bijou.

The best thing about my wee shopping hiatus (which, if we're going to be honest with one another, I do have to admit that I did shop, I just didn't do it "actively" -- which all my fellow addicts will understand the pace of which I mean) was that I didn't find myself frequenting the same shops I usually cannot live without.

I spent hours in my inventory (yes, hours - if you add up all the time, subtract the quick changes, and multiply the amount of free gifts my precious friends passed on you find yourself at hours) mixing and matching things I've had for over a year now and things I've only had a few minutes.

This proved to work best for the times I actually made it out of my skybox to go play social. I found that I wasn't matching anyone standing next to me. That is, my biggest pet peeve. People have argued in blogs before, even commented on quotes from me, which is lawl worthy, about the absolute inability to be unique in SL. I just so happen to disagree with that statement and find that I've just so happened to surround myself with some of the most unique looking avatars in world. See: Keeley Huet, Carissa Crimson, and Aranel Ah for examples.

Now, I'm not saying these girls take the cake on supreme uniqueness, I'm just saying that if I saw them, standing in a crowded room, without nametags or their significant others standing by, (and if it makes you feel better, if they were all in the same shape and not attempting to trick me by changing it up) I'd be able to tell who they were by what they were wearing.

So - long winded unique-ness commentation aside, I DO think it's possible to have your own unique style in world. I usually say that it's an absolutely necessary to do this by mixing and matching, but there are some designers who just make really killer out of box ensembles that look like they've already been haphazardly (used in the best way possible) styled.

Bijou, for example, is my favorite. Not only do I feel one hundred percent "me" when I walk into her store, which in itself is an incredible feeling -- but, her designs have a carefree, dare I say, "punk rock aloofness" that just makes anyone who's ever felt the need to be different, stand out in the absolute best way. The right way.

I know most of you know of, and have been to bijou. And I think that's fantastic. Maybe you feel one hundred percent you there too, which is also fantastic. The chances of us wearing it identically are slim to none, and that is also... well, you get the picture.

For those of you who haven't been, do yourself a favor and make time to check it out.