Tag: Snowpaws

Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: A Tale of Two Frank’s

A rather amusing situation has developed in the wake of Frank’s Entertainment Group closing down most of their Second Life venues: two dueling Frank’s Jazz Clubs have arisen!

Frank’s Jazz Club (The Upstart)

The new club, which is variously called Frank’s Jazz Club, the New Frank’s Place, the Sinatra Jazz Club, and the Frank S Jazz Club, depending on which sign you’re looking at and which landmark you pick up, is the new kid on the block, obviously hoping to lure Frank’s previous clientele. (I’m quite sure that Frank’s original owner, Nanceee Sinatra, is rather ticked off about this development, but there’s not much that she can do about it. I rather doubt she trademarked the name Frank’s.)

The music mix is much the same as Nancee’s original Frank’s, but I note that you can make song requests for the DJ to play using various signs placed around the venue, which is a suitably large and impressive space, tastefully decorated for Christmas.

And I do see many familiar faces from Frank’s here already! Which just goes to show that the concept was a good one. It was very smart of someone to step immediately into the void left when Frank’s closed.

Even better, there are gifts of free formalwear for both men and women at the entrance! What more could a freebie fashionista ask for?

Here my avatar is wearing the free black ballgown, which is quite lovely and has sizes to fit most classic system and mesh bodies (this is the version for Maitreya Lara, which fits this Altamura Juliet mesh body perfectly):

She is also wearing:

TOTAL COST FOR THIS ENTIRE FORMAL OUTFIT: FREE!

Frank’s Elite Jazz Club (The Original)

On the other hand, there is Frank’s Elite Jazz Club, which is under new ownership after the previous sim owner stepped in to save it when Frank’s Entertainment Group was going to shut it down. It is a members-only club with a rather steep membership fee of L$1,000 (I had joined when the group fee was only L$500), but they sometimes have events which are open to everybody.

I must confess that I do have a soft spot for this venue, which is beautifully decorated for the holiday season:

One of things I do like about Frank’s Elite Jazz Club is the variety of talented live performers. I also appreciate the fact that the exclusivity of the club tends to attract a higher class of clientele (I did get rather sick and tired of being hit on all the time at Frank’s original club; being a drop-dead gorgeous female avatar does have its disadvantages 😉 ).

Vanity Fair is wearing her standard go-to ballgown, the Au Revoir red silk gown by Snowpaws—simple, beautiful, effortlessly elegant.

To go with the ballgown, I am also wearing:

  • Antigone gold and ruby earrings (a long-ago free gift from Kouse’s Sanctum, a store which has now closed)
  • Gigi crimson pumps by Garbaggio (not shown; my favourite shoe store!)
  • And a gold wedding band by Su Xue (as a warning signal to keep the male pestering to a minimum 😉 ).

Vanity is also wearing:

Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: London City Freebies, Including the Robert and Jenny Full-Body Mesh Avatars by Altamura!

UPDATE Sept. 28th: For a current, up-to-date list of free or inexpensive options for mesh avatar heads and bodies for female Second Life avatars, please see this blogpost. For a current, up-to-date list of free options for free and inexpensive male mesh avatar heads and bodies, please see this blogpost. 

London City is invariably one of the busiest (and laggiest!) sims in Second Life. No matter what time of the day or night, there’s always a crowd of avatars present, chatting with each other or just hanging out.

Just off to the side of the main gathering spot in London City is the Freebie Megastore:

Freebie Megastore London City 29 Aug 2018.png

This is not one of my top four freebie stores in Second Life, because almost all of the items available here are dated, system-layer-and-flexiprim clothing designed for the older SL system (i.e. non-mesh) avatars. However, on my last visit, I did find a pleasant surprise: two free full-body mesh avatars by Altamura! They’re just inside the entrance on the main floor, to the left (here’s a SLURL to take you directly there):

Robert and Jenny Altamura Fullbody Mesh Avatars London City 29 Aug 2018

These are the same avatars which Rumegusc Altamura very generously gave as hunt gifts late last year: the Jenny full-body mesh avatar as a free hunt prize in the Women Only Hunt, and the Robert full-body mesh avatar as a free hunt prize for the Men Only Hunt. just click on each panel and select “Deliver” from the blue pop-up menu which appears on-screen, and they’re yours for free!

As I have said before, I have found that clothing designed for the Maitreya Lara mesh avatar body fits the Altamura female body very well, with a minimum of fuss. Also, the Altamura female mesh bodies have Slink-compatible feet, so any shoe designed for Slink feet should work well with them (the female mesh body gift comes in three foot heights, selectable via HUD: flat, medium, and high). The bodies have fully-adjustable Bento heads and Bento hands, and (in a nice touch) Altamura has included a hand AO which cycles natural hand positions, which you can use with your regular (non-Bento) AO.

IMPORTANT! There is one key difference between the Women Only Hunt freebie Jenny body and the London City Freebie Megastore freebie Jenny body. The earlier WOH version allowed you to remove the head so you could replace it with any other head. Unfortunately, the freebie Jenny body from the Freebie Megastore does not allow you to remove the head. And it’s the same story with Robert; if you picked up the Men Only Hunt version of this head last year, you can remove the head. If you pick it up here at London City, you can’t.

In addition to the Altamura freebies, you can also pick up dozens of free dresses and gowns by Snowpaws, in a small store just across from the Freebie Megastore:

Snowpaws Store London City 29 Aug 2018.png

Just walk inside, and there are two full walls of freebie panels to click (here’s a SLURL to take you directly there). Many of these dresses are mesh outfits available in five standard sizes, but note that some are older system-layer clothing. WARNING: One of the dresses on the freebie wall is actually listed for sale for L$100, so please BE CAREFUL and check before you click the Buy button! 

Snowpaws Freebies London City 29 Aug 2018.png

So, drop by the bustling London City sim, brave the lag, meet some new people, and pick up a free mesh body and some beautiful free clothes!