Shop 'Til You Drop at Project FUR-- A Second Life Fashion Fundraiser Benefiting Japan's Distressed Animals

Iris Ophelia's ongoing review of virtual world and MMO fashion

Project FUR Japan has a unique cause in mind. While many charity events to benefit Japan have passed proceeds to the Red Cross, Project FUR instead helps JEARS -- Japanese Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support. The Linden Dollars you spend at FUR goes to help the thousands of animals both domestic and wild injured and displaced by disasters. During an extended charity effort, people unfortunately tend to get what's known as compassion fatigue, but hopefully the combination of a new cause to care about and fabulous SL shopping deals is enough to reignite the flames of enthusiasm and generosity that make Second Life charity fundraisers such a force to be reckoned with.

Click here to teleport to Project FUR in PLUMHILL!

Here are a few of my favorites from the event:

The skin pictured above is Maria from Laqroki by Mallory Cowen, another brand that carries a lot of weight with fashionistas. Realistic skins can be pretty tricky to do well: you have to include enough detail to satisfy the market, but enough polish to ward off the Uncanny Valley effect. Laqroki balances these two issues well, and usually includes a variety of makeups in their skin packs to make your L$ go much farther. I'm wearing Maria with one of the pre-coordinated outfits released by Khea Karas of Malt for PFJ. Outfit 3 features a skirt, belt, and a very ornate and gauzy blouse. I've been on a ruffle kick for the past few months so this super feminine ensemble was an easy choice, but definitely check out the other coordinated sets by Malt set out at the event.

To Khea's credit, this is a very clever and unique way to participate, and I hope other clothing designers will take note of it. The past month has been very hectic in terms of fairs, hunts, sales, and charity events -- if it's hard for shoppers to keep up, imagine how bad it is for designers. Coordinating outfits is a briliant way to provide a range of cute items without having to sacrifice sanity (and occasionally quality) to meet deadlines.

Keep reading for more of my picks from Project FUR!

Kavar Cleanslate of Exile is another popular choice in SL hair design, and he's released the messy double-bun style Luka for PFJ. I'll admit that it isn't my favorite Exile style that he's released lately, but it's an excellent style for fans of the mussed and casual look. Stray strands abound and give the style a very realistic look. I've paired this style with Ispachi's Ayumi, a cateyed asian skin with a counterpart, Ken, for the guys. Ayumi is a little more realistic than Pout, in that the contrast and saturation of the skin aren't quite as intense. It's a very soft and natural look that I think suits Kavar's hairstyles quite well.

There's a ton of items out at Project FUR, both new and old, from popular and lesser known designers alike. Yesterday, I couldn't resist sharing this Babydoll outfit inspired by the hair that Truth Hawks released for the event, based on Babydoll's Sucker Punch pigtails. For nearly the price of one color pack at his main store, you get BabyDoll in every single color in Truth's line. I didn't mention that I'm also wearing one of the makeups in the Pout skinline from Curio (a line I've gushed about recently), designed by Gala Phoenix specifically for this event. Like Truth's hair, this makeup comes with all skintones at a significant discount, so it's definitely worth snapping up while you can. In terms of quality, Gala and Truth are both fashionista favorites for a reason: Both designers have high standards and great skill that make their work really shine.

Project FUR Japan won't be up forever, so hurry up and head over! Just be warned, the event is a little large and might be overwhelming at first, so don't be afraid to bring a shopping buddy along with you!

Iris Ophelia (Janine Hawkins IRL) has been featured in the New York Times and has spoken about SL-based design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan and with pop culture/fashion maven Johanna Blakley.

Comments

[Betony]

SL fashion designers are really knocking themselves out, putting out fabulous products for Project FUR and the Japan relief effort. I am constantly impressed with the creativity and quality of the SL artists and designers, and no less with the generous spirit of SL residents.

[AskyLoo]

While I applaud the spirit in which a fundraiser like this is done, I beg to ask, who does the oversight of the money raised and why isn't there a publicly available list of who is doing what? Transparency matters in cases of charitable donations.

I only bring this up because of past events for charity in which the people running them pocketed the money. (this is widely known and no, I am not going to name names, but you know who you are and you should be ashamed)

Japan is in dire straits and dire need. Please, give your money directly to a charity in real life, not waste it on some virtual knick knack with no money trail.

[Iris Ophelia]

@AskyLoo Thankfully, most SL charity events now keep blogs and post periodic donation receipts during and/or after the event. Here's one of ProjectFUR's: http://projectfurjapan.wordpress.com/2011/04/01/we-have-made-our-first-donation-to-jears-1486-76-usd-yay/

I've made both direct and indirect donations to the cause, and I've found that donating through SL content sort of facilitates me spending more than I would otherwise. Likewise, SL events like this in the past have gotten me to donate to charities I wouldn't really have otherwise been aware of or even all that interested in. SL charity events shouldn't ever be the only way to donate to a cause, but when responsibly managed they're an incredible asset both in terms of actual fundraising and publicity for the cause itself.