The following lines and pictures are in NO way related to the items displayed. Each single item I wear is an item I LIKE and a couple of them have been blogged on this blog. Take it as it is: With a ridiculous shape, anything can look bad, even the most high quality stuff you can imagine.
So, let me start my little rant.
Where the HELL do all these frowny fashionclones come from?
Yes, I know, beauty is a matter of perspective and all that good stuff. But seriously, WHAT exactly is attractive/sexy/beautiful about THIS, my eyes hurt just looking at it:
Is it the missing chin? The ridiculously oversized, downturned lips that make my avatar (yes, I made this shape within ~ 2 minutes) look like a chubby sad chipmunk? Is the buckteeth? Is it the TINY eyes set so wide apart that the word 'human' just doesn't fit anymore? Is it the HUGE nose-width which totally does not fit to the rest of the face?
Or are the other reasons? Wait, maybe those hips...set so wide apart that the legendary invisible pony would fit through them without her having to move? Or is it the generally oversized head, the tiny shoulders, the itty bitty tiptoe feet, used to apparently make up for the midget size? (My normal avatar is tiny compared to most...most of these sexy avis though barely reach her shoulder). Or wait, maybe the too short legs that usually are a sign of Disproportionate dwarfism, a rather disturbing medical condition that MOST certainly no one would ever want to suffer in rl.
Or wait, lets take a look from the side!
Now, if those aren't some fat, pouty lips. But where's the chin? Oh dear lord, now that's gonna be some ugly doublechin soon! And looks at that cute little nose, so broad from the front...yet the size-slider is set to 0! Now, that's a truly human face we see there.
Seriously, what's up with this? It creeps me out, wherever I go, I see avatars looking like this. I know, I know, mean, mean, mean! I never jump on them or anything, I just...wonder. Where does such a skewed perspective on sexyness come from? No, I do NOT believe that all these people just like a giant conglomeration of flaws on their avis. I believe they think they are truly sexy looking. And the worst thing??? Guys are starting to look like this as well! Waaaaah!
Hellooooohooo! Manliness?
Where, please? This is neither feminine nor masculine it just ....is.....creepy. No more, no less. It isn't even UNIQUE. Every second avatar on the fashionfeeds looks like this. Do you guys REALLY find this sexy? If so, why? Would you want to look like a chubby, bowlegged, sad chipmunk in rl?
Be a fashionista...in 2 minutes!
Or is it...because these shapes are -really- easily made? Like I said...2 minutes. Just set all the important sliders to the extremes, and you have your perfect, unique (haha) fashionista-look. So hot. No, I do not think 'realism' is a necessity in SL. But this trend teh past year has been quite...disturbing.
Where does the gap between the legs come from?
Is it something from RL that influenced SL by now and just took on absurd forms? Ever tried to google 'leg' and 'gap'? Look at the results, it is quite sad.
I really, really hope these sights will sooner or later fade from the grid, just as the psychotically smiling barbie that was so en vogue around 2007 started to disappear.
What do you think?
[polldaddy poll=6317437]
Phew, now I am back in my usual shape...and feeling sooo good. ;)
Now for something positive!
Now, I am gonna list some (there are of course much more!) avis I personally find to be very unique - in no particular order. Not necessarily my style or my perspective on beauty, but creative and..unique. Some of them you might know, others not.
Elle Couerblanc
Ebediyet Matthews
Mohini Denja
Ellantha
Aikea Rieko
Mochi Milena
Ainslee Resident
Ost Clawtooth
Torrid Streeter
Babette Sivocci
Persephone Penucca
May Barnett
Del May
Ponyo Kozlov
Ginevra Rodex
Gyrogyna Larnia
Tera Varriale
Screw Destiny
Ellie Lilington
Lori Stanton
Constance Daehlie
Sigifaust
And so many more. They all have on thing in common: I'd recognize them anywhere...even with no nametags showing. ;) If your name isn't on this list....I simply was too lazy to list every cool avi I know...and thinking about it, there are still surprisingly many ones. :))
So, now I am gonna duck until the bitchslapping towards my face stops. :P
Maximum Kudos to you for that nice written report / article. I am with you and its also my opinion. Thank you so much for that. <333
ReplyDeleteWhat?! Someone else who rants on their blog?!
ReplyDeleteI approve.
You named it!
ReplyDelete[...] http://roleplaystyle.wordpress.com/2012/06/15/sl-beauty-ideals-what-the-hell/ [...]
ReplyDeleteI love people, who can stretch our perception of "beauty" to their limits and still find a balance (f.e. this shape here https://secure.flickr.com/photos/del_may/6985736659/in/photostream). As designer of your shape, you want to create resonance and friction in the constraints of your sliders. And if you are good with that, if you have a knack for aesthetics and take your time, people will recognize a distinct style that makes you really unique (see list of peoples above). With that in mind, look around and you will see: most of us are NOT designers. They are consumers.
ReplyDeleteConsumers imitate, its a form of flattery. If I look at this shape concept without judging, I can see a certain wish to be unique and strong, a misbehaving barbie in a land of sexdolls. Sadly, most people who wear this, forget, that certain looks must be worn with a certain attitutude- or at least with respect for the contraints of the look. Else you get bad tempered gothic Pippi Slutstockings. It does not fit together and the message gets garbled up. These are the classic fallacies of fashiondesign. You ignore context, you ignore the little details, you are overloading your avie with inconsistent stuff, you don`t give a damn about aesthetics because it bores you or something like that.
I think this look is a fad, not a trend. With the right skins, designers soon will wander to other pastures and this will become just another curiosity in history of secondlife ;)
Hey Stiller!
ReplyDeleteI am sure you noticed that Del May is exactly one of those unique shapes (and not exactly a perfect dollshape) that I listed. I LOVE it. And I think it also came through that I do recognize this as being a rather...thwarted wish to be unique and different. However, besides the lacking attitude in most cases, it has simply become a FLOOD of 'unique' avatars who go to the absolute extreme, so far, that it becomes a mocking version of a Tyrion Lannister avatar with a 'female' head on top. If they would have, like Del May, a few inconsistencies added to their avis that would make them look interesting...that's a whole different thing. BUt I tried it! All it takes are 2-3 minutes of my time plus sliding all sliders to their extremes...done.
[...] take on these sexy shapes: SL Beauty Ideals? What the hell… | The Blogging Elf __________________ Check out my blog! [...]
ReplyDeleteFull agree! What makes me wonder is, when I complain about that disaster people suddenly are like "How dare you criticise others by their look." A friend of me described it that way "it is like a car accident, it is disgusting but you have to force you not to stare on it"
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this. I am a male who plays SL and I find this look absolutely horrid. We like to call these abominations 'SL Duckfaces' due to it's similarity to the fad where pretty girls intentionally make themselves look ugly in photographs. Hopefully the day will come where these polished turds disappear off the grid completely.
ReplyDelete