About some of the expensive clothing.

In shopping on Xstreetsl for some clothes, I noticed that some of the items are insanely expensive while others are reasonable. I also notice the real cheap ones or freebies are not worth a dump, they don't fit right and NO permissions...

So with the real expensive stuff, is it typical to have more permissions and colors come in the pack?

Is there truely value to the expensive ones or is it usually just someone asking too much?

BTW I can see why someone would pay a fortune for good body parts or a good skin or hair but clothes? Is it justifyable when they price say a set of tee shirts like L$400?

I am not being smart alec or saying "that is stupid" I am just wondering if I should maybe dish out a bit more for things or not.

I agree about the freebie stuff, I don't wear anything freebie, it looks like its free, it's the equivalent of an opportunity shop.

I also don't think the insanely expensive items are necessarily that good either. Find a designer you like, shop around, look at what other people are wearing, if it looks like it fits well, check out the store.

not all Real Cheap Freebies are trash. There are a LOT of free things on the grid which are quite lovely and detailed.


My items sell for 99L each, with the exception of one or two outfits that are an entire wardrobe, and they sell for 199L. My items are all mostly copy/mod/notrans. Price doesn't determine anything except what the creator chooses to charge. I've seen lovely gowns for 1200 from the "big names" and 299 from the newer relatively unknown designers.

It's not likely you've sampled all the free things offered on the grid. But for starters, jump in on the gridwide hunt (www.gridwidehunt.blogspot.com) and start checking out the freebies offered. I think you'll be surprised.

For the very high-end of in-world fashion, it's not additional permissions you'll pay for, it's design and quality construction. But it's very difficult to judge that without seeing the products in-world, either in a demo version or on another avatar. Also, some criteria of quality may be a bit subtle until you've either read a bunch of fashion blogs or made some clothing yourself.

Some freebies are actually very good, unfortunately this is often because some poor designer has had their items ripped off.

However, good designers hand out decent freebies, why else would you pay for their items if their freebies were shoddy?

It's hard to say. Just like in RL, some items are hideously overpriced, relying on the designer's name to sell. On the other hand, some low priced and freebie items are just as good as the high priced ones. It subjective , to a point. There is one well known ashoe designer who when mentioned will elicit either glowing praise, or like me, will be described as overpriced. it's pretty much trial and error.

I don't know much about ladies clothes Mlle Moiselle, but good mens clothes are so hard to find I'm usually willing to consider up to L$1000 for them if they are really well done. That would be a complete outfit with LOTS of options for mixing with other complete outfits.

I consider that a bargain since I don't have to wash any of them and they do not shrink unless I do.

I wouldn't pay L$10 for a tee shirt however. It's just not my style.

Not true - you just don't want to have anything to do with the generic freebies. Ask anyone that knows me inworld - I'm constantly complimented on the dresses I wear and the vast majority of my wardrobe is free. You have to know *where* to get your freebies though.

How many in a set? Are they well made, ie, seams matching, clean edges, good wrinkles/shadows/highlighting? Do they come on multiple layers?

In other words, it really depends.

The older free stuff that is in OnRez and XStreetsl are crap. Inworld, it's mostly things you find in freebie dungeons, like: 146 pants!!!! or 98 female outfits!!!! These things are very ugly. It can't be compared to when a designer give out a sample of her newest work for free.

Take a wellknown designer as Evie's closet. Every single one of her free gowns is good quality. She has a December gown out for free now, but she has closed her group to avoid massive amount of ppl joining, grabbing the gown and then leave the group.

And to the OP: You saw my pic in the thread in gallery when I complimented your look. The one in white outfit are all free stuff, except eyes and lashes. Including skin. The other pic has free wings that are scripted and colorchange, and a free skin that were a group gift. And free eyes. The rest is stuff I bought. You can look very good with the right kind of free stuff.

Try reading a freebie blog like this one: http://slfreestyle.blogspot.com/
You get so many tips to better freebies there!

Watch for sales and retired (or soon-to-be-retired) items.

Last year a particular designer retired a massive inventory of pretty good female clothes and I believe it can be found at NCI in several boxed sets. Janet Something-or-other?

A few months ago a skin designer was retiring a slew of skins and sold them at a massive discount. Raven Something-or-other?

What Lil said. It's a case of sorting wheat from chaff. Have a look at Icing's freebie frocks for example - they're as good as their main stock.

I'd recommend people keep an eye on the fashion blogs, as there are many quality designers that put out beautiful free items. There *are* some other ridiculously priced clothes, as the OP says, but that's just like rl. A proportion of shoppers will pay a higher price just to wear a 'more exclusive' label. Their L$, their choice, and it's still a lot cheaper to be kitted out in a designer outfit than it would be in RL!

--
Aes

Now that you mention it, my two favorite suits are designer freebies--sure as hell not the cloneware at Blaze or Armidi.

Both designers have apparently moved on to other things, though, so maybe I have to go back to the blogs. Pretty sure I found those leads from http://www.second-man.com/ or possibly http://www.slmen.com/ . Just starting to look at http://dubrovnastyle.wordpress.com/ .

Well this thread can't help but become somewhat an advert- pop into my store when u get chance , there r several freebies and none are "crap". It isn't so much cost as attention and what level was the designer in at the time of creation. I have gone thru my inventory and scrapped things I first put out when I started because I know I have come a distance since. I also own at least one outfit from a very known designer that I paid good L's for - and the seams don't match and the neck bleeds- there is good stuff and bad- it is just a matter of sorting thru it all.

Price is all relative really - I have items selling from absolutely free to about $400 -

Best advice aside from minding the blogs is join the hunt going on now- it will give u a wide choice of items to sort thru - Enjoy.

I met a newbie the other day who looked fantastic. By going to several Christmas hunts she has picked up some very nice outfits for free.

One of my favourite shops sells clothes at a reasonable price and they are beautifully made, seams matching, etc. I don't think a high price automatically ensures you will get the best.

There are some good freebie clothes out there. In particular, jeans. I make most of my own clothes but for blue or black jeans I've stuck with a few trusted freebies.

I write a freebie blog. I can assure you that there are many high quality freebies out there. Some of the top designers in SL offer freebies at some point or another.

MOST of the "insanely expensive" clothing items are well worth the money. It was a big adjustment for me to go from 150L for an outfit to 500L for an outfit...but I was glad I did. If I pay 500-800L for a dress and it's not up to my standards - you can believe that the designer will get a notecard asking for a refund

i did bought expensive outfits mostly costs 200-500L and they are extremely expensive for me and most of them had me end up frustrated (pouts lips)...there are plenty of stores with nice free items or dollarbies and are even prettier & fits better than the expensive ones

I spend insane amounts of money on clothes and, dammit, my av looks nice

If a seam is out of place, a prim sticks too far through various body parts, shoes gape, edges blur, pant bottoms flare - into the bin it goes. Unfortunately, most freebies suffer from these shortcomings. I imagine that they were items that beginners created and don't want to delete.

While there are some fun freebies out there, I have yet to find any that rival the stuff that I pay for, in terms of quality.
That said, I've found some of my favourite items off the beaten track, at reasonable prices, in shops found by accident or via the blogs.

I agree with Brann, especially the part about how nice she always looks, she has alway been on my list of those that have really created a beautiful all around look. I'm admittedly a bit of a freebie snob, at least the ones I come across. I don't go hunting for them like some of the other girls here do, and it pays off for them because they all look great as well. I don't read blogs or use the out of world shopping services. Part of the fun is the wandering and going into a store I never heard of and coming out a few thousand $L poorer.

Case in point: if you're new (less than 30 days old) go to the sim "Silent Sparrow" and click on the box in the pool. It gives you a selection of very nice free samples of Hya's outfits.

Many other in-world stores have similar freebies, that just happens to be one I'm familiar with.

I would recommend looking for clothes in-world rather than on the web. You'll find specials and bargains, and you'll likely meet people who are wearing clothes made by the same designer, or who can (if you're nice and they're in a generous mood) show you what other outfits they own look like.

SinSkins has an excellent free under 30 skin pack. It got me to be a loyal customer, it is the only skin dealer I patronize.

Thanks, Brenda
It helps to have a personal shopper

My latest obsession is quality, non-bling jewelry. I can't go past Earth Stones without dropping a bundle.

I grab alot of freebies by combing through the blogs most days. I take them home, try them on and delete anything that isnt working for me. If I find myself going back to that outfit, I often will then go back to the store and buy more things. But im pretty picky LOL. If it doesnt look right on me or it just doesnt suit me, then i dont keep it. But, people are in shock when i tell them that the outfit im wearing is all freebies....of course they are designer freebies...lol

It's also a good idea to cruise designer mainstores because most of them have a freebie out there somewhere, and those freebies represent their work.

I picked up a really nice freebie on the freebie wall at Sweethearts, I'm still gaga over it, I'm not telling you which one, you have to find it on your own