Phew… so most of my frustration has burned off, but I did have to take yesterday off from posting… RL called. But finally, here is the long awaited guide to freebies/gift boxes to be had at the fair!
Before I begin, I should let you all know that it is very probable that I missed some great deals or hidden freebies on my first run through the Fair (see last post).
I should also add that I realize these are freebies (or highly discounted items) and are not necessarily representative of the body of work of a particular designer. I do keep that in mind when I review freebies – I don’t always hold them to the same standards as clothing I pay full price for. However I do expect SOME quality, versatility or uniqueness in the freebies I end up adding to my inventory.
So while I do appreciate that some designers offer freebies and gift boxes (and in my opinion, far too few did it a Clothing Fair, compared to Hair Fair), to me there’s no reason to keeping something that I will never wear just because it was free or cheap. I just end up buying it, unpacking it, trying it on and then promptly deleting it. So if I say that your freebie is not worth picking up, I’m not trying to diss your entire store and I’m not saying that you should no longer offer freebies (I think freebies are a good service every designer provides to newbies, not to mention a nice marketing tool). I’m just saying that in my opinion, the payoff in this case may not be worth the buying, unpacking and trying on.
So with all those disclaimers… let’s begin. I’m going through these beginning at the Heall Entrance and working my way all around the sim. I’m not going to include a picture of everysingle thing in every single box, but I’ll try to get something that is representative of what’s in there.
Look under the tag for the guide.
Goth1Co: $10L Gift Box
Goth1Co, clearly, has a thing for black. The gift bag comes with six clothing items: 3 tops, 2 skirts and 1 pair of pants. I’m not a big fan of any of the tops – they come off a little flat and the necklines tend to blur right into the skin (I’m pretty sure this isn’t a rezzing problem because I waited for a significant amount of time for each piece to load). The design on the left shirt and the not-shown shirt is kind of neat, though, and is pretty crisp. Those shirts might look nice to punk up some of your jacket layers.
The bow on the skirt pictured here is cute and I like the pleats, but again, the design comes off a little flat to me. The skirt not shown just frankly scared me – it was a long chain mail type skirt that was rather distorted and just not my style at all. I love these pants, though. The belt is kick ass and the rings down the one leg are quite nicely detailed for a gift-box item. They’ll be a nice alternative to my go-to black slacks when I’m feeling a little salty.
Worth it. I’ll probably be getting rid of everything except the black pants, but I think those pants are a nice addition to my inventory for only $10L.
DKs: $45L Gift Box
This box was chock-full of mail & female hairstyles, humongous shoes, jewelry and some clothing items. I mean, the box was fashion in bulk, just tons of items. But I had the hardest time finding anything to even put together for a photo. Most of the accessories/hair were huge and I just really did not like anything – not my personal taste I guess. I think that this photo is indicative of what you’ll find in the gift box. I’m wearing the Shaker outfit, complete with hair/hat, shoes, spike choker & wrist cuffs and shirt (?) and pants (?).
Pass it by. I just couldn’t find anything usable in my inventory, despite the size of the box. If you like the boots shown here, maybe you want to drop the $45L. I don’t.
Moonshine: Female Outfit for $1L, Male Outfit for $1L
While I am not a fan of the top of this otherwise retro-iffic babydoll, I am ALL OVER the teddy bear. While maybe not the best teddy bear in Second Life, I dig the ice blue accents to the velvety soft body of the bear. I immediately pictured myself carting this bear just about everywhere I went (except for anywhere that wasn’t my house).
I had already declared this box a “Worth it” because of the bear alone. But then I unpacked the male outfit.
This bag comes with the bear and a super-cute hoodie with undershirt. While I’m not really sold on the prim attachment hood, I do think the jacket-layer hoodie is a lovely, wrinkly addition to any casusal outfit. It’s also just the tiniest bit see-through.
Male Outfit: Worth it. A usuable sweater and a teddy bear for $1L.
Female Outfit: Pass it by. Unless you want 2 teddy bears.
A&S Designs: Red & Black Skirt Set $0L
This set is an actual complete outfit, including shoes, underthings, a jacket, skirt and shoes. The craftsmansship here is actually pretty nice for a freebie (and I have to add, props to A&S for being one of the few designers to offer an actual freebie at Clothing Fair). The stockings are basic, but well-made. The shoes are also basic – all black - but would be a good addition to any newbie’s wardrobe (including myself!) because they can be used with just about any type of outfit.
Although the lingerie itself is not my style, I certainly can’t say it’s rubbish – the seams line up well here, the transparency is smooth and consistent and it looks like the designer took some time in etching out the cutaways and putting a nice finish on the neck and waist lines.
Worth it. One of the best-made freebies at the fair. Pick it up for a free pair of stockings, if nothing else.
Bewitched: T-Shirt for $0L
This free t-shirt is pretty plain. The picture kind of speaks for itself.
Pass it by. Unles you have a thing for devil-ass.
Luve Shack: White Rabbit Shoes $0L; DKs: Cleopatra Hair (part of$45L gift pack); RAC Plaid Skirt (Relay for Life Item for $150L)
So this is kind of a multi entry for a couple of things that I wanted to blog about but weren’t part of complete outfits. The shoes from Luve Shack are worth picking up if you don’t own any white heels. They have cute peep-toe and best of all, they’re completely free.
The Cleopatra hair is from the aforementioned DK giftpack. Still don’t think it’s worth $45L, but wanted to show you all another piece of what’s offered.
Finally the skirt is one of the many Relay for Life items available at Clothing Fair. While these items don’t realy fit into the freebie category, I did want to show off a delightful example of items worthy of being pasted onto your fashionista self while also benefiting a terrific cause. Go out and buy.
Worth it. Except for the hair.
Awesome Designs: Shirts, Blue Outfit, Pink Outfit, Jewelry all $0L each
Awesome Designs got into the heaven & hell theme of clothing fair by offering these two tank tops (the shadowing on the heaven tank top is all my fault and should not be viewed as a weakness of the piece). While these items wont’ be making the way into my regular clothing rotation, I’m holding onto them and the free jewelry because I think they’re kitschy. And kitschy is underrated, don’t you think?
Also available is a frothy blue dress and a searing pink shirt & capri set.
I don’t particularly care for each of these creations – they go beyond kitschy to Fran Dreschner, in my opinion. But to each her own.
Worth it. The heaven/hell shirts and jewelry might find their way into outfits for costumes/cetain occasions.
Pass it by. The pink and blue outfits are too matchy-matchy. In an Amber from Clueless kind of way.
Pajama Rama: Buy 2, Get 1 Free ($75L a set)
If there’s one thing I love, it’s pajama sets. I don’t know why, but I just have to have them.
I also have a thing for Spider-Man. So, imagine my delight when I found that the two had a bastard love-child that resulted in this fun pj set. Will I ever wear it out of the house? Yes, actually, because I love Spider-Man that much. Please don’t judge. I usually look pretty nice otherwise, but every gal has her weakness.
The third gift I’m receiving is the Rainbow Brite Set. Not a typical way of going about a freebie, but an effective marketing strategy.
Depends. If you see something you love (like Spider-Man), go for it. $75L is pretty cheap for a complete pj set, slippers included. Otherwise, hold off. There are better made pjs out there.
Gritzi: Complete Male & Female Outfits, $0L a piece
Girl Outfit: completely not my style. But if you’re auditioning for street-walker, this has all the components you need. For free. so knock yourself out.
Boy Outfit: The shirt shading does not work with my breasts. But you’ll soon see the jeans paired with a sexy camy on my av. I love the belt buckle and the interesting seaming that wraps around the legs. I know these entries have been getting shorter, but I’m getting tired. This is a long-ass entry. So I’ll just say that the jeans are yummy.
Female Outfit: Pass it by. Unless you’re trying to emulate Rosie O’donnell in Out of Eden. In which case I can’t help you.
Male Outfit: Worth it. If you’re like me and need a pair of Western jeans. Apparently I like to cross-dress.
Rising Phoenix Designs also had a freebie box, but I didn’t blog it because it contained the same items as the Hair Fair freebie box. If you didn’t pick it up at Hair Fair, you might want to grab it here, because there were a couple of cute hairstyles in the box.
So that’s about it (remembering my early disclaimer that it is highly likely I missed something). I wasn’t really impressed with the freebie collection offered here, compared to Hair Fair. I realize the freebies are not the point of these events, but they DO draw an audience to your store and are an effective way of hooking in newbie customers for life.
But even if the freebies offered here don’t send you running to Clothing Fair, you should head over there anyways. There’s plenty of awesome shopping to be had and I’ve already picked up killer outfits from DE and Frangipani (in addition to the great Relay for Life offerings, such as the skirt by RaC blogged here). If you don’t go, you’ll miss out on seeing some brand-new designers and established designers in one place (ok, ok, I’ll stop with the cliche stuff, already). But, if you’re easily frustrated by lag, such as myself, you might want to wait ’til the crowds die down a bit.
***In each picture, unless otherwise noted, I am wearing Lovey’s Boutique Skin in Chai with Vanilla make-up. The hair is Natalie in Frosted Honey by ETD. For T-shirts without accompanying bottoms, I word Nyte’n'Day’s Shred Jeans in Dark Blue.
