Iris Ophelia's ongoing review of gaming and virtual world style
2012 was an interesting year for SL fashion: new debates arose and old ones raged on, while mesh began to dominate the design landscape. Since the year is drawing to a close in a matter of days I thought it would be a good time to recap some of my favourite fashion posts from NWN from the past year, so if you're looking for some stylish reading this weekend you can start right here:
5. SLers Love Mesh Hands, Mesh Feet, Mesh Heads... Why Not Mesh Breasts?
It's been great to see more and more fashionistas tentatively testing out Tangos, the latest attachable breast enhancements. Though they're not the first (or the last) of their kind, more designers are beginning to support Tangos for more mainstream and less fetish-focused wear. Maybe by 2013 the big-boob taboo (which you can see going strong in the comments of this post) will have dissolved even further, and prim breasts will be as common as prim feet!
4. Iris Rants: 3 Reasons I Support Virtual Cosplay (Despite Complaints About Copyright Infringement)
I love cosplaying in SL (in 2012 I gave my avatar a FemShep-inspired makeover, and recreated Megan Draper's infamous Zou Bisou Bisou birthday act from Mad Men), but much like RL it's an art that not everyone understands. Whether you're a cosplayer or a costume-fan yourself, or someone who wants to understand cosplaying a bit better, this post is a must-read.
3. How to Make Your Second Life Portrait Utterly Flawless With Photoshop's Liquify Tool / Photoshop for SL Screenshots Tutorial, Part 2: Making Your Avatar Figure Flawless With the Liquify Tool
Liquifying is one of the most important tools in a fashionista photographers toolbox, but it's one that a lot of us seem to be a little shy to share. Liquify isn't a good tool to use if you're trying to honestly represent Second Life (for example I desperately wish that Linden Lab would steer clear of liquified and morphed pictures for their promotions) however it's ideal if you're looking for a more artistic representation. This two-part tutorial will teach you the basics of using Liquify on an SL avatar. Just remember: Less is more!
2. Beware the Flatterbot, an Avatar Bot Programmed to Scam Second Life Users with Scripted Flirtation & Begging
Flatterbots (or beggar bots) are one of the biggest nuisances to shoppers on the grid at the moment. It's not just that they're annoying, but they take advantage of peoples kindness and do further damage to peoples tolerance for new players who may actually deserve a bit of a fashion rescue. The more people know about the beggar bot scam, the fewer people will fall for it so spread the word, and if you want even more info Hamlet's picked this topic up enthusiastically since my original post, so you can probably expect to see more on the subject as it develops.
1. Iris Rants: 5 Myths and Lies About Modeling in Second Life
Few topics get me as fired up as the deceit and delusions floating around the modeling world of Second Life. Ambitious newcomers beware; you're buying into a very expensive LARP!
Tweet 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.
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