1. I couln't agree more on the diversity of business apparel. After all, Second Life is NOT Real Life , so why NOT wear what sets you apart from the crowd.Given youre fully dressed!! (Of course!)If I were looking to hire someone to redecorate my home, and they appear to me wearing a MEN IN BLACK outfit, I believe I may seriously reconsider my choice!
Kudos on this Post Akela!

Posted at 9:27AM on May 3rd 2007 by Odessy Forcella

2. I am one of those who believe that sometimes a virtual world should sometimes reflect a real one. Its hard to take someone seriously when they are out of character for the area in which they are in. I wouldn't dress as a super-heroine when going to a bar association meeting, but I also would not dress as a lawyer when surfing, even though in both situations, my attire doesn't really matter.

Although, that's something I never examined before. I dress to the place in which I am. I go to the beach, I'm in a swimsuit. I go to a dance club, I dress in club gear. I go scuba diving, I'm in a wet suit. Even though my attire isn't hindering any of those activities.

It is a good point that if you are trying to market an image, such as a designer, then by not being creative in your own look, you may be short-changing your brand.

Posted at 4:26PM on May 3rd 2007 by Jessica Holyoke

3. I just finished hosting a reception for the beta release of the product I support. (Yay! Finally got to do something in Second Life as part of my day job!) Dress was, actually, very intriguing. You could almost tell instantly how long someone had been in Second Life from the moment they walked through the door based on their avatar.
I took it as part of a personal mission to try to educate business people how to dress in second life. Most casual visitors dress to express themselves. From a business perspective you want to dress to express how you would like your business to be seen.
Looking exactly as you do in real life and wear real life business attire is "appropriate" but what does it say? It says no imagination. Of course, coming in the all-too-common "pimp and ho" wear is not going to endear you to clients.
We had an interesting mix at the meeting. The engineers were kind of funky, with clear personal expression, but not outrageous. They weren't there to sell something, but their to answer questions. So projecting an aura that you kind of know your way around and are somewhat comfortable with the technology was good.
Customers turned up in fairly "normal" clothes. Some interesting quirks, but pretty staid. They want their issues and questions to be taken seriously, but aren't so worried about projecting a certain image.
Our business partners were the most interesting. (People who buy my company's products, extend them, and sell them to customers. So a customer to us, and a vendor to the customers.) They are selling, and just being there is a walking advertisment. So they were the most likely to be sporting custom made clothing. Impressive, branded, and there to do business.
But there is a lot more scope. I compiled a guide given out during orientation of where to shop for clothes (and why to shop for clothes). But places to direct them to were hard to find. Not because there weren't places with good business wear in one of the appropriate categories, but because so many of them all, very prominently, displayed the typical "pimp and ho" wear. I'm trying to convince people that Second Life is not an unreasonable place to do business. I can't send them somewhere like that. In the end I did find enough places to round out my list. I just wish it had been easier.

Posted at 6:54PM on May 3rd 2007 by Jaymin Carthage

4. Akela, thanks for the praise. I enjoy SLI and find it quite informative, so the respect is mutual.

Jaymin, I'm actually finding the sensation of walking around in Second Life looking like my real-life self to be fascinating. I don't think it shows a lack of imagination -- it's a choice. And it took me six hours to get it right, too.

I find that the people I encounter casually are more likely to talk to me when I present myself as an overweight dude with thinning hair, a square face, and glasses, than they did when I looked like an underwear model. Most of the other people you see in SL wear off-the-shelf skins. They look like strippers and porn stars. I stand out as different.

I often wear a suit and tie in SL for business occasions because it just seems appropriate. Note that I'm a journalist. If I were a graphic designer, you're right -- I'd be better off going with something with more flair.

I ended up altering my appearance somewhat for Second Life, because I realized that a slavish recreation of my actual body in to SL would end up *not* looking like me. I had to *translate* my appearance into SL. (Kind of like the way if if you publish an articulate, intelligent person's speech, word for word, they sound like an idiot -- nobody speaks in complete sentences and paragraphs.)

After writing the previous paragraph, I realized that it might all be a bunch of hogwash. I think really the new Ziggy Figaro avatar is how I see myself.

And just because I'm realistic now doesn't mean I'm committed to that. Now that I've dug into avatar customization, I've become intrigued by it. I have some ideas for fantasy, non-human avis....

Posted at 5:03AM on May 4th 2007 by Mitch Wagner

5. Also: I've spent quite a lot of time shopping for clothes in Second Life. I chose those suits because they're the best I've been able to find (SF Design.)

My point is that I've invested a lot of time and effort into my avatar-that-looks-like me, more than many people who walk around with purchased killer-robot or elf avies.

Posted at 5:06AM on May 4th 2007 by Mitch Wagner

6. I laugh when I see someone trying to look like a businessperson in SL. I really do. In my mind, I see a convenience store clerk who has never known the discomfort of a tie, the hassle of worrying about how one sits...

I pick out the originality, and even the slightly mundane. Why? Because after you blow your money on a bunch of stuff, you end up wearing certain things.

Oh, and someone tell those other middleaged men that just because they cannot go without a shirt in RL without showing the gut does not mean that they *have* to wander around without shirts in SL. Very pitiful.

Posted at 12:07PM on May 8th 2007 by Nobody Fugazi