A long time Second Life staple is Meli Imako, a purveyor of full perm clothing items. Most often their products are used as the base for other creators to produce ensemble outfits, adding and changing textures. While that is still their strong suit, recently Meli has been including some pretty decent textures in some of the models as well, allowing them to be used as-is for those so inclined. A very good example of the latter is the Vixen dress, a wonderfully frilly confection:
Vixen is available in five mesh sizes as well as Fit Mesh for all the major mesh bodies, with the hat available separately. Note the Meli Imako does not have an in-world store so all of their products can be found on the Marketplace.
- Dress: Vixen Costume Dress by Meli Imako
- Hat: Victorian Vixen Hat by Meli Imako
- Socks: Meow White socks by N-Core
- Hair: Farryn and Zoya by Truth Hair
- Pose: BODY shots Female 03F by Lumipro
Another good outfit right out of the box is the High Seas Pirate Corset, which is equally at home as a Gothic style Lolita dress. Here is an example of the dress with one of the three included textures, the black:
To add to the atmosphere on this one, I mixed in a chiffon dress held aloft by ravens, from The Dark Swamp. The Meli corset dress is available in five Fitmesh Sizes plus fits for all major mesh bodies and three included textures. And true to the premise that Meli supplies meshes for other creators to adapt, I know that this dress is available in pre-made sets from at least two other vendors: Sn@ocks in five separate colors; and Adris King Designer in an eleven-color HUD. Both use the same basic pattern that comes with the texture set with a few modifications.
- Dress: High Seas Pirate Corset by Meli Imako
- Boots: Leather Boots with Lace Socks by Zenith
- Accessory: Le Noir by The Dark Swamp; Black B-Wings by Bare Rose
- Hair: Mermaid Hair by Boudoir
- Pose: Gaia 3 by BellePoses
Now just because other vendors mod these items doesn’t mean you can’t as well. Here is the same dress with colors I changed using Photoshop and uploading the texture back into Second Life, this time on the happy side of the Disney aisle as Snow White. I added some mesh bows, one for the front and one in my hair, and found nice boots and stockings to go with.
- Dress: High Seas Pirate Corset by Meli Imako
- Boots: Candy Lolita Boots by Candy Kitten
- Bows: Floppy Bows by Caramba
- Stockings: Marie Antoniette outfit by Lamu Fashion
- Hair: First Light by Magika
- Jewelry: Boho Ring Collectoin by Kate
And finally, to show that sometimes just a little bit of modification can give you just what you are looking for, here is the Women’s Cravat Blouse and Corset skirt. I wanted a librarian sort of outfit but one with a little sexy appeal; so I was able to adjust the transparency on the top and add a lacy bra underneath. The outfit is available in five mesh model sizes (not Fit Mesh).
- Blouse and Skirt: Women’s Cravat Blouse with Corset Skirt by Meli Imako
- Bra: Date Night by Blueberry
- Glasses: The Countess by Earthstones
- Boots: Long Cuff Boots Will by GField
- Hair: Talk Like That by Magika
- Pose: Shepherdess 6 by Axix
Ready to do a little custom modifications, my sweet friends? Cheers!
- Body: Maitreya Lara
- Hands: Maitreya Lara Bento
- Head: Catya by Catwa
- Skin: Peach by Pink Fuel
- Face and Lips: Mae by Laura Hurley Skin
- Eyes: himiwari vivid eyes by Rutile Tail (Marketplace link)