Winners of Fashion Week 2012 screenshot contest!

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Turbine announced winners of Fashion Week screenshot contest today. For me, it was an amazing event which I loved for two reasons - motivation to create my own contest entries and seeing so many wonderful and original outfits of others in such a short time. Many people have awaken their creativity for this contest and came up with new combinations and untypical pieces, which I wouldn't think of using myself and they worked great!

I didn't comment on the finalists on forums, because I was part of the jury for Fashionista's Choice category and didn't wanna reveal my opinions before the results were announced. After today, I'm just an ordinary member of outfitting crazies public :)) and I'd like to use this opportunity to express my thanks and comment on the TOP 10 outfits in Fan Choice and Fashionista's Choice meta-categories.

Disclaimer: These are just my personal opinions and expressions of my own taste. I'm not trying to play a reviewer here, especially as outfits are very personal thing and there are as many fashion tastes as there are people, elves, hobbits and dwarves in the Middle-earth :)

Very good and original outfit - certainly one that would catch great attention. It matches the mount perfectly. I'm a little sorry I can't see more screenshots of the outfit - side view usually don't show much, but I can imagine the rest of the pieces and I think they work pretty well together. The only part I'm not sure about is using sleeveless top for such a massive battle outfit.

I don't really wonder this outfit won the Fan's Choice. It's purely amazing. It's very original - the chest piece is rarely used. The cloak, boots and gloves are a perfect match for the chest & legs combo. If I wanted to find one flaw on this outfit, I'd maybe say that when the Everstout (chest piece) is used, it's almost always paired with the Leggings of the Sun-lands (I did the same terribly unoriginal thing myself and it's still one of my favourite self-made outfits :)) and I would have wanted to see other so well matched combo. But as I don't wanna find any flaws, I say this outfit is just perfect :)

I have a weak spot for this outfit. When Kemendin sent it to me a few months ago as a guest submission, I was left speechless. I love crimson and Kemendin used to it create an intimidating attire for a lore-master with it. He also made his elf look very handsome and manly, which can be an issue with elven stature. Kemendin is also master of screenshoting and this is one of his dark atmosphere shots, which appeal to me a lot. Draigoch armour pieces are used very often recently but Kemendin made them look unusual by combination with other pieces.

Beauty lies in simplicity. This attire proves it. It evokes serenity and peace as well as cuteness (who wouldn't adore the two feathered hobbit hat!). Also the screenshot is perfect. However, if I'd meet the character ingame, I wouldn't probably notice the uniqueness on the first glance - many people wear Extravagant Festival Dress dyed purple and with lower details and distance from character, the hat would be nearly unnoticeable.

My personal No. 1 favourite. I was astonished when I saw this - I don't know who is the author of this outfit, but I suspect it's Cookiereth and enhanced version of the outfit she submitted to my blog last year (her staff seems to confirm that! :). If it's her or not, it's a very original outfit and I haven't seen anything like that except for the two occurrences (Cookie on my blog and the contest entry). I love how exotic this combination looks and how well-matched it is. Boots, "belt", golden details on shirt and shoulders add nobility. Mask, grey chest parts and black skirt parts create feeling of danger. The sabre cat adds to the whole atmosphere. The only downside is the screenshot - I read many people didn't vote for it in the fan choice simply because the homestead's surrounding was... inappropriate for the battle outfit. Unfortunately, I must agree - the outfit would look so much better in Moria, Forochel or for example Dunland. Anyway, despite the contest being called "Fashion Week screenshot contest", I prefer to consider it an outfit competition, because I know how long it took me to take proper screenshots myself (and I'm still not perfect) - so I'd love to see this entry as a winner :)

Charming outfit and a great screenshot - sort of "Lara Croft of the Middle-earth" :) I can see that the character wearing this is a lore-master, but the outfit would fit basically any explorer or scholar, and I would definitely wear it for my woman burglar if I had one :) Very pretty.

An extravagant and stylish outfit using non-typical colours - I like that. However, I can't help myself hating the chest piece on females. It damages the feminine body shape so much that the lady suddenly looks like a male elf :( Using gentler top, this could have been a really nice outfit.

Great outfit and I'm very happy it won Professionally Minded category. I love the bright metallic colour of the steel armour (I've tried something like that for my first dwarven outfit - with much less success though). The only thing I don't like is the helm - I would pick another one, but the rest is just perfect and very suitable for a dwarf.

When we were voting for Fashionista's Choice, I gave this outfit full points for every criteria (dye bledning, integration of pieces, overall impression) except for one - originality. I've seen so many outfit using this hauberk - and I can take part of the blame, I use it regularly myself. There is a reason for that - it can be styled in a thousand ways and always look good. Here with the bandana, it works amazing, and if this really was a screenshot contest, it would be the absolute No. 1 for me. I can't imagine how the author managed to take such a great screenshot - it looks like a cut from a movie scene. Bravo!

This is the only outfit I commented on before. I was very surprised when I saw it posted on the forums, as I made exactly the same outfit on the same day Valkrist posted it (only shoulders being different). I remade it a little (really just a little) and submitted it to the Fashion Contest anyway - you can see the result as my outfit to be published today. However, Valkrist looks absolutely gorgeous wearing her creation and the screenshot quality just took my breath. This outfit won Fashionista's Choice category, because we all agreed it's a demonstration of pure elegance. And I'm very happy about our choice :)

Congratulations to everyone who made it to TOP 10 and to everyone who took part in the contest. You guys are wonderfully creative and made me, an outfitting freak, really happy! I'm looking forward to more events like that. Thank you Turbine for organizing it, and my wonderful judging partners Hymne and Devonna for fun we've had while picking winners in our category!

Win in LOTRO Fashion Week with LOTRO Fashion!

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{[["☆","★"]]}

LOTRO Fashion Week, brought to us by Turbine, is here! All fans of outfitting, rejoice, because this is your chance to show off your beautiful outfits in front of the whole community, win 500 Turbine Points and a unique title for official forums.

I am honoured that my blog is one of three (Cosmetic LOTRO, LOTRO Stylist and LOTRO Fashion) which will help in your outfitting effort. During the contest (from Thursday, February 9th, 2012 until Thursday, February 16th) we will offer you a coupon code for a free dye of particular colour.

On LOTRO Fashion, colour of the week is CRIMSON. To redeem your free crimson dye, all you have to do is:

1. enter LOTRO Store
2. choose to buy a single crimson dye (not stack!)
3. when prompted, insert the below mentioned coupon code - price should be 0 after that
4. checkout as normal - zero points will be removed, and you’ll get the dye in your bag

LOTRO Fashion coupon code:

LOTROFASHION

Using this, you are eligible for one free crimson dye. This week I will be promoting my blog's colour in various predominantly crimson outfits. First one coming later today!

Follow @LOTROFashion

And there is more great news - Hymne, Devonna and me will be jury for one of the categories! You can enter screenshots of outfits with the following themes:

• Most Fashionable Kinship (PRIZE: 500 Turbine Points and “Kinship Fashion Photographer 2012” on the LOTRO Forums)
• Fashion In Motion (mount-matching outfits, PRIZE: 500 Turbine Points and titles “Galloping Beauty 2012” (female) or “Dashing Stallion 2012” (male) on the LOTRO Forums)
• Professionally Minded (class & crafting outfits, PRIZE: 500 Turbine Points and a title “Professionally Dressed 2012” on the LOTRO Forums)
• Formal Extravagance (PRIZE: 500 Turbine Points and a title “Extravagant in Starlight 2012” on the LOTRO Forums)

All outfits entered into these 4 categories will be eligible for 2 Community Awards: Fashionista’s Choice (where Hymne, Devonna and me will be judging the final nominees) and Fan Favorite (where everyone will be able to vote for their favourites on the official forums).

For more details on the rules and how to enter the contest, please visit official promo site for LOTRO Fashion Week Screenshot Contest. We are looking forward to see many wonderful outfits in the final selection!

Except for the contest, get ready for the Fashion Maven, who will once again be visiting us ingame between 10th and 12th February - get your "The Fashionable" and "The Eye-sore" titles! You can get ready by claiming our free dyes, as well as winning all week long lotteries which will feature precious cosmetic items!

Winners of the Yule Outfit Contest 2011!

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I am pleased to announce that Hymne, Devonna and me have finished judging this year's Yule Outfit Contest entries and have chosen the winners! :)

(If you're interested only in the winners, please scroll down for details on 1st, 2nd and 3rd place!)

As an opener, let me show you a submission we chosen to award honorary mention of the contest. We have received a submission from a whole kinship, the Lonely Mountain Band of Laurelin, who organized their Yule party wearing wonderful winter costumes. They are absolutely adorable and I'm a little jealous of all the fun these wonderful bunch has had :) We couldn't consider them as ordinary entry competing for the prizes, but they deserve a lot of your attention for their creativity!

Judging the entries was incredibly hard, but also fun job. We received over 150 submissions, most of them very beautiful. Each of us, the outfit bloggers, chose 3 of our favourite outfits to be rated by all of us in the grand finale of TOP 9 entries. These were rated by awarding 1 to 5 points in each category based on following criteria:

• Representative of the Yule or Winter theme and spirit
• Originality of the overall design
• Integration of the various pieces used
• Blending of dye colours
• Overall impression

So each outfit could obtain maximum of 75 points from Hymne, Devonna and myself. The TOP 3 which gained the highest score are our winners.

The only sad point of this contest, at least for me, was having to disqualify entries which did not follow contest rules (most often the screenshot resolution was much less than 1024x768). Two of the entries which would otherwise end up in the TOP 9 had to be disqualified because of this. So people, pretty please, next time we organize a contest, read the rules carefully! :))

And now to the merriest news - these are the 3 winners of our contest! :)

1st prize: 1550 TP code (sponsored by the outfit blogs) goes to Vindrayeth of Snowbourn! His very original and well matched outfit amazed us!

His outfit consists of:

Chest: Hauberk of Rhûn, sea blue dye (Store)
Head: Ceremonial Mammutti Helm, sea blue dye (T5 crafted)
Shoulders: Yule Scarf, white dye (Yule festival)
Hands: Oven Mitts, white dye (Skirmish barter - Rift cosmetics)
Feet: Ceremonial Mammutti Boots, sea bue dye (T5 crafted)
Back: Elk-Hunter's Pack, white dye (Store)

2nd prize: 1000 TP code (sponsored by Turbine) goes to Jerremiah Jamtoes of Laurelin! This outfit proves the beauty lies in simplicity and that a decent hobbit can be well protected against the cold, yet still unbelievably stylish! :)

His outfit consists of:

Chest: Dunlending's Hunting Jacket, burgundy dye (Dunland quest)
Shoulders: Tactical Assault Westfold Shoulder Pads, burgundy dye (T7 crafted)
Hands: Leather Bracers of the Gentle Stag, sienna dye (Dunland quest)
Back: Torahammas' Cloak, burgundy dye (T5 crafted)

3rd prize: 500 TP code (sponsored by Turbine) goes to Elyata of Gladden! Her outfit is one of the most elegant battle-ready outfits I've ever seen and combines very unusual pieces together into demonstration of feminine elegance. Feeling of warmth and star details on the hauberk just add to the festive feeling.

Her outfit consists of:

Chest: Hauberk of the Mirrormere, Rivendell green dye (Store)
Hands: Scorched Ox-Hide Gauntlets, crimson dye (Dunland quest)
Feet: Nightshade Boots, crimson dye (Dunland quest)
Back: Cloak of the Mallorn, Rivendell green dye (Store)

The rest of TOP 9:

Kemendin of Nimrodel
(front view and used items)

Frathluin of Riddermark
(front view and used items)

Ehefkae of Elendilmir
(front view and used items)

Diamint of Vilya
(front view and used items)

Twolegs of Landroval
(front view and used items)

Kiayiren of Evernight
(front view and used items)

Devonna of Lotro Stylist prepared a Flickr slideshow of all entries we've received (including the TOP 9), so feel free to check them all and get heavily inspired for your own winter outfit! :)

Big congratulation to the winners, who have already received their Turbine points codes. Do you like the winning outfits? Please let us (and especially the authors!) know in the comments.

Yule Outfit Contest 2011

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Holiday season invaded us not only in real life, but also in LoTRO and especially in the fashion-positive community. Three biggest LoTRO outfitting blogs united to organize a Yule Outfit Contest for you, and the prizes will surely make any (wo)man, elf, hobbit or even dwarf happy! :)

Cosmetic Lotro, Lotro Stylist and Lotro Fashion are hosting the outfitting contest with theme: Yule or Winter. These are the prizes:

• 1st prize: 1550 TP code (sponsored by the outfit blogs)
• 2nd prize: 1000 TP code (sponsored by Turbine)
• 3rd prize: 500 TP code (sponsored by Turbine)

Rules are:

• The contest begins on Wednesday December 14th, 2011. Entries may be submitted until midnight Eastern Standard Time on Sunday January 8th, 2012.
• To enter the contest, send your entry to outfitblogs (AT) gmail.com with the subject line “Yule Outfit Contest”
• You have to send three screenshots: a front view, a back view and a third one of your own preference (close-up, side view, mounted etc.)
• All screenshots must be unedited, although cropping is allowed. Screenshots must be at least 1024x768 in resolution and be sent as email attachments in .jpg format
• All entries must include the following information: the name, class and level of the character in the screenshots, the server the character resides on, all armour and outfit pieces used in the screenshots and their respective dye colours
• All entries must be original and created and/or owned exclusively by the player submitting the screenshot
  

We (Hymne, Devonna and me) will judge the entries based on following criteria:

• Representative of the Yule or Winter theme and spirit
• Originality of the overall design
• Integration of the various pieces used
• Blending of dye colours
• Overall impression

All decisions will be made by The Outfit Blogs (Cosmetic Lotro, Lotro Stylist and Lotro Fashion) in its sole discretion and are final. Winning entries may be featured on all three Outfit Blogs.

To increase your chances for winning, here are some tips and tricks:

• Before making your screenshots, make sure that your graphics are tweaked to the max. In graphics settings put anti-aliasing on 8x. In advanced graphics settings make sure that texture detail is set to the highest settings possible. Use F12 to remove your UI-buttons and Printscreen to take your screenshots. You can find your Screenshots in your “my documents/lord of the rings online” folder.
• Just like photographs in real life, screenshots of clothing and outfits benefit from light. Try to take your screenshot in a well-lit area, preferably outside during daytime with the sun in your face and your shadow at your back.

We are looking forward to see your Yule outfits very much! :)