The Fashionable Stockroom Challenge

Skye

Nooo...this isn't a challenge to break into stuff.

Lemme start by saying that I began playing this game before the introduction of the NDS system. This meant that a bunch of us tailors would be running around with packs full of physical patterns that we had to take care of, even risking the possibility of some enterprising thief who might make off with our designs. There weren't any public designs so when you entered a clothes shop, you knew you were guaranteed a wide and mostly unique variety of clothing for your choice.

With the exception of some questionable designs like the crotchless panties and getting rejected for having too many/few commas, it was very much a golden age of item design. We had some big name designers like Keturah, Katia, Lavinia, Amunet later on joined by others like Balynne, Lala et al, who ensured that the populace Sapience stayed (generally) snappy dressers. Some even opened some unique specialist shops like a haberdashery in Hashan or a blanket shop in Cyrene. 

Today, however, as I wander the various shops in the city, I'm sorely disappointed and pretty overwhelmed by the sheer amount of mass produced clothing lifted wholly from NDS PUBLIC that's used to pad the stock. Seriously, it's like I'm walking into a K-Mart or something. If clothes make the man, then you shopkeepers just turned us into the most ill-dressed basement dwellers to walk the earth.

Playing as Skye, I have the liberty of making my own clothes. This makes things a whole lot easier on me since Skye has a particular look and I seldom have to deviate from it. Playing on alts, however, I'm hard pressed to find outfits that suit my characters. I think it takes me more days to find the right clothing that it does for Daeir to find a sword he likes, mostly because the options have become just that limited.

For those of you who say 'why not just search NDS for known tailors and go through their list?', I'll say that not every tailor has their design list public. I myself have a few private designs. Also, NDS searching is terribly rudimental. You can see the general design appearance, but not the details of privately owned designs so what 'seems' like the right shirt for you, may not actually be so. Also, some designers have a ridiculously huge collection of designs either by their own creation or by buying up orphaned designs on the unowned list, and none of it is organised. Neither do you have a way of organising it or searching more specifically . This is not conducive to one's shopping experience. 

So, in the interest of good dress sense, I hereby make a challenge to you, shopkeepers. For those of you with no designs of your own, commission or make a contract with existing shopless tailors to start stocking some interesting clothing. Bring back the age of fashion and down with mass produced goods! 

Makaela

It might even give some designers an actually motive to create new designs. I fully support this challenge

Tahquil

I'm down for this. (Hint, Hint shopkeepers)

Khaibit

I only sell my own designs in my shops.. but I don't have many and they're usually pretty plain... sorry... I shall design more!

But.. what sort of things to people want?

Sarathai

Khaibit said:

I only sell my own designs in my shops.. but I don't have many and they're usually pretty plain... sorry... I shall design more!

But.. what sort of things to people want?

There was a thing just a couple of days back about practically-designed male clothing. Linkification for you.

Although a handful of people on forums may not be the best indication of market size.

Shirszae

I've always been a bit too particular about letting people wear most of the things I design. Then again, I am nowhere near as skilled at it as some people mentioned, so thats about as well, I suppose.

Bit lacking in confidence, I guess. Still, the lack of particular clothing is really starting to get too noticeable. Back when I started playing, it seemed like every shop had different clothes, and running upon the same stuff could happen, but was rather infrequent. Now is the complete opposite.

Morsul

Non-outrageous female clothing and sensible male clothing please. As a male character, most of my choices are limited to loincloths or voluminous robes. I just want a dapper outfit

Khaibit

I already sell pretty sensible male and female clothing. Plain trousers and shirts, plain dresses, blouses, skirts. I can do a little less plain I guess

Austere

I have always expressed myself using childish boxers.  As someone who goes to great lengths to look dapper(pinstripe suits, all day), I for one am thankful that I can find the exact same style boxers in half the shops in achaea, that I originally purchased fresh out of minia. 

Kayeil

I'm also a bit particular about letting people wear my designs, because I design them for myself... but maybe as my design list grows I'll be more willing to offer some for sale in the shop I run. As for male clothing... I've made some in the past, but it's really difficult being female. I had to do so much research and get a lot of information from Skarash because I had no idea what I was doing or what guys even like. I doubt I'd be the one to offer clothing for guys, because I'm not very confident in designing it, and it's way out of my comfort zone. Some male designers need to step up and offer some! Although, perhaps the lack is due to less of a market for it? Seems guys just grab whatever and wear it until it decays. Females are more likely to switch out clothing and try different outfits on a more regular basis.

Trilliana

As a few others have stated, I... really am particular, but I do sell a pinstripe suit ( @Austere !).. otherwise, I have just enchanted rings and other enchantments that aren't my own design, but all the clothes are mine. I'm not good at male clothing... or really good at clothing in general, in my opinion.

Aereidhna

I also typically just design for myself or do commissions for friends, although if I do get a shop someday I'd like to sell women's clothing. I am also one of those people who makes all of my designs private out of habit. I'm happy to do commissions upon request, though I don't seek them out and I definitely don't have the level of skill of, like, Lala or Amunet. I mostly focus on the appearance because that's what people see, my dropped and examined are pretty basic. Maybe one day when I start designing more I'll un-private my NDS list and start selling on market.

I can relate to the lack of satisfaction with what's available in shops, although if I frequently check all the shops for new/rare/unusual items (which I am guilty of more often than I'd admit - just literally going through every shop everywhere except Mhaldor to see if there's anything I don't already have) I do sometimes stumble across really cool, new-to-me stuff. That makes me really happy.

Skye

Austere said:

I have always expressed myself using childish boxers.  As someone who goes to great lengths to look dapper(pinstripe suits, all day), I for one am thankful that I can find the exact same style boxers in half the shops in achaea, that I originally purchased fresh out of minia. 

Well,  it's not necessarily about getting rid of all the public designs in shops.  But expanding those designs with unique and new ones.  Boxers off the public design list are easily available just by contacting any tailor you find off CRAFTERWHO T. Given the scarcity of real shop space, it can be somewhat frustrating to find it being filled with something that can be made by anyone rather than exciting and new products.  

Siduri

@Skye - My only hiccup is that both of the shops I run are actually House shops meant to sell combat supplies. If I had a personal shop, I'd probably be filling it with more stuff.

Jurixe

I agree with this and have been taking (slow) steps to improve the situation, at least in Mhaldor!

Kayeil

I think this situation is the worst in Targossas, to be honest. There are some designs unique to designers there, but there are shops filled with nothing but public designs.

Jinsun

Snotty Occultist seems dedicated tailor comfortable working with flesh to make disgusting wardrobes.

Tahquil

@sarapis : Any chance of getting Aeotilian dyekit utility here.

for those not in the know Aeotlia has a system where you put tags in the design and upon being made it can be dyed to insert certain colours at the tags.

thus reducing these five designs
a red fencers shirt, 
a green fencers shirt,
a blue fencers shirt,
a black fencers shirt,
a yellow fencers shirt,

into 

a @colour1 fencers shirt dyable to any of the above colours.

Blujixapug

Khaibit said:

I only sell my own designs in my shops.. but I don't have many and they're usually pretty plain... sorry... I shall design more!

But.. what sort of things to people want?

Just make me not look like a Final Fantasy character.

Not aggressively disheveled, but more practical garb for adventuring. Not ostentatious runway outfits. Masculine styling: more neutral colours, rugged materials, minimal embellishments and decorations. People will add their own accessories like medallions and rings, so that type of thing - decorations, designs - should be left out of the base components of the outfit. Neutral designs are desirable because it makes them more modular and easily interchangeable.

If you have 'a pair of black trousers', 'a grey shirt', and 'heavy buckskin boots', those are all fairly neutral so they fit easily with each other and anything else. So you can then easily add whatever distinctive things display your character's style and org affiliation, like an emerald cowl, a gatorskin bandolier, mountaineering gloves, or a bloodsteel armband.

If you have 'a pair of tie-dyed trousers', 'a shirt embroidered with a wolf howling at the moon', 'a cloak with a panoramic design of the Vashnar mountain range', and 'red wyvern leather boots with talons mounted upon the toes', each of those pieces is already heavily styled already. They don't fit together, and make you look like a Gaia avatar even before you start adding any enchanted jewelery/etc. I get that tailors want to make imaginative, showy pieces that are impressive on their own, but it's frustrating when those are all that are available and practical basics are neglected.

No logos uglying it up. Your crafter's mark is already on the thing.

Keep the short desc short. 2 adjectives max. 1 comma max.

Katzchen

I have to completely disagree with @Blujixapug

If I saw boring things like a grey shirt? I'd just keep shopping. Not interested. I like the more unique items with little touches, you might have to search longer to find the right item, but at least you'll get something interesting.

I'm really not a fan of crafters marks written into the design though... they just seem like extra fluff.

Kayeil

Crafters mark should be a different line, something that we can set for free one time maybe, and pay if we want to change it later. Still keep the option to include the crafter's mark or not.

Sena

Katzchen said:

I have to completely disagree with Blujixapug

If I saw boring things like a grey shirt? I'd just keep shopping. Not interested. I like the more unique items with little touches, you might have to search longer to find the right item, but at least you'll get something interesting.

There are a lot of ornate, flashy, frilly, ostentatious, interesting, or unique items available already. If that's what you're looking for, you can almost always find it. But there are people who like simple, unadorned, functional, boring clothing, and that can be almost impossible to find*, so it would be nice if there was more of it. These days, I've just given up and stick to my alchemist robes, because of how rare plain clothing can be.

*There have been several times where all I wanted for Sena was some solid-coloured clothing (preferably loose-fitting, and in earth tones; brown, tan, black, grey, maybe dark red/green), and I searched every city only to discover that no shop in the entire game had anything suitable. Maybe one or two that would be fine but without anything to match them with to create a complete outfit. There are a few public designs I can use as a backup (though in the past even that sometimes didn't have anything), but wearing the same couple outfits all the time is boring.

Katzchen

@Daeir don't forget the blades. If there's not at least fifty knives of some shape sticking out of this outfit, I will be disappointed.

Lala

i noticed that too with some shops completely taking off the NDS. While the waterewalking I sell is a mixture of mine and NDS, all the clothing I sell is from my private collection. I just need another shop to truly sell everything I have!

Ruth

I stock certain NDS shirts and pants which I think would be fine for novices looking for basic ware. I sell those at reasonable prices. I own my own designs too though, and I sell them at the same prices as the designs I take off public designs, but I'm wondering if it's fair to jack up the prices of clothing I design that's meant to be sold. I just want to cloth everyone!

Kez

I had (well, have) quite a few unique outfits but I stopped selling clothes because the shears are disheartening. I doubt anyone's happy to buy clothes that last about an achaean year (hell I've stopped wearing them because I roll my eyes at replacing them every two weeks and figure I have enough resetting things worn to hide the nudity at a glance), but I submitted an idea begging for an increase in the life of clothing crafted with shears to 30 months or so, and if that ever gets picked up, I'll start again. The only reason I haven't bought tailoring again to make up for it is because I had traded in my seal expecting the shears to provide usable clothing, and that 50 credit difference in what I got and what I'd have to spend is making my eye twitch.

Makaela

Plain clothes are ridiculously easy to find as are Overly stylized clothes.  The things that are missing are the pieces of clothing that are in the middle. Not overly plain while not overly stylized. Clothes that can stand on their own or be mixed with something else.

As for crafter marks... The mark is the mark of the person who made it not designed it I thought? 

Trey

Once I have two shops I'll be stocking some clothing, at the moment though my single shop has split personalities and I'm running out of room.

Amunet

Tahquil said:

@sarapis : Any chance of getting Aeotilian dyekit utility here.

for those not in the know Aeotlia has a system where you put tags in the design and upon being made it can be dyed to insert certain colours at the tags.

thus reducing these five designs
a red fencers shirt, 
a green fencers shirt,
a blue fencers shirt,
a black fencers shirt,
a yellow fencers shirt,

into 

a @colour1 fencers shirt dyable to any of the above colours.

Yes, please! 

Makaela

Ehh... only if used with simple public designs. The more stylish outfits should remain as they are.

Amunet

It has potential for simple, basic clothing items, such as what one might provide for a novice. It also has a lot of potential for accessories, like cravats, handkerchiefs, and socks, which oftentimes look best without garish embroidery and accoutrements.