Yesterday I received a bumper package of review items from Angeleyes John, owner and designer of ‘A-J’s Original Pieces’. It’s always exciting to get goodies to review, and enclosed was a lovely notecard from AJ, advising me that she was new to the fashion malarkey and hoped that I’d feature her items on these pages. She’d even gone so far as to accommodate my ‘no pastels or pink’ rule, so she’s obviously a thoughtful lady. Of course I’m always happy to review items especially from new designers who are taking their first tentative steps out in the virtual fashion world. A review is just that, you observe and test the items provided and write an honest appraisal of said items. Personal opinion is of course a huge influence, but I always try to be as enthusiastic and objective as possible. That said, I’m not going to say something is perfect when it isn’t, and although AJ is obviously talented and enthusiastic about his fashion items, there are some issues that need addressing.My review package contained some dresses and separates and I had great fun trying them all on last night in the comfort of my lovely home. Unfortunately, it soon became apparent that some of the designs were weaker than others, and there are consistent failings across the range. HOWEVER, with a bit of work on AJ’s part these can be sorted and she’ll potentially have a collection that any self-respecting fashion whore would be happy to have in her wardrobe, myself included.’Melted Raspberry’ (great name!) is a gown and bodice with a faux pearl band across the breast. Angeleyes John doesn’t seem to have any issues with creating skirts and the physics and movement of them are fine (and that goes for all the gowns she asked me to try) but unfortunately, this is often tempered by problematic seams and textures. ‘Melted Raspberry’ is let down by the accompanying bodice and that is purely because the beading across the breast is way too big. Now, I know as a virtual world you can wear what the chuff you like but virtual fashion, in my very humble opinion, has to have a toe dipped in the waters of reality for it to be successful, and that’s why proportions matter. Pearls on a bodice should be pearl sized, not the size of ping pong balls, and alas these are certainly the latter. It detracts from an otherwise perfectly nice gown, so I suggest reducing the bead sizes to accommodate or get rid of the beading altogether and you’re sorted.On to the ‘Coffee Break’ set, which is a tad more mature in aspect, making it ideal for virtual officewear. There are issues here too; for starters, the clothing edges are smudged and the heavily patterned texture doesn’t quite match on the front-to-back seams. It’s crucial to ensure that when utilising a patterned texture that you take the time to ensure it matches on either side of a seam. It shows care and pride in your work and such a simple specification really does show that the designer knows their onions. I like the textures that have been selected for the shirt and trousers very much, but what I’d like to see in this set is a pair of plain coordinating trousers and top for mixy-matchy happiness, as the combination of patterned top and patterned trousers could be considered a tad too ‘busy’ by some. That said, the fabric texture proportions are perfectly acceptable.
The ‘Wicked’ set has great potential and with a few minor tweaks and adjustments I think this outfit could be a winner. Again, the seams are an issue, and the back looks a bit messy to me. I personally think that this set would be more successful with a full top rather than the current handkerchief-style hemline. There’s enough detail with the spiders, sequin texture and shoulder straps so ‘Wicked‘ doesn’t need an exaggerated shape to succeed. The trousers that match are great, with nice pocket detail and spider feature and there are no seam issues to report. If this was my design, I’d reduce the sequin texture a tad (It’s too big, I’ve yet to see sequins the size of saucers in real life. I think they could have been around in the 1970’s though!) change the shape and offer green (as in the stageplay ‘Wicked’) and purple options, and get these on sale for Halloween. ‘Wicked’ certainly has promise and could be a real winner when scary season comes to town! So far I feel a bit rotten about this review, because it seems like I’m really dissing Angeleyes John’s work and that’s not the case at all, I really want her to do well. It’s wonderful that people have the ambition and dedication to design items for us to enjoy in world, and to diminish such enthusiasm is certainly not my intention, but it’s essential to be aware that when you decide to enter the Second Life fashion industry you are joining an extremely over-crowded market, and herein lies the rub: you have to be bloody superb at your craft to succeed.. There is a reason why virtual designers like the late great Ginny Talamasca were so popular, and it’s because her work was excellence personified. Now, not everyone can reach those dizzy heights, but even so the bar has been lifted in world over the last year and you have to be super competent to make your mark. The Second Life audience is an uber-selective one and will not bother to shop at a store where ‘quality isn’t great, but it’s not bad either.’ So that I could get a broader perspective I’ve visited AJ’s store in-world too, and it’s a really nice but a tad generic store to wander around. The problem is you can find loads of stores on the grid that sell similar clothes.There isn’t a stand-out item or range that grabs you as a punter and reels you in. The store looks like so many others scattered across the mainland..I’m sure you know the kind of store that I’m referring to here. So, what’s to be done? Here’s my suggestion. Overhaul everything. Start with the store layout, visit places like Miriel, Nicky Ree and Artilleri for ideas on creating a focal area that reels you in. (I notice that there’s a modelling competition in AJ’s store, so that must mean that AJ is considering an overhaul of his posters and perhaps store layout?) Cull the pieces in the collection that don’t work (Easy to identify which ones they are, they are the ones that don’t sell) and then over-haul the existing range. Refine the details a smidgen, review the texture palettes and gain a better understanding of pattern re-sizing. The way I see it is that if you’re passionate and serious about being a designer then you’ll be more than happy to develop your skills. Fix those seam issues and I can guarantee that the rewards will be greater…and AJ if you decide to do that I’d be really chuffed to try your items on again and review them here, if you’ll let me! Reader, you would be forgiven for thinking that I didn’t like anything that AJ sent me to review, but I promise you that really isn’t the case. The ‘Beloved’ gown is simply lovely, as you can see. It’s a perfect combination of floaty skirt and bustier top, with a very good texture choice to boot. There’s a buckle design on the corset which could perhaps be a smidgen smaller, BUT that said it works fine as it is, that’s just personal preference on my part. For the photograph I’ve added my gloves and scarf from Snatch, and voila-you have a stunning outfit for dancing at somewhere classy, like the ballroom on the SS Galaxy. Another gown that I tried was also rather good, it’s called ‘Wanted’ and I really wanted it to work, which it does except for a horrible pearl and ribbon construction across the chest area. Again, these pearls are too big, but rather than resize them I suggest scrapping that element completely from the gown, as it’s perfectly serviceable without.So there you have it..an attempt at constructive criticism and as someone who really doesn’t take criticism well at all I hope I haven’t offended this particular designer. I honestly feel that there is room in Second Life for all sorts of designers, but I feel that Angeleyes John is capable of achieving so much more than her current collection suggests. The ‘Beloved’ gown is a perfect example of what this designer is capable of and I want to see more pieces like that from him. Readers I do strongly suggest that you go and check out her store to check out this wares, including shoes and boots ( that look excellent by the way, but I didn’t have the opportunity to review those) and develop your own opinion on AJ’s work. Let’s not forget that he’s a relative newbie in the design arena, and with that in the forefront of my mind I certainly wish AJ the very best of luck, and look forward to seeing her creation skills develop further.