Do we need to get alpha layers for our clothing and avatars now?

[Mayalily]

Do we need to get alpha layers to support our whole wardrobe and avatar that we currently have because of mesh? 

Yes or no, with an explantion would be appreciated. 

[Rolig Loon]

You should only need different alpha layers if you decided to buy a different avatar once mesh becomes popular. An alpha layer that is designed for your current avatar (the standard avatar that everyone in SL uses -- not a specialty one like a furry or a dinosaur) will still work fine, even if you are wearing a new style mesh skirt.  After all, any system clothing that we wear today --- blouses, non-prim skirts, etc --- are already mesh creations.  The only difference in the future is that designers will be able to create customized mesh.  If they create customized mesh clothing for our standard bodies, our current alpha layers will work with no change.

ETA:  I thought of another way to explain this that may help.   Our current bodies are mesh.  If we apply system clothes to our bodies, including any alpha layers, all we are doing is retexturing that current mesh.  If you buy an avatar based on a different mesh (like a dinosaur), you can't texture it with your normal clothes (including alpha layers), right?  That will always be the same, even as designers can create different human mesh bodies.  When most of us buy mesh clothing in the future, though, we won't be looking for clothing to texture our mesh bodies at all.   We'll be buying mesh attachments, just the way we buy prim attachments or scuplty attachments now. You don't need a different alpha layer to wear a prim skirt now, and you won't need one to wear a mesh skirt tomorrow.