Lockwood’s Summer Clothing Line
by SealWyf, HSM Editor, with information provided by Megan Egglesden, Lockwood Products Manager
One of the persistent mysteries of real-world shopping is why it is impossible to buy something that’s actually in season. If it’s winter, the stores are full of short-sleeved blouses. If it’s summer, the racks are loaded with winter coats. For people like me, who put off shopping until the very last minute, this can create real problems.
Things seem quite the other way around on Home these days. It’s August — the tag end of summer — and real-life stores are filling up with back-to-school outfits. The last few unsold bathing suits have been moved to the deep-discount rack next to the orphaned prom dresses. But in Home, Lockwood is bringing out a whole new line of summer wear. And, since this is Lockwood, it looks terrific.
You have to wonder what’s up with that? Does virtual clothing take longer to produce than its real-life counterparts? Have these items been in production since last December, delayed by a shortage of virtual denim? This seems quite unlikely.
On the other hand, why should seasons in Home correspond to those of the real world? After all, it’s winter in Australia. Perhaps in Home, summer is when we say it is. The season, the weather and the time of day depend on which space you are in. It’s always summer in the Summer House, and winter in the Winter Vacation Villa. So Lockwood could have published a summer clothing line at any time, right?
Maybe. But you’ll notice they aren’t coming out with Christmas content. It’s still summer in the northern hemisphere, and will be for at least three more weeks. There’s still time to work on that virtual tan on Home’s virtual beaches.
Beaches — that rings a bell. We do know that Lockwood has announced a couple of new private spaces during August. And one of them looks a lot like a tropical beach. So we may soon have another landscape of endless summer, a place suitable for the wardrobe now being introduced. I’ll go out on a limb, and state I’m pretty sure that’s what’s happening. So stock up on summer-wear, because in a week or two we’ll have another place to wear it. And, if I’m wrong, it will still look terrific on the Dream Yacht.
I’m not much of a fashion maven. My real-life wardrobe leans heavily to chinos and Oxford shirts from L. L Bean, a look that suits my figure, age and lifestyle, and can be purchased online. So fashion in Home frequently leaves me bemused. Do people really wear that? I wonder. This collection is no exception.
The belated summer fashion release includes several items for both genders — two styles of tops and pants for females, and one style of each for males. The ladies have crop tops, and slouch vests over bandeaux, coupled with cutoff demin shorts and “jeggings” — essentially very tight jeans. Each style comes two colors, for a total of eight items, each selling for $.99. Additional colors will be available on the Gift Machine. The colors are are designed to mix and match, so you have a large number of possible outfits. As usual, Lockwood has aced the color-wheel mechanics.
Males have baggy Long Cargo Shorts in two styles (plus one from the Gift Machine), paired with zippered hooded Light Summer Jackets, also in two colors with one reserved for gifting. Frankly, the jackets look like autumn wear. Perhaps it’s late summer in Lockwood-land after all.
One thing that constantly mystifies me, in real as well as virtual life, is the divergence of male and female fashion. I see this in casinos all the time. When evening comes, and the clubbing crowd arrives, the women are wearing tiny, expensive little nothings with sky-high heels and lots of exposed skin. The men, however, are attired in baggy jeans exposing two inches of underwear elastic, rumpled shirts and backwards baseball caps. If you didn’t see them arrive together, you would assume they are totally unrelated.
The same pattern, though less extreme, is apparent in this summer fashion release. Which just shows how really “with it” Lockwood’s designers are. Because, while the men are wearing baggy shorts and cover-up jackets, the women’s clothes are short, revealing, and, above all, tight. This is especially true of the skin-tight “jeggings”.
Since it was a word I had never encountered, the “jeggings” sent me straight to Google. And I was gratified to learn that Lockwood didn’t make this up. “Jeggings” — a hybrid of jeans and leggings — are indeed a popular real-world fashion item. There’s even a Wikipedia article on them, which explains that there are two kinds of jeggings — traditional Spandex leggings with imitation jeans-like details added, and traditional jeans made of stretchy material. The Lockwood offerings appear to be the latter type — impossibly tight jeans, made from a new-fangled blend of denim and Spandex. Isn’t technology wonderful?
Besides being tight, the ladies’ clothes are, frankly, cute. I was especially taken by the flamingo print pattern of one of the crop tops. It has a retro charm that makes me think of 1950’s television shows. I can totally see my avatar (or someone else’s avatar — I’m not sure I do cute) wearing these and standing in the “coy” pose, next to the new companion baby panda.
Did I mention that Lockwood is also coming out with baby panda companions this week? I didn’t have too — Bonzo has already reported on them, in his article on the Endangered Animal Bundle. But, in Home, companions are really fashion accessories. You don’t need to be Paris Hilton to have a style-coordinated beast in tow. And you don’t need to feed them, clean their litter boxes, or worry about vet bills. So feel free to add an appropriate animal to complete your Lockwood summer ensemble! For the Flamingo top, you’re not going to find anything more appropriate than a cute baby panda, unless someone comes out with a Retro Flamingo companion.
All in all, it’s a nice clothing collection — attractive and flexible, displaying Lockwood’s signature attention to detail and styling. And, as August edges into September, you can put on these lovely outfits and stand on our newest virtual beach, secure in the knowledge that, somewhere in Home, it’s always endless Summer.
August 8th, 2012 by SealWyf_ | 1 comment
SealWyf is a museum database programmer, who has been active in online communities since before the Internet, and in console gaming since the PS1. In games, she prefers the beautiful and quirky, and anything with a strong storyline. She is obsessed with creating new aesthetic experiences in PlayStation Home.
I like the new tops and shorts. The colors are fun and I may get a couple of them eventually. Nice write up Seal.