Being in a family that grew up near the ocean, and by ocean I mean my father, and his father, and his father going back for generations, all were in the Navy. Being from such a seafaring family, you pick up a few things. Number one - you have a tendency to know how to ballroom dance. Number two - you have a tendency to know a lot of music about the ocean or the sea. Today's feature is a new release by Marika Smedley of Ley-Ly Fantasies, which upon its release will retail for only L$100 in the store and on the Marketplace. "Lady," as she has named it, is a long-flowing red evening gown with black jacket. Though we prefer it with the jacket, you can also wear it without; it has long sleeves underneath.
Ms. Smedley is an interesting designer. She doesn't have a full-sim store. She doesn't have a professional photographer toddling along behind her. She doesn't charge an arm and a leg. What she does have though is passion for her craft. All of the items in her store, as she says on her profile, run less than L$200. Earlier today even, Mom, while researching some extra information for this review, even bought two gorgeous gowns as well (Eve and Garbo), each for L$100. In fact, in talking with her today, she said that all of her gowns retail for that price. Mom even noticed that in her store, there were even more items for L$50 and L$25. But, do not let the low price fool you at all. These are gorgeous dresses! 
I love this dress! Wearing it reminds me of all the great things about watching those seafaring movies, and listening to all the music from officer balls as a young girl. This dress is like the memory of your boyfriend's or father's favorite aftershave. It's like having him drape his suit jacket over you when the cool evening air chilled you, and him feeling those little goosebumps on your arm. So much evening wear right now features low-plunging necklines and revealing arms, hems, and everything else. This dress doesn't - but in being so conservative, this dress sets the trend and brings home memories of times gone by. Wearing this you could be anywhere, anytime. You feel as if you are the star of any great romance, or as if every great love song was written for you. 
You could go to any other boutique in SL and easily pay a lot more for Ms. Smedley's dresses, in fact, I believe that she really could expand her brand in SL and be able to bring more to us, but I also fear that in doing so she may lose what makes her clothing special. The true definition of "Haute Couture" is high fashion made for only one person to wear. By having her boutique be so hidden away from the general SL populace, it really is like this is true haute couture, but it's also gorgeous and functional at the same time. Ms. Smedley really takes the best of SL fashion and makes it available to the masses at a very reasonable price. Folks, if you can't afford to look good wearing this, then you can't afford to be in SL period.
Another wonderful facet of Ms. Smedley's marketing is her blog. I've always tried to incorporate more than just a few pretty pictures into my blog posts, hence why I'm considered a reviewer more than a blogger. But by providing information, I like to think that my readers get more from TRF than they would from other bloggers. Ms. Smedley seems to take the same approach that I do. Her blog not only has the required pretty pictures, but she also goes a step further and educates the reader about her influences on each dress. Looking at her blog is like looking through a list of the top classic films of all time. It's informative, it's enlightening, and it's refreshing to have more than the traditional SL blog.
What I would like to see different though from the brand comes more from a marketing perspective, and I'm actually torn to include it here or not. I usually like to include my list of potential downsides of a product. This dress on its own has no down side. However, there is still a very good possibility that potential customers may try to judge the book by its cover here. I was first given a catalog of these designs from the creator herself, and I'm debating on whether or not to suggest expanding her brand by getting a photographer. I know that she has a great product that more people in SL need to see, it's a timeless product really. She needs her name out there more for more people to enjoy her artistry, and I think getting a photographer in to help will help that.
Overall: 10/10
Pros: Timeless, classic design, gorgeous work
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