Sunday, August 22, 2010

Always a bit uncomfortable...


Silly, I am a contributor, but as with everything else Style and Tastes aren't always the same, but occasionally Courtney or I find something that we both absolutely love...THE LASTEST and GREATEST SL thing out there are these boots made by LeeZu. Court sent me over and I fell absolutely in love with them. They are well made for the $ spent, go great with many different tastes and above all look like a million bucks. So much I did this final picture for the Shoe Fair, which I may add will make their announcement on the photo winner tomorrow, so keep your fingers crossed. Anyway, if you have a chance go over to LeeZu's place and check out these babies. I bet you will love them just as we do.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

(epoque) Latex Fin Dress

I am always looking for something unique to wear, and (epoque) seems to be full of things that are nothing but unique. I chose the Latex Fin Dress in gray since it looked like a costume from The Matrix. The dress is tastefully sheer, but for the modest woman -- a fabric version in a different cut is available. I love this dress!

I am wearing...

Skin: Tuli - Eva - Tone 2

Hair: Truth - Keeley - Snow

Eyelashes: LeLutka - Seductress Volume Lashes

Arm Tattoos: Aitui - Fire Fish Sleeves - Faded

Chest Tattoo: Love Letters - No Longer Available

Dress: Epoque - Latex Fin Dress - Gray

Bracelet: Exodi - Aubrey Bangles

Collar: Open Collar - Jewel Collar (Join group, collar is free)

Shoes: Pixel Mode - Baby T's Plain - Silver

Saturday, August 7, 2010

My Conversation with Stiletto Moody

We've all talked about it, the gals in my circle that is... We drool over the new Stiletto Moody promos...imagine our little prim toesies looking so hot in those super sculpted designs. But like an uber-expensive restaurant that doesn't list their prices on the menu, we are happy that those Moody advertisements don't list the prices! That would just interfere with the good fantasies...

But, inevitably... at some point or another we get a crazy notion to just TP over there, and that is where we get snapped back into reality. For those that don't know, a pair of Stiletto Moody shoes off her new, wildly popular BARE line will set you back 1799L ($6.75 USD) for one color choice (metal, nail polish, and skin color options included). You can usually buy an entire color line (about 10-12 different colors) for 7999L (that's just shy of $30 USD).

Lately, Stiletto Moody has been offering one shoe pair a week as a special "Look of the Day" which is 55% off original price. To sweeten the deal, you can take awesome pictures of yourself wearing the special shoe and post them to her page in Facebook to enter a contest...the winner can win Lindens, color packs, or whatever Stiletto deems worthy to bestow on you.

Her presence in Facebook has become more active lately, as she has been expressing an interest to reach her fans to talk "fashion" and what her customers opinions are. Her direct post: I really want to engage. We really want you to be able to talk to each other and us. Tell us your loves your hates . Give us the lowdown on high fashion and your photos in impossibly high heels. Come and talk - do you think this is a good place for us? I am hoping the darlings of Stiletto Moody Group come , I am hoping the REAL life Facebook friends talk too, for after all this is where high heels meet the lowdown on real fashion. xx talk to me )

Having been in SL almost 3 years now, I definitely had a few things to say to her. Here then, is my conversation with Stiletto Moody...

I guess my biggest comment would be...I understand the cost of the shoe considering the detail and scripting involved, but when it comes to multiple colors, there really is no reason to pay full price for each multiple of the same shoe. You don't need a whole new shoe for a new nail polish color or metal change (silver vs. gold). Color change in the actual part of the shoe is very simple. Considering the other shoe retailers out there in SL, I think Moody could sell MORE and make MORE lindens, by offering shoe color options all with 1 shoe purchase.

Her response...

What we are going to do here in Facebook is find out how to make the best product possible. This is the place where i want to engage people who are genuinely interested in what we do, in the shoes i love and make, and how i can most make it best for you.

The truth is there is a very real cost in multiple colors.. I actually make all the colors for the ColorSet that i offer which is a combination of the colors of a style. Some of the less popular colors dont always sell very many but are actually thus made below cost so they can be in a cheap and discounted colorset. Every color i make is a season color. So for each color i need to specifically bake the color for the shoe, then i need to take all the colors and there is scripting to make the colorset work.

After that there is production , warehousing, merchandising. i know it seems like there is no cost to make a shoe change into all the colors but there really is quite a big cost since i actually make all the colors so that there can be a colorset which everyone loves.

When it comes does to price we do have cheaper alternatives. The end of every season sees a 40% sale, and the colorsets themselves are but a fraction of the cost of the shoes inside.

In the end [Ouchie] i want to find a way to make what you want, at the price you want and stay in business. To innovate and come up with sculpted shoes, and my BAREfoot which has been so wildly copied i just need enough to keep going, and i promise to bring you stuff that you love, that changes your Second Life experience and that you feel is worth it. Now with a communication channel running i hope to find that balance..xx

Is it me, or did she just not answer my question? She should really work as a politician. So, I wrote back...

I understand you create colors and have in-season special colors. But this isn't like RL where each individual shoe requires it's own different materials, dyes, and construction effort. Once a shoe is made and shading done, color application is just clicking a pallet and applying to certain areas of the shoe. I'm not disagreeing with the price of 1 pair, but additional colors should not cost an additional same amount. The fatpacks of which you speak generally cost the amount of 4.5 pairs of shoes! That's scandalous. I know there are usually 10 or more colors in a pack, making the discount great if these were a pack of 10 real shoes (about 1000L off each shoe). But what comes in this pack are 10 digital copies of the same shoe pairs. You could sell 1 shoe with all colors (individually baked or not) built in and a script to change them...just like toe nail colors.

For the cost, I would expect having shoe fitters, like at BAX Boots, where a customer service person in the store can adjust and fit the shoe for you when you buy it. Bax offers this and their boots do not cost as much as your shoes. In fact, at Bax when you buy a pair of boots (their latest release costs 875L), you get 3-4 color options for the boot you have bought, additional customization options with sole, heel, accessory options, PLUS free fitting by an in-store customer service person.

N-Core offers DEMOS and stockings with their shoes, which is very helpful for shoes with prim feet/toes. Color matching prim feet is a nightmare for stockings that come with outfits. N-core's latest shoe is 795L, for 1 color, but you get 9 pairs of stockings to match stocking textures scripted into the prim feet in the shoe and you can try the shoe on first to make sure your 795L won't be wasted.

So, one last suggestion I would have is to offer DEMOs of your shoes. More people would be likely to pay the hefty price for a pair of Stiletto Moody's, if they could try them first. With the high cost and "NO REFUND" messages posted everywhere, people are worried they are going to lose 1800L.

So take a look at your competition...their customer service, their prices, their options. I love window shopping at SM, but I own 1 pair of Gladiator Boots I bought ages ago and the anniversary Lana shoe. I bought a pair of Bare Ingrid shoes, but the metal details where not changeable from gold to silver, and the platform part of the shoe always sank into the floor. When I adjusted and moved the shoe high enough on my leg to where it didn't sink into the floor, the invisiprim did not cover my deformed actual foot anymore. I trashed these shoes because they were useless to me. And that is why I won't buy anymore Stiletto Moody's.

And finally, her response...

WE do have customer service to help you with shoes in the boutique, contactable on the board when not online, and FAQs to read as well. All my hardware has the option of gold and silver and often graphite, sometimes we have removable charms and chains, and as you know we have accessorisable shoes.

On Moody shoes you can add Tattoos, toe rings, ankle chains, and loads of different nail polishes including those built in. Of course luckily you are spoiled for choice on second life and there are lots of shoe designers so i am glad you can find something that fits the bill. We are unlikely however to offer al the colors of the rainbow or for that matter plethora of colors as i like to think fashion. Customers rely on our advice, and color guides. Colors are chosen for their seasonality, for their mood just like in the real world, and so in my case i like to think less is more - colors that work for me for the season not all the colors. I think you will be surprised and happy with some developments coming. On my side i will watch to see if one of my future designs is just irresistable and puts you in the Mood.

until then I am glad at least we have you as a window shopper - and the owner some Moodys
x
Stiletto

Sometimes I wonder if I'm actually speaking English. I gave up after that last response. She obviously is NOT listening, like she advertised she wanted to do. I never suggested her offering every color of the rainbow. I only suggested that those 10 or 12 beloved, intricately baked and designed "in-season" colors she made be included all in the script for one shoe. It is LAUGHABLE that part of her last response claimed that there are even MORE options for which you can pay MORE Lindens for more accessories to decorate your one measly pair of shoes (I speak of the "you can add tattoos, toe rings, ankle chains..." comment, as these all come in an additional accessory pack you can buy if you didn't think you paid enough for your one pair of shoes already).

I will comment that I was refunded my money for those one pare of BARE Ingrid shoes I owned. But that was only after several back-and-forth complaint letters with their customer service rep. I was surprised I got my money back, because there always has been NO REFUND signs posted everywhere. I suspect I got it because they knew there were problems with the shoe in general.

So I proudly wear my freebie pair of BARE Lana anniversary gift shoes and I will continue to drool over those awesome ads that come out of Stiletto Moody. And, I guess I'll be seeing you at the annual 40% off sale at Stiletto Moody's...elbowing my way in for a pair of off-season, unpopular color choice on "discount"---if we can even get in the sim, that is.