Friday, September 21, 2007

Oh Baby Don't

Orchid Glitterbuck: Guess what I'm hiding under this umbrella of a skirt?
The subtle, romantic whimsy that is the babydoll dress is totally lost on me. Every one I now see is immediately dismissed as same as the last and something I have absolutely 0 interest in ever purchasing or wearing... again :P It's not just a little frightening, and somewhat humorous that all three of us were able to produce these from our inventory.

Are some of them made very well? Yes. Do they have that pretty, delicate, flowy, ethereal feel to them? Yes, most of the time. Does every one of your favorite designers in SL offer their own variation of this same, tired, overly done blah look? YES. Does this mean you should buy 1, 2, 642 of them? Oh hell, by all means, NO! Fashion is made, err... "fashionable" by that which is worn. You can lead a gaggle of fashionistas, shoppers, and trend-setters to your organized and deliberate closet, but you can't make them dress! Don't you have eyes? I know mine are bleeding from the influx of cutesy, withering, ultra-femininity that is every ad or fashion blog posting every new babydoll release.

In an attempt to understand the babydoll revolution, I really gave some thought to what might be the motivation for wearing, let alone purchasing, a Babydoll dress or top. In my own case, I think it was about loving the designer's work. Like a fan, maybe, I tried to have all their albums :P Something about loyalty, yadda yadda, that makes us sometimes buy things that aren't the best choice, yet we're totally behind this particular designer and their work. Iunno. Can't even be sure how many I actually have in my inventory although I'm embarrassed to admit it. It was a look I tried, I caved to popular fashion opinion, I said baaaa. It is, however, high time we move on to other fashion trends and interject a bit more variety into our repertoire. Really? You find this attractive? How so? In a MaMa ::sucks on pacifier:: kind of way? A trend that never seems to die but has lived long past it's time. Babydolls. In no way is this *the* look for anyone sl or rl for that matter... no matter what kind of body type or shape you have.


A frumpy, stuff-it-all under style that is only relieved by the rack you're sporting, which, by all accounts seems to be exactly what the "dress" is pointing to. A look that says "hey guys, not only am I the fertile type (evidenced by how I will look pregnant with your prim child), I am also equipped with these mammoth nutrient-giving orbs to promote strength, health, and vitality". We know there are some of you out there still buying them...

Why?

11 comments:

Unknown said...

As far as I can tell, the basic reason for the proliferation of babydoll dresses in Second Life is because it is simply the easiest prim skirt to make without an avatar's ass sticking out too much. It's not so much about fashion as it is about laziness and people being bad with prims.

Eyva Matova said...

"mammoth, nutrient-giving orbs"

LOL, great choice of words :D

tiana meriman said...

you 3 look so pregnant in those dresses XD especially orchid.

Summer Deadlight said...

Hmm iunno why I wear babydoll dresses. I have a few, although i prefer babydoll tops to the dress. It does have a sense of flow and summer-y quality to it. I mean wearing a babydoll top real life, with your hair flowing, walking along the beach. It feels feminine and pretty.

Although there isn't that sense of "feel" in a digital world, but yet it still has a hippie quality to it. And dressing hippie kinda expresses a freedom to move, rather than all bulked up or with tight clothing. Maybe its just a way to wear something loose, when most clothes you buy conform to your body tightly.

BTW my AV has under 35 on the bewb size scale :P

Erin said...

Hmmm, is this an old post that's only just showing up in the feed? It's kind of an old topic and nothing new has been said in this article.

Also, I hadn't really noticed many babydolls coming out lately. The trend has mostly died back down... I have no idea where you're shopping if all you're finding are babydolls.

Orchid said...

Holy god I know I look knocked up. I bought it cuz 1) its purple. 2) I thought my avatar would look as cute in it as Arbel does .. but she DOESNT! My avatar is a bloated fatass and must never ever ever wear another single thing that I see Arbel wear .. even if she looks cute in it.

I think I look more pregnant in the one I had because mine starts under the boob sweat line .. whereas Rosie and Jelly's all started at the waist. What's that called in real fashion? An Empress waistline? Whatever - that's what my 'babydoll' dress had.

If my avatar as skinnier it probably wouldn't look so bad. I might still find an occasion to wear the damn thing tho. It isn't that I dislike it - I just dislike how it looks on me. Maybe I'll find a good Dukes of Hazard shirt WITH pit stains :D that would help to ease the pain of my false babydoll dress pregnancy

Anonymous said...

Heh.

I bought exactly one outfit with a babydoll shirt with it (like Orchid, because it was purple). What did I do? I took the prim bottom and immediately tossed it in my Trash Bin.

I already detest those Talking Bellies... so why do I need to look like I have one??

I don't understand the trend either but I think it is dying down. Thank the Gods.

Anonymous said...

Oh my GAWD, I'm so glad I'm not the only person on the grid who doesn't care for those maternity smocks...
All my friends lately have been going insane over Nicky Ree's Summer Breeze dresses, which /are/ beautifully made but...WAH, such an unflattering style.

♥ JellyBean Madison ♥ said...

Actually there's new babydolls coming out & I believe this post was a "why?" because like you said, old topic. People have voiced babydoll dislike before. So why oh why are they back? Escape just released some as well as I think, was it Wrong? I'm not sure but I know they're popping up on the fashion feeds in a form of a review, release or looket me. Oi! Where are my links?

Charissa Korvin said...

Awwwwww such cute pictures though!
All that hard work and focus that must have gone into the creation of those cutesy, leg-revealing, some how trendy baby doll dresses forces me to try and think of a few pros to actually owning one.
So let me see if I can think of a few.

1: If you and your friends are caught out in a rainstorm, they can seek shelter under and between your thighs as your baby doll tent beats back the elements.
2: If you find your self lacking that final "touch" in your interior decor, you could perhaps use your self or a friend who has donned a baby doll as a lamp.
3: If you find your self under threat from unwanted solicitation from fugly, unpalatable males (Or females :P) you could simply slap on a baby doll and let them know you have to get home now, little baby Torus Face needs her diaper changed.
4: You could stand on your head and pretend to be a cup cake?

Meh...could only think of 4 after waking up and drinking my first cup of coffee. Annnd I think those are the only 4 there are. ;D

Orchid said...

@charissa

Bwah ha haha! Ha ha! HA!

That's pure gold. A+