Still Not Enmeshed in Mesh - the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The Good


I just cannot get on this mesh bandwagon with any measure of enthusiasm. Sure, it makes great pictures, and has great textures. I LOVE several of the mesh boots that I own, the textures are gorgeous! The fashion bloggers have got an addiction for it. Lately it seems one might as well show up in prim heels with bling as to wear no mesh to any event with a crowd of SL literate avatars. This is the BEST mesh dress I have tried on with an avatar that is not a wiry coat hanger. It's the 50 Linden Friday offer from Tee*Fly. I'm wearing a size medium.

Yes it does appear to flow over my body :)

The Bad


I've had to drastically alter my body. I have become almost anorexic looking. Strawberry Singh has started another "post your digits" discussion on her blog. She says, "I am just looking to get into a discussion about mesh and how it has affected our behavior towards our avatar’s shape."

Need to eat!

I'm going to try some of Strawberry's body sliders, as mine are far more on the skinny side in order to fit into this mesh dress. The few other mesh clothes I own, still do not work with this body, I have to get as thin as possible in some areas, even to wear a medium. I am still very attached to my Phoenix viewer which does not allow more than 1 alpha layer. On the Phoenix "issues" wiki, this is a low priority item. Wearing the alpha mask has issues in itself, if you peek over into a top wearing an alpha top, you're the invisible woman.

Well, here are my digits in this outfit:

height - 60

body thickness - 6

Body fat - 7

Torso muscle - 44

Shoulders - 50

Breast - 53

Love handles - 25

Belly - 0

Leg muscles - 35

Hips - 52

Butt size - 37

Saddle bags - 22

My previous digits are posted here.

The Ugly

In the pictures below, there are still gaps when movement occurs. Sigh.... still scary to wear out dancing.

Gasps, " Gaps!"

Hopefully, fixes for my issues will occur in the near future and I will be a happy shopper once again.

Credits:

Hair - Diva - Sayaka2 - available still at Collabor88

Dress - Tee*Fly

Shoes - Maitreya Gold Flip Flops

Skin - Curio  Sundust Frex Summer Lake 2 (still my favorite skin - EVER!)

eyes - .ID. Fairy Tale Realism MESH eyes - blue

jewelery - me - Leo's on the Marketplace

My Digits

I thought that I would add my digits. I find it interesting how different people idealize/exaggerate one body feature over another. It is what the ancient Romans discovered when they began to make their idealized sculptures of the human body. They discovered mathematical formulas for proportions of the human body that do not really exist, even in the fittest of individuals. But, they are pleasing to the eye.

It is especially intriguing in light of (the far too many) women who have a poor body image in RL. There are so many avatars with impossibly small waists, and distorted hips and butts, or boobs that could only be achieved if the entire body was 200x overweight. I've also seen quite a few avatars that are incredibly skinny. We do know from research on people's experience with their avatars in virtual worlds that many people become strongly attached and identify with their avatars. So, I wonder if there are, and if so, what are the effects of living a virtual life in an unrealistic body?