Ophelia's Gaze: Five Fashion Faves from 2009

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

2009 has been a very interesting year for fashion and design in SL. While we didn't get any new software innovations to revolutionize design in SL (as flexible prims and sculpties did in the past), designers haven't stopped challenging each other and themselves to raise the bar on quality and style. Because if this, it was very hard for me to pick my favourite five items from 2009. I've spent a lot of L$ this year, and already raved about a lot of items I would have otherwise chosen for this list. The shopping scene in Second Life has changed a lot in the past few years-- these days we're spoiled for choice, and picking five items out of the hundreds of thousands I came across in a 365 day period is nearly impossible. Nearly! So keep reading for my five favourite releases of 2009.

I'll start off with something deceptively small. I say deceptively, because this pair of glasses from December [SLURL] might just be the only pair of glasses you will ever need in SL. While December creator MandyMandy McMillan has many different pairs available, No. 27 seen above is by far my favouite. They seem like fairly run of the mill hipster glasses, however they are scripted to a degree that very few glasses in SL are. You can change the lens colour (including black and brown sunglass lenses) and the frame colour of course, but on top of that you can opt to have the frame colour fade to white on the bottom (creating the effect seen on the right of my picture), to change the shine of the frame, and, the very best option, to switch them up so they're worn on the top of your head without having to edit them manually. It can save the position of the glasses on your face and on the top of your head, so the days of fiddly editing to get that perfectly casual summer look at the beach are completely unnecessary. It's been hard to pry me out of these glasses this year!

Zaara Kohime of Zaara [SLURL] blew most fashionistas away this year with a series of absolutely gorgeous releases including the Larin skirts, Mishti tank tops, and Nishar leggings. While Zaara's always used a really rich palette of colours and artistic patterns, what sets these items apart in my mind are the absolutely stunning details of the fabric itself. Recreating the folds and falls of cloth convincingly in Second Life is a huge challenge for any clothing designer, and Zaara's ruffle work alone really makes these pieces stand out. Larin in particular is without a doubt the most exquisite-looking skirt I've found in SL to date.

I can't let a year pass without gushing about aoimizuno Meili's shop, LPP [SLURL]. While she started the technologically provocative Sexadoll line in late 2008, the Damaged Sexadoll Torso pieces are shining golden stars standing out among her 2009 releases. aoimizuno is amazingly talented with intricate, detail-intensive primwork, and her robotic accessories are the best example of her skill in my opinion. Pistons, springs, wires-- dozens of little fiddly bits that combine to make a very striking and unique statement. These are absolute must haves for replicant-wannabes, cyberpunks, and even people with very broad aesthetic tastes like myself.

Those robotic components are a good illustration of how much your choice of avatar accessories can say, which leads me to my 4th selection: the jewelry of Uta Karas of U&R Dogs [SLURL]. The jewelry selection at U&R Dogs exploded in 2009, producing a variety of pieces ranging from understated to... well, would you call having miniature galleon sailing ship earrings a bit overstated? The point it that Uta makes jewelry with quite a lot of character. There are very few jewelry designers in SL that can combine the idea of a statement piece with everyday accessorizing, but this is exactly what Uta is best at. Pictured are the Vallenato earrings, and while they are not entirely recent, they typefy Uta's work in 2009.

My last pick is a bit hard to frame in a picture. daiz Papp's AO shop, Oracul [SLURL], appeared in late 2008, but released someoutstanding Animation Overrides this year. Her rather small store is almost always packed with customers, because daiz's AOs have great value. An AO with multiple walks, runs, animated stands, jumps, and anything else you could expect, with each animation scaled for 3 different sized avatars, would usually cost as much as a latte and a muffin in real life, but the AOs at Oracul offer all of this for unfathomably low prices. I've pictured stands from the Fluffy Model AO since they translate best to silhouette, but I also really like Math Teacher and Mr. Smart (which comes for males and females alike).

I've shared my top 5 (and then some, as usual), but they are just that-- my top 5. I want to know what you think? What were your favourite releases of 2009? Fellow bloggers, consider yourselves challenged!

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

[Shiryu Musashi]

Oracul Mr Smart is definitely the best men's AO out there. And for 300, there's simply no competition :D