How To Have Low ARC And Still Wear Fur

I had a REALLY busy December and hadn't been able to blog as much I would have wanted to. But now that all the shows, events, commitments are finished and the holiday season Christmas frenzy is over, I am back to blogging again! Yaaay! :D

This eventful month, however, have made me renew my awareness for keeping our looks low ARC (Avatar Rendering Cost) when going to events not just for the show participants but also for our own good as we all want lag to be kept as low as we all can. Of course, there is always the discussion about whether ARC is the sole factor responsible to keep lag low. No, it's not. There is also the factor of scripts involved but that does not mean, we can go to shows and events with ARCs ranging in the reds. ARC also plays its part so let's keep our ARC low!

My rule of thumb is under 1,000 ARC if possible. And if I want to be really fashionable and still in the ok range, I would say below 1,500 ARC. I'll write how to see ARC numbers at the end for those you don't know how to check but for now, let's keep the discussion on the subject of how we can wear fur and still have relatively low ARC.

As most fashionistas are aware of, fur is known to be a no-no-item that shoots up your ARC numbers, sometimes in the range of 10,000 and over depending on what you wear. Recently, however, some clever creators are starting to create fur items that look gorgeous, glam and still keep to a low ARC number. So today, I would like to introduce one that does just that!

I have today, two fur bolero jackets that not only look warm and stylish for winter season parties or events, but are also very versatile. It comes in black and white and the design allows you to wear them with casual, semi-casual as well as formal outfits. And what's even more wonderful is that they are only +1,088 ARC! This means, if you style smart, it is actually possible to keep your ARC numbers below 1,500 in total and still enjoy a look using fur! Now isn't that a great news?

The fur boleros are from Gabriel, which is a store by a Japanese designer, Takuya Jinn. He is relatively new but has some great outfits that use sculpt prims in very clever ways and this fur bolero is certain one of his clever creations. Here, I have worn the black version with a skirt + down jacket set, replacing the down jacket with the bolero to give it a little less casual look. Then I used the white one to make a more smart casual or city casual look, which ever way you wish to call it. Both of these bolero jackets can easily be used in formal looks by wearing them over a formal gown so here I chose to show two casual looks, one a bit more semi-formal than the other.

The first look is casual and I took the skirt from a set that comes with a down vest with matching texture. The necklace I am wearing here comes included in the fur bolero jacket which is a nice piece to be worn alone too. The earrings I used here are from another Japanese designer, Emi Woller and her store called PISA. She includes a large and a small size in the set, so here I wore the smaller version. Again, without resize scripts, these earrings also contribute to keep lag low while we can choose whether we want to wear these bigger too if we wanted to.

Gabriel - Fur Bolero (black)

Fur Jacket: Gabriel, Fur Bolero (black)
Skit: Gabriel, Check Down Vest Suit (black) *used skirt only
Necklace: *Included in Fur Bolero (black)
Earrings: PISA, Banded Agate Earrings
Boots: Courtisane, Allumeuse Boots (olive)
Hair: Vixen Hair, Camillia (blackmail)
Skin: Dutch Touch, JoLie Cream, Eagle

The second look I made is a bit less casual. Some people might call this smart casual or city casual and it's something I might wear to go to an art exhibition or a nice get together where I don't want to be over-dressed but still be seen dress nicely. Here, I wore the shirt and underpants layers of a one-piece mini dress from ce cubic effect and used it as a shirt and replaced the necklace that's part of the fur bolero set to something that looks a bit more formal.

The jewelry pieces you see here are from J and W jewelers which is a relatively new store that my fellow model Wenadrenia Soderstrom has started with her RL and SL hubby, Jens Marksman. This store is quickly gaining popularity with their bold but also elegant designs.

Gabriel - Fur Bolero (white)

Fur Jacket: Gabriel, Fur Bolero (white)
Shirt: ce cubic effect, Wrap Tank Mini Dress (cocoa beige) *used only shirt and underpants layer
Pants: ce cubic effect, Flare Trousers pants (off white)
Jewelry: J and W Jewelers, Michele's Whisper
Shoes: Baiastice, Querelle (brown)
Hair: Vixen Hair, Myth (bombshell dark)
Skin: Dutch Touch, JoLie Cream, Autumn

And lastly, as I promised this is how you can see ARC numbers for those that do not know how. Go to your Advanced menu* on the top bar of your SL viewer and click through Rendering > Info Displays > Avatar Rending Cost and you will see numbers above avatars. If the numbers are in green, it means the number is low ARC. Mid range will be shown in orange and high range will be shown in red. So turn this info display on when changing to make sure you are within reasonable range before going to events!

*If you do not see an "Advanced" menu next to "Help", then hit "ctrl + alt + D" and it will show up.

Posted by Kay Fairey, Agency Director and Top model for Boulevard Agency, Team edo Director and writer for the Best of SL Magazine.