Leather heaven

I was shocked when I won Enfant Terrible’s rare L’Odeur du Cuir underbust corset. It took me a few seconds to make sense of what I read on my screen. I even had to check my inventory to make sure my eyes had not deceived me. I don’t know why I was so incredulous. It was only my fourth hit on the machine, so it’s not as though I had become a mindless and heedless creature ignoring the most important call of nature—the need for lip balm. (That would come later…) Perhaps my sense of smell was faulty and it took me a while to catch the whiff of leather. Or… (to be continued after the cut)

Crises at midlife and midnight

Is there a difference between my sudden embrace of kink and anyone else’s midlife crisis? I don’t believe so. I can’t be the only person to regret time lost or wasted, to claw my way out of a moribund state, of years-long depression and more than a decade fearing sex. Over the past year I have become capable not only of “extreme” and “perverse” acts and emotions but of acts and emotions PERIOD. I have rediscovered sociability, friendship and intimate relationships. I leave my house at night to spend time with people. (Weeks of tracking my insomnia show me that I sleep best when I come home from an outing and go straight to bed.) I have the peace of mind and confidence to reconnect with professional peers and my mother. I even started shopping again. Now that I am buying lingerie, sex toys and rope for my dungeon nights, a pair of completely unnecessary brightly striped loafers might seem like a comparatively conservative and practical addition to my wardrobe. (Reader, I purchased them.)

What comes standard?

There are two things about Collabor88 that I really like. First, if you aren’t the kind of blogger who previews the items or gets in on the first morning and posts a post right away, it’s possible to wait three weeks and be the kind of blogger who reminds people that they forgot to go to Collabor88. Second, r2 A/D/E rarely follows the theme and instead offers something shiney and sexy at gasp-worthy prices. You know that disgusted feeling you get when you play a gacha and something baby-boy blue or lil-girl pink drops into your inventory? Make it all better this month with the Suzuya dress.

Heavy is the head

There’s nothing like going up for tenure to give a person a headache. All the contradictory advice makes me sweaty. All the judgy judginess of the judging makes me cranky. And then there’s holding my colleagues’ hands as they fret over my prospects. I want to postpone the panic. They want to have it now. And the whole process takes a year. A year of angst. I’ve decided that the only way to get through this assessment period is to reposition “executive realness” for the modern woman. That’s why Portia is decked out in Riri Nini’s new Afreak jackets for h.m.a.e.m and Delmar Quintessa’s crowns for West 143rd. You will have to take the express train to snag the jackets, and coordinating, but not matching, skirts, at The Couturier’s Docks, where only 50 copies are for sale. The gold-and-black banded version of the crown, along with a mini-crown and a collar, are for sale at this month’s round of The Gallery Gift Shop. Other combos of black, silver and gold are available at the mainstore on a limited time offer.
More real than real. More knit than necessary?

Credits to creators
Hump day
h.m.a.e.m. – Afreak jacket – 002 – M (NEW at the Couturiers Docks; ty Riri!)
W E S T 143RD. HONEYCOMB CROWN – Black & Gold band links (at The Gallery Gift Shop; ty)
**COCO*_SleevelessBlouse(Black)_(free)
:[Plastik]:- Reverence Skirt [XS-C]://Noir
Glance Skins – Anais – August – No Brows
*Glance Skins – Anais – September – Glossy 06
.random.Matter. – Misery Brows (at Cosmetic Fair)
.Birdy. {Liner} 5
NOX. Sunspots [Three] (at Cosmetic Fair)
*League* Aria Hairbase -Dark
blackLiquid, EARRING – KAJA
Tokidoki, Elephant Bag Light
Slink, Avatar Enhancement Hands – Casual – Small
FINESMITH, GOLD knot BANGLES (vip gift)
[HANDverk]Wassily Ring.red/gold.left
.Renegade. Lace-up Plaform Sandals (XXS) – Black
Slink, Female Feet (AvEnhance) XXS – Mid

Executive class
h.m.a.e.m. – Afreak jacket – 001 – M (NEW at the Couturiers Docks; ty Riri!)
h.m.a.e.m. – buffy clutch – she’s the night-hand hold L (NEWish; ty Riri!)
W E S T 143RD. HONEYCOMB CROWN – Black (ty Delmar!)
:[Plastik]:- Reverence Skirt [XS-C]://Noir [short and cute, with black, white or beltless versions and in tons of colours; ty Aikea!]
*COCO*_BowShirt(Black) (free)
*Glance Skins – Anais – August – No Brows
*Glance Skins – Anais – September – Matte 10
.random.Matter. – Misery Brows (at Cosmetic Fair)
.Birdy. {Liner} 5
NOX. Sunspots [Three] (at Cosmetic Fair)
*League* Aria Hairbase -Dark
Pure Poison – Bunny Earrings (NEW subo gift)
[HANDverk]Wassily Ring.red/gold.left (not available)
Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands – Casual – Small
.Renegade. Lace-up Plaform Sandals (XXS) – Black
Slink, Female Feet (AvEnhance) XXS – Mid

poses are not available