For Whom the Bell Sleeves Toll

“Everything old is new to someone’ has always been my creed, when it comes to buying power in Second Life. That and ‘Everyone deserves their sexy school girl/bling shoes moment’. It does not matter if you joined Second Life if 2006 or earlier, or you walked in yesterday, the things that excite you do not have a lot to do with a release date. We discuss making it clearer in Marketplace in the Web User group meeting all the time, the idea of putting the date on things – they have added a date system of sorts, but it is not functioning correctly, so currently it is a bit more ‘ignore that thing’ than actually helpful. There are so many sides to the need for this, and also a good case for it causing more harm than good.

You have people like me that strongly lean into what we like, not when it was made, but then you also have those that have no concept of history in Second Life creation and can unfortunately fall into the trap of purchasing items that have no use to them in todays mesh climate – bodies, sizing, uv layouts etc. I cannot tell you how many times I have personally had to explain to a newer Resident, that what they just purchased is actually no use to them at all, and they cannot wear it. Whether it be incorrect skin types, system layer skirts – which do not work with mesh bodies even with bom (fun fact, by making sure that was still the case with the system skirts I found a bug that made me crash 3 times, there are so many behind the scenes things that happen when blogging) and things like Sculpties that are of course not rigged and will move independently of the way our mesh bodies move with our skeleton now…all of these things are horrible for newer people to wrap their heads around, on top of all the other things, so its a tick for putting dates on things in those cases. Then on the other side you have people like me as mentioned, that love exploring older items, and do not want everyone to decide that newer is better, which would kill the income of some incredible creators, who have items that very much do work with the current bodies etc, but may have a 3 or 7 year creation date on them, so people think its ‘old’ and yes, you can see how this gets debated often.

We have had resident created mesh bodies for 11 years now, and resident created mesh for 15, which means we have had these incredible options for far longer than we didn’t, which is funny to think about, because the years before it dragged on forever…we only had sculpties for about 3 years, there was of course overlap, but stand alone closer to 2.5.

Add to that the debate on older items no longer actually supported by creators, people that have left Second Life, but left their products active, they may still collect their income, but do not log in and have an actual presence or any kind of customer support, so you buy it, it is broken, or you do not understand how to use it, and you are out of luck, no one is ever going to reply to your IM (instant message – another thing that you realise when dealing with newer Residents, is that people outside of Second Life do not call them Instant Messages, so IM’s is absolute gibberish to them). There are also creators not collecting the money, they just left Second Life and did not look in the rear view mirror at all, now unfortunately this can also be because they are no longer with us in Second Life or Real Life and that is a horrible thing, but those items are still there, and we are often wondering what happens to that money just piling up. This topic has caused a few meeting flare ups, because we are more aware over time, that we as a platform are being held back by older items and the want/desire for them long after their creators are gone – however that has happened. This brings me back full circle to the everything old is new to someone but also leans into the, sometimes the thing we love is wanted on all accounts and also wanted as an item to share with others, through gifting etc, so the idea that one day we may not be able to send a newer account the _________ is a terrifying thing. Back in the day every time Whimsy made a new account she ran off and bought a particular pair of shoes, did not matter how much time had passed, those shoes were her base love affair with footwear, so every account had to have them, those shoes no longer exist, it happens, we have all experienced stores actually closing down and their items not being available, but when it comes to marketplace we seem to be holding on for dear life, probably because it feels like we do have that control. Interesting ramble I went on there.

This actually came about because while I was having my blogging break – unplanned – a few items were released that I really liked, but at different times, and I was musing over the fact that if I had blogged them the instant that they had been released, then this look would not have happened so easily, it was lovely to be able to just love the look, see the hair, want the hair to be an idea, then see the top and realise what better top, and then to find the pants and be supremely pleased with the outcome, then on top of that, be able to find footwear that fit under the pants and had a colour in the same family – always a golden moment. So again, it does not matter when an item was made, it is about how much you enjoy the item, the other stuff for some of us is noise, but it does make me hmmm over the idea that there has to be a better way for people to understand without help that it is not the right purchase for their other needs, the look might be right, but it is a system layer not mesh, or it has sculpt parts or all of those other things that at the time of listing were not a need…that then brings about the review options, but that is a whole other blog post.

This hair is by Truth Collective creator Litterbug Salon, as soon as I saw it I was really impressed with its 1960’s Mod vibe, I especially loved the cutouts with their metal rim, that is not an easy thing to do with mesh, it is tricky, I have tried. There are options to colour change the band, with the hud and there are many colours to choose from, as well as a tinting option – which I used – then you have the metals, and I went for the warmer gold look today. Then to Lamb, for this amazing tied crop top, with amazing sleeves that have options of closed, which I am wearing, or open which has them very flared and elongated, or the off, and the off is absolutely an interesting idea, as it cuts out the flared sleeve entirely, which gives you a less themed look, which is an awesome thing to do. Sometimes you want to be able to wear your clothing in various ways, and this top gives you those options. Also a quick tint to one of my Nuve bras – never leave home without it – and I was matchy matchy.

There were pants that went with the set from Lamb, but I love to spread the joy, as we know, and I do love a great Cynful moment and she delivered. These pants come in either solids or floral versions, with a sheer overlay, there are so many features seriously, it is a great pair of pants. I turned off the overlap, because while I was going for that Mod look, it was just a bit too clubby with the overlay vs me just being an out and about look that was highly curated for a moment, living my best 60’s life – cue a montage scene similar to Notting Hill but in a different decade. Simple accessories, stylish and elegant with the necklace from Sigma and my go to hoops by Dark Mouse, I am ready to strut through London.

Equipment Used

VR Studio and HUD/Library  – VR Foundry Marketplace

Important: Moles featured on face or body unless otherwise stated are created by me, for me personally. If wearing moles or freckles etc layers by other creators they will always be credited. As my face moles are the same always, it will be clear to know it is mine not part of the skin.

Poses & Props

Bang Poses 

Body Parts

Body :

Reborn – EBody

Head:

Milena Head – Akeruka 

Appliers:

Nail appliers – Flair 

Skin Worn:

Dara – PumeC

Ipanema Body Skin – Velour

Head and Body BOM Layers:

Peaceful eyes – Insol Mainstore

Matte Smoke eyeshadow, Capricorn Lipstick – AlaskaMetro

Lip Scar Elena – She Said Destroy

Evelyn Eyebrows, Strapless Bra and Panties – Nuve

Hair Worn:

Chrome – Truth Collective @ TRUTH

Wearing:

Bell Sleeve Crop Top  – Lamb

Seductive Energy Flared Pants – Cynful

Footwear :

Aylani Shoes – Cult

Accessories:

Alysee Choker – Sigma

Hoops Forever Reboot – Dark Mouse

Bobby Trio –  Flair