Newbie Tip 1: Create your first look: Change Bodyparts & Clothes!
Before you leave your first destination and get into the real Second Life world it can be good to have a clue on how to change your clothes and looks. At this point you won’t have that many options but to mix and match the stuff Linden Lab provides with the ’starter avatars’ - so lets do that as an example!
First of all: Note that I’m using the ‘Silver’ look of the SL-client in my pictures - the default one is much darker and the inventory icons look a little bit different (but they works the same way).
You can change the look too if you want so this will be easier to follow. Click on ‘Edit’ at the ‘top menu bar’ in the client and click on ‘Preferences’ at the bottom. Then go to the tab ‘Skins’ and change the look. You have to close the client and open it up again to see the changes.
Bodyparts, Clothes & Prim-Attachments
You open your inventory-window by clicking the button in the bottom bar. It contains two main folders: ‘My Inventory’, witch contains all your stuff & ‘Library’, witch contains stuff provided by Linden Lab (you can use and copy this stuff but not delete or add content).
When I signed up for Second Life I used an avatar-look called: ‘Gamer Female’. My avatar is now wearing all the stuff that comes with that avatar. And by default all that stuff has been duplicated into a folder inside the default folder ‘Clothes’ in ‘My inventory’. If I open it - the stuff I’m wearing has bold names and a text with (worn) shows after the name of the items.
What I’m wearing is a mix between Bodyparts, Clothes and Prim-Attachments! And here is how they work:
Bodyparts: Eyes, Hair, Shape & Skin
Bodyparts are: Eyes, Hair, Shape & Skin. Important thing to know about these items is that you can NOT TAKE THEM OFF! You can only REPLACE them with another bodypart of the same sort! And that makes kind of sense… Would be strange if you could take off your skin or eyes… The icons for the bodyparts look like this:
Note! that the ‘hair’ you wear doesn’t actually have to be ‘hair’… Most common is that it is a ‘cap’ that makes you ‘bald’ so you can wear a ‘wig’ on top of it (more about that further down!).
Clothes
Clothes are worn on top of your ‘bodyparts’ and you can take them off. But if you do take all of them off you will be naked - and that not advisable in public places - people could get offended. But to change clothes in SL you don’t have to strip! Just REPLACE your clothing-items with others of the same sort and you will be fine. 
The icons for the clothes look like this:
Note! that the ’shoes’ you wear doesn’t actually have to be ’shoes’… Most common is that they are a ’shoebase’ that shape your feet so you can wear a pair of prim-shoes on top (more about that further down!).
Prim-Attachments
Prim-Attachments are actually ‘objects’ that was built. These ‘clothing-objects’ can be attached to your avatar on top of your Bodyparts and Clothes. It can be a wig, a belt, earrings or shoes, for instance. Or other stuff like a hat, primskirt or an armour - you name it! You will know it is an ‘object’ by the icon that looks like this:
Let’s have a look at what ‘Prim-Attachments’ the ‘Gamer Female’ is wearing!
* A ‘Beanie (with dark hair)’ that is worn together with a ‘Hair’ that is actually a ‘bald hairbase’.
* A ‘Belt’
* A pair of ‘Boots’ worn together with ‘Shoes’ - a base that is actually worn as a ‘footshaper’.
And here they are in my inventory:
Take off Prim-Attachments
I’m going to take the ‘prim-attachments’ off now - so I can start without when I am creating a new look!
First the ‘Beanie’ by right-clicking on the item in my inventory and then select ‘Detach’
Another way of detaching items is to right-click the item on your avatar (the edges will become yellow) and then select ‘Detach’ in the pie-menu. I’m doing that with the belt.
I’m also going to take off my shoes and socks: Right-click on them in your inventory and choose: ‘Take off’.
Or right-click your avatar and use the pie-menu: Take Off » / Clothes » / etc.
I also took my prim-shoes off by right-clicking both in my inventory and then ‘Detach’. This is what I look like now:
The ‘hair’ you see isn’t really any hair but painted on the skin. Not all skins have hair painted on, and the difference will be that without painted hair you would look totally bald .
Create your first look - Mix & Match
Your Library-folder is where all the default starter avatar-looks are hidden. You will find them in the sub-folder ‘Clothes‘. Here you will find lots of bodyparts, clothes and attachments that you can mix and match!
For instance: I like the ‘Ponytail’ primhair from ‘Girl Next Door’ - to wear it I have to right-click on the Item in the inventory and select ‘Wear’ (remember that prim hair always has to be worn together with a ‘hairbase’ making you bald.
Go ahead and mix and match the stuff in these folders! But remember that not everything looks good together with stuff from other folders… And if you are going to wear a for example a pair of prim-shoes or a primskirt, wear them together with the shoebase or other stuff that is made for that certain item!
This is a crazy look I came up with:
And this is the final look:
Save your New Look
To save your new look you have to get into Appearance Mode: Right-click your avatar and choose ‘Appearance’ from the pie-menu.
At the bottom left corner in the new window is a button: ‘Make Outfit’. Click it and another window pops up!
The clothes and items you wear is checked. But also check all the bodyparts so they will be saved too. I named this outfit: First Outfit. Click ‘Save’ and then ‘Ok’ in the ‘Appearance Window’ to save it.
You can find a folder with the name of your outfit in your Inventory - in the subfolder ‘Clothes’. This is what I’m wearing:
Whenever you want to wear this look: Right-click on the folder in your Inventory - in the subfolder ‘Clothes’. Choose ‘Replace Outfit’ and everything you are wearing will be taken off and replaced with this outfit!
To further customize your look to your liking you can use ‘Appearance Mode’ and change your ’shape’ and ‘eyecolor’ for starters… But that’s another post…
Clean your inventory…
When you are satisfied with this first look it can be a good idea to delete some stuff from your inventory. All clothing and bodyparts you tried on during this ‘First Look Hunt’ has been copied into your inventory. You will find them in the folders ‘Body Parts’, ‘Clothes’ and ‘Objects’. Most of them you don’t need now.
This is how to delete this unwanted stuff: Select one or several items in a folder. Right-click them and choose ‘Delete’.
They will now be in your ‘Trash’. If you make a mistake you can open that folder, right-click the item and choose ‘Restore’.
That’s it for now!
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Updated: August 09
