Fashion in the Virtual World

Introduction

Second Life is a virtual world that allows users to explore, meet other users, socialize, participate in activities, shop, and make real world money.  It was created in 2003 by Linden Labs, and by 2011 it has over twenty million registered users worldwide. 

Last semester I had done some work inside Second Life, so I am very familiar with the layout of the virtual land.  When we were asked to do this mediated study, I immediately thought to explore Second Life because the role fashion and style played with avatars.  A Second Life user has the ability to change the avatars shoes, bottoms, top, hair, and can place individual accessories on the virtual body ranging from bracelets to prosthetic body parts.  The user can also give the avatar tattoos, layer the clothing, and even change the pattern of the avatar’s pubic hair.  The possibilities are endless.

When a user first registers for Second Life, they are given five outfits to choose from for their avatar. They are the stereotypical “goth outfit,” “party outfit,” “rocker outfit,” “student outfit,” and “city outfit.” They are very generic, making it simple to spot a “newbie” in this virtual world. This being said, I was positive that conspicuous consumption was still relevant in the virtual world, even if the garments could not be physically possessed. I wanted to discover the similarities between virtual and real life fashion.  Specifically, are the private and the public still separate platforms in the virtual world?

Field Experiment

            For the actual study, I wanted to test two things.  Is conspicuous consumption still relevant in regards to virtual belongings? Secondly, whether the public and private are still separate in Second Life.  To do the first study I roamed around Second Life in my normal “expensive” outfit that I had previously purchased while playing. In addition I wanted to socialize with the friends that I already made and also make some new ones.  I would wear one of the generic outfits, and see how the same users would react.  I would do this in the same Second Life session.

            To research the private and the public divide, I wanted to specifically experiment with nudity and indecent exposure.  How would other avatars react to me?  Was this commonplace in certain arenas of Second Life?  I wanted to see if I could socialize in outfits (or lack there of) that we would deem completely inappropriate in the Real World.   

In The Field

            To test my conspicuous consumption theory, my “expensive” outfit consisted of Second Life designer ripped jeans, a studded low-cut top, fake breasts, a tattoo, a gold charm necklace, a life-like blonde ponytail, and heavy makeup.  This ensemble in the real world would scream “cheap!” but it actually cost over three hundred Linden dollars in Second Life.  Please notice, I also have the luxury of being called a “hipster” in the bubble above my avatars head.  I guess after spending some money I get to flaunt the title!

             I determined the best place to test my theory would be an InfoHub, which is where they send new avatars once they have just registered for Second Life. One of the first users to approach me was Gaber Crystal.  We instant messaged for a few minutes, and without me even asking he said, “you look like a real woman!”  I of course asked him how this was so, and he replied “the way you look and dress, it’s like real life. You must be a player for a long time.”  This idea that my clothing or possessions determines my stature in the virtual world is exactly the ideas that Thorstein Veblen stated in his book The Theory of the Leisure Class.  “Since the consumption of these more excellent goods is an evidence of wealth, it becomes honorific; and conversely, the failure to consume in due quantity and quality becomes a mark of inferiority and demerit,” (Veblen 56).  Another user I met at the InfoHub was Bridgettt Resident.  She has only been using Second Life for about three weeks, so she approached me asking where she could get clothes like mine.  “Getting dressed is so confusing here! And I just want to look good! Take me shopping,” she pleaded.  I did not end up taking her around the Second Life shops, but the way she spoke to me showed she was almost desperate to look like she "fit in."  (When I met her she was wearing a plain white dress, no shoes, and was bald).  She was not consuming these virtual goods or garments for herself, but rather for the other - the audience. 

This can be tied to Erving Goffman’s idea of the front and back stages.  We dress these avatars to represent one mask of ourselves, emphasizing that the first impression is everything.  We want other users to get the right impression of us during our “role playing,” by tailoring our clothing to fit this ideal impression we are aiming for. “When the interaction that is initiated by ‘first impressions’ is itself merely the initial interaction in an extended series of interactions involving the same participants, we speak of ‘getting off on the right foot,’” (Goffman 11).  The importance of first impressions is that it dictates the future relationship one is going to have with another person.  In Second Life, Brigettt did not want to begin her new relationships being treated as a “newbie.” 

My theory was later confirmed once I dressed my avatar in the “city outfit.” 

As I roamed around Second Life it become evident that I had to be the one to initiate conversation while my avatar had this appearance.  One user I met, JunRyoo Resident, asked me why I looked so frumpy when I could be beautiful.  Another user, TaichiHashimoto Resident, actually teleported me to a mall because my clothes were so horrific by his standards.  The friend I had made earlier during the session, Gaber, bought me a dress once I was wearing this outfit.  This goes to show that the first impression does dictate the future of a relationship.  Because I was dressed this way, these users felt they could talk to me in a manner that was inferior, almost like I was their doll to be dressed.  While I was in the “expensive” clothes, I had users praising me for my looks.  Even in the virtual world we as humans seem to focus on the visual presentation of ourselves.

Nudity

            As another study, I wanted to experiment with taboo; being a naked avatar in the virtual world. It is common knowledge that there is plenty of sex and love in Second Life, so I wanted to find out if our public and private selves still exist.  Are private lives public?  Specifically, is it socially acceptable to expose oneself to other avatars?

            To do this, my avatar only wore a pair of stilettos, panties and her hair up.  I also made sure she had excessive breast implants. 

            I didn’t know where to roam around so I began in New York.  Even though it was just my avatar, I became embarrassed myself.  This was a level of exposure I was not used to. I kept having to remind myself that although this is my avatar, no one could trace it back to the real me.  I decided to have her walk into a gym, where four users were working out for Linden Dollars.  As soon as I walked in, the responses were violent.  “Get some clothes on!” “There’s a time and place for that!” “Not here you sicko!”  I never responded; I just wanted to see what their reactions would be.  One of the users Dandelion Weam, actually got off of the treadmill to yell at me.  She told me I belonged in a BDSM club, or that I should go and be naked in the privacy of my own home. 

            I didn’t stay a nude avatar for long; I felt that everywhere I walked other users were staring at me.  “To be nude is to be seen naked by others and yet not be recognized by oneself,” (Berger 54).  Although I felt so self-conscious, it was the others that had such a violent reaction.  I believe it was their association with nudity and the sexual that angered so many of the Second Life residents.  It was not an appropriate place to be flaunting around naked. If I had listened to Dandelion and gone to a BDSM club, maybe my gestures would have been appreciated, even praised.

            This instance confirms that even in the virtual world, the public and the private setting are still separate entities.  There is a time and place to be nude, and it’s in the private, not in a public gym.  Returning to Goffman’s ideas, this is reinstating that there is an appropriate mask for each social situation (even in the virtual), and chaos can occur when the roles get confused.

Conclusion

            Although Second Life is a virtual setting, the idea of conspicuous consumption still applies.  Users will spend money on virtual outfits to affect and heighten their stature in the virtual world.  I did, however, find a difference while shopping.  In the real world, class can be judged by your style - how you put an outfit together.  In Second Life, it’s not about who’s the most stylish or trendy.  It has to do with whose avatar can have the coolest add-ons, or look the most human.  In many situations it’s about how closely you can make the virtual like reality.

            Also, private and public segments are still separate entities in Second Life.  Although you can find a place to do every inappropriate thing you can imagine, there is a time and setting for every action. 

            Ultimately, I think this shows as a culture how we judge others based on their appearance.  When did the functionality of clothing become about class rankings rather than basic bodily coverage?

Works Cited

Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. London: British Broadcasting, 1977. Print.

Goffman, Erving. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York: Anchor /Doubleday, 1959. Print.

Veblen, Thorstein. "Conspicuous Consumption." The Theory of the Leisure Class. New York: Random House, 2001. Print.