel unhappy about their appearance only a couple years later. Now, I was lucky, because as a child I didn't have any huge self confidence issues. That came later. I mean, sure, I wished I had blonde hair and blue eyes rather than my red hair and green eyes, but it was really just because my Barbies were usually blonde, and I had a blonde friend who was gorgeous, and I thought I'd look like her with blonde hair and blue eyes. Not everyone is so lucky, some children have major issues with how they look. Over the past decade, the percentage of children getting plastic surgery is rising, and the average age of people in eating disorder clinics is dropping. 81% of American ten-year-olds claim to have dieted at least. Although puberty usually leads to a better view of themselves in boys, in girls, puberty has the opposite. The added fat, especially that on the thighs and hips just makes girls more self-conscious. Now, only three out of ten seventeen-year-olds have not attempted to diet.

A lot of people blame the media, with its rigid standards of beauty that just keep getting harder to achieve. In the nineteenth century, being beautiful meant wearing a corset. In the twenty-first century, only five percent of women can achieve the media's ideal standard of thinness. If you factor in height, hair, and face, then the number is closer to one percent. I have to agree, the media may be partially to blame. But can we really say it's all their fault? There are lots of things that can factor into how a person feels about their reflection. One of which is whether or not they were teased as a child about how they look. Is it really such a surprise to hear that if a child was teased, they're more likely to feel bad about themselves later in life? Now, I know that we can't control someone's past, or what other people say, but we can look at ourselves. There may not be a way to change the past, but we can control what we do now. Maybe if we all behave, we'll be able to focus less on what the media throws at us and more on increasing the self confidence of our children. It's a slim chance, but isn't it worth it?

In The News: 69 Year Old Bus Moniter Bullied By Middle Schoolers

Recently a video was posted on Youtube by a 13 year old middle school-er who filmed their bus's bus monitor, 69 year old Karen Klein being verbally abused by a group of boys, all around the age of 12-13 year olds on their way home from Athena Middle School in Greece, New York one afternoon. The original title of the cruel video was titled "Making The Bus Monitor Cry", which is exactly what happened.

Here is the original length of the video, where you hear the harassment instantly when watching it, this video has almost 5 MILLION views under 4 days of being posted.

Basically if you don't feel like watching a 10 minute long video, basically they just make rude comments towards her, such as being fat, a troll, talking about her family and other comments related to her apparently being fat, and randomly being poked by the same boy. They kept saying how she was sweating a lot from being fat while we find out it wasn't sweat on her face but tears, and though she does talk to them to answer things they asked, she never once told them to leave her alone.


If you think this is a laughing matter, or didn't want to watch it for yourself, here are some of my choices of comments that you would have to be disgusted by hearing from this said video:

•     - "Where's your address.. so I can piss all over your door."

•     - "I wanna break into your house and steal everything."

•     - "She probably eats deodorant because she can't afford real food."

•     - "Shes gonna die from f*ckin' diabetes because she is so f*ckin' fat."

•     - "You don't have a family because they all killed themselves because they don't want to be near you."

•     - One boy reading her bag, " 'Be remarkable..', you're already being remarkable, for taking up the entire seat you fat ass."

•      - Karen says, "I'll send you a thank you card.." "For what?" "..for being so nice!" The kid then says, "I'll send you a doughnut fat ass."

All this being said while she constantly was being called fat, sweaty, and a flabby poor troll. In one interview she said,"they just started in with this garbage… And I sit there and I took it ’til they got off the bus. And I thought, it’s done! It’s over,” and in another she states,“I want the boys punished, but I don’t know how. It made me feel really terrible, but I will get over it. I’ve gotten over everything else.”

I feel horrible that such a sweet elder woman had to of been verbally assaulted like that from doing her job. But you know what, its not anything new to happen on a bus, the kids like to be mean and pick on each other for shits and giggles, the same with being at school. And though their parents were all shocked to hear their kids saying these things, I think its not anyone's fault but the students. A parent can only teach a child so much, but when they go to school, they do whatever they can sneak past their folks since they are not around their parents for 8 hours a day. So to me, the amount of swearing, insults, and anything else horrible done by these kids probably were done before and numerous times to either her or other children as well.

At the end of the day, all the boys apologized, though I doubt they would of if anyone didn't find out, and I am 100% sure they are being bullied, hated, and threatened by millions of people for their rude comments. Which is sad! Though they do deserve to be punished, adding hate onto hate NEVER works out. It just hurts everyone in the long run, and I doubt they will be able to live a normal school life again until the media and public calms down about it.


In one interview of the Greece police officer helping the boys, he states -
"They've received death threats," Greece police Capt. Steve Chatterton said Thursday. "Their families have been threatened. We have custody of one of their cellphones, and he had over 1,000 missed calls and 1,000 text messages threatening him. And he's 13 years old. That must stop."

But the icing on the cake for me is just the fact that a Toronto man started a fundraiser for her called “Lets Give Karen – The bus monitor – H Klein A Vacation!” where basically he was just trying to earn her $5,000 dollars, but guess what? The situation caused such an uproar that, get this, he now has raised almost $500,000 for Karen's vacay, meaning she is probably set for the rest of her life off of this. In her interviews, she expresses how shocked and thankful she is of how much support she got.

Though I think the gesture is nice and all, I think it is a bad idea for the guy allowing people to over pay for the situation, though she deserves some pension for her abuse, it was only words, and though I do agree words hurt more in the long run and she was more than just called fat, but, they were ONLY words. What I mean is that I don't see why giving someone who was told they were fat half a million dollars, see what I mean? Honestly, everyone has heard their share of rudeness, but do we get a paycheck for it? NO! We have to move on with our lives!


I just don't like the fact that there are people out in the streets starving, babies being abandoned from poor mothers, and other horrible yet daily issues, but instead if you had a video of you being insulted on Youtube, then you can become instantly rich, but anyway I am happy for her and glad so many people are ready to help and support her, just not happy at how people put their money to.

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So now I ask you, how do you feel about all of this? What do you think should of been done about this situation?

Sorry about the gap, but the post got messed up some how and before the gap was way worst, so this is how I will leave it since I don't know else to fix it.

"Call Me Maybe?"

As I was reading 'Stardoll: Fame, Breasts, and Sexy Medolls' by Dei, these lines caught my attention:
"And usually new members love to wear the free purple bikini around to attract some imaginary Stardoll male, acting shamefully in the process."


Ah, The virtual boyfriend syndrome, something that we usually judge to be among the newer, or more younger players. Sadly, I've had more than my fair share of witnessing these instances. In my earlier days of Stardoll, I used to be a party person. Sad, but true. When you were a bored person who wanted to get some pals on Stardoll, the Parties -now dubbed 'Chat'- was the place to go. There are also other instances in which virtual romance is injected into a normal Stardoll Society.
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Scenario 1: The 'Flock to the Male' Issue.

Credit goes to Dei's post [here]

This is something that definitely hasn't changed through the course of time. From about last year, to my recent visit, there has always been the situation where a single Male gender-ed doll at a party, and there happened to be an entourage of girl dolls surrounding him.
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Scenario 2: The 'More Skin, More Chance' Thought

With Bikinis, bathing suits,and all other types of 'lusty' clothing on Stardoll, there are many users who abuse the real reason as to why those pieces of virtual clothing exist. It's not unusual to stumble upon several under-dressed dolls. Though at times we deem this kind of style to fall under what's 'hot', it's easy to see dolls who abuse the trend. But Why would they under-dress their doll for a 'boyfriend'? I guess virtually exposed dolls are supposed to turn guys on or something.
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Scenario 3: Even Stardoll Encourages it!?

Recently, even Stardoll itself has decided to add the pressure to any girl wanted a virtual partner. How so? Well, as we can see above, 'Add as Girlfriend' and 'Add as Boyfriend' option has been added to the friends list. I find this rather appalling, as Stardoll should realize this can break several 'One-Stop rules'. It's not uncommon to see a Stardoll Couple uttering very...explicit words to each other. As I stated on a post for Extravagance Stardoll, "With this added option, Girls will probably be looking for a 'special someone' to show off on their list." Like the new 'achievements' and 'levels' are proposed to be a sort of 'competition, Boyfriends/Girlfriends may be as well.
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Where I am going with this is that I find online relationships, especially including the ones on Stardoll, seem overrated. I see Stardoll as a place to expand one's creativity whilst managing to retain a sort of youth. Stardollian Relationships definitely test the youth factor, and adds several risks to the Game as well. There are some, maybe very few pedofilic people on Stardoll. If any member of Stardoll manages to fall into those kinds of peoples' trap: it'll be a very scary path from there. 
Another way to look at romances like those on Stardoll are probably the fact that the 'Male' of the relationship may be a girl, who is just having fun. I'd probably be awkwarded out if I was in a relationship with a 'boy', but then found out that he was really a bored girl who was amusing herself.
Yeah...definitely a bit weird.
Anyhoo, Rafael/Rafi101 brings up these great points and even more in this comment I found on the same post for Extravagance Stardoll:

[click to expand]
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With that being said, it does make Boyfriend/Girlfriend relationships sound like something really pointless.
What do you say?
Do You think having a Boyfriend or a Girlfriend on Stardoll is appropriate?

The Rat Race

Everyone wants to be the best they can be. It's been hammered into out brains since infancy. Even if the trait shows up more strongly in certain people, and we all have our off days, for the most part we're constantly working to be better than everyone else. But why? Why should we spend our days in an exhausting rat race rather than trying to enjoy ourselves?

We buy clothes from 'designer' brands and stuff our closets with them before we try to build an outfit that will make everyone else jealous. Then we design our suites, trying to make them look perfect. We visit other people's suites, secretly hoping that their outfit won't be as attention-grabbing as our own, or that their suite will be plain. If it is, then we're happy, but if their outfit or suite is better than our own, then we envy them. We may do this without realizing it, but I'm convinced that we all do it to some extent.

If you're not convinced, I'd like to ask you if you've ever thought about what other people might think about a new outfit or suite design, or even rejected an option simply because you know other people wouldn't like it? Have you ever gone to someone else's suite and found that their outfit is nicer than your own and wished you had that kind of talent? My point exactly.

What's the most extreme thing you've ever done to get ahead in the rat race?

Victory & Klaus Releases Fragrance!

The always amazing Victory & Klaus brand by Amanda Lucy (LadyGaGaMcQueen) and Clement Krew (Klem 1) has released their delicious new fragrance! The graphics are incredibly realistic, and I couldn't help respect and admire their fine detailing and design. I would definitely buy these, what about you?

I really admire how Amanda and Clement have taken Stardoll user-made fashion and really brought that concept to life. It's really quite amazing what us Stardoll users can do with a little graphic design talent! Honestly, some of the graphics I've seen are more spectacular than what I've seen the Stardoll design team do (no offense to them!). 

CLICK TO VIEW CAMPAIGN HERE

What do you guys think about Victory & Klaus? Comment!

Goals (A Personal Post)

I want to talk for a second about having goals.

A goal is planning and (hopefully) trying to accomplish a certain want or desire you have. But there are different goals, short-term(0-1 month), mid-term(2 months-5 months), and long-term goals(half a year or more), and I want to highlight on long-term goals.

I have a dream of being a professional beauty specialist mainly focusing in doing coloring, make-up, spa treatments(like facials or masks), nail designing and so forth. Recently I have finally finished enrolling into this all-purpose beauty school that plans to teach me that and more. I have been in the school not too long now and honestly I didn't see myself wanting this 2 years ago.

Deadly Beauty

I'm a girl. I like makeup, so I was startled when I saw an article on shirleys-wellness-cafe.com about that risks wearing makeup can pose to our health. The article is talking about the chemicals in makeup, and how companies don't test these chemicals before putting them in their products, which have been shown to cause allergic reactions, birth defects, and even cancer. Sounds pretty scary, right?

The article points out that over three hundred chemicals have been discovered in humans over the past seventy-two years that were never there before, and explains that we absorb chemicals in through our skin. It lists different problems that can form, including hormonal imbalances, hyper-sensitivity, obesity, and cancer.

We all know that some beauty procedures are bad for you, like tanning, but I never thought that my foundation might be harming me. I certainly hope that makeup brands put more effort into making their lipsticks and lip gloss safe, because the average woman consumes six pounds of lipstick in her lifetime. Now, I'm trying to suggest that we all need to go shopping right now and replace all of your makeup with natural products. That would be a waste of money, especially if you have a lot of a product left. I do think that as I run out of a certain product, I should look into a natural substitute for it.

What do you think about natural vs. synthetic makeup?

Link to the article:   http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/toxic-cosmetics.htm#chems
I read the "The Ugly Side of Cosmetics".

Stardoll: Fame, Breasts, and Sexy Medolls

A quote from GossipGirl4Real's post titled Too Sexy For Stardoll?, where she talks about one user's way of dress, she states, "I believe that every medoll is sexy in their own ways, but is there a limitation in a site full of little girls?"

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Over the past couple of years people have always made graphics more grown up and appealing, or recently using jewelry/hair design making medolls look much more attractive or features stand out more, creating an alluring appearance. But do you think maybe we try too hard to be sexy when it comes to Stardoll?

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What I mean is that even though the majority of members are around 10-15 years young, a handful of Stardollians love to be vain and make sexy banners for their blogs/projects, dress proactively, and show off their new tit job even though these younger members are around. And usually new members love to wear the free purple bikini around to attract some imaginary Stardoll male, acting shamefully in the process.

Now, I am one of the members who was happy to create a better chest for my medoll, but I didn't do it to act like "OMFG, I can have huge knockers!", I prefer to not be flat-chested. But no matter the reason, it was to flaunt your  newly acquired 'goods'.

Is it possible we are all obsessed with achieving a fake look to look fabulous? That being plastic IS fantastic?

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As seen on "Stardoll's Hot News" (a fake gossip blog)

"After Doll Daily newspaper featured this close-up photo of Dollywood's most controversial transgendered train wreck, Jack (freeduck___), major uproar occurred

The photo was snapped by a member of the Doll Daily team whilst Jack was browsing the rails in "Antidote" last week, wearing only a black strapless bra and hot pants.

Rumours went flying that Jack had extensive surgery including breast enhancement, liposuction around the neck and chest area, and even a chin augmentation! Whenever anyone asked Jack for his side of the story he simply stated "No comment"."

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And seen from PinkiOriginal's post on BFM titled "What is this world coming to...?", she shows these user made designs of what looks to be some big breasted PowerPuff Girls.

But it doesn't stop on Stardoll, I've seen plenty of graphics (of good and bad quality) that features a more adult, scantly clad or nude medolls, and I ask why? Though I don't mind nude art/photography, only when its tasteful though. Even I've dabbled in the making of nude graphics, like the first one shown below. But I didn't make it to be sexy just to improve my graphic skills without making clothing. But what about the others? What were their aims when being made? To be hot? Eye-catching? Classy? Regal? Who knows!

(Click the photos to enlarge if needed)

 

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Looking at random sexy graphics, I  think it is safe to say, people on Stardoll LOVE to be sexy. Further pondering on the subject, I thought...

"Can sexy appearances and nudity be tasteful on Stardoll?"