Linden Lab

Check out the Photo of the Day! "Autumn," by Izzie Button.

Get into the spirit of the season! Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day, "Pumpkin Pie," by Mimi Wellesley.

Check out how this topic got started by one of last week's Fashion Experts!

The countdown is on! Burn2, which is an extension of the Burning Man festival and community, begins Oct. 1 in Second Life. This year's theme is "Rites of Passage," and the event will include nine days of music, art and live performances. Blogger Inara Pey has the inside scoop on the first two days of events on her "Living in a Modern World: Thoughts on Virtual Living" blog. You can also visit the official Burn2 website for more details. fTSbk0_5M_4

How has your SL look changed over the years? Share your favorite SL evolution photos in the Group Pool on Flickr and add your comments to the discussion. Check out Eshi Otawara's looks throughout the years here.

Check out the SL Flickr Photo of the Day, "012," by Kamian. 

Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day, "The Shadow over Innsmouth," by coccoL. VIsit innsmouth here! 

Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day for Sept. 24, "Hello, my flickr's friends," by Ludmilla Writer.

Share your favorite sims and eeriest events! It’s that time of year again — time to get out your witch’s hats, dust off those broomsticks and don your spookiest, scariest costumes for a frightful Haunted celebration. This spooky season is a favorite in Second Life. What are your favorite places to celebrate all things ghoulish? Are you a builder, designer, costume expert or fright fanatic? Share your insights! Get into the spirit of the season and help guide Residents to your top spooky spots. Got a favorite fall hayride location, or an awe-inspiring apple-picking area? Post a link to the scariest sim or the most happening Halloween event locale. Share your frightening favorites — and all the autumn awesomeness! — in the comments section. Get excited! KpS9jNmCi3s

Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day for Sept. 23, "I'm back babes. Did you miss me? Really hope so!" by Ananda Shostakovich.

Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day for Sept. 22, "Buscando unicornios_001," by ♥Bru♠in♣Wonderland♦.

5VOdVvnZWXg On the web: Draxtor's YouTube channel

I love shopping in Second Life! I love looking at the designs, seeing how they look on my avatar, being as girly as I want – or being naughty! It all works in Second Life. What I’d like to focus on today is lingerie – also known as panties and bras, underwear, unmentionables, skivvies, and drawers – LOL! I picked three of the many stores out there on the grid. Let's take a look at what I found. ABL LAMU Group has this frilly bra-and-panty set that also doubles as frilly pajamas. Pink, orange, white, blue and back all mix together to give you a sexy, pretty, soft-looking lingerie set. Wear it to bed, wear it under a gown, wear under jeans – it goes with everything! ABL LAMU Group Next up, we have Insolence. The Insolence outfit that I chose is a gorgeous sheer tan and brown set. Stockings, panties and a bustier – all sheer, all hot, all to make YOU look sexy! Not so frilly as the LAMU group – but still sexy in a “get it done,” business-like way. Sometimes, the frills and bells and whistles aren’t necessary for a hot look. Blacklace Last but certainly not least, I chose Blacklace. Blacklace runs from basic to knockout. Actually – all three stores I chose have basic to knockout choices! This selection will definitely make him drool and make you feel “O La La!” You can wear the pieces separately or all at once, I think it looks SMASHING! From plain, to frilly, to knockout – Second life has the lingerie you want when you need it. It’s only a click away! Photo credits: Skin: Belleza Elle Dark Deep Tan (cleavage) Hair: Vanity Hair, Lemania Indigo Makeup: *(Kiko Life)* Remix: Bitch Mama Lips: J.E.A.L.O.U.S Jewelry: NOD Bangles Visit Lily Karlsbar on the web.

“I remember having tried even tears with running mascara when I felt sad, or a pink hair when I wanted everyone to see me smiling from the other side of a sim,” — that would be the opening to anything that I always wanted to say to people about fashion in SL. Today, I have that chance, and I am thinking to myself, “how would you like to be seen by others? Would you like to be the rock star who plays the guitar in your dreams? Or maybe the pin-up girl who shows her long legs, wearing a vintage, classy swimsuit?” I think the only correct answer is, "Yes — you can be any of those, or even all of them at the same time!” (Well, actually, you may not want to try all tendencies at once — LOL!). I truly believe in being yourself when buying clothing and accessories, or looking through your inventory just as if you were in your wardrobe trying on things you like. (I still have tons of pink socks in my inventory — and even a turkey head! — waiting to be worn when I wake up in the mood to be... maybe Thanksgiving dinner? LOL — who knows!). And why not? My policy is, “if it’s nice, cool! But if it’s nice and cheap... I must have it!” Fortunately, most of the stores around SL helped me with these addictions. When you stay in SL for almost five years, you learn that seasonal sales exist, and that there are things known as “hunts” that give you unique stuff for free, and that many of the cutest stores still believe in group gifts. OMG! There are so many tips — this space is not enough (yeah — I do have a notecard somewhere with more tips because I love to help people as much as I love bargains *smiles*). To wrap this up, I just have to say thanks to all of you for the opportunity! I'm open to all kind of questions and suggestions. I know my English is not that good and that many selected designers might be more interesting than me — but I just have to say fashion is for me one of the things that have captured my attention since the day I decided to be creative in this SL, and that is for me like the reason I'm still here today! *winks*. About the author: Ponino Oh has been a blogger for a couple of years. Now, she enjoys mixing new releases, some freebies, offers and a bit of her artwork with some of her fellow bloggers at Eatmystylee.

Imagine um baú um pouco antigo com brinquedos dentro. Como uma criança se portaria ao vasculhar este baú? Há aqueles que encontrariam novidades, como há também aquelas que não se interessariam em explorar as infinitas possibilidades. O Second Life é um baú pronto a ser explorado e quem estiver disposto a aventurar-se e souber tirar proveito do que lhe está disponível, terá em suas mãos a maior ferramenta de aprimoramento e descobertas de vocações que se pode ter ouvido falar. O Second Life é uma multiplataforma de áudio, vídeo e imagens. É como uma enorme vitrine onde é possível pintar e compartilhar gostos, idéias, tendências, aprender e trocar experiências. É ideal para professores que queiram ensinar a distancia, DJs ou músicos que queiram mostrar sua música, fotógrafos, pintores, arquitetos, fashionistas, escritores, modeladores 3D e designers. Recentemente com o advento do Mesh (um novo método de importação de modelos em 3D), artistas gráficos 3D têm visto no SL novas possibilidades de se ganhar dinheiro, criando roupas e objetos inteiramente criados em softwares 3D. A possibilidade de ganhar dinheiro real é o que faz com que milhares de pessoas acabem estudando na primeira vida a fim de aprimorar técnicas ou aprendê-las desde o início. Optar por ter uma loja de roupas, por exemplo, “obriga” a pessoa a dominar programas gráficos como Photoshop ou Gimp, caso contrário, não conseguirá criar suas próprias texturas. O mesmo acontece com aqueles que decidirem criar cabelos e qualquer outro objeto que contenham Sculpts, também criados em 3D, através de softwares como Blender. O SL tem feito com que muitas pessoas descubram sua verdadeira vocação. É o que tem acontecido principalmente no meio da moda. Designers têm investido em conhecimento a fim de criar as melhores texturas. Aprender novos softwares e técnicas não são úteis apenas para criar roupas, skins e cabelos. Atualmente estudar softwares de produção gráfica tem também sido um diferencial para modelos e fotógrafos que trabalham com moda. Dominar técnicas que editoração de imagens fazem a diferença em revistas voltadas para os residentes do Second Life e fotos para seleção de avatares em agências de modelos. O que você pretende estudar hoje para tornar o Second Life melhor amanhã? Thereaver Barrymore é residente do Second Life desde janeiro de 2007 e desde então trabalha com fotografia e design gráfico. Foi diretora de arte da Revista InnerWorld e atualmente é CEO da Tropicalia Magazine. Real Skills for a Better Second Life Imagine a little old toy chest. How would a child act while exploring this chest? There are those who would find new things, and there are also those who are not quite as interested in exploring the endless possibilities. Second Life is like a box ready to be explored — and those who are willing to venture out and know how to take advantage of what’s available will have in their hands the ultimate tool for discovery, creativity and improvement. Second Life is a multi-platform world of audio, video and images. It’s like a huge display window on which you have the power to paint — share tastes, ideas, trends, and learn and exchange experiences. It is ideal for teachers who want to teach at a distance, DJs or musicians who want to share their music, photographers, painters, architects, fashionistas, writers, designers and 3D modelers. Recently with the advent of Mesh (a new method for importing 3D models into SL), 3D graphic artists have seen new possibilities in how to make money, designing clothes and accessories created entirely in 3D software. The possibility of earning real money is what makes thousands of people end up studying in the first life in order to improve techniques — or learn them from the beginning. Choose to have a clothing store, for example, encourages the individual to master graphics programs like Photoshop or Gimp — otherwise, you cannot create your own textures. The same goes for those who decide to create hair and any other object containing Sculpts, also created in 3D, using software such as Blender. SL has helped many people discover their true calling. This is especially true among members of the fashion community. Designers have invested in knowledge in order to create the best textures. Learning new software and techniques is not only useful in creating clothes, hair and skins, but nowadays studying graphic-production software has also been beneficial for models and photographers working in fashion. Mastering image-editing techniques makes the difference in magazines dedicated to Second Life residents and photo selections of avatars in modeling agencies. What do you plan to study today in order to make Second Life better tomorrow? About the author: Thereaver Barrymore is resident of Second Life since January 2007. She works as a photographer and graphic designer. She was art director of InnerWorld Magazine and today she is the CEO of Tropicalia Magazine. 

The first thing I did when I joined Second Life was search for ways to improve my avatar. I wanted to be able to customize it more to my liking. As I hopped from sim to sim, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a small number of stores that carried a variety of ethnic-styled clothing from around the world. Coming from an ethnic background myself, the colors and textures of this attire called out to me. When I first started fashion blogging, most of my earlier posts were full of colorful silks that I loved to wear. Now my blog, StrawberrySingh.com, has become more mainstream, but I do try to bring in my cultural influences into my pictures as often as possible. For today's post, I knew I wanted to highlight some of my favorite ethnic designers and sims. The Indian lehenga I am wearing was created by Zaara Kohime of {Zaara}. {Zaara} is full of colorful, ethnic-inspired clothing with rich textures for men and women. The sim I'm on is Kingdom of Sand, which is a role-playing sim. So, if you hop over there for a visit, please make sure to wear a visitor tag, which is available at the entrance. I adore the architecture of this sim. It has a very realistic quality to it and really does make me feel like I'm out in the desert. The Kimono I picked up from Sweetaholic. I was amazed at the beautiful textures and styles of the kimonos I saw there and some of them also come with many accessories, such as hair and shoes. You can find traditional and modern kimonos for both men and women here. The sim I'm on is none other than Japan Tempura Island. There are so many different areas where you can explore, dance, take gorgeous pictures and spend time with your loved ones. The whole sim itself is a must see. One thing I really love about SL is having the ability to transform myself into whatever I'd like to be. I hope you get a chance to explore the sims and stores I mentioned today. Photo Credits: Photo 1 and 2: Strawberry Singh Skin: Glam Affair – Gio Skin by Aida Ewing Hair: LeLutka – Brigitte AlmostGoth Hair by Thora Charron Lehenga: {Zaara} – Frawla crimson by Zaara Kohime Jewels: {Zaara} - Nizam Collection by Zaara Kohime Poses: Long Awkward Pose – Bolly All The Time Pose Set by Dove Swanson Location: Kingdom of Sand Photos 3 and 4: Strawberry Singh Skin: Glam Affair – Sakura Skin by Aida Ewing Hair: Plume – Sakura Onyx Hair by Fauve Beaumont Kimono: Sweetaholic – Reien 1.0 by Asalt Eames Poses: Tuty's Creations – MrS Classy Geisha AO by MrSigmund Fride Location: Japan Tempura Island About the author: Strawberry Singh has been an SL resident since May 2007. She is an avid blogger, photographer and social-media enthusiast. Since December 2007, Berry has been sharing her zeal for fashion, lifestyle and culture via her blog, StrawberrySingh.com.

Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day for Sept. 20, "A Moment Alone," by Isis Barom.

Day 7 of Modavia Fashion Week has just dawned at the time I’m writing this. Two days to go...and I finally have a small window of time to reflect on things. It strikes me that this event brings pretty much everything that I love (and a little that I loathe) about Second Life into clear focus. MFW2011 Glam Affair photographed by July Raymaker In all, we will have presented over 600 brand new designs, which does not include all the specially-made accessories, shoes, hairstyles and skins exclusively prepared for the event by the end of this week. MFW2011 SHI photographed by Joy Laperriere Sixty five designers, 50 models, 8 dj’s, 12 photographers, 20 sponsors and a small but dedicated production crew bring about 50 hours of fashion magic to the Fashion Week runway each year. MFW2011 Sonatta Morales photographed by Petra Messioptra The real cost in time to prepare an event like this includes conceptualising and making the outfits, styling each look and preparing runway poses, building the runways, shooting, processing and posting over 2,000 photographs, and the millions of small things that are involved in organising and marketing an event of this kind. I would estimate it takes thousands and thousands of hours. MFW2011 Ladies who lunch photographed by Queen Watanabe Now forgive me for being very obviously biased in a major way, but this is incredible. It demonstrates an extraordinary level of cooperation and joint work from avatars whose real life personas span almost every major country in the world. People with jobs, families and places to be. And let’s be frank — apart from a small elite group, nobody is really making a killing financially in SL. So, why do people do it? I’m not just talking about a bunch of people jollying along for a week. This is intense, intricate and often very stressful interaction that requires a high level of organisation, focus and dedication. And a highly evolved ability to get along with other people to overcome the not insignificant challenge of different time zones and language barriers and, of course, navigate the multiple technical difficulties inherent in the Second Life platform. MFW2011 Vero Modero photographed by Eira Juliesse The fashion industry in SL is a crucible of creativity and energy generated by people of very disparate backgrounds who co-operate at an extraordinary level and I purport that experience gained while working in a Second Life virtual company, particularly in this industry, can be enormously valuable in real life. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to hone their interpersonal skills and enhance their ability to work or manage and, most importantly, motivate people in a uniquely challenging environment. It isn’t easy — and that’s the whole point. http://www.modaviafashionmarketing.com/wordpress/the-home-of-couture/ http://issuu.com/modavia_fashion_directory/docs/mfd20 http://www.flickr.com/photos/modavia/collections/72157627290524863/ http://slurl.com/secondlife/MODAVIA%20II/114/48/23 ABOUT POPTART LILLIEHOOK I have been in Second Life for almost 4 years and have been associated with Modavia and the fashion industry in-world for almost that long. In RL I have fashion and design clients as well and have been fascinated by the parallels and differences between the two worlds. Poptart is one of today's Fashion Experts and will be "on call" to respond to comments and answer questions both here and in the Fashion Forums from 9 am - 4 pm, Pacific Standard Time, Tuesday, September 20. 

Cropping is an element of composition that can change a photo from static to dynamic in seconds. In shooting people, or avatars in the case of Second Life, there are four standard crops: full-length, three-quarter, portrait and headshot. The first rule of cropping: Crop close and fill the frame. For this full-length, I start with a standard snapshot. The 3*3 grid illustrates the Rule of Thirds, namely the subject should be where the lines intersect. It's an approximation of phi, the Golden Ratio. Starting from the left, you can see I put the subject on the vertical third, yet the photo lacks energy because I am looking out of the frame. I want to leave room for the subject to move. With the subject in the center, it's flat and static. In the third, I apply the rule of thirds, but not to the subject, missing the point. Finally, the subject intersects the first vertical line and is looking into the frame – with room to move. This picture has energy. In this three-quarter you can see the Rule of Thirds at work again and the importance of having the subject look into the frame. Incidentally, if you make composites of multiple pictures, look at where their eyes are and make them look at each other, not out of the frame. The three-quarter crop is the most popular in fashion photography because it fills the frame more than a full-length shot. Crop close and fill the frame. This portrait set illustrates a couple of points about portraits. You usually should crop below the fullest portion of the breast. Watch your arms and hands and cut them off above the elbow so nobody is fretting about amputation. The crop still works in the left because it's close to the elbow. I placed a slug (“Cajsa”) in these two to illustrate another rule – don't put the slug in the subject's line of sight. Crop close and fill the frame. Headshots are zoomed close in and can be anywhere from the shoulders up. Don't be afraid to chop off bits of the head. Making viewers think – even about topping off your updo – will make your photo more memorable. This tip is not about cropping, but about zooming correctly in SL. The left is zoomed with the keyboard, the right is zoomed with CMD-0. CMD-9 resets the picture and CMD-8 will zoom out. Use them and crop close and fill the frame. ABOUT CAJSA LILLIEHOOK Cajsa Lilliehook started It’s Only Fashion in 2008 with Gidge Uriza. She also has a column called “What I Like” highlighting good fashion photography from Second Life at Shopping Cart Disco.  Cajsa is one of today's Fashion Experts and will be "on call" to respond to comments and answer questions both here and in the Fashion Forums from 9 am - 4 pm, Pacific Standard Time, Tuesday, September 20. 

O shape é a base para ter um avatar legal no Second Life e deve ser a primeira coisa a ser definida. Editar um shape humano no Second Life é relativamente simples, o difícil mesmo é tornar o shape bonito e nas proporções corretas. É claro que o shape deve estar de acordo com o seu gosto pessoal, mas é bom ficar atento para alguns erros muito comuns na hora de editar um shape, como por exemplo, cabeça em proporção muito menor que o corpo, braços muito curtos e mãos muito pequenas. O exagero nas medidas também deixa um resultado não muito legal: mulheres extrapolam nas medidas dos seios e quadris e homens na quantidade de músculos para se sentirem mais atraentes, mas acabam parecendo deformados. Existem vários tipos de padrões de shapes no Second Life: as mulheres podem ter shape de modelo ou cheio de curvas, podem ser gordinhas ou magras, altas ou baixas. Os homens também podem variar o shape de acordo com o gosto pessoal, dos mais fortes e musculosos aos menores e mais magros. Outro fator que deve ser considerado ao escolher o seu shape é a skin. Algumas skins ficam melhores em determinados shapes e vice-versa. Ao escolher um shape e uma skin é interessante sempre comprar as versões em demo e provar para ter certeza de que o resultado vai ficar bom.Se você não tem muita habilidade para editar o seu shape, pode facilmente comprá-lo em uma loja especializada. Há várias lojas que oferecem shapes de qualidade no Second Life. Caso você queira um shape exclusivo, pode contratar o trabalho de designers de shapes e neste caso você vai pagar um pouco mais, mas pode valer a pena e é bom pedir indicação para um amigo. Uma coisa interessante é comprar um shape que seja modificável, assim você vai poder fazer ajustes que lhe agradem (não esqueça de salvar uma cópia da versão original antes de mudá-lo). Uma novidade que está sendo inserida com a chegada do viewer 3.0 é a possibilidade de usar shape em mesh. Este tipo de shape já tem skin própria e não pode ser editado, sendo então empregado de forma interessante para a criação de avatares não-humanos. Para finalizar, não importa se você quer ser humano, um robô ou um pássaro, no Second Life você pode ter a forma que desejar. A sua imaginação é o limite. ABOUT VICK SPITTELER Vick Spitteler é residente do Second Life desde fevereiro de 2007, possui uma loja de shapes, skins e poses chamada Art Body Store (http://www.artbodystore.wordpress.com) , é escritora do blog de língua portuguesa Second Ladies (http://www.secondladies.net) e co-criadora do evento de descontos The Tropicalia Bazaar (http://www.thetropicaliabazaar.wordpress.com). Vick is one of today's Fashion Experts and will be "on call" to respond to comments and answer questions both here and in the Fashion Forums from 9 am - 4 pm, Pacific Standard Time, Tuesday, September 20.  ENGLISH TRANSLATION: Choosing Your Shape The shape is the basis for having a cool avatar in Second Life and it must be the very first thing you define. Editing a human shape in Second Life is relatively simple, the hard part is making the shape a pleasing sight with the correct proportions. Of course the shape should reflect your personal taste, but it is a good idea to pay attention to a few very common mistakes when editing a shape, for instance, the head much smaller than the body, very short arms and tiny hands. Exaggeration in your measurements also leads to a not so cool result: Women tend to exaggerate their breasts and hips measurements, and men often beef up to feel more attractive, but they just end up looking deformed. There are several types of shapes in Second Life: Women may have a supermodel shape or a curvy figure, they may be overweight or thin, tall or short. Men may also vary their shape according to personal taste, from stronger and muscular to smaller and thinner. Another factor that should be taken into account when choosing your shape is your skin. Some skins fit better into certain shapes and vice-versa. When choosing a shape and a skin, it's always interesting to buy demo versions and try them on to make sure you like the result. If you are not skilled enough to edit your shape, you can easily buy it at a specialty store. There are several shops offering quality shapes in Second Life. In case you want an exclusive shape, you may hire shape designers and, in this case, you'll pay a little extra, but it might be worth it and you should ask your friends for referrals. It's a good idea to buy a modifiable shape, so you can adjust it as you like (don't forget to save a copy of the original version before you change it). A new feature introduced in viewer 3.0 is the possibility of using mesh shapes. This type of shape already has its own skin and cannot be edited, so it is used creatively to make non-human avatars. Finally, it doesn't matter if you wish to be human, a robot or a bird, in Second Life you can have whatever shape you wish. Your imagination is the limit. ABOUT VICK SPITTELER Vick Spitteler has been a resident of Second Life since February 2007, has a shapes and skins store called Art Body Store (http://www.artbodystore.wordpress.com), writes a blog in Portuguese language called Second Ladies (http://www.secondladies.net), and is the co-creator of the discount event The Tropicalia Bazaar (http://www.thetropicaliabazaar.wordpress.com).

It was difficult to think on just one thing to talk about in my post for Fashion Expert Days but eventually I settled on what I feel is an advance that truly improved the fashion experience for every Resident, not just us prissy fashionista types. What is it? Tattoo layers. Specifically as it relates to makeup options. Now thanks to tattoo layer makeup, you can own one skin and change it up in infinite ways by purchasing blush, lipstick, eyeshadows, eyebrows, eyelashes etc and make it your own several times over. Starting with any base skin, you can go ultra glamorous to simple, lovely girl next door with just a few additions of tattoo layer. Many of the top tier skinners also now include or offer tattoo layer makeups that are specifically toned to be a perfect match to the skin tone you purchased (not to mention a perfect fit to the skin). Belleza offers lipsticks and pictured below, PXL creations has both eye and lip colors to compliment the skins. With the advent of tattoo layers I've also completely tossed all my old prim lashes, preferring to add a layer or few or tattoo layer lashes for depth and fun looks. My best advice for all tattoo layer makeups is to DEMO! Just like skin, everything won't fit everyone. I'm wearing: Skins from: BAIASTICE, BELLEZA, PXL CREATIONS Makeups from: Adam N Eve, cheLLe, Miamai, Baiastice, PXL Creations, Belleza Lashes from: Amacci and Miamai Hair - EXILE - Hollie Dae in Chardonnay Eyes - Poetic Colors - Cosmic Dawn ABOUT GIDGE URIZA: I am a fashion blogger at It’s Only Fashion for the past three years. Previously a contributor at Second Style and occasionally at Freestyle, I love everything about fashion, especially challenging what is defined as beautiful. Gidge is one of today's Fashion Experts and will be "on call" to respond to comments and answer questions both here and in the Fashion Forums from 9 am - 4 pm, Pacific Standard Time, Tuesay, September 20.  

Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day for Sept. 19, "Friday_005," by ♥Bru♠in♣Wonderland♦

http://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/Accounts-overview/ta-p/700019#Section_.3.1 

For over two years, I have written daily about SL fashion for my blog, “A Passion for Virtual Fashion,” and I co-lead Relay for Life’s Fashion for Life, which is one of the biggest fashion charity events on the grid. Linden Lab graciously invited me to share my expertise. The other day, I saw a TV ad for a fashion show about five easy pieces for one’s real life wardrobe. This got me thinking about five essential pieces in SL. 1. An AO The Animation Override (AO) is a script that replaces the avatar's standard animations. An AO will provide those “non verbal cues” that say who you are—manly man, nerd, anime girl, kitsune pup, fashionista. Purchase a preloaded HUD (Heads Up Display) or buy animations and load them into a HUD (or into a special folder in some third party viewers) and replace the “newbie waddle.”  2. Shape The shape of an avatar is the frame of your avatar. It is our “body” and the core of our virtual selves. Buy a modifiable one from a good shape maker and tweak it to your personal tastes rather than starting from scratch. Making a pleasingly proportionate avatar is harder than it looks.  3. Skin The skin is the decoration on your basic shape. You can’t have an avatar without a skin. The skin you purchase should be a statement about you and should please your eye. Consider a neutral skin so you can change it using the five additional makeup layers that SL allows.  4. Hair Hair is a huge differentiator between avatars. Whether you want a cute ponytail, luscious locks, a sassy pixie cut, a mohawk or a mullet. Combining regular prims, flexies, and sculpties (and soon mesh) with gorgeous textures and scripted features, hair is one of the engineering wonders of SL.  5. Eyes Our avatar’s eyes move to follow our sight line as well as blink, giving avatars a human quality. When the eyes are flat or bland, the entire avatar looks “fake.” Eyes are an inexpensive investment change you from cartoonish to alive. Want to know more about the great content I have featured? Check out this entry on my blog for references and SLURLS. What are your five easy pieces? Leave a comment here!  ABOUT HARPER BERESFORD: Harper Beresford writes about Second Life fashion on her blog “A Passion for Virtual Fashion.” Her work has appeared in Harper's Bizarre, Architectural Digest (Italy) and numerous other outlets. She is one of today's Fashion Experts and will be "on call" to respond to comments and answer questions both here and in the Fashion Forums from 9 am - 4 pm, Pacific Standard Time, Monday, September 19. 

The topic for today is utilising what you have in your wardrobe, by taking an outfit — or whole item — apart. Though layering options have increased, there has always been the ability to get a little more from a purchase. On the other side of the fence, I always encourage designers to look past their initial idea and imagine how the customer may wear it. My very overused phrase is “it doesn't matter if it doesn't make sense, just do it,” when asking a designer to make a shirt/jacket on all layers rather than just one. Please — never flatten and combine belts or corset/wraps into a shirt or pants, as it limits your creativity after the purchase. My first example of how to get more out of a look is the gown in the first photo (above). It shows how it comes with the initial purchase. The second photo (below) shows an example of different ways you can then combine it with other pieces to make it not only wearable more than once, but also individually tailored to your own style. If you plan on keeping your inventory low but fashionable, make sure that what you purchase is copyable or modifiable as often as possible. The pants in the gown are both — however, the bottom of the corset is flattened on the top of the pants, so the "add" option was needed there. I was able to shorten them and wear only the top portion of the gown skirt and — voila! — a cocktail length look. Always make a copy of something before you modify it. Next, we take a dress that has visible pieces to use in other ways —  and actually use them. We can make a simple tank dress look inserted with a contrast panel by using the high-waisted portion of the dress, or make a fancy top with dress pants. These are men’s pants — anything made for men will fit women and vice versa when it comes to the clothing layers. Prims will need to be modified. There are many looks that can be achieved by taking the bottom or top part of an outfit, even a dress, and making them separates. Not only do you get to extend your wardrobe, but you get to show real individuality when doing so...and that is what Second Life and fashion is about. For all credits of items used in this post, please visit my blog at http://www.sasypants.com. ABOUT SASY SCARBOROUGH: Sasy Scarborough blogs frequently about Second Life fashion on Sasypants.com. She is the owner of What's New SL and The Deck, and has served as a chairperson/committee member of Hair Fair since 2007. She is one of today's Fashion Experts and will be "on call" to respond to comments and answer questions both here and in the Fashion Forums from 9 am - 4 pm, Pacific Standard Time, Monday, September 19.