I've decided that I am indeed a fashion puppet. Designers pull my strings with new releases & I usually come trotting. Well, it was the case for awhile anyways. Lately I cannot find one damn thing I want to buy. I find myself buying yet another utility belt, a hat, Marionette strings, or other miscellaneous accessories just to avoid the new haute couture trend.
I miss new releases from ETD (which has been closed for how long now?), Renegade (suffering from SL block), Deviant Kitties hair (yah, I'm not a huge fan of piercings so much), and Naughty non-sculpted flexi hair goodness. Has SL fashion finally hit a fashion funk or has haute couture possessed everyone?
I don't want bunny heads on my hats or dead pigeons. Btw, anyone notify Pamela Anderson or Peta about that yet? I'm sure Furnation is in uproar. Seriously... bunny heads on hats!!!
Am I the only one missing new releases that made sense? How do ya'll feel about the new haute couture?
17 comments:
I'm still finding plenty of clothes that I want to buy though it's usually from new-to-me stores rather than the newest releases. It does seem like couture is becoming SL's jeans and tank-top, but it's just not that interesting to me personally. I'm hoping that we'll see SL fashion swing back to more day-to-day wear soon.
I agree, I saw a line that came out, and I immediately thought "I waited for that?? That looks like something Alexis Carrington would have worn...ugggh" The best clothing I'm finding is in the little shops, or ones that have all layer options so I can just mix-n-match something that feels "new"...I know there are still some that haven't been released, so let's cross our fingers...
I didn't shop a lot for a long time, so lately I've been buying some of the new releases, but more a lot of the older stuff to flesh out my already bulging wardrobe.
I love how you did Surrealia's Broken Doll AO poses too, looks fab!
I like it...but you knew that :P
My issue is not so much with the clothes, because I can usually find something I like. It's with the pricing. I've noticed that pricing at a number of stores has jumped dramatically over the past few weeks. Where an outfit would have been priced at between 250 and 350, now we're seeing outfits at 450 to 550. That seems a bit excessive to me.
There are a couple of stores pricing single items - just a skirt, for example - at around 350. I'm sorry, but at those prices, I'm going to be really selective about what I buy. I'm not a designer, so all of the money I spend on fashion is coming from my RL job, which, at the moment, is based more around school than work. I probably spend more money at a store when the prices are more reasonable than if I feel like I have to choose just one outfit for the same prices. Even if I really like it, I'll probably only wear it once or twice before I'm on to the next thing. So dropping 550 on a skirt and shirt is not very appealing to me. Does couture necessarily have to mean excessive pricing?
My new favorite store is Dutch Touch. Check it out for fun casual sets and separates. I like 'em!
On the whole, I really like it, as the average consumer is becoming more aware of runway fashion rather than perpetuating ancient trends that should be killed with fire. Two words: babydoll dresses.
However: I don't see couture so much as couture-influenced for most releases labeled so, aside from the very few brands and designer lines that are clearly meant to represent couture as a real-world fashion house would do it. I do believe some are too excited by the concept to look closely. It's a turn-off for me if a designer puts the "couture" label on a product that does not appear to come close to fitting the stringent quality standards of a couture garment. Couture in France is regulated, something that isn't commonly known; I suppose most who want a stab at couture should remember that.
I think the trend should be "runway fashion" instead of just haute couture; there are some beautiful collections from Fall/Resort RTW. I try to reflect this in some outfits I put together, since they seem overlooked. :)
If it all made sense it would be boring! I love quirky things that aren't entirely possible in RL, it's half the fun and more original IMHO.
And pricing is odd, I mean the cost of uploading hasn't changed, so why inspire animosity in customers by almost doubling prices all of a sudden? I guess with big designers like Last Call there will always be a large number who won't care about price because of sheer astonishing quality, but SL shouldn't turn into a sorority fashion place, where only the super linden-rich can afford to buy an outfit. I like the fact that so many talented designers keep their prices lower so it's more accessible. Mixing and matching from all kinds of places is what makes an individual's style, and a bigger price tag doesn't mean more stylish if you can't mix em up!
Some of the new "couture" is fine, but I rarely wear it as the designer intended. I will buy an outfit just for a cute jacket or top and never wear the rest. I like the new trend towards several different layer options as that makes mix and match easier.
While I dont like dead animal fashion, I do like the fact that in SL you can do and wear things that you never would irl. Once for an event I went as a bouquet and wore nothing but well placed prim flowers and green hair.
Along with the Dead Bunny and Pigeon hats, there's also a "lovely" hat called Salvador Dali with some kind of crustacean on top. Please tell me, the uninformed, what a lobster has to do with Salvador Dali in particular and why I'd want it on my head. Also, I'll go ahead and name names here...in regards to overpriced fashions, why is Indira's merch of simple, nothing special outfits all priced above 600-700L? I don't get who would pay that. Here's to people like June Dion of Bare Rose, who recently opened a couture store that has sharp but not Dada inspired clothes that remain around 130L each for multi colored sets.
One of his best known pieces was the "Lobster Telephone" - 1938.
(Caliah - Do a barrel roll!)
Right, so .. MG's resident Dali lover here to explain the Dali hat.
Dali is known, widely for his surrealist paintings and sculptures. He once painted a picture of his wife, Gala, with a pork chop on her shoulder. When ask why he said, simply, that he liked his wife and he liked pork chops. He was funny like that.
His work was filled with symbols for impotence and decay, spirituality and power. The Lobster hat is based off of one of his 'sculptures' a Lobster phone.
"In the early 1930s, Dalí promoted the idea of the Surrealist object, of which this is a classic example. The Surrealists valued the mysterious and provocative effect of such unexpected conjunctions. Dalí, in particular, believed that his objects could reveal the secret desires of the unconscious. Lobsters and telephones had strong sexual connotations for him, and he drew a close analogy between food and sex. He made Lobster Telephone for Edward James, the British collector who was the most active patron of Surrealist artists in the 1930s."
*Que 'The More You Know" music*
w00t! You like Dali too, Laylah?? :-)
I do have to say that it depends on what shop you go to as far as when they release their stuff. I agree that I miss getting my ETD fix, but until then I'm trying to expand my horizons and checking out other hair shops.
With clothing I usually snatch separates at various places and then mix & match so that the overall look is more "me". I have noticed the prices jumping a bit, and so I'm less inclined to buy a full outfit anymore unless I MUST have it. Has there been a wide spread inflation in SL? Inquiring minds want to know.
"With clothing I usually snatch separates at various places and then mix & match so that the overall look is more "me"."
Me too. I usually only wear a whole outfit as purchased if it's something like a dress or a costume or something.
1) There are only so many ways to make jeans and a tank top - I know I don't need to buy any more.
2) The majority of SL seem to have no idea what haute couture means. Make sure you read Caliah's comment again if you still feel like throwing the words around again.
3) If you don't want a lobster or a dead dove on your hat - don't buy it. But please respect other people's right to creativity. Maybe the fashion world doesn't revolve around YOU and there's a possibility that people design for themselves. Oh no, all your dreams are dead.
4) On the mix-and-match, someone said that they don't wear outfits "as the designer intended", well, I design all my outfits to be mixed and matched as I never wear an outfit straight off the rack unless I'm in a hurry.
5) Pricing, this is something i struggle with every time I release something. I would be really great to have some kind of a survey where people could indicate how much they expect to pay for something. Like say "an outfit with 15hrs of work in it = 150 - 200L".
Just a quick heads up for tha ladies...
ETD IS BACK!!!! Go check out Elika's new store like... NOW!!!
I buy what I like and don't worry much about whether the line is couture or not. I watch the fashion blogs and subscribe to the groups. But you are right (all of you), #1 prices are creeping up and well frankly the quality at a lot of stores does not match the prices. #2 I have been finding little shops and lesser known designers that are spending their time making quality, detail-oriented pieces (hence the fact that they are small) that are much more wearable and damn cuter I might add than high-priced "couture" items. On the other hand, I do like some of the couture items and have bought a few pieces that I felt would add to and update my overflowing inventory. In summation, prices are rising and quality is not and well I still love clothes in SL and wish I had my current wardrobe in RL. Thank you designers for all your hard work! Please keep expressing your creativity freely, because it's SL afterall and you can do whatever you want! Someone will like it. . . :)
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