Day 102: Eliza Visits Caledon

Ev'ry duke
And earl and peer is here
Ev'ryone
Who should be here is here.
What a smashing
Positively dashing
Spectacle: the Ascot op'ning day

How... do... you... do? How... kind... of... you... to... let... me... come.

My name is Eliza Doolittle. I was minding me own (I mean, "MY" own) business one day, when this gentleman (if you can call him that), wanders by and starts spying on me! He tells me he teaches people to talk proper (I mean, speak properly). So I hired him for a few lessons (giving him me earnest wages too!). And he treats me like I was his servant! Im a good girl I am! Luckily, he gave me the day off today, so I can go wander the streets of Caledon!



Oh so this is where the gentry live. Them rich gentlemen and ladies with their pretty houses. You really have to see all them pretty houses. Look, the streets even have names and proper signs! And people here talk to you. Not like you was out begging or something!



Caledon has its own newspaper called The Caledon Herald. They have their own gov'ner. He even has his own offices and plans the roads and buildings. And most of the areas here have their own trains and trolleys. Them gentle folk are so spoiled!

But when you come here, they dont let you go directly to a plot of land. You have to go to something called a hub, then walk to your destination. I guess the rich folk can afford good shoes!

But seeing Caledon is not about seeing the area, but what the people have built here!



Here, whats this? Marconi, Maxim, Tesla & Associates? They sound like a bunch of lawyers. This is their Caledon Tamrannoch Works (SLURL: Caledon Tamrannoch (167,226,22)).

Steampunk and steam-powered contraptions? These people are up to no good I tell ya! Here fiddling with steam and talking to each other without wires! Whats next...seeing each other like you was there? I tell you they are up to no good. And Im not staying here for one minute. Im a good girl I am!

Wait a minute...an Observation Deck. Wow, you can see all of Caledon from here...



Now theres a funny looking building. Caledon Observatory (SLURL: Caledon Highlands (168,151,39)). Looks like they left a big hole in the roof!

Hey, theres a looking glass up there in the roof, but you have to climb up there. Professor Higgins says it wasnt proper for young ladies to go climbing. Well, I wasnt no proper young lady before, so I guess it must be alright just this once. Golly...look at that!



The Caledon Hedge Maze (SLURL: Caledon II (65,223,22))? Why would I want to get meself lost in a maze like some scientific experimentation? Im telling you that the gentry is mighty perculiar, if you know what I mean.



Awww...look at all them pups! The Virtual Kennel Club (SLURL: Caledon (111,207,23)). Them rich folk have everything. Even adopting dogs now!

Hey, these dogs speak English. Why they can sit, come to ya, fetch, and do a lot of other tricks. They play with each other, and even learn things about you after a while. And look at the toys you can buy them!



Wow...Caledon Castle (SLURL: Caledon Moors (192,190,0))! I aint seen no place this big before. The dining table's as big as me home. They have their own Visitor's Center.

Heehee :P

Welcome to the Independent State of Caledon, a collection of sims with a common Victorian-era theme. Caledon is really a group of land rental sims. But the renters at Caledon show an unusual degree of pride. There are virtually no vacancies, and most units are built with care and effort.

I did a rough count and saw 14 sims in Caledon! (Although not all appear to be the standard divided rental land)

But Caledon is not just about these highlights! The fun of being in Caledon is walking through the streets looking at houses and browsing the shops. Most Caledon shops carry strange and interesting items only found in Caledon. So just browse around. Who know what you might find in those 14 sims! :)

And you dont have to dress up to come to Caledon. Just be yourself, as long as you are not a fire-breathing dragon (a little modesty might be nice :) ). Im just a crazy girl :P

To find any number of destinations within Caledon, try clicking on the Search button, selecting the Places tab, and entering "caledon" as the keyword. The "Caledon" sim, with nothing behind it, is the original and oldest.



Since Caledon is a Victorian-era sim, I needed a Victorian-era gown to go there. And what better than one of the most famous Victorian-era gowns of all time?

(OK, I found out later that this was Edwardian...who knew? People who live in Caledon, thats who :P)



That's right. This is the famous dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in "My Fair Lady", during the Ascot Opening Day scene. This dress was recently sold at auctioned for $115,000! If you have not seen "My Fair Lady"...well...go see it :) Its one of my favorite musicals of all time!

As you might expect, this dress was not easy to make! And thats an understatement if there ever was one :)

All the collar, cuffs, bows, hats, skirts, and parasol are prim-based. And all have flexi-prims on them. The collar, wrist cuffs, skirts, and parasol have a flexi-prim skirt on them; for a total of 4 different sets of custom skirts that needed to be generated using Ged Larsen's LoopRez Generator! :)

Everything moves on this outfit! The hat has bows and ribbons, the parasol has a skirt and ribbons, and the neck and wrist cuffs are skirts. When the wind blows, the sim servers take a beating as everything fly about :P

But thats the idea behind the Ascot dress...its supposed to be over-the-top!

Aside from doing a lot of skirt making, I picked up a couple cool tricks.

First, I got to use the mermaid skirt technique that I learned while making the Hermione dress. This Ascot dress has skirt panels attached to the lower leg, one set for the left leg, and one for the right. They overlap, so that the skirt remains full even when standing with feet apart.

The hat was certainly an interesting challenge. It took me a while staring at the picture trying to figure out what shape to use. It turned out to be a hollowed/tapered cylinder with some Top Shear.

The parasol was also interesting. OK, it is for appearances only...it doesnt actually open! Making it was a new experience, since I have never made an umbrella before. But there was also the matter of having a pose or animation to hold the umbrella. I ended up using a built-in SL animation for holding weapons called "hold_R_handgun". Actually, this animation is typically used for holding drinks, like a cup of coffee. That's where I got the script from: a freebie cup of hot coco. :)

I really cant believe how well this turned out! I am so like totally Victorian right now :P



Come on Dover...come on Dover...come on Dover, move your bloomgin arse! (Ive always, always wanted to do that! :P)