SD is changing; but is it for the better?

This post isn't going to have many shiny graphics, I'm afraid. I want to talk about something that has been on my mind for a while, and that I was just reminded of while shopping the Bazaar -- the declining quality of clothes on Stardoll. I've been noticing this for a while now, but lately it has reached what I think is an all-time low. We barely ever get any new regular stores or collections for existing ones anymore, and when we do they are mediocre or just downright bad (Fever, anyone?). Yet, I wouldn't even mind this as much if Stardoll weren't also rapidly closing down older stores simultaneously. If they want to remove so many stores from Starplaza, they need to replace them with something of equal quality and value.

And sure, right now the tributes are rolling out, but with the exception of GV, many members of the Stardoll community have been disappointed so far. Chanel was mismatched and underwhelming, and while Louboutin looked good initially from the spoilers, the majority of the shoes ultimately had all the graphic quality of a bunch of cheap freebies. I can only hope there's better stores to come and that we haven't seen the end of the tribute season yet.

To be honest, I think the lack of high-quality, fashionable pieces in the Plaza right now is a major contributing factor to the exorbitant prices in the Bazaar. People value older items at such high prices because everything new coming out is garbage, and they need the large amounts of money they make from those sales to buy other Bazaar items priced even higher, thus perpetuating the cycle.

These days I see more people who are Superstar and Royalty than ever, people who, like myself, were non-ss for a long time and decided to give Stardoll our money to contribute to a site we have enjoyed for many years. When there are so many of us helping to keep Stardoll afloat and affluent, why is the quality of the user experience constantly, persistently being lowered? Stardoll should be improving, not declining. I miss the days when they actually put effort into the clothes and stores being released.

...Okay, I lied. Have a shiny graphic:

Feel free to disagree with anything or everything I've said here. My intent is not to offend people, merely to state an opinion.

Giambattista Valli Tribute Store Review

Today I thought I'd do a quick review of the Giambattista Valli tribute store that opened a few days ago in StarPlaza. I'll be honest, it's also an excuse to show off some new graphics I've been trying out today. I've quite suddenly become obsessed with black and white photography again, so I've been playing around with monochrome minimalism in Photoshop for a couple of hours now c:

Overall I'm quite pleased with this collection. I think it's much better than this year's Chanel Tribute, which seemed sloppily made and incoherent. I normally love Chanel, but I liked one piece out of that entire collection. ONE. I planned to do a review of it when I first saw it was coming back but once the store was released I decided not to, because it was awful. This collection is so much closer to what I was expecting from Chanel.

I picked about four favorite pieces, which you can see below, that I'm planning to buy once I get some more Stardollars (I'm considering that Dior pass that just came out, although the gifts aren't great quality). I really like almost all of the items, but I have to draw the line somewhere since it's not good to spend huge amounts of real money on pixels, right? c;

The Sequin Valli Gown is my overall favorite, I think. It's very sophisticated in cut and design, I love how the transparency and sequins are drawn, and the skirt's underskirt is just the right length. (When the length isn't right it's a pet peeve of mine. One of the transparent maxi skirts I have in real life has an underskirt that's much too long. Which, now that I think about it, might just be because I'm short. But it's annoying).

The Swallows Tulle Dress is just adorable and summery and girly – not adjectives that I normally associate with the way I dress my medoll, but it's nice to have a change – and yet has a certain elegance to it. The Canary Couture Heels are a pretty unique style and colour here on Stardoll. The ankle strap part makes them stand out, and I've been using yellow a lot lately, so they shouldn't be hard to match.

Lastly, the Silver Couture Trousers are somewhat more formal than I usually like, but the design is so classic that they're a must-have. They can be paired with a statement top that nothing else will go with, or with other neutral pieces to become the stand-out in the outfit themselves. I chose the silver colour over the pink because (a) I'm not crazy about that shade of pink, and (b) silver is a much easier tone to match with things.

Tribute Store Rating: 8.5 / 10

Outfit of the Week | All I Want

I am utterly in love with this striped skirt.

It's so hard to believe it was free - to me it looks like it could be from one of the older Antidote or LE collections. I honestly think it's one of the best new clothing pieces we've had in months. For those who don't know how to get it, it's a free gift when you complete an offer for free SD or SC. I recommend the Glimpse Facebook app offer, if you have it available c:

I'm also enamoured with the free dress from the 250 million celebration. Like everyone else, I am disappointed that they didn't give us free SD like the last time, but the Topshop dress is the silver lining. I'm hoping the high-quality of the dress and skirt signal a revival of the old Stardoll style!

I'm wearing:

Black Bratz Hat - Bratz

Leather Jacket - Fallen Angel

Jailbreaker Skirt - Special Offer

Checked Clutch Purse - Bonjour Bizou

Nelly Hair Piece - Nelly.com

Bracelet w/ Studs - Evil Panda