The Rise of Home Fashion
by Keara22HI, HSM team writer
Fourteen months ago, I was new in Home.
As usual, I chose an avatar that was reasonably close to me in appearance, put on the least blah of the default clothes, and ventured forth into Central Plaza. It was like being in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, 1985, with Chairman Mao watching – most of the people there looked like clones. There was a terrible sameness about all that sea of blue shirts with Home symbols and baggy jeans on the men and black tops with red plaid skirts on the females. Most had the same preset avatar faces, myself included. I looked like a clone of at least half the females there.
After a few weeks of being harassed in Central Plaza, I found the EA poker rooms — a haven for females in those days! And then the fashion parade began: the poker ladies were fashionistas! Every Thursday a new bunch of great clothes would arrive at the tables on both the female and male players. This was an older group: more affluent and more socially conscious than the people I had met in Central Plaza. The faces looked real. No more Stepford ladies. No more Ken dolls. Girls like Nikki, FlyrtyWyrty, Olivia_Allin, ShearMadness, ShoopMama, and Haynot4 would sweep into the poker room and all the heads would turn. Guys like Ken-da-Dog, Anubis, McBeast, HappyGuy, SmoothAsVelvet, and others would look like the front cover of GQ.
How did they do it? I finally asked and was told, “Go to wardrobe and rebuild that avatar until it is the appearance you want to use in this virtual reality.” And then (drum roll) go to the MALL!
Wow. It was like that scene in ‘Wizard of Oz’ where Dorothy steps out of her house in Oz and suddenly the movie goes from black and white to Technicolor! Shazam! A fashion fanatic is born!
Then, when the EA poker rooms disappeared I moped around for a couple of weeks, until I discovered the Home Forum and the Ladies’ Fashion Runway. Oh my god: I was at home in Home. And, that, as they say, was the turning point.
But then I started looking at what was offered in the Mall stores. When I first went there in March of last year, it was a lot of very ordinary clothing (and a lot of holdovers from previous eras as shown in the story being done by Pixietails about fashions through the ages in Home). A selection of cloche hats? Are you serious? The styles were hopelessly dated. No wonder people preferred to save their money and wear the default items.
The other option was the Costumes store. But even there, the costumes were hopeless. Dress like a Pilgrim? Are you kidding? Or an ice skater from the Sonja Henie era? Or several variations on a cowgirl theme? Giddyup. Out of desperation, some of us bought things like the Paris fashions, broke them out into separates and started mixing and matching in a search for anything original.
At the time, notable fashion houses like Irem and Lockwood seemed to gravitate more towards a younger crowd. Those short-short skirts were great – for someone under 18. But for a lot of females in Home, it just felt silly dressing like our little sisters (or daughters). A lot of the costumes, it seemed, were also geared towards male fantasy-fulfillment instead of something a woman would wear in real life.
I can just imagine getting a call at the office: “Ms. Keara, the leather shop is on the phone. You didn’t show up for your fitting appointment this morning!”
Riiiiight. So, once again, a lot of women had a good excuse for staying in default clothes. The usual comment was, “I get enough grief from the pervs without wearing something that will incite a riot.”
But – there was a change. More and more people kept writing in the Suggestions thread about changes they would like to see and developers (bless their hearts) started reacting. Changes began to appear in the items being offered for sale. Costumes became far more creative. Mix-and-match separates and outfits that could be broken into separates began to dominate the new releases. Hairstyles started selling as well as personal spaces. It was incredible to watch the change in the public areas in Home: well-dressed Home residents as well as creatively-costumed players began to stand proudly on top of the benches while others watched, commented, and ran to the Mall.
Soon, the men started dressing to impress other men: incredible costumes could turn a man into a well-tailored Yakuza, an elegant Egyptian god, an Italian Renaissance man, or a rock star in leather pants and long hair. Even a white Miami Vice suit that looked good on Don Johnson became available and a few ladies were actually tempted to say, “Where are you from? How old are you? What’s your name?”
For the die-hard gamers who despise the proliferation of social activities in Home that are not game-related, it was a blow. Suddenly, there was a big surge in both men and women making an effort to look really really good. Instead of the default “I am just here to launch a game and I am not spending one dime in Home” attitude, you have people joining social groups that are known for great parties – like RHO, Grey Gamers, and now the new Imagine! with the weekly Fashion Walk and the upcoming Costume Ball.
Look at the figures for top-selling items in Home each month and it is amazing what an economic force in Home these fashion plates are becoming. Lockwood is known for what many consider the best game in Home — Sodium — but they won Best Developer of the Year for also producing the most popular clothes. And they are being wickedly smart: they respond to questions and suggestions on the Forum. Put your finger on the pulse of Home and hear that more and more women (and men) are requesting formal wear, and voila — out comes the new Figment line.
To test out my theory, I went to the most popular public spaces in Home and did a head count of default wearers versus creative costuming. I had to take a lot of pictures because, at first, it was hard to believe: I had to really look hard to find an area where there were as many people in default clothes as in new fashions.
I took the pics so I could count heads more carefully. Even most of the Homelings only wear the free Echochrome outfits when they are together for a Homeling function. The rest of the time, this group is either in top-notch combat costumes or elegant gowns.
Imagine’s founders — Sealwyf, OceanicCactus, Labrodent, and EndlessDreams — encouraged me to go wild and use my imagination and create an event. So, last Thursday evening at 10PM EST, we had a Fashion Walk around Central Plaza.
Promptly at 10PM, eight of us gathered at the entrance to the Plaza and donned the most recent fashions we had purchased or won. Others wore the most creative costumes they had made. Needless to say, a crowd began to gather and ask questions. We told them, “Use your imagination! Dress your avatar and join us in the parade.” Most of the bystanders disappeared into wardrobe, shed the dull unimaginative everyday clothes and returned, transformed and radiant. What had started with eight people grew to thirty-one as bystander messages were sent to friends to join us.
Warpig, dressed in the Lockwood security guard outfit, was our ‘police escort’ as we began the slow walk around the Plaza. Everyone was having such a good time that we did it again! This time we ended at the dance floor where a spontaneous party ensued. Soon, we were getting frantic messages from friends who were unable to get in. We had maxed out the capacity at Central Plaza and most of the group by now was in their most impressive finery.
Was it a fluke? I had to know. I returned to Central Plaza today at the same time. By darn, most of the people there were dressed in great looking fashions, costumes, wings, weaponry, and crowns. Imagination was running rampant. People were talking and sharing:
“Yes, I got this hat as a freebie from playing Red Dead Redemption.”
“This golf hat was a prize in the golf game in Midway.”
“I got this top with the Queen costume and combined it with the default black shorts…”
It is a virtual revolution in a virtual reality. Wow.
If you want to see pictures (and some videos) of the latest fashions modeled, there are three excellent places to go:
Ladies’ Fashion Runway in the Home Forum (http://community.us.playstation.com/community/general_home),
PlayStationHome Gazette (http://pshomegazette.wordpress.com)
The Fashion Trends section of this magazine’s Forum.
And if you want to strut your stuff, mark your calendar for the Thursday night Fashion Walk in Central Plaza. Cue some Right Said Fred and we’ll see you there.
March 7th, 2011 by keara22hi | 9 comments
Keara is also known in Home as DarthGranny. She is a wicked little old lady with a wild sense of humor.
Amazing what a little imagination can accomplish isn’t it?With nothing more than a quick wardrobe change you were able to provide entertainment for those ppl for awhile.I’m sure the”Die-hard gamers who despise the proliferation of social activities in Home that are not game related”wouldn’t understand this but it shows one way ppl can entertain themselves without spending a lot of cash or waiting for sony or a developer to give them pre-packaged fun.Nice work,hope to see more examples like this.
Hi Keara!
Thank you for your kind words. The Ladies Fashion Runway is certainly a fun place to strut your stuff as some might say for many of us!
I too miss the EA Poker rooms and your comments about a fashion parade ring so true given when I haunted those halls all the ladies would certainly do the same each and every update day.
The complex was the best Home had to offer for a very long time. One can only hope that they or something very similar will return to the Navigator soon.
Love the article!
Joanna
Thanks for the plug for Imagine!, Keara! Your weekly Fashion Walk gives me the perfect excuse to go wild in the Mall every Thursday evening. You have created something epic. Love the photos and the article. It’s true — thanks to developers like Lockwood, Home is entering a fashion revolution!
Yes, thanks! The event was definitely fun and something that must be made into a video.
Am looking forward to this Thursday….
I wish I could be there this Thursday but I will be out of town:(. I will definitely be there for the next one though. I love finding new combos in my clothing, it is the reason I buy anything at all in Home. Hopefully one of those developers will get the hint and give us more long skirts in many different colors so we can use them to mix and match! (Hint Hint) Great article Granny. Love it as always!
I second the motion for more long skirts. The need for long skirts is why I spend most of my non-Echochrome Home time in kimonos.
It’s honestly one of the main reasons I even play home…. to play dress up! Though I find it somewhat difficult to find people as interested in virtual fashion/real life fashion as I am.
Lumar! PLEASE take pics of your favorite outfits and put them in Ladies’ Fashion Runway (or Mens’ Fashion Runway) in the HomeForum. There are many of us in Home who share your enthusiasm. Also post your pics in the permanent thread in this magazine’s Forum (Fashion Trends) because we have readers from every region who love to read about the fun we have playing dress-up.
Marks calendar… Contemplates if any avatar I can create can be any more off the wall than what i already wear. What would ED wear……. hmmmmm