134, that’s the amount of my Avatar Rendering Cost. I thought about going for 1, but really wanted to see what I could manage and still feel not just dressed, but styled and accessorized. I was aided in reaching my goal by the new skin and hair sets from Monicuzzo Babenco of YourSkin/YourShape. I posted this morning her hair in brown, lamenting the lack of a red hair. In plurk someone mentioned no one ever does blonde…and lo, what should I get but an IM from Monicuzzo alerting me to the fact that she had just finished a blonde skin (one with three shades of blonde hair) and was working on a red one. Yay! I am ready for the Relay For Life Clothing Fair!

The trick to low ARC is reducing prim attachments. I did not get rid of them all – which would bring me to 1, but kept the 16 ARC hair bun and the scarf and shoes. The shoes are over 100, but hey, there might have been dog poo.Besides I just love this shoes. They come in a set, black and brown and are indispensable for casual wear.

Here’s a closer look at the hair. The scarf from Vette’s is mostly on the jacket layer except for the bit of prim around the neck. Doing it this way elminates the need for the alpha layer flexi prim or a sculptie.

One of the most fun things at RFL is the Drama Llama which I had to take for a ride. I am not excited about creating drama, but really do want to share a few ideas that might make RFL Clothing Fair more enjoyable. So here I am climbing on the drama llama, don’t get too mad.

1. Visitors, reduce your ARC to a reasonable amount – something in the green color range would be nice. To see your own ARC, just go to Advanced/Rendering/Info Displays and turn on Avatar Rendering Cost. After you have your outfit together, turn it off so you aren’t lagging the sim figuring out what everyone’s ARC is.
2. Designers, please don’t have models. Not only do they keep people from entering the sim, they add to the load and because they are showing off your items, they are not going to be low ARC, are they? There are already so many people there, I don’t really want to say hello, thank you, goodbye too them all. It makes me grumpy no matter how pleasant they are.
3. Designers, decorate and personalize your space, but show some restraint. You don’t have to use every single prim allotted. If all your vendors are out and you stll have prims, don’t give us flowers and strands of lights and the like. We aren’t there for the interior design.
4. Organizers, let people build with a 1 minute auto-return. Yes, I know that means some people might be putting on their new clothes – but most won’t because they know the clothes won’t rez for them. This way folks can make a prim and shove it around instead of trying to walk.
5. Organizers, please please please get rid of the swamp. What do I mean by that? The central TP point where 20 people are trapped trying to wade out of the murky, mucky dragging lag.

Okay, that’s enough. I don’t want to rant. I don’t want to discourage people from going – some of the sims have more room to move and less lag than others. Ask a friend to TP you to them – so you can avoid the swamp. And remember it will not end tomorrow, so if you are tearing your hair out with lag, go later. That’s what I plan to do. I managed to see 1 and half sims of the 9 — before I noticed I was getting grumpy.

****STYLE NOTES******
Promotional Copies are denoted by a Bold R

• Poses: Reel Expression
• Skin: YourSkin Chiara with Darkblonde hair base R
• Eyes: Poetic Color Night Forest
• Lashes: CyberNetic
• Hair: YourShape Premiere Chignon DarkBlonde R
• Top: Sprawl Plain Therm
• Pants: Dutch Touch Unisex Black Jeans
• Socks: Nova Cashmere Socks Camo Green
• Shoes: Edelweiss School Loafer Black
• Scarf: Vette’s Shemagh Green