I love wardrobe both as a visual reference to my clothing and general Second Life inventory, but also because it feeds my geeky need to keep things organized. Tagging, photos, sorting and organizing are all things I love working on. Kinda weird… but it is actually quite relaxing once you get into it and create a good system. This page is a set of instructions, tips, tricks and more I have for using Wardrobe.
Spy and Shop
Wardrobe users are always adding new finds to their wardrobes. Take advantage of it to window shop. Pick a day each week to visit the shared wardrobes site and load up your favorite wardrobes. Click the button for last 7 days and see what people have been saving the past week.
Make it your own
Wardrobe is fantastic at letting you blaze your own path. use this site for ideas, but really take the time to think about how you find things and how your inventory is organized. You really can make this a fantastic tool for you.
Start Simple and Grow
I think tagging and organizing wardrobe is hard. Fashion is constantly changing in Second Life and the needs for sorting and retrieving items changes right along with it. Knowing that I think it is far easier to start simple and expand. Don’t try to add a ton of tags initially. Maybe only adding 2 or 3 tags to each item. Tag based on how you think. If you say to yourself, I know I got a top at ColdLogic a while back where is it, then you should consider including the store/designer as a tag. If you find yourself always looking for your pink stockings so you can see all the shades and styles you have then you will need a color tag. Either way keep it simple at first and grow into it. That way you don’t find yourself overwhelmed with tags you thought would be useful but in the end are just taking up space.
Tag Consistently
Simple tip, pick a style for your tags and stick to it. My tags use a set of symbols and words. My store tags are always preceded by an @ symbol and then the name of the store. I will capitalize the names of the stores. The rest of my inventory though is always lower case for all tags, and I try to use the singular form, or in some cases the form I just normally use. For example, I don’t tag shoe I tag shoes. Just because I never think to myself shoe, always shoes. Being consistent with tags makes a big difference in the ease of use and visual appeal of Wardrobes tag list.
Getting a Consistent Photo
I struggled early in my Wardrobe use to get a set of photos I thought was consistent. I have developed a process overtime that I think does a nice job and provides a decent amount of consistency. My process for taking photos includes 4 main elements:
- Create a photo backdrop that is pure white and set to full bright. If you want a copy of what I use just ask in world. I do not use the pose stand included with Wardrobe, rather i use the HUD to pose me.
- Set your windlight to something that makes the sky pure white to match your backdrop. I use Strawberry Singhs Closeups windlight. This creates a very even color across the entire world. (Work in a skybox if you can)
- When you take the snapshot set a custom size at 1024×1024. This forces the perspective and layout of all photos to be the same. Since the photos on the website are displayed as square you get a better transition to the website as well.
- Finally, pick a single pose you like and use it for every single picture you take for your wardrobe. The consistency of poses makes a huge impact.