Gozii - a dress from Torn. Torn is a new store that opened in April featuring mesh clothing in a rainbow of colors and prints.

Mostly I am torn because I chose to feature a dress from Torn, a mesh clothing boutique owned by Torn Difference, but it’s not just a play on words. You know I am a sucker for community-building projects, so Harlow Heslop’s Pay It Forward Project has a lot of appeal for me. In an ideal world, it would have developed organically and not in response to conflict, but in the real world, conflict is the heat that makes the seeds of change sprout. There is one way in which I would love there to be a sea change in the blogging world and if this helps bring it about, I will be thrilled.

Nails from WTG and bracelets from Je Suis continue the black and white theme.

In my opinion, too many see blogging as a zero-sum game, as though the traffic that goes to a competitor’s blog is traffic that won’t go to one’s own. In truth, fashion blogging is more like Starbucks. When Starbucks first began opening their stores all across America, there was a lot of griping about it killing the small local coffeehouses. The reality is, though, that a Starbucks opening up near a local coffeehouse is often the best thing that happens to them. Starbucks is not just selling coffee, it’s converting people to the idea of high-end, specialty coffee and amplifying the market.

The Ashraya shoes are from Loovus Dzevavor, one of many gorgeous print pumps for The Ashraya Project. The photos were shot at The Flash Lounge - a wonderfully idiosyncratic black and white lounge that asks random trivia questions while you're there. Even while shooting with no one there but me, I could not resist answering. Yes, I answer the questions when I watch Jeopardy at home. Doesn't everyone?

How does Starbucks relate to blogging? Good fashion blogs generate more interest in fashion and in fashion blogs. People generally do not read just one blog, they read several. They start by checking out the blogrolls of favorite blogs in hopes of finding others with similar taste. They begin reading feeds and following fashion more closely. Blogging is the opposite of zero-sum, it’s more of a mutual-benefit relationship. This means is that traditional competition strategies are counter-productive. In a traditional business, you would never put up a sign for your competetor’s store in your store, but in blogging, inter-linking is critical to building your audience. There’s a synergy with competitors that creates an environment where what is good for one is usually good for all.  I don’t know whether doing good will generate enough good feeling to blunt the natural competitiveness that often fuels conflict, but it would be a great thing if it does. So, cheers to the Pay It Forward Project.

I love the delicate draping and natural look of the neckline. The bold, striking necklace & earrings are from Mandala.

Now on to actually Paying It Forward. I came across a new-to-me Torn storefront at The Ashraya Project and purchased this Gozii dress which I love for its beautiful draping and gorgeous neckline. It’s not just new to me, though. It just opened in April and is pretty new overall. I popped over to the main store and saw a lot of beautiful clothing with new shapes and styles. That link will take you to the Marketplace storefront where you can see the large and creative inventory filled with lots of gorgeous prints and fabulous tops, skirts and dresses. In the store, there’s a picture of some dresses that are “Coming Soon” that interest me. I love the color story and creative flair in the clothing and look forward to the store’s future with anticipation.

Hair from Dura and Belleza's newest release Lily complete the look. My bangs are hiding the red eyebrows that allow women of every hair color to enjoy this beautiful skin. The IKON eyes are a great new eye release and come in five sizes to suit traditional and fantasy avatars.

Okay, now this the Pay It Forward part. The hardest thing for bloggers to do is to criticize something about a design. We all know that great creativity and imagination are often accompanied by tender feelings and sensitivity. So we tend to focus on the positive and gloss over or only briefly mention the negative. However, that does a disservice to our readers and ultimately to the creators whose work we love, because if we see something that should be better and don’t say anything, then we are not doing our best for the creators either.

That’s why I am paying it forward by pointing out that there’s one flaw that made me hesitate to buy more clothing. I was so tempted by the fatpack of pencil skirts, but I stopped because it’s alpha on the inside. This is not the only store that does this. So many leave the inside alpha that we are coming to accept this as the price of mesh, but it should not be. There are a few stores that do texture the inside and their clothes are more wearable and more flexible. I don’t know the mechanics of creation well enough to know why so many leave the inside alpha, but even if it is more difficult and costs a little more to upload, I urge everyone to texture the inside. It makes your clothes so much more tempting and will win you more long-term committed customers who will value the difference.

Store info at Blogging Second Life
****SHOPPING LIST******

• Poses: Long Awkward Pose & Pose Anywhere HUD
• Skin: -Belleza- Lily V2 Pale 7
• Makeup Tattoos: -Belleza- Lily V2 Pale Red Brows Tattoo
• Eyes: IKON Horizon Eyes v2 – Pale Green (M)
• Lashes: LeLutka]-2011 lashes/curl/touch me
• Mani/Pedi: +:+WTG+:+ **Prelude** jeweled nail(L20)
• Hair: **Dura-Girl**03(Red)
• Clothing: Torn Difference{TD} Gozii_M_White
• Shoes: Loovus Dzevavor [[LD]] Major: Ashraya Pumps [Tracks]
• Jewelry: [MANDALA]SINRA earrings & Necklace
• ::je::suis::africain::bracelets light
• Location: The Flash Lounge maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dangsan/15/101/773