Home Clothing – What is Missing?
by Burbie52, HSM team writer
I have been in Home for almost two years now, and I love it in many ways. Buying clothes and personal spaces and decorating both my avatar and spaces is a lot of fun for me, and I’ve spent quite a bit of money doing it. The clothing selections from developers and Sony themselves are diverse and plentiful, and I have found many things to mix, match and enjoy. In fact, being able to look for pieces that mix well and turn older outfits into new ones is one of the best parts of shopping for me.
There are quite a few choices to be found in the stores. Some of the developers are better than others in their fashion sense, though; it’s safe to say that Lockwood and Billabong are leading the pack when it comes to that. But even with all of these choices, there are a few things that are sorely lacking and would sell very well for whomever decides to step up and create them. It is to this end I am writing this article — to point out what has been missing, in the hopes that a developer may seize the economic opportunity to fill that need.
Black and White Ball
The first suggestion is one that, quite literally, every woman I have spoken to in Home agrees with: long separate formal skirts. These would be a huge seller. Example: I’m the leader of a large group of older gamers in Home — the Grey Gamers — and because we are older we have a lot of discretionary income to spend in Home. We throw formal balls a couple of times a year -in fact, we are having one in a few weeks – and the hardest part is for the men and women to find formal attire to wear. I have been to a few other formal events that PSTalent has thrown, and it is the same issue. The pickings are so few that you see many women wearing the same thing, and if you know anything about women, you know they don’t care for that at all.
(Please bear in mind that this isn’t a personal wish-list article. The difference between an anomaly and a consumer trend is the number of people asking for it, and I’m simply reporting back the results of what I’ve found.)
Lockwood started a new designer clothes line — Figment — a while back, but nothing new has been added since; unless the sales numbers have been less than anticipated, it would certainly be encouraging to see this particular collection expanded. Perhaps they could even add a few to their gift machine…
Joanna Dark / Irem Wedding Gown
Irem had some wonderful wedding dress separates available in Japan for the wedding chapels they had at both the beach and square. They came in delightful pastel colors in every hue; I kept hoping that they would bring them to North America Home before they left us, but it was not to be. Formal, full and slimline skirts with separate tops or without in a variety of colors would sell like hot dogs at a major league baseball game. I hope someone decides to do this; the women in Home will love you for it.
Another thing sadly lacking in Home: shoes and boots in any color of brown. They have given us a lot of clothes in tans and browns, but there are no boots or shoes in either brown, tan, beige or off-white to be had. Lockwood just recently added one decent pair of brown heels, and I immediately bought them. But there are no brown boots at all, unless you want to wear cowboy boots with spurs – hardly a fashion statement unless you are going to a rodeo. They already have many boot choices in black, including my beloved thigh-highs; how hard could it be to make them brown or tan? A variety of matching purses – that don’t cost an arm and a leg – like the new ones that Lockwood Drey now has would be a great addition too.
(NorseNote: Okay, I have to ask: what *is* it with the black thigh-high boots in Home? Although I’m not seeing them quite as much as I did a year ago, they’re still very, very prevalent. What about those boots, specifically, has made them so popular?)
My friend Joanna Dark, a well known fashionista in Home, also suggested that there be high-fashion designer boots and handbags of all colors available (I personally would like some red ones, perhaps with matching opera gloves). During the course of our conversation, another great idea came up – why not have a separate PlayStation store devoted to just accessories? It could be called “Accessories” for that matter; in it would be all of the things that men and women use to add to their clothes – from scarves, ties and necklaces to hats, shoes, boots, bracelets and purses.
Where is my hair?
Speaking of hats: one bit of feedback that comes up repeatedly is that hats would likely sell more units in Home if they didn’t change your hairstyle every time you put them on. Is there a way to create hats that allow us to keep our hair the way we like, or is this some sort of technological limitation? I have heard this complaint from both females and males in Home, and more hats would sell if they didn’t make the men look like Yul Brynner or the women look like Sinead O’Connor. Though some hats come with built in hair, it would be much better if I could choose what hair I like.
Women love jewelry both in real life and in Home; there is no doubt about that. Whenever a new pair of decent earrings come out I buy them, as well as bracelets and some of the rings. Wouldn’t we all would like to look like Liz Taylor at an awards ceremony sometime? There are a few bracelet and ring combinations available, and there are also some tops and dresses that come with built in necklaces. These are nice, if you like the top it comes with, but why can’t we have necklaces that are either separate and attached to say, the earrings/jewelry tag in wardrobe, or come in a combination as a set of matching earrings and necklace?
What is missing here? Oh yeah, my matching necklace!
There are many low neck and off the shoulder fashions in Home, but our necks look bare when we wear them. Imagine diamond, emerald, ruby, sapphire or pearl necklaces or necklace/earring combos available to them. They could even have a matching ring and bracelet combo to sell alongside them and they would sell like a Black Friday rush in a Wal-Mart.
All of these suggestions are things that I would love to see someone step up and create for us. Many of them are for females, but some would also be welcomed by at least the older male community and maybe even some of the younger male fashion plates I have met. If Sony and developers are looking for enhanced income streams, it would be easier to implement smarter fashions than a lot of the core upgrade types of things people are begging for. I can only hope that we will see some of this in Home soon; we are waiting with open hearts and pocketbooks.
November 28th, 2011 by Burbie52 | 13 comments
Burbie52 is a 62 year-old published author and founder of the Grey Gamers group within Home. Born and raised in Michigan, she has lived there her entire life, with the exception of a twelve-year residency on the Big Island of Hawaii. She enjoys reading and writing, as well as video games, especially RPG's. She has one son in his twenties.
I couldn’t believe when the Paris top came out (with matching gloves) in new colors and NO matching long skirts. What were they thinking? Also, they have those thigh high boots in Japan in other colors, why not here? I want them! I want color varieties in other clothes, too. Lockwood used to do it, why can’t they all do it? Fun read, Burbie.
Thanks Kassadee, I agree with you about the tops, and there should be necklaces to go with those off the shoulder Paris tops as well.
And Norse to answer your note about the thigh high boots, I for one think they are popular because women, especially older ones like me, like mini skirts, but think that the boots cover your legs and look sexy without being over the top. They just look really nice together. If they are produced in off=white or cream, beige, tan and dark brown they will sell like crazy and you will see a lot more thigh high boots in Home again.
If they wanted to add some more mini skirts in a variety of colors to mix and match, those would probably sell right along side of them I think.
>> “…more hats would sell if they didn’t make the men look like Yul Brynner or the women look like Sinead O’Connor.”
This.
Also, please take this as constructive criticism: I understand Joanna is some kind of celebrity (in Home), but to bold her name in this article seems really, very unnecessary.
Actually, we do this to whenever we mention someone in Home by user name, regardless of “status” -- we’ve found people like seeing their names in black and white, and they like showing it to their friends, too.
Although I appreciate the explanation, I don’t appreciate the logic. I’m sorry. It’s sloppy journalism, in my opinion.
Aloha, DeadlineGemini:
HomeStation Magazine utilizes certain stylistic touches which fall outside the AP Guidelines. From a traditionally journalistic perspective, these choices could certainly be viewed as incongruous — and, as we do maintain unusually high editorial standards compared to a typical laissez-faire fan publication, it’s certainly something we’re quite conscious of — but suffice it to say that there is method to our madness.
You are, of course, welcome to contact the editorial staff privately if you wish to discuss this further. Thank you for your patronage of HSM, sloppiness and all.
I’d like to apologize for throwing around words and phrases like “sloppy journalism”, as they carry the wrong implications. “Unprofessional” might’ve been a more accurate way to describe my view.
And I don’t know how to further express my opinion without coming off as though I’m harping on the subject. Which I certainly don’t want to do.
How about this -- instead of expressing your opinion further, how about trying your hand at editing yourself? There’s plenty of room for more Home journalism projects (and to be honest, we could always use an extra proofreader here, as Norse’s and my respective real world schedules are about to become ridiculously busy).
How may I pm you?
I feel embarrassed to tears at having turned the comments of this nice article into a discourse on writing. (My apologies to Burbie52, especially.)I wouldn’t be leaving this comment, if I better new my way around the site.
I’m terribly sorry.
Don’t apologize, we are all allowed to have an opinion. When it comes to highlighting a persons name in an article, we do this out of respect for whomever has given us their time in the creation of the article. I have a lot of articles on different clubs for example, and all of the club members names are done this way. Anyone I interview or use in articles are given the same treatment.
That being said it is alright to have a different viewpoint on anything in the magazine, it is a free environment and as long as people show respect comments are welcome.
Women don’t like to wear the same thing. Really? Oh my. Come on developers take our money!
:p
Fun read! I loved it. I am hoping we can get a beautiful wedding dress like that in America, and then I might consider getting re-married on Home again! LOL