what determines if it is good clothing, or great shoes?

I have been wondering what ppl judge clothing, shoes and hair by

what makes clothing, good?
Why is a pair of shoes considered great?

What about hair, why is some hair favored over others?

Just curious what ppl look for, as I have a very eclectic taste and like an assortment of things

(for example I made hair, it is a simple ponytail done via a tutorial I saw, and I like it hehe)
I got tired of high heel shoes so made a pair of flats, that actually ended up looking more like loafers or a slipon slipper kind of thing, and I like them too

sure they are not from top designer, or the best of the best

but I just think they are cute, because they are NOT perfect

so, what do you look for in clothing and hair and footwear?

I look for things I like. I look for things that fit well on my avatar. Beyond that, I don't care.

Of course it's different for different people.

For shoes I look for no bling, no animations and no high heels and they must look realistic without weird straps and that sort of thing. Needless to say I have problems finding decent shoes in SL.

For clothes I am very bored with the dreary sameness of all of the prim skirts/dresses so I look for regular (non prim) clothing with attractive textures and style. I won't buy anything that looks impossible to wear or makes me look like a hooker nor will I shop at a store where everything is black.

If I see an ad that advertizes clothing as HOT! I avoid it like the plague.

i wont wear clothing that looks 'Painted' on...
if it doesnt have creases/hilights etc, then i wont wear it...
Im also very fussy about my prim skirts... i wont wear/buy a tartan prim skirt, because a lot of the time, the pattern on the skirt wont line up properly with the glitch pants... sometimes i think i am TOO fussy

when it comes to shoes, i just like them to look normal... im not a keen lover of heels or bling... why do we need bling in shoes? pfff
some of the shoes have very unrealistic heels on them.... who on earth can walk in a pair of shoes that make them stand almost on the tip of their toes (apart from ballet shoes).
I'm ashamed to say that my sister and I are very critical about stuff we see in shops... people from the uk might know a programme called 'what not to wear' with suzanne and ....ummm ... cant remeber her name, jilly/ginny/ something liek that.. anyway.. they are very critical about fashion.. speak their mind... i guess we're a bit like that...

For clothes it has to be the seams, I hate spending money on stuff only to find the shoulder straps are misaligned. For shoes they have to look real, have sensible heals, no bling, and they have to be modable so I can tweek them. The thing I hate most is the no transfer stuff, I would like to be able to get rid of the stuff I don't wear anymore.

Seams it is for me, too - if you don't match, it's not worth the money. It's like badly sewn clothing in RL.

Also, I love stuff that allows mix-n-match in various combinations. I bought a lot of outfits that can be worn in a lot of different combinations. Makes spending money on them way easier if you get a whole bunch of stuff you can mix up to your liking.

Shoes - well, I am not a big shoe shopper in RL, so I just go for pretty. I think I have bought a grand total of two pairs because I needed them to complete the outfit. One of them I am insanely happy with because they have an amazing amount of detail.

That's a thing that works for all stuff I like to spend money on - if it is done well, I'm happy. A lot of good detail makes it worth it.

Very good thread, btw.

The first thing is quality of the texture. Does it look like real fabric? Are the straps/edges sharp and well-made? Is the design innovative? Seams visible or not?

With prim items, it has to look relatively real. Shoes shouldn't look like a clown shoe. Hair has to find the balance of fineness, flex and prim efficiency.

If I had to sum it up, I think I would say detail and realism.

By detail I mean that when you zoom in it still looks great. Nice clear textures, nicely aligned seams, cool little features. High quality clothes can be really simple but just beautifully made.

The realism bit doesn't mean 'I'd wear that in RL'. A good example is hair. I love hair that flows realistically and looks as much like RL hair as possible. Even if it is bright purple

And I have to join in with the anti-bling shoe crowd. What is up with that?! I own a LOT of shoes in RL and I've never had a pair with bling. Plus I have my own AO filled with my favourite anims, I don't want my shoes to do anything but make my feet look great.

Modifiable accessories are a must (so I can adjust them so they're just right for me) and I never, ever wear non-prim skirts. If I accidentally buy an outfit with a skirt bit that's non-prim it almost always ends up in the trash.

Everything else is down to taste. I'm sure the stuff in my wardrobe that I think it absolutely uber cool will make others shudder

Seams!!!

The first thing I learned was how easy it is to line up seams, if they are so lazy not to do it...

I've been burned often enough that I tend to shop more at known designers or from fashion blogs than gambling. My own ads actually SHOW the seams.

Design.

Something that catches the eye, whether it's cut or texture or color or style, usually all complement each other!

I'm very picky about hair, and only have a few styles that complement my face from over a year of SL, and I mod the color to mine...

Extra points for modifiable clothing/accessories too!

I tint EVERYTHING I can. I mix and match outfits, treating them all like separates too. So I tend to buy white or lighter items that I can easily tint to go with others.

Last year at Christmas I gave a bling removal script I was delighted to find in the forum scripting library.

I've never understood people who wear fireworks on their feet such that you can't even see the shoes! It looks so unnatural and tacky to me.

Ditto the walks in shoes, um, I have an AO and chose my own walk thank you very much! So please make things mod so I can get rid of your poor choices and drop in a color changing script of mine while I'm at it please?

Yes, I avoid buying non-mod things and spend more for mod.

But back to the question, what determines if it's good clothing is the reaction it gets, the better things cause everyone to ask you who made it!

Trinny and Susanna -in What Not to Wear".

I like shoes that are not made for a size zero foot.

aha... thats the one.... thankyou

Shoes or boots, foot base and/or sock nearly always sticks outside of prim shoe/boot, so why don't designers make the foot base and/or sock layer the same texture as the main shoe/boot part, that way it's cleverly disguised. Presently I make do with just trying to match the colour tint.

I like sculpty shoes...they are so much more realistic. Tesla, Armidi, and Stiletto Moody's all carry them now. I like being able to change colors. Unlike some of the other posters, I DO like heels, but not high platforms. And I like some of the fantasy designs...wild strappys, etc. I'm waiting to try CCTV's new "shoes with feet" product line...maybe my toes will finally look sexy!

I like clothes that come with versions in different layers. For example, pants in the underwear layer can be tucked into boot tops easily. (Armidi boots come with a script to conceal the pant legs, but underwear works better).

Like the other posters, I like designs with attention to details and seam alignment.

I like optional prim accessories, like cuffs, collars, flexi ribbons or scarves, and belts.

I like clothes that are more fasion forward. Something that looks like it came from the current issue of Vogue and not the wardrobe of someone playing a hooker on the 80s show "Miami Vice."

I will NEVER buy a formal gown that has the standard SL template neckline. I've been tinkering around with dress design and even *I* know how to make something that looks better than that.

I hate to spend money on shoes but I know they are hard to make and therefore often a little pricey so I try to get a lot of bang for my buck. I try to buy color changing so I can wear them with more outfits. No bling of course like everyone has said and of course more fashion forward things ...... DEATH TO HOOKER HEELS!!!!

As far as shoes, sculpties seem to be the winner. I like classic styles, heels, flats, strappy sandals. No Frankenstein platforms, or fantasy styles.Same goes for clothes. Classic styles in the usual color combinations. I love to mix and match. I am not big on prim attachments, I have yet to get a Prim belt to look right on me. Even a lot of prim skirts wind up trashed because I just can't get them looking right. I spent an hour yesterday trying to get a belt to look right, on an outfit where there was a bit of a gap between the skirt and top.I gave up and binned the whole outfit.

what annoys me most is when the outfit looks twice as good in the vendor shot as it does when I actually put it on.

I would say, optimistically ill wear 1/2 of the things I buy from designers that are new to me.

And Ill wear maybe 1/5th of those regularly.

Thats why I tend to stick with places I know, at least I know what I am getting.

Even those designers sometimes I dont like it once I have it on.

spent a couple thousand on clothes since I got back, more than half of it I wish I could return.

Shopping is great in SL and all, but if they invented fitting rooms, It would be ten times better.

im only interested in the highest quality and craftmenship. beyond that, i want outfits that reinforce my playstyle and rp interests in sl. beyond that, i like colorful clothing that stands out as unique or eccentric or very sexy in an elegant way. i vote with my money and i never ever listen to the hype.

Ohh and a good rule I keep forgetting to follow!

Only buy ONE item/outfit of clothing from a designer and try it on and make sure it looks decent before buying others!

Goes back to the lack of the try before you buy ...


Why are there Skin demos but not clothing demos?

i think Blaze offers clothing demos. its an excellent idea

I would pay probably somewhere approaching twice as much for clothes i could try on first lol.

Since Id be breaking even price wise and my inventory would thank me.

Was never the biggest Blaze fan though. Ill have to give it a look.

Adam n Eve has clothing demos too.

Most of what I look for or dont look for has already been mentioned. One thing that drives me crazy is the 'freebie' some stores put out. Some of them are downright horrid. Its as if they took 5 minutes, tossed something together, just to have a freebie to get people in their store. To me, a freebie is supposed to be that sample of their work. A bit of a 'hey, this is a bit of what I do, if you like it please look around for more' and when it looks like a newb just got thrown up on, it represents the designer BADLY. If the freebie a store has out is junk, I wont shop there again. I'm not saying give out a designer outfit that took you days to put together, but show a bit of care and you will more than likely get the benefits of more regular shoppers.

The shoulder seams dont bug me too much, if it doesnt line up perfect I just wear longer hair lol. What I hate about seams is when the sides dont match. I dont even care about jeans or pants, but if you have a top with a pattern on the front and no pattern on the back, if there isnt a ribbon or some such distraction put between them the seam is a mess.

I also HATE walks in shoes. Especially no mod. I have a pair of boots that didnt state it had the walk and its no mod (always dumb for shoes, honestly) and I have to delete the walk every time I put them on. I may be IMing the designer and asking for a pair without the walk. They are transfer so I can send the ones I have back even. The walks in shoes are always so...uh...aweful.

In hairs, I look for prims that dont slice through my shoulder or face. I often edit my hair to frame the face the way I like to, but if I have to do a lot of work its just not worth it, I should make it myself lol.

Prim skirts. This is a biggie for me. Flexi, is far far far better now, so I only buy flexi. I do still get those with the mesh skirt, only because sometimes it looks good. The angle of the prim is also important. I have wider hips than most apparently so I always have to stretch out my skirts. If the prim angles arent in enough I have to spend time fixing that too. Make the top of the skirt a bit longer and tilt it in so the top of the prim isnt showing over the tush! I also hate to see each individual prim because there 1)isnt enough of them or 2) they are just too far apart. I LOVE skirts that have a belt at the top because matching the pattern to the glitch pants doesnt matter at that point (good for the person who posted about that before).

Gee, I didnt realize I was so picky! haha

How hard can it be to fit a Fig Leaf?

I suppose that would depend on if it were prim or not?

Ditto on more clothing demos. Or the posters should portray the item more realistically

No bling for me. No hooker clothes (well, except in certain clubs...).

Hair that moves realistically. Come on, what's with the wigs that look like slices of blond trees sticking out of your head???

Prims that don't stick out like you're caught in an ice storm.

And, man, if you're going to have a hangar-sizes warehouse and 50 foot ceilings for your posters, don't make your zone no-fly!

Most importantly, clingy dresses and skirts that don't add four sizes to your butt. Not all shapes come with skirt versions.