Janine "Iris Ophelia" Hawkins' ongoing review of gaming and virtual world style
Last week I asked you about your most hated virtual fashion faux pas and you weren't terribly shy about your answers. Some offered complaints best illustrated in the satirical picture above by Marcia London, which there were a few other suggestions that came out of left field.
So what are the most reviled fashion missteps in Second Life? Let's start with...
5. The Nuclear Pout
Yes, it's that ultra-swollen, hyper sour expression that's gained a lot of ground among Second Life fashionistas in the past few years. In some ways it could be seen as a direct reaction to it's cousin, the thin-lipped forced smile that used to be on every other female avatar's face... Including my own. The smile was meant to seem friendly and approachable, but it was rarely subtle enough to be anything but creepy and eventually fell out of favor. I scaled my own Joker-like grimace down into a more neutral micro-pout during one of many shape revisions over the years, but while those creepy grins are still around their extreme opposite has stolen the faux pas spotlight.
4. The Invisible-Pony Gap
I've written about the loathing for both IPG and the nuclear pout, a popular pairing, in the past. Thigh gaps have become a sought-after feature among many women in real life, and as is often the case the virtual world has taken that "desirable" trait and amplified it practically to the point of self-parody. At the same time, the Second Life take on the thigh-gap also forces avatars to look much curvier/fuller-figured, which is sort of the opposite intention of its real life equivalent. It's a very strange feature, and while I may agree that it's gotten a little out of control, I can't say that I'm entirely against it either.
3. The Eternal Oldbie
It seems like Second Life fashion enthusiasts hate precious few things more than they hate outdated fashion technology. Bling, invisi-prims, dated skins, and even flexi clothes all seem to have become hallmarks of an avatar who's slightly out of touch. I can certainly see where a lot of this dislike comes from; Second Life looks tremendously better than it used to, so it's hard to imagine anyone choosing not to participate in those visual advancements. However, when I read comments like "why don't they just get SLink feet!" I suddenly find myself much more sympathetic.
Not everyone is in a position to throw their old hard-won virtual goods to the curb to invest in the latest and greatest. Second Life fashion is incredibly cheap compared to physical goods, but two bucks is still two bucks, and not everyone is in a position to drop that on virtual fashion even if they do still want to participate in a virtual world. It's hard to know why someone isn't on-trend, whether it's a matter of "can't" or "won't". When I see someone walking around straight out of 2007 it absolutely makes me cringe, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't check my privilege at the same time.
2. The Glamazon/Picasso Barbie
Ridiculously large breasts, legs longer than Redwood tree trunks, a head-to-shoulder ratio like a single pea sitting on a ruler -- Second Life's flexibility means that avatars come in all shapes and sizes, even the most wildly broken ones. The reason why is pretty simple: The more options we have, the easier it is to mess up. It takes strong visual-spatial intelligence to make a natural-looking human form when you're given little more than dozens of sliders and a lump of vaguely person-shaped clay to work with. Understanding how everything relates to everything else isn't any easier if you're used to much more restricted character customization systems that generally do the heavy-lifting for you. Add to that the fact that we have a tendency to exaggerate the features we find most attractive, so when you're modelling your own look off of other "attractive" avatars it leads to a shape-distorting feedback loop. With all that taken into account, I;d be surprised if all our shapes aren't a little busted here or there.
1. The Rude Asshole
Easily the biggest faux pas of them all in my books, and the one that absolutely had to top this list. At the end of the day what you look like is your business, and what I look like is mine. Constructive advice, when solicited, is a wonderful thing... But it's not something you should feel obliged to volunteer. By the same token while I'd say a lot of us have a natural urge to snark and joke (lord knows I do) being the "edgy" jerk ruining everyone's day is pretty much the worst look of them all. The fact remains that I don't know why that girl over there is wearing nothing but underpants at this event, and I can spend the rest of my life making assumptions about her, or I can just finish my damn shopping.
TweetIris Ophelia (@bleatingheart, 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.
A friend of mine bought me slink feet and I fought to get them to match my LAQ skin ...and lost. Then again, one of my favourite outfits was made in 2009 so ...there you go. I've gone from being the eternal noob to being the eternal oldbie lol
Posted by: Han Held | Wednesday, June 25, 2014 at 01:09 PM
A friend of mine bought me slink feet and I fought to get them to match my LAQ skin ...and lost. Then again, one of my favourite outfits was made in 2009 so ...there you go. I've gone from being the eternal noob to being the eternal oldbie lol
Posted by: Han Held | Wednesday, June 25, 2014 at 01:09 PM
No idea why that comment (or this one) posted twice -I'm sorry for the spammage. :(
Posted by: Han Held | Wednesday, June 25, 2014 at 01:34 PM
RE: 3. The Eternal Oldbie
I hope that designers do not abandon the flexi skirts completely. I love mesh and have the feet, hands, hair, clothes and shoes, but nothing can replace a full flexi dress for a night of dancing. There is really nothing as gross as seeing up a skirt while dancing (get your head outta the gutter) and seeing dead air or worst than that; detached feet floating in the air.
Posted by: Selena Anansi | Wednesday, June 25, 2014 at 02:26 PM
Number 1 is by far the most important. :). Really, time spent hating what someone else is wearing is worse than just time wasted; it's time spent hurting yourself! Enjoy the variety...
Posted by: Dale Innis | Wednesday, June 25, 2014 at 03:45 PM
I may have, long ago, seen or read about a skirt made by tying strips of material to a belt. I think it was in a very old National Geographic.
The technique has obvious drawbacks for use in clothing, in SL or in RL aside from, perhaps, the tropics... but it has one glorious advantage that I doubt SL mesh skirts will ever have: it swirls. I'll never go dancing in an SL mesh dress or skirt, for that one reason.
Posted by: Melissa Yeuxdoux | Wednesday, June 25, 2014 at 05:58 PM
Guess I'm an oldbie too then. I can't deal with the feet thing. Even if I do manage to match the skin, it's too nerve wracking for me to fit them to my legs. And if you even get close to a match, you still have the tell-tale line. Heels are so un-fun now.
Then there is mesh clothing, grrr. Either I have a hollow body with invisi-layers or parts are sticking out of the clothes. The shapes most clothes are made to fit, must be really scary, and I hope I never meet one in-world.
I still get lots of compliments on my avatar, until I dress her in mesh. Then she is just someone else's avatar. No thank you, fashion designers. I'll keep my OLD look, ugly feet and all.
Posted by: Tabi | Wednesday, June 25, 2014 at 09:33 PM
I dont mind the eternal oldbie, right up till they tell me something like "wow, your avatar is pretty. want to go sit on the pose balls?" and you look at their avatar and its the basic av that they came in world with... O.O
Posted by: Ilsa Hesse | Wednesday, June 25, 2014 at 10:41 PM
I'm not paying a third party to buy body parts to compensate for the shortcomings of the obsolete default model. Update the damned model.
Posted by: Arcadia Codesmith | Thursday, June 26, 2014 at 06:40 AM
Don't you think it's a little too critiquing? It's Second Life, that doesn't mean we should all look like our real lives. We all have real lives, but maybe we came in SL to forget about it and have a good time. Also, in modelling, here talking virtual modelling of course, some of these things are appreciated. But we don't call a very serious, sour face a "Nuclear Pout", we call it "Fierce". I believe it's everyone's right to look however they want and make a courage statement.
Posted by: Crista Wellens | Thursday, June 26, 2014 at 08:23 AM
Wow, what you guys and gals gonna do with the next gen avatar model very closely resembles the avies from Daz3d.com i.e. Victoria and Michael 6? Which is actually in the works as quietly as it is kept
Posted by: Jaqua | Thursday, June 26, 2014 at 03:47 PM
http://www.deviantart.com/?order=5&q=daz+3d&offset=45
Posted by: Jaqua | Thursday, June 26, 2014 at 04:14 PM
I wear an 'oldbie' 3 years old skin - The default avatar hasn't changed, the UV map is still the same, so a well-made skin cannot really be 'outdated' or considered old tech. I like the old skin just because it's become so rare now, that it makes me look unique in a world full of nuclear sour face pouters... :D
Posted by: Tesla Miles | Thursday, June 26, 2014 at 08:39 PM
Tesla, my favorite (human, not furry) skin has to be about three years old now. It's well-textured and it suits me. I don't think it counts as "oldbie' in the same way as flatter, older, less detailed skins, or even just slider skins. Like, uh, the one I wore for quite a while as a newbie.
Regarding #1, there's nothing wrong with having opinions. We're all subject to them. Everyone has so much control over their avatars, that how we present ourselves in world does mean something, even more so than how we present ourselves in real life. Being a rude asshole is definitely something to avoid, but discussions like this? About how we present ourselves individually and as a community? Nothing wrong with that!
Posted by: Cicadetta Stillwater | Friday, June 27, 2014 at 12:29 AM
Food for thought with this arguement of the Curio, then Phat Azz, then Wowmah, then Banned Tushies..
I for one do NOT like the Banned Tushie which distorts the behind (original) that I've seen out there.
If Linden Lab needs to investigate, then use the originals which Phat Azz was around longer than Banned to be fair.
Otherwise, with any fashion, we would have to compare that of the collar of a structured blouse, or the trim of a cuff and have everyone in the fashion industry not be able to make garments for fear of the same invasion of ownership.
To me, it is an annoyance nothing more. With MESH now being brought into form, unless you are naked you really have no need for it.
I know I shall not be purchasing one from anyone other than Curio to be honest who was the ORIGINAL in the first place.
I find the argument of this matter to be foolish and a waste of my own energy to partake in it other than this post.
I do hope others will counter sue then to Banned for the same faux on this as well if they wish to .. I'll be sitting in the shadows with others being entertained by it I am sure.
Posted by: Ruby Praga | Friday, August 15, 2014 at 04:43 AM
One additional footnote:
Inventions have always been brought into the world, improved upon, and then the enhancement or improvement of thus objects in the RL have never had this issue.
If you follow the rule of thumb by bringing in the RL into SL.. this should be taken into consideration and not the other way around.
Thus why I do not understand why this hasn't been resolved by now. Perhaps what Linden Lab needs to do is update the TOS again in which will state under the same rules that the world has for inventions to be used as well within the world of virtual reality.
Maybe that is the answer and would finally squash anymore of this and future behavior.
If we never had improvement possible for the fashion world in RL... we never would have the creations we have today.
I'll step away now. Have a nice day.
Posted by: Ruby Praga | Friday, August 15, 2014 at 04:52 AM
While I despise these dis-proportioned barbie/ken-looking avatars, I believe that anyone has the right to look how they want to on second life. I myself have no money, and don't spend money virtually anyway, so I just mix and match with the already set avatars and outfits. I'm happy with the way I look, and really, the only thing I usually do on second life is dance and sing to the sailor moon theme song.
Posted by: NyanBudder | Wednesday, August 20, 2014 at 01:29 AM
I myself have bought a rediculously expensive skin and the standard stick figure avi that when worn got many ridicules... I was told that my skin was an OLD FREEBIE and at the end of the day I had to live in it... WELL, feeling down on myself... I went off to help noobs get a HEAD START in fashion here in SL so when my RL MOM joined and I bought her a 10L avi to get her started I was jealous how much better than I she looked... SO, I bought me the Same 10L avi from the MP and I will be damed if it wasnt better than hers even after my alterations of my face.. The skin was HOT.. I have had rave reviews and been asked tons of times where I got it... I hold my secret NEAR AND DEAR and I know I wont see anyone looking like me withall these BARBIE look alike attempts in SL... I paired the head and skin from this sexy avi (Face altered by me has a unique look) with the BANNED Body altered to a bit curvier appearence. Now I get complimented all the time.. Thank you 10L avi for making me gorgeous! And I am a Lover of the Mesh Hair but for a fun day I will wear the Mesh / Flexy Hybrid Mix styles, which are mesh with the right amount of movement to be fun yet not make me look like a noob. And for the Beach... Everyone needs the ARGRACE-HIKARI which is a WET Hair look with droplets on it for the Beach! in a word... AWESOME!
Posted by: ANONYMOUS | Wednesday, July 22, 2015 at 12:09 PM