I Am a Virtual Shoe Whore

Since this is a blog with the word "confession" in the name, I'm going to do a little confessing. I am a virtual shoe whore.

I'm a shoe whore in real life too, but in virtual reality (aka, Second Life) you can have shoes that are impossible to have in the real world, because they would never hold your weight. They are 10 inch, spike heeled, ethereal works of primage that set my heart aflutter with a mere picture, let alone the real thing. Behold the Stiletto Moody shoe.

In virtual terms, Stiletto Moody is the Manolo Blahnik of Second Life shoes. Her shoes are walking works of art. As I write this, her rabid fans are waiting with bated breath and itchy fingers on the mouse for her sim's grand re-opening and several new styles. I can't wait. I intend to be the proud owner of at least one pair in each style. I'm quivering with anticipation.

Yes, Stiletto Moody shoes are probably the most expensive shoes in Second Life (her *Bare* styles with sculpted feet run L2300 per pair and L8k for a color set), but they are also the most technically advanced as well. They come with beautifully sculpted feet and toes, have tons of skin color and toenail color options, as well as prim toe rings, and they also come with a little prim bag that allows you to save the settings from one pair to another, and believe me, that's convenient! Second Life skins have such a broad range of texture colors, so it's very difficult, especially if you tend to wear different colored skins (as I do), to color one pair, let alone half a dozen. The little back up bag is great for storing your settings and recalling them at the click of a mouse, instead of spending a half hour trying to match your skin color every time you put a pair on. The new styles will also be featuring alot more toenail colors, as well as tattoos for your feet! Sounds very cool and I just can't wait to play with those menus!

I must also mention another shoe creator. She has the most amazing coloring system in her newest style of shoe, the Wow. 2408 Alexeev has worked her little virtual fingers to the bone and come up with a hud for her sculpted foot shoes that uses textures instead of a monochrome sculpted foot, using the standard SL coloring system. The difference in using textures on the sculpted foot, as opposed to the system that all the other creators use is that the foot does not become a chalky, yucky color in different sim lights. The textured foot never changes color, and 2408 has done her homework in matching pretty much any skin that comes down the road. Her shoes come with 2 huds, one for pastel tones, and one for other skin tones. You wear the hud that matches your skin the closest, then there are about 100 different shades to choose from...you select the one that comes closest to your skin. The shoes themselves are nice, but not quite as hot as the Stiletto Moodys, though I think this lady is still in her educational evolution (still learning to sculpt), so I think the appearance of her shoes will continue to develop. I have high hopes....