Emerging Standards in Virtual Fashion: An Analysis of Critical Strategies Used in Second Life Fashion Blogs

As virtual worlds evolve, so does the visual complexity and customizability of the avatars inside the worlds. In virtual worlds such as Second Life, prospering virtual fashion industries have brought about, among other things, the formation of virtual fashion blogs. This paper presents a content analysis of major virtual fashion blogs with an emphasis on identifying emerging standards and strategies for virtual fashion commentary and criticism. Overall, this study discovered a somewhat unified voice among fashion blogs, revealing a significant blurring of real world and virtual boundaries when writing about virtual fashion. Additionally, the increasingly important role of the language of technology in virtual fashion writing is noted. The paper concludes with a discussion of the growing impact of virtual fashion on the design of avatar customization interfaces.