When I received the notice from LeeZu Baxter Designs about the fantastic sweaters I featured a few days ago, there was one more element that caught my eye. The jeans were fantastic. I don't know as though I've seen that level of slouch and deconstruction in a garment in SL yet and I wanted them... I needed them... I lusted for them. After I bought my sweaters, I made my way over to the model "on duty" at LBD and asked her if she knew where the jeans were from. She did not but said she'd find out from the designer and let me know. The next day, I spoke to LeeZu myself, actually, about something unrelated and remembered I still wanted (needed) to know where those jeans were from! She directed me back to her shop, indicating they were a part of one of her top-of-the-line designs. She did tell me that she'd be making a less expensive version in the coming days (apparently, this happened yesterday). Well, I have a fancy-shmancy SL job that pays the good Lindens and I can appreciate the cost associated with stellar designs, so back I went to the store to check them out. I found the outfit quickly once I knew what I was looking for (tsk, tsk to the model on duty!) and brought my mouse to hover over it waiting for that little information box to pop up.$1200L.
I rolled my eyes and pulled my mouse away. It wasn't that I couldn't afford the outfit, it was that I saw it as ridiculously overpriced for what it is. Cute jeans, yes, absolutely. Two intricate tops that do, upon brief inspection, show a mastery of clothing design, yes again. Some fancy high fashion accoutrement that one would never wear anywhere besides a costume party? Yes, yes indeed. After all, does one really need a peacock tail and a skirt that looks like seaweed wrapped around the legs?
Ohhh, but those jeans... I was in lust.
I couldn't let myself do it, though, and I left the store without the outfit in my shopping cart. I picked up a leather jacket that looked stunning, instead, but I couldn't justify the outfit and I'm not sure why, really, as I've purchased insanely expensive items in SL before. In fact, my favorite store has some of the higher priced clothing I've stumbled across but for some reason, the perfect simplicity of the pieces makes it more understandable to me. In this case, it felt like throwing prims all over something in an attempt to simply obtain that "high fashion" look (anyone else sick of that phrase?) and I just had a mental block against it.
A couple of days passed and I couldn't stop thinking about those jeans. Finally the other day, in a moment of weakness, I teleported in, walked straight to the back corner of the store (before the store had even rezzed - sorry if I ran over anyone), waited for the vendor to show itself and purchased the outfit before quickly teleporting home in an attempt to outrun my own guilt.
Why had I done that? Why did I purchase something that for whatever reason I was morally opposed to?
Well, because I wanted to write this blog, of course. And I was hoping I would love the other pieces so much that the price suddenly made sense to me. (Didn't happen.)
It's funny, I contemplated long and hard about whether or not I would ever write negative reviews on this blog. Initially I thought I wouldn't and instead wouldn't feature something if I didn't like it. In fact, this particular entry has been sitting, written in full, in my "pending" blogs for three days while I contemplated whether or not I wanted to go to a negative place here. But I do think that part of the responsibility of having a voice is also using it.
And so, here's the original outfit that I purchased.
Okay, so... I don't have to wear all the parts, I get that. But then, I started to look at the jeans... the jeans that I loved... and I realized that the cuffs around the thigh are black with silver hardware... and the belt that is part of the texture is brown with brass hardware. And, as I've mentioned before, that's one of the things that drives me crazy. So the only way to make an outfit that I could live with using these jeans was going to be by covering up the belt.
And then I remembered that the fantastic jacket that I had purchased instead of the jeans outfit may have had the same problem. Let's take a look.
The buckles on the sleeves? Silver. The buttons on the jacket itself? Brass. What do you think? A conscious design choice? Or just an unintentional fashion faux pas? The only way I can wear the jacket is by editing the prims... I don't get that choice with my jeans, though. The mismatched metals and leathers are part of the textures. And I hate to say it, but it just feels sloppy to me.
I'm a strong believer that a product is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. And so, if the market will bear a ridiculous mark up, so be it... but is there a point where it crosses a line? And if so, what's that point?
So, there's my negative review. And now, on to the positive spin - the outfit I did manage to put together with my jeans...
So, apparently, the jeans come complete with an infectious "high fashion" disease because that's the only type of look it seems I could put together. The cute little shirt I picked up months ago but didn't wear often because the prim skirt never fit correctly. I remembered editing it when I bought it and finally just wearing it with black pants to mask the exposed part between the top of the skirt and the bottom of the shirt itself, which of course wouldn't work here. And I couldn't have fabric gap showing with my $1200L jeans and so I edited each and every box-pleat prim to conceal that gap. Once finished, I had a shirt that looked like it should (and covered the brown belt) but I will warn you that it was a hell of a lot of work. The outfit was begging for another layer to add interest and dimension, but the shirt itself is on the jacket layer so there was nothing I could use to put over it and I didn't want to put something under it. Then I remembered that last weekend as we dressed for an event on the Titanic, I mentioned off-handedly and with a bit of a chuckle to Ben that my shoulders were going to be cold in my tank gown on a ship's deck at night. (Am I the only one who feels cold or hot for her avatar?) As I put the finishing touches on my hair and shoes, he teleported off and surprised me by buying a gorgeous fur coat. The glorious thing about the coat is that it's all prims (and it avoids looking like a life jacket... which, now that I think about it, had the potential of being handy for our afternoon on the Titanic but thankfully wasn't needed). Layered over the rest of the outfit, it becomes one of the central pieces of the look and it really facilitates in making it all about the luxurious, heavy texture. The fishnets and stilettos are damn sexy with the seams running up the back of the calves and I think they're unexpected with a jean fabric, thus completing the outfit.
A chunky bangle holds its own with the bulk of the fur coat and the textures (black and silver) pull the black and silver details from the cuffs of the jeans. I like the feathered drop necklace which adds interest but doesn't take over the top of the look - there's already a lot goin' on up there with the jacket and the v-neck shirt.
And voila... Expensive look for expensive jeans.
Jacket - Fur Jacket, Black - Prim Spine, Upper Arm and Forearm Attachments (forearm attachments not worn in this outfit) earth & sky design
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Tellus III/233/179/23/
Shirt - Amplify - Jacket Layer, Prim Ruffle Stomach Attachment Layer Refuge (Sinistyle) http://slurl.com/secondlife/Koreshan/51/69/24/
Pants - JenFall - Pant Layer, Prim Upper Leg Attachments (for gathered effect) (part of full outfit) LeeZu Baxter Designs
http://slurl.com/secondlife/centro italia /123/148/22/
Stockings - Black Fishnet Stockings - Freebie! No Creator Available in Properties
Shoes - Visions of Love, Black - Shoe Base, Prim Foot and Lower Leg Ankle Strap Attachments (ankle straps not worn in this outfit) Minx
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Hauwai/46/95/98/
Necklace - Irina, Black & Onyx - Prim Chest Attachment Lassitude & Ennui http://slurl.com/secondlife/Nouveau/65/63/30/
Bangles - Wood & Metal Bangles - Prim Forearm Attachment Last Call http://slurl.com/secondlife/Dazzle/68/11/27/
Hair - Mica, Mahogany - Prim Head Attachment Maitreya http://slurl.com/secondlife/Superieure/94/43/451/
Skin - MM-Light SkinGloss-OhWow Minnu Model Skins
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Glam World/118/136/23/
