Getting to Love Mesh Clothing

A couple of weeks ago Harper from the Passion for Virtual Fashion blog that I follow showcased an outfit having a red corset. Now I can say that I do have a bit of a passion for corsets and the tight lacing body modifications that come from it. Some would call it a fetish and maybe it is. I love my body encased and held in place, showing my feminine curves to the fullest. Seeing Harper in that corset immediately made me want it to.

For some time now Sky has been really getting into mesh clothing. The outfits she has been putting together from some notable creators such as Cold Logic, Maitreya or Mon Tissu are incredible in detail. My issue with mesh, and from what I hear from most other people is that you have to adjust your shape in most cases.

"I don't want to change who I am" is what I usually hear. But what I've found is that most mesh designers have gotten together and made standard sizes. So now it's just a matter of making the adjustments to specific parts of your shape that closely match what you already have and save it away. I am using the small size here. There are XXS, XS, S, M and L sizes that I've seen. Some of the designers don't utilize all. 

The one HUGE advantage with mesh is most of the good designers have free samples you can obtain to see how the item looks on you. This is something I've wanted from SL clothing designers for years now.  Now we have the ability to  actually try on that item and see how it fits. I would think this would be a really great feature for clothing designers too. Many times I won't buy an item because I just don't know how good it would look on me. I've been burned to many times so now if I'm not sure how an item looks I just move on.

One of the drawbacks is that rigged mesh, or mesh that's attached to specific points on your body cannot be moved or sized. This is why the designers create multiple sizes. Because of this technical detail the item is not directly attached to your skin so your skin can bleed through. To overcome this limitation the designers usually ship with the item an alpha invisible prim you wear. This makes the parts of your body that the item covers invisible so no skin bleeds through.

So your probably asking, "why would I go through all of this trouble to wear mesh"? Because if the design is good the result is spectacular! Looking at this corset notice how tight it makes my waist. Trust me my shape does not make me that thin. That is what the designer intended how the corset should look on me.

So let's talk about what I'm wearing.  

The corset is from Ingenue. The detail is very good.  This closeup shows that with the zipper and the pattern. This is the Ninon version in the Ruby color. One of the features I like about this design is how the designer made sure you couldn't see the invisible prim under the item. In many designs of skirts and tops if you look up the arms, tummy or down the breasts you see the inside of the invisible alpha prim so from the inside you look transparent. The designer here actually modeled the inside of the item so that if you do look down my cleavage, and so far many have, you see the breasts covered with material on the inside and there is no evidence of the transparent alpha. A few people commented to me on how real that looks.

The black mini skirt is from Mon Tissu. When I purchased the top I found that most of the mesh skirts I own bleed through at the waist. This is due to the designer having the entire skirt created from mesh. However the pencil and mini skirts from Mon Tissue use a combination of the pants layer and placing a mesh insert between the legs much like the standard prim you see on many non-mesh mini dresses and mini skirts.  However the mesh insert works much better then the older prim technique. This also allows the skirt to be worn under the mesh top with no bleed through. The effect is perfect.

Yes, I would I have to say that I am slowly changing my opinion of mesh clothing. Is it perfect without compromises? No, you have to compromise a bit about making changes to your shape. But again I've found that to be simple and the changes are minor. When I don't wear mesh I just wear my normal shape. So far nobody has been able to tell the difference and I've received many compliments from people about this look. And Sky loves it.

Here are the list of items that you see in these pictures.

• Skin: Belleza - Erika Med 3 with Hair & Cleavage. Erika is my normal everyday skin.
• Hair: Truth - Marina, Dune color that comes with the Blondes package. It's new!
• Eyelashes: Miamai - NoAlpha Lashes N06 - Slightly modified by me.
• Lips: Blacklace - Beauty Bubblegum Gloss #5
• Corset:  Ingenue - Ninon Ruby, size small
• Skirt:  Mon Tissu - Westbury Mini, Black size small
• Heels: N-Core - Vintage XtremeHeel II, Red Passion - not mesh but still looks great.
• Necklace: Jewelry by Jake - 28e Fleurs du Soleil, Black Diamond
• Bangles: Ali Couture - Black Swirl Bangles