Tuesday, December 16, 2008

What a Knock Out!


The arrival of the Stiletto Moody BARE© has really stirred up a lot of discussion in the fashion community. Talk about who was first, who is or isn't revolutionary, and as usual about value for our Lindens spent. One thing I want to clarify before I launch into my review of this particular item, is the quotation provided by the Stiletto Moody team that suggests it was the first sculpted shoe in Second Life. The official press release contains the following "...the designer who brought sculpted shoes to Second Life introduces Stiletto Moody BARE ©...", at the time I included that in my Rumor Mill post I was relaying the leaked information as I had received it. And although I feel comfortable saying that Stiletto Moody is responsible for bringing the first hyper-realistic and highly detailed sculpted footwear to SL, I do believe it was not the first footwear to use sculpted components.


And now for the details of the new release, and all things considered, I do feel it warrants the buzz it has generated. We are talking about something that is a complete foot in shoe system, now i know there is something out there that has a foot and shoe, but Stiletto Moody has as always sought to go a bit further, the elegant ankle wrapped shoe, the wisp thin sole, the highest of heels, and a perfectly manicured and beautifully shaped foot and ankle are really sensational.


Something of this magnitude can only be fully realized with the special features that allow for custom skin matching, ankle fit resizing, complete toenail polish set and toe ring options, and then the usual bells and whistles associated with the SM brand. The ones shown here are the BARE Greta one of three new styles, and I found it fairly easy to match my skin tone (note these were done in a bit of a hurry, I could easily have fiddled more), and was positively blown away by the elegant look of the foot and wrapped ankle straps, the subtle shadows across the toes where the strap sits. I noticed very few glitches with the joining of the avatar body with the ankle/foot, particularly after I resized the ankle slightly. There is a nice range of shades here; Bad Seed Red, Black, Midnight, Silver, Gold and Taupe. An amazing bonus here is that these work extremely well with almost all of my standard and artistic modelling poses, the potential for photography is great here.

As with other SM releases, this one coincides with a 40% rebate at time of purchase sale for all previously released footwear. For more details on the 'Members Only' sale please join the Stiletto Moody group for access and information. (click images to enlarge.)

Stiletto Moody Main Location here.

19 comments:

caLLie cLine said...

i think a sculpted foot is cool and if i had that ability i'd have done one too and i hope more ppl do if it works (since i haven't tried them) also, could they make sculpted hands? (jk, well sorta)

but anyway, it looks great. i don't think they were the first and it sorta sucks when ppl say that cuz it would take guts for the person who was to say 'no i was' and in the end it doesn't really matter... does it?

i think they make GREAT shoes that stand alone w/o having to make "i did it first" comments :(

i think we've all probably done something first in SL... hahaha, and maybe NO one knows.

i KNOW i made the first moving sculpties that never cut thru your body skirts, hair, and the first prim lashes that blink, and the first face that makes EXACT expressions as you think them AND i know i made the first NO LAG sim in SL AND *alarm clock goes off*

oh sorry just woke up from a really bizarre dream!

xoxo,

caLLie

Chove said...

Well if she's going to claim she invented the sculpted shoe (should that be invented getting other people to make them based on RL shoes?) then people are going to point out that that's a bold-faced lie. And no, she didn't invent realistic sculpted shoes either, plenty of other people managed it on their own even before her shop opened.

What's the price-tag on these prim feet? That's what we all wanna know, right?

Graciana McMillan said...

Noooo Callie, I invented the first lag free sim :PPPP


Dudes, in the end, does it really matter, and lets not forget that most often people relate to things based on their own perspective.

and I love the shoes....and I don't know the price yet, but I think i'm willing to pay it..but that's just me.

Antimony Battery said...

Ehh...

I'm staring at them right now, and while they *are* undeniably lovely, I'm not sure they're much more astounding than the "J's Real Toe" feet. Am I alone in this opinion?

While J's doesn't make such a provocative, exposed, sky-high style, they certainly are more fairly priced.

I'll probably get a pair, but under protest. ;-p

**Disclaimer** this is merely my opinion and doesn't come from from anyplace other than my own over-spent-consumer internal monologue. I am an habitual SL shopper who promised to practice self-restraint till after X-mas, but I find myself grudgingly giving in to my baser impulses.

Story of my life!

Still, though, beautiful shoe.

Anessa Stine said...

I think it's the 5th toe that is worth the price .lol. actually I do love my J's too, but there is an elegance of shape here. I mean look at the actual shoe and the arch of the foot... it's the wee bit of fetishist in me that is doing a happy dance.

Be sure and click on the colour sample image to view the larger size, that is completely unretouched (I never retouch footwear or feet in my shots - occasionally skin and face amd joint glitches) what you see is what you get. If you like you buy. This is, in my book, a luxury item, if you love them and they make your AO stride a bit bubblier for a while then by all means buy them... and as alwaus if it aint yer cup-o-tea just move along.

Sugarr said...

hmmm, the ones i bought the straps were being freaky, but they are beautiful.

Shattered said...

In all fairness, often the little toe is relaistically "burried" within the shoes J designs. In this shoe, it's so strappy that there is nowhere for that 5th toe to hide; it had to be created.

To be honest, what gets me is the impossibly high arch, toes, and et cetera, because if you take a second to think about how that foot would look flattened out, one ski of a HUGE foot just got shoved in that sandal. I wear a US women's 10 in real life (and am only 5'4") and I look at that shaking my head.

Not my thing. Never will be. And even if I changed my mind, I would be unable to view them as anything other than a pixelized, semi-rezzed shape, due to my hardware limitations. But you're welcome to drool over it if you want.

Zelly Mornington said...

After spending L$7999 on the patent set of Greta, I have to say I have never been more disappointed in a shoe...ever. They came in 3 different sizes...ok. I have tried every size and adjusted the ankle on each one, and still the straps get buried in the prim foot. Had there been a demo to try I never would've made that purchase. Sigh...now I need to write SM a note. Mind you, I don't want a refund...I want a shoe that looks the way it is advertised to look.

Pretty Poison said...

Besides the boasting, SM is very skilled at talking up her shoes. I am willing to pay hand over fist for excellent quality, the marketing doesn't matter. SM improves with each release, so I am confident that I will always be an admirer of the SM brand.

I cringed when I saw the self-crediting in the press release. I doubt that she introduced sculpted shoes. I know for a fact that she did not "revolutionize" shoes by adding a foot. Ask Cathy Foil, who has been selling shoes with feet before SM opened a store.

Who did what first didn't stop me from buying the BARE shoes however, I'm a happy fetishist. BARE is hot.

Anessa Stine said...

Zelly, I am so sorry that you are not satisfied with your purchase. I must say that I am not a teensy skinny legged gal, I often need the medium sixe leg and ankle part from most designers that sell them with size options. As you can see from my photos, I did not have problems with fit so I cant really speak to what it is you are seeing. I simply upsized the ankle part a couple clicks and they seemed to look perfect.

One thing I would definately suggest is contacting Stiletto or dancer with your feedback and hopefully they can assist you in fitting them. This is still a fairly new technology and it is not perfect, frustrating for you nonetheless.

Also, to all the people who are talking about the 'Pretty Feet' shoes and lauding them as the first, if you have seen those up close then perhaps you will understand why I really dont hold them anywhere near the quality of the Moody shoe. IM me inworld for the LM to get their demo or to see a pic I have taken of the display footwear. There is a reason why I chose not to review them here months ago.

Pretty Poison said...

No one will argue that the Pretty Feet products are not on the same level of realistic quality as Stiletto Moody. That's beside the point. I have never purchased a Pretty Feet shoe. I own about 35k worth of SM shoes.

SM Shoes is basically stating that the feet w/ shoes is their original concept, changing or evolving the way shoes are made. People are lauding Pretty Feet as the first, because they are the first with the idea.

Pretty Poison said...

Correction - No one will argue that the Pretty Feet products *are on* the same level of realistic quality as Stiletto Moody.

Shattered said...

Wait, $7900 for one pair of shoes?!? One pair of shoes that isn't scripted for color change or anything like that? For that price, SM really *needs* to try doing demos for once (not that I understand why they don't have them in the first place).

That money nearly pays my monthly tier on a 4096. It also comes out to more money than the last real life pair of shoes I purchased.

"Luxury item" isn't the term I would use.

Rose said...

Anessa, there appears to be something wrong with the texture on teh Greta sandals. it looked wrong on second inspection in the store. This is not, as the other person said, a fault of Ankle fit but seems to be a fail of either the sculpty or the texture itself. We all know sl has had some problems iwth texture rendering and even texture disappearance so I am not entirely sure where the blame should go since yours obviously look fine.

In any case, I took snapshots of mine and plan to write to stiletto and her asistants to get this fixed.

I should note also that the Audrey sandals look perfect for me.

Rose said...

PS: to Shattered. 7900 does include a color change of some six or so colors. Its not just one color.

Shattered said...

To WindRose: Thank you for clearing that up for me; it makes a little more sense now. I was under the impression it was one color by the way they were being talked about.

Anessa Stine said...

Thank you all for the feedback,it is really important.

I paid another visit to the SM shop last night to see the final displays, and the store was certainly busy busy. I also was able to catch dancer Dallagio and inquired whether she had been able to sort out the issues Zelly had mentioned and she confirmed that Zelly had been in touch and left much happier about her purchase, although that is hearsay until Zelly can follow up for us on her previous comment. ty all!

Anonymous said...

how can you notice "few glitches" when you joined the ankle with the avatar leg? I want to see the av this looks normal on because I purchased these shoes and to date have not been able to get them to fit. And I've been here since 2006 and know a little about editing prims. I can't believe these shoes are being given so much praise. The ankles look as though you've stuffed baggies into them...and try as I might...when I make the straps closer to the body...they sink into the skin..and when I make them larger.....I get the baggie shoe again. I am utterly disappointed and weary of seeing others review these shoes and give them such praise. How about a little of the truth?

Anessa Stine said...

Kade, I am not really sure where you see any sort of falseness in my review of the footwear. My photos of the shoes and the way they attach at the leg are unedited... no magic, no photoshopping... any edits were to cropping and graphic elements added around the avatar. It is my policy not to alter the way footwar appears in my photos. So in that light I disagree with your statement. You are however entitled to your opinion, and I respect that... it is just not indicitive of my experience in this case.