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Dressing information for a newb :D?


Akastiel
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So I started second life way back on an old account and never got into it, due to a few friends pushing me I'm going to give it another go new account and all, and this round has been much more successful. However, I will be going shopping soon on here and I’ve been reading the forum’s and oh my Darkness is there a lot to this dressing game coming from imvu - holds up riot shield- I love the depth of this game but worried I might not be able to get my look so to speak. What id like to know is pretty basic stuff example: about the best feet and hands to use, body shapes vs mesh over all, I’m looking into the same idea with head replacements and the kicker organization techniques for keeping everything from being scattered all over. I plan to go DEMO a ton of things but this is more for anyone who has better suggestions/opinions on the route I could take for the best looking textures as textures are life and some of the things I see drive me crazy :D

So to start off I’ve been looking into hands mostly as the ones on the basic avatar make me crazy, in my search I have discovered this SLink product for hands and feet and noticed a lot of shoes almost all of them say i need a foot like this so I’m assuming this would be a decent route to fallow for that line.

Im also wondering about heads and no not that kind. I’ve noticed a lot of shapes are based around having a head shape and a body shape ive put theses as basic Shape changes. I’ve seen some heads however such as the catawa (I think that’s how its spelt ) that seem more like actual head replacements with emotion and expression HUDS any thoughts on these?

On that note on shapes is there anything I should be looking to grab or are they based mostly off the basic model or is some sort of hidden underlying item that makes the nice ones tick, or would i be better off heading for the MESH bodies I’m seeing pop up, I enjoy having super tiny minute details on my avatar so I’m a bit stretched and the body shape vs mesh thing has me confused not going to lie.

Finally, Eyes, this is more of a does anyone know kind of question but I am looking for eyes one blue and one green the unnatural colors lol does anyone know any High quality eye makers that might have two separate colors?

 Answering any of this the best you can or if you just have some advice for a new wander let me know.

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You still need a decent shape even if you have a mesh body, putting a mesh body on a default shape is just going to look like a slightly smoother lanky armed, weird jointed, noob default. I've had both Slink and Maitreya bodies in my time on SL and I prefer Maitreya because it comes with the hands and the feet so no need to pay extra for them like you do with Slink (or at least that is how Slink was last time I looked), I don't do mesh heads because I don't want to look like everyone else, I worked hard to shape my avi's face and body to suit my needs. You need good skin, that is what makes up the whole look, default skin lacks proper shading and just looks like you've no idea what you are doing in world. But you should maybe know what mesh body you are getting before you get your skin so that you get one with the proper appliers.

 

I have my inventory sorted mostly by stores when it comes to my clothes because I know what types of things I buy from each store so I can always find what I am looking for, though I have some more bulky folders like one just for shoes which is made up of subfolders of the stores that I got them from. I also have a folder for cosmetics seperated by what they are rather than where they are from, one for accessories because those are mix and match, and I have one for hair seperated by the stores I got them from. I know some people sort based on what type of clothing ie gowns, everyday dresses, skirts, jeans, tops, etc., it' really just finding a system that works for you. Though if you are going to get a ton of demos I would suggest making a demos folder and maybe sorting it by what the objects are and deleting the ones you don't want to buy after trying them so that what you have left is a shopping list.

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EleanorsRigby wrote:

...I prefer Maitreya because it comes with the hands and the feet so no need to pay extra for them like you do with Slink (or at least that is how Slink was last time I looked)...

Just a quick point: the situation is a little more complicated than that. The price of a Slink body plus one set of hands and feet is less than the Maitreya body package which includes hands and feet. If you're happy with one height of feet, that makes Slink the cheaper choice. However, the Maitreya body has low, medium and high foot options as standard. Buying all three for Slink would push Slink to being the more expensive. In either case, the price difference is only a small fraction of the overall price of switching to mesh.

There are other reasons, but most importantly, many people just prefer the look or functionality of one over the other. And there are several other competing mesh bodies that people choose over either of these two.

To the OP: If you are interested in a mesh body, check out the link above to Mesh Body Addicts and perhaps their in-world location. Dig around for SL fashion blogs and see if you can find styles for the body you're interested in. Then what Eleanor said about demos. Demo, demo, demo until you have a better idea of what works for you. You might find that you're happy with just mesh hands and feet for now. 

For mismatched eyes (boat lights!) you'll need prim or mesh eyes because system eyes use the same texture for left and right. Some stores sell mismatches, some have colour changeable eyes that can each be set to different shades, and some just sell eyes as pairs. Usually they're not very expensive, so you could just buy two pairs and wear one of each. I get most of my eyes from 'By Snow', but there is no shortage of great eyes available.

 

 

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Welcome to Second Life!

I'm not a fashionista - mostly I just lounge around in the avatar equivalent of a muu muu and carpet slippers. When I want to look dressed up I slip into one of Chin Rey's jelly baby avatars....I also have an old Ruth avatar in my inventory someplace.

Seriously, though, to start out with, I suggest selecting a classic avatar, because you will have more clothing options. If you are less than 30 days old there are a lot of places that will give you free outfits. https://fabfree.wordpress.com/fabfree-30-days-list/   As you get more experienced you can try on different mesh bodies and parts.

There are many excellent Second Life Fashion blogs. One of my favorites is http://strawberrysingh.com. I remember Phyllis Diller once suggested that if you were at a loss at what to buy in a grocery store you should just copy the shopping cart of someone who looks like they know what they are doing.  Strawberry Singh is absolutely beautiful and she frequently lists what she is wearing in her fashion shots, so a person could just buy everything she is wearing and put it together. 

Whatever you decide, have fun!

 

 

 

 

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 As has already been said, you need a good system body for the mesh bodies to look good, the meshes are just basically like clothes, hiding the unnatural bends and angles of the default SL shape, but clothes have to have a nice shape to hang on to look good.  

 I personally like the Maitreya body, the hud is easy to use and has a lot of alpha options (I do own most of the others though, and occasionally switch it up if by chance I can't find an alpha option to work with what I want to wear). 

 Most of the mesh bodies have options to use them with the slink feet and hands, because slink is by far the most widely used, and so most widely designed for, option. 

 Eyes.. I have always used and loved Dead Apples eyes. They had a great variety of unnatural and well made eyes. You can use their mesh eyes to get the mismatched look. I haven't really been on for the past year or so, but last time I was, I couldn't find their shop. Oh, they're on the marketplace still at least! (just now looked, this makes me happy :smileyvery-happy:) although they don't have as wide of selection as they did inworld. 

Heads, I know lots of people like mesh heads because they're smoother, like the bodies. I however prefer making my own. Someday when they make the heads customizable with the sliders, like the bodies, I may try them. Until then, I don't want to look like anyone else in SL lol. 

 

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