craft-world.org:8002:Craft-Store

Another sim which sadly isn't listed on OSW. Still, it's a shopping destination worth promoting here.

Look at Juno in the picture. Her red and blue outfit: T-shirt, skirt, socks, boots. Everything she's wearing is from the Craft-Store. In the southeastern corner, there's an area for mesh clothes where you can find quite a lot of exclusive items for both ladies and gentlemen. For the ladies, for example, there's Damien Fate textured by Eva Kraai as well as Clutterfly textured by the shopkeep herself, Tosha Tyran (unfortunately only in her size, I guess, and not in all sizes). There are also a few things you can indeed find elsewhere such as a Damien Fate/Deva Moda pencil skirt or some Taarna Welles shoes.

The mesh bodies offered here are unfortunately outdated, Roth 2.0 RC#1 not as much as Ruth 2.0 RC#2. Don't bother picking up the blue boxes, most of them are empty, and they don't contain anything exclusive either.

Now, the Historical Shop is where it really gets interesting for those of you with Roth2 v2 or especially Ruth2 v4 as well as other BoM bodies. For both sexes, there are skins, shoes and complete outfits to pry apart for bits and pieces. But while Roth2 v2 users may otherwise not find much more than a pair of knit socks which I double-dare you to actually wear, the ladies should go up that big white helix. You'll eventually encounter swimwear and lingerie, and you'll encounter stockings, socks and tights, all of which are exclusive to Craft-World, if not even to the Craft-Store. This is where Juno got her socks from. No more cold legs when autumn comes!

Steam may sound like an unusual place to go hunting for avatar accessories. After all, it's Vbinnia Radek's legendary steampunk varsim.

At 343, 589, 21, there's Vbinnia's Emporium 1 with lots of boxes including Arcadia Asylum creations mostly from the Urban Blight, Steampunk and Space Pirate themes, but also stuff by Vbinnia herself and others. It isn't too interesting when it comes to avatar accessories, but it's worth mentioning nonetheless. For you Arcadia Asylum aficionados: The buildings have working doors, but you may find more tricked-out versions elsewhere.

What's more interesting and actually on-topic for this group is Vbinnia's Emporium 2 at 291, 391, 22. It offers lots of classic avatar accessories, bits and pieces as well as entire outfits. But there's one box, all the way to the right from the entrance, that may be useful for everyone with a BoM body that can use alpha masks: the Free Lower Body Alpha Mask Set. It contains nine textures from which you can make alpha masks that render your feet and lower legs invisible. An absolute must-have for boots.

https://opensimworld.com/hop/85405
astralia.eu:8002:ShoppingCity

What really makes this place stand out are the sheer masses of clothes and avatar accessories that can't be found elsewhere. This is not your standard stolen Athena, Adonis and Apollo stuff.

Classic system avatars that still avoid mesh like the plague can find lots of layer clothes with or without prims. This is actually one of the last places advertised on OSW which still offer any of these beyond Linda Kellie and FleepGrid standards.

Even the mesh clothes aren't what you find everywhere else. Not only have they all been (re)textured, but only few of them are based on SL content. Especially in the ladies' department, you'll discover lots of clothing based on Damien Fate meshes including one of the biggest selections of tank top and miniskirt sets. Unfortunately, some of the few Clutterfly clothes and some other older rigged mesh clothes only come in the size matching whoever retextured them instead of all five.

Nonetheless, the Shopping City is a treasure trove for both Ruth2 v4-based avatars and female system avatars who do use mesh clothes. It's just a pity that it often takes quite some detective work to find out who actually made what.

https://opensimworld.com/hop/78282
otterland.de:8002:Klamotto

(Warning ahead: This place doesn't support BoM yet.)

Klamotto became famous as one of the biggest avatar outfitters on the Hypergrid. Both Ruth2 and Roth2 can find a lot here, even if nothing is explicitly rigged for either. For Ruth2 v4 I even consider this place essential.

Gentlemen may start at AlCapone menSweaR. Most recommended are the classics from early mesh clothing days, namely the Gavin jackets, the Ed shirts and the Peak suits. The Ed shirts can be combined with the trousers from the Peak suits, but there are also the Broberry jeans which fit them perfectly if you want to wear something more casual. Don't forget footwear, especially the Dandy and Monk shoes.

Some of these items can also be found inside the big yellow Klamotto/Deva Moda house, but there's even more, especially for the BoM-capable Roth2 v2. Pick up the boxes with the complete avatars and the kimono at the entrance. Further inside, you'll find loads of classic skins, classic tattoos (including body hair), hair, beards, classic eyes, hats etc. You could get the Box Of Sox for the classic grey argyle socks, but if you take all the Dandy outfits with you, you'll get argyle socks in even more colours.

Ladies are recommended to head straight to the big yellow house and, after picking up the complete avatars box (you'll find exclusive bits and pieces in there) and the kimono box, go upstairs. Especially for Ruth2 v4, there's hardly a place that's better at stylishly outfitting avatars.

This store is the last to offer Cary Bean's entire Deva Moda line of Damien Fate retextures. Sakko outfits, pencil skirts, partly-buttoned shirts (mix and match like there's no tomorrow), glitter dresses... The same room also offers both vanilla and exclusive retextured Taarna Welles shoes. The sakko outfit boxes contain Taarna Welles footwear, too, by the way. (See also here: https://opensimworld.com/post/89697)

Next to the usual vast collection of skins, hair etc., you'll also find Cary's own make-up. Do not forget to take the various lipsticks with you.

There's also a Clutterfly women's fashion shop on the sim. If you don't mind the inconvenience of almost everything being inside Oni Kenkon vendors, this will save you another shopping trip. Unless you're a male avatar, that is. In this case I strongly recommend you to visit your nearest Clutterfly (see also here: https://opensimworld.com/post/89743) and pick up the jeans because you'll need the alpha mask for the Broberry jeans and maybe also for the Peak Suit trousers.

For example:
https://opensimworld.com/hop/88460
dereos.org:80:Clutterfly Extension

Granted, rigged mesh made for the system body doesn't always easily fit Ruth2 or Roth2. This holds true for Linda Kellie's line of mesh products as well.

It doesn't help male avatars that she has only ever made three pieces of men's mesh clothing of which at least Roth2 v2 can only wear the jeans. I recommend you to pick them up anyway. You never know when you'll need them, and, in particular, the alpha mask is very useful.

Ruth2 avatars can only use fewer than half of the clothes offered at Clutterfly, too, especially Ruth2 v4 with her very pronounced shoulder blades. But Linda has made so many women's clothes that there's still a lot to find that you'll likely be able to wear.

The long straight skirt, the straight miniskirt and the circle skirt are too wide around the waist, but they work amazingly well with Damien Fate mesh tops. The Clam Diggers are Fate-compatible, too, but if you have a Ruth2 v4, you may want to make your own alpha masks for them because those added by Linda are a bit too extreme and alpha out way too much.

As for dresses, the babydoll dress, the halter dress/Lil Tennis Dress and the strapless mini dress/Glitter Dress are likely to work without any alpha masks. The ruffled bottom dress/Afternoon Party Dress works, too, but it may need custom alpha masks again.

Clutterfly isn't 100% mesh. There are also layer bikinis which could be useful for Ruth2 v4s who don't have enough beachwear yet.

Also, don't forget to pick up the jewellery.

Last but not least, there are also "raw" versions of the pre-textured clothes and of even more clothes in another building. If you want to re-texture Clutterfly clothes, these are way more convenient than the pre-textured ones.

Some of the shopping destinations to follow, by the way, will offer retextured Clutterfly clothing so you'll get even more of it.

...there's no reason not to dress in stylish ways.

Jacket, skirt, boots and the entire sim around Juno (Bella Klara) are by Klarabella Karamell. The jacket & skirt set is available there.
https://opensimworld.com/hop/81258
If you can't get the boots there, find them in Santiago on the top floor of the Kaufrausch Mega-Store as usual. Also, check out the new arrivals.
https://opensimworld.com/hop/78061

Straight from an on-going event (in a location that's basically devoid of any illumination): The Rowland siblings going funky!

No need to say much about my Peak suit and my Dandy shoes. Juno is wearing the Bibi coveralls made by Loru Destiny (I'll try to find out where these are still offered or get Loru to offer them somewhere; Juno's copy is no-transfer) along with white ankle boots by LyAvain Swansong.

Even before Juno got to make her boxes with pre-textured versions of Klarabella Karamell's new skirts, Klara herself has released a number of boxes with outfits containing them and a new jacket along with them.

You can get them at the Kaufrausch Mega-Store in Santiago (https://opensimworld.com/hop/78061) and Klara's own clothes stores at Bella Klara (https://opensimworld.com/hop/81258).

Oh, and you can combine them with the hippie coats.

What reason could Juno possibly have to be decked out in Klarabella Karamell?

Well, you see it right behind her: Klara has finally released her new ladies' hippie coats! She had been testing them for a while now, and here they are. And they come in three different sizes and five colours.

As you can see, it's possible to wear them over some of Klara's mesh. In fact, they may fit over Klara's miniskirt which in turn may fit over her leggings. (Juno is wearing layer tights based on textures by Klara instead.)

Get them on the top floor of the Kaufrausch Mega-Store in Santiago (https://opensimworld.com/hop/78061)! And while you're there, check out Klara's other goodies if you haven't already.

The Weihnachtsmarkt on Dorena's World (https://opensimworld.com/hop/85273) not only offers all kinds of classic Christmas decorations, but also clothes by Klarabella Karamell. Check the wooden building right next to the landing point, and you'll find some Damien Fate mesh clothes with textures made by her. They even come with alpha masks.

Oh, and don't forget to pick up the boots and woollen hats from the booth opposite.

Juno has discovered that the Clutterfly circle skirts are great for dancing because they don't limit her movement. This one was textured by Shinobar Martinek, also AFAIK the maker of the tights. The outfit is completed by a pair of Klarabella Karamell pumps, a Deva Moda shirt based on a Damien Fate mesh, and Juno has put on some Deva Moda lipstick for the photo. This goes to show how well certain garments from Damien Fate and Clutterfly can be combined.

In the meantime, I look like an entertainer from around 1980 who somehow ended up in 2021... (the entire outfit is from Klamotto).

This just in:

Aurora/Georgetown (https://opensimworld.com/hop/85377) will most likely be the next place to offer Ruth&Roth. Upon her recent visit to pick something up, and in agreement with Tigerkitti Eberdene, my sister Juno has left all Ruth2 v4 and Roth2 v2 boxes which are useful for most users at the First Things shop. It's up to Tig to place them somewhere better, but the whole sim is still pretty much a WIP.

Oh, and this pic shows how much Juno loves skirts and dresses, especially in summer. Even her idea of maximum summer casual includes a denim mini.

To quote Aaack Aardvark, did you know?

One of the traditional killer features of the Ruth2 family is that the feet are separate whereas they're firmly attached to all other bodies.

Now you may wonder how this can be a killer feature? Well, it makes adjusting the foot position much easier. You don't need a HUD, and you can save and recall the foot position with outfits.

Athena and all Athena spin-offs require you to open a HUD and change the foot position there, and you still have to go to the inventory to find and attach the "shoes" needed to adjust the height unless you keep them under your favourites. As the foot position is HUD-controlled, it cannot be saved with outfits unless you keep multiple copies of the same body with different foot positions. Not to mention that the HUD doesn't always work. As this is so uncomfortable and unreliable, most female avatars walk around on tip-toes permanently.

Also, Athena 5 only came with height-adjustment "shoes" for 10cm (4") heels. Athena 6 doesn't have any height-adjustment "shoes" at all anymore.

Ruth 2.0 and thereby also Ruth2 v4 have feet in three different positions plus corresponding toenails and, if needed, height-adjustment "shoes". If you want to change the foot position, just detach and attach feet, toenails and, if necessary, "shoes". Not only don't you need the HUD, but you can save the foot position together with the avatar height (by means of these "shoes") in outfits. So if you change from a casual outfit with sandals or sneakers to a more fancy outfit with heels, your avatar will automagically adjust her height but also the position of her feet. Just put on a different outfit. You can theoretically even do this in places where scripts are turned off.

And yes, I wrote "three positions". Flat, the tip-toe position for 10cm (4") heels that you see on almost every female avatar out there, and there are also feet plus "shoes" for 5cm (2") heels. And yes, they are useful. Another advantage of the Ruth2 family over Athena & Co. is that fitting rigged mesh shoes with 5cm (2") heels are available. They aren't as many as the countless Athena-rigged 10cm (4") heels, and they're currently only available from one maker in one grid, namely Dorena's World, but on the other hand, there are exactly zero Athena-rigged shoes with 5cm (2") heels to be found anywhere on the Hypergrid. You'd have to use a resizing script on Ruth2 shoes or try your luck at manually fitting old unrigged shoes.

To those of you who may now say that you'd rather stick with the HUD because that's what you're used to, and forcing you to replace your feet by taking the HUD away from you would suck: Ruth2 v4 has got foot positions on her HUD as well. And while Athena 6 has got three positions, two of which are useful and one useless, Ruth2 v4 has six (!) positions, four of which are useful and two useless. Apart from the positions for flat shoes and two heights of heels, there's also a specific one for going barefoot. You can only adjust Ruth2 v4's flat feet, though, not the raised ones.

Oh, and Ruth2 v4 doesn't need to wear the "broken ankle" fix because it's already built in. You can toggle ankle lock on the HUD if you have to.

Dermatologists HATE this trick: Now you can have a skin like Juno Rowland, too!

I've rolled out a massive skin pack this weekend, the Starlight Remix skins. As the name indicates, they're based on Eloh Eliot's Starlight skins, but "remixed" by yours truly. I've mostly reduced the shades (which looked like dirt on the skin) and the highlights (which made the skin look like metal) and compiled the resulting textures into a whole of 138 skins.

The Full Set which you can see on the picture contains eleven skin packs. First of all, I've made skins with all eight skin tones suggested by Eloh Eliot in his raw files. The names are by me:
- Snow
- Pale
- Fair
- Tan
- Bronze
- Chestnut
- Coffee
- Mahogany

Pale and Fair skins are also available with freckles. The Snow skins are also available with baked-on clown red lipstick.

Most skin packs contain twelve skins each: with or without baked-on eyeliner, with or without dark-haired eyebrows so you can Eloh Eliot's original eyebrows as well as eyebrow tattoos, and last but not least, three levels of SFW/NSFW. The Snow skins with red lips are also available with full baked-on make-up in case someone may find these useful.

All skins have a resolution of 512x512 for the head and 1024x1024 for the upper and lower body.

The skins are "classic" skins for use with Ruth2 v4 in BoM mode. They also include all textures to use the skins on Ruth 2.0 and forks or include them in Ruth2 v4's HUD so that they can be used without BoM (instructions are included).

They will, however, not work properly on the system body due to the high resolution. Also, I cannot guarantee that they'll work on any version of Athena or Athena-based bodies because they don't come with neck skins.

Right now, the hotfixed skin pack is available at the Westend of Dorena's World (https://opensimworld.com/hop/80119) in my R2 shop in the southwest corner and the Lunaria Emporium (https://opensimworld.com/hop/86652) thanks to Luna's quick reaction. More shops are pending. As of now, the pack at Needful Things is not hotfixed yet. If you've found the pack at the Westend earlier, go grab the hotfixed version.

And yes, Juno has been running around the Hypergrid with a Starlight Remix skin for weeks already.

For those of you who were curious about Juno's outfit in this post (https://opensimworld.com/post/75829), here it is.

It's called the Knit ensemble fat pack, it was made for Ruth 2.0, you can get it from Shinobar Annex (https://opensimworld.com/hop/82007), and it contains several dresses, several two-piece combinations, nylon tights, two pairs of Craven boots plus a shoe base, alpha layers for the system body (needless to say they work on Ruth2 v4 as well) and even a complete Ruth 2.0 RC#3 body with high feet down to the HUD. This, however, is what the outfit can look like on Ruth2 v4.

Juno. Ruth. Bob. And an unknown model on the cover of a magazine. Taken at the beauty shop at Rayvn's Roost.

As I'm already posting avatars in knitwear today, now it's Juno's turn. For those of you who like the outfit, you can get the knit dress in a big pack from Shinobar Annex (https://opensimworld.com/hop/82007), the peach lipstick from the Riverford mall at Craft Grid, and if you're also inquiring about Juno's hairstyle, it's named Milca, and it can be found at Deva Moda stores (e.g. at Klamotto, https://opensimworld.com/hop/78282) or at La Tortuga (https://opensimworld.com/hop/76639). The eyeliner is part of the skin, but I hope I can make a post about female skins soon.

One of the advantages of Ruth2 v4 over Athena & Co.: 5cm (2") heels are available, and you can easily wear them. You don't have to stick to those 10cm (4") monsters.

It's getting even easier now: Klarabella Karamell has started putting Ruth2 footwear into her shoe store in the Westend (https://opensimworld.com/hop/80119), including an assortment of medium pumps. (That's Juno's foot, by the way.) You can find more of her shoes and other clothes made for Ruth 2.0 that can be useful for Ruth2 v4 at her Bella Klara stores (https://opensimworld.com/hop/81258) and upstairs at the Kaufrausch Mega-Store in Santiago (https://opensimworld.com/hop/78061).

So I've posted a few pictures of myself any my sister Juno in several outfits. But you may have wondered what that may have to do with bodies. This is a group for certain mesh bodies after all. Why don't I post a picture of the bodies themselves, Ruth2 v4 and Roth2 v2?

Well, without further ado, here is what these bodies could look like with some work and third-party accessories. As posting nude pics isn't allowed, Juno and I are on a beach in appropriate clothing. In case you're curious: I'm wearing the Bicolor Swim Trunks that can best be found amongst the many things at La Tortuga (https://opensimworld.com/hop/76639. The best piece of swimwear for Roth2 v2 (change my mind). Juno is sporting a bikini from the PSSMG Freebie Mall on the Dereos Grid.

Juno and me, dressed for jazz. My outfit is from the AlCapone Menswear Store plus a bowler hat from Klamotto. It can nonetheless all be found on one sim. As for my sister, jacket, top, pencil skirt, necklace and lipstick are from Deva Moda, the tights are from the Vela Dreams shopping area, and the shoes are made by Klarabella Karamell who also owns the jazz club behind us (https://opensimworld.com/hop/82702). If you look closely, you'll see that the shoes are 5cm (2") heels, something that's only available in rigged form for Ruth2, not for Athena & Co.