Ophelia's Gaze: City of Heroes-esque Styles in Second Life

Exclusive to NWN, Iris Ophelia's ongoing showcase of all things stylish in SL

For a lot of Second Life users, indulging in other MMOs can be a bit like a vacation. For me the playability of a game is directly related to the customizability and quality of the avatar I'm playing with, so naturally one of my favorites is City of Heroes, which has such a seemingly infinite number of costume possibilities that it's nearly impossible to come across your doppelganger, even when you're new.  (I know a lot of other SL fashionistas who enjoy a round of CoH too.)

The system isn't perfect, though. Quality standards for games evolve very quickly, and so naturally a lot of the costume pieces in City of Heroes are starting to show their age. While there is some newer content that is quite well done, I decided to put some outfits together in Second Life to show a little of the potential of superhero style. Keep reading for three super-stylish outfits!

The most well known superhero outfits are probably the bodysuits that Nicky Ree made, shown in The Handsome Devil on the left. These suits are about 2 years old right now, so the boots and the cape aren't ideal, but the outfit as a whole more than makes up for it. Nicky does amazing body shading, and these suits are a great example. Devil is also wearing a free pair of goggles made by the wildly talented AM Radio, which can be found at The Refuge. Getting back to bodysuits, it may sound silly but latex bodysuits are ideal for superhero costumes, and are not exactly hard to find in SL. My favourites are from Sweet Dreams in Port Seraphine. While you're there, I'd also recommend checking out the Archvillain bodysuits from PixelDolls, which have some very unique necklines and cuts, as well as the DoMoCo racing fashion line. One of June Dion's recent releases at BareRose was a very slick bodysuit, but instead of wearing it, I combined elements of her other recent releases for Flashionista's costume. I used the jacket and mask from June's Silent Heart, along with the sash from Renarde, and the shirt, pants, and mantle from Golden Thorn. I added some gold tights from V.G. Republic and The Catalyst boots from The Abyss to tie the look together. If you want the glowing-eyes, attach a small transparent sphere to each eye, and in the Texture tab of the Edit window, set the Glow to 1.00, and voilà!

One thing that is important to heros and villains alike is color coordination. The most successful costumes should stick to a fairly harmonious colour palette. Naturally I couldn't resist dressing Mistress Minidress in the Strictly Business Dress and Sinaed Boots by Nena Janus of League, both in an identical shade of burgundy, and both fantastically detailed. This dress is absolutely one of my favorites, largely because of the ruffling in the back of the skirt and jacket, but it's pretty hard to work it into my non-villainous wardrobe. I've accessorized it with the Doll Scouter, Syringe Armband, and Steampunk Left Arm's Armor by aoimizuno Meili of Le Petit Prince, as well as one of the few black-lipped skins I wear, the Gunmetal makeup from Chai by Launa Fauna.

So are you a superhero or a supervillain, and where would you shop for an outfit to save (or destroy) the world in?

Iris Ophelia has been featured in the New York Times and has spoken about SL-based design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan.

Comments

[Patchouli Woollahra]

I don't think this is the first time we've had this sort of leakage, and I don't think this is the last either :D

P.S. for further CoH/SL crosswiring, try: http://dwellonit.blogspot.com/search/label/Planet%20of%20the%20capes