Damn you, fresh savory mushroom soup!

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

Had Wasabito known what rigmaroles await him after he agreed to help Daisy Sandyman, he would have never even come her way. He thought he would deliver a few pies here and there and get enough goods in return, and instead he has to chase for some stupid savory 'shroom soup now! He couldn't find it, so he set off to his old buddy Gerebert's house - they were apprentices of Shire's expert cook Mrs. Underhill together and Gerebert always had good eye on rare recipes.

However, Gerebert has gone amiss (as dear Esilia mentioned to everybody else but poor Wasabito) and his dump dark house was full of miserable trash, spiders, and for worse - rats! Several pests attacked him and he almost pooed his pants, but in the end he held it! "The recipe, finally!" Wasabito thought, and then found out it was a stupid journal! "Oh goodness," he cried, running out from the infested house to the fields around Tuckborough, thanking for the lantern he'd brought to show the way out. There he swore revenge to the pests and evil fellow who asked him for this useless soup. "He will get the good old mushroom & onions one, I bet he won't even tell the difference!" cursed Wasabito, shaking his fist towards the wind.

My last outfit before vacation was a well-armed hobbit lad, and today there's a hobbit lad again - but this time a plain fellow of Shire. He simply enjoys the Farmer's Faire, running from trouble to trouble (I've heard he recently decided to go to Maggot's farm to hunt some mushrooms, fool!). The faire's cosmetics are cute and very good looking especially on hobbits, so I wanted to make use of it.

Please let me know what do you think about the outfit in comments, or simply rate below the post's title :)

Chest: Farmer's Fancy Tunic and Trousers, gold dye (Farmer's Faire festival)
Head: Straw Hat, gold dye (Skirmish cosmetics vendor)
Shoulders: Ceremonial Spear-shaker's Shoulders, default dye (Skirmish cosmetics vendor - Helegrod medium)
Back: Cook's Trappings, gold dye (Store)

Emotes:
./cower
./shakefist
./mood_fearful

I'm back in summer mood :)

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

Hi guys!

My three weeks off prolonged into twice as much - catching up with workload after my vacation (which I enjoyed to full extent - no internet access, no mobile signal :)) took quite some time, plus I enjoyed some lovely warm weather with some hiking and sunbathing. However, I'm more than happy to be back in business - I even found out there's new festival ongoing when I logged in!

So Freyjuska is now enjoying Farmer's Faire with her fellow hobbits and I'm starting to think of new outfits for you guys. I haven't even checked my mailbox yet, but I will soon prepare some lovely guest submissions to post (unfortunately some even from times before I left - shame on me!).

Looking forward to going through my fellow bloggers' posts and your comments!

Frey

See you in two weeks!

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

I thought I'd be able to post some more outfit before my vacation, but I didn't manage it - I'm as disorganized as always :) I'm leaving for 2 weeks vacation tomorrow, so I'd like to ask you to bear with me and promise I'll bring you some pretty outfits after I return - you've sent me really amazing guest submissions which are sitting in my mailbox for now.

So, see you in July! :)

New blogs about LOTRO cosmetics - volume 3

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

It's been a long time since I presented new LOTRO outfitting blogs (aside from tweeting a little here, a little there), which is shameful and I'd like to set this right! For instance, I realized I totally neglected launch of the Starry Mantle last November (I mean I didn't write about it - of course I've been totally hooked up on Starry from the beginning!). No more mistakes like this anymore! :))

Landroval Style has been up for a month and a half and already has a nice collection of good looking outfits. It presents blog owner's creations, as well as other Landroval players - I totally love the "Seen on the Streets" category, which is kind of Landroval fashion police. There are several other interesting series, such as Dress It Up challenges or Cloak of the Day - don't miss them!

I can't believe I missed Vogue of the Rings when it launched in last year's November (aye, that's the same month Starry Mantle launched - must have been very busy month for me :( ). It's run by Danica, whom you might remember by this outfit which ended up in TOP 9 in Yule Fashion Contest 2011 (under character's name Diamint). There's bountiful collection of outfits - please check them out and encourage the author to continue posting!

You might need Google Translate's help for this one, but Estel Fashion is certainly worth checking out. Blog started in December and is aimed at francophone community, but screenshots speak one united language anyway :)

An Unexpected Fashion Blog launched only last month and it already has a lot of inspirational posts. I particularly love a gypsy maiden, so wonderfully set within the scenery.

...and there are more! Many blogs have arisen from Newbie Blogger Initiative, which I was also part of as a mentor (only in the beginning of May though, work schedule came into my plans :( ). Some of these blogs only have a few posts at the moment, but watch them closely - there's inspiration in each and every post and who knows which of them will grow into established fashion blogs!

The Ivy

Moria Fashion (dwarven F2P outfits)

Material Middle-Earth

LOTRO Ladies Outfitter

Middle-Earth Mannequins

Lotro Cinna (which I love because of Hunger Games reference!)

Tip: I also updated my blogroll on the right side - check it out! I've separated outfitting blogs from other sites, so that it's easier to search among them.

Late watches

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

If anybody says Shire is a safe haven of Middle-earth, his words are long past due. Bindbole Wood, a landmark in northern Shire, has recently been infested with horrible spiders and goblins, troubling peaceful hobbits and careless travelers. Especially at night, the road passing through Overhill is very dangerous. Luckily, many hobbits have also been trained by the Rangers in recent past, to be able to defend their homeland from allies of the enemy. One of them is Wasabito, a skilled warden born in Overhill, who keeps an eye on his hometown and lumberers working in surrounding forest.

A pre-order option for the upcoming expansion, Riders of Rohan, has become available last week. Of course I had to buy it, for the amazing Rohirrim cosmetics, if for nothing else. I'm a little disappointed that the Armour of the Eastemnet set does not dye, so it remains mostly olive. It's such a pity Turbine limits use of excellent pre-order cosmetics again, as they did with Rise of Isengard :(

Enough complaints - despite it's colour limitations, the Eastemnet set looks gorgeous. So does the steed - it looks sturdy and agile at the same time, fitting for a Rohirrim horse. But the best about the whole ensemble is that the armour looks amazing on all races and genders. It makes even male hobbits look sexy, so I had to make use of it :) I added burgundy accessories (to match the steed's harness) and the horrible Cloak of Vigilance, which I usually hate. Here, however, it seems to bind the pieces of the outfit together and the braided blonde fur matches the mount as well.

Don't forget to check out all the cosmetics which come with Riders of Rohan pre-order on Cosmetic LOTRO - Hymne did a great job collecting and previewing them (even the weird horse-mane cloak rewarded for the ingame deed following pre-purchase - and I mean, there's really horse mane sticking out of it!).

Please let me know what do you think about the outfit in comments, or simply rate below the post's title :)

Chest: Hauberk of the Eastemnet, default dye (Riders of Rohan pre-order, all editions) 
Shoulders: Hardened Steel Dunlending Pauldrons, olive dye (Dunland quest)
Hands: Hyrde-folme, burgundy dye (Dunland quest)
Feet: Polished Boots of the Dunland Shieldman, burgundy dye (Dunland quest)
Back: Cloak of Vigilance, burgundy dye (Store)

Mount: Steed of the Eastemnet (Riders of Rohan pre-order, Heroic or Legendary edition)

Emotes:
./mountrearup (Store exclusive)
./look
./think
./charge

Guardian of Imladris

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

The southern passage into Rivendell is called the Gates of Imladris and establishes a clear bastion of civilization and safety in an otherwise wild land. Nevertheless, the Elves of Rivendell guard this approach carefully, and it is not entirely safe for travellers to approach unannounced - those who pass this way with ill intent in their hearts are rarely seen or heard from again.

Sidgrid is a guardian of Sindarin origin. Her family had kept out of politics and wars for generations, being scholars of the times old forgotten. However, their firstborn child had spirit of a warrior, and they didn't object to her joining the Guardians of Imladris. She began her training as a very young elf back in the Second Age and finished it far sooner than her brothers in arms. Over the centuries, she became the leader of the Guardians, who are the key to keeping the pass to Rivendell safe. However brave and experienced, she is still an elven lady and even her unpiercable armour shows that.

An elven female guardian - that's quite an unusual combination. Hard to dress as well - elven maidens tend to look comical in bulky heavy armour, it squeezes them so they look like they were wearing an oversized can. Here I wanted to create a distinguishable heavy outfit, which would look protective and feminine at the same time.

I wanted to use the Helegrod items which are now available in store as cosmetic armour. When I started matching the Dragon-scale breastplate dyed Ered Luin blue, I realized the shoulder part of the piece is violet... I was like - what?! In the default red dye, I've never noticed that, although I don't understand why - now when I look at the chestpiece, the violet is striking my eyes :) However, I started searching for a complimentary colour and ended up with pastel green.

I also used a hooded store cloak - I have to say I hate this kind of hoods and use them very rarely in my outfits. However, here it seemed fitting and served much better than any of the helms I've tried. The whole outfit ended up being cheerful and battle-ready at the same time, I hope.

Please let me know what do you think about the outfit in comments, or simply rate below the post's title :)

Chest: Ceremonial Dragon-scale Breastplate, dark green dye (Store)
Legs: Leggings of Orod-na-Thôn, dark green dye (world drop; also available from Rivendell heavy armoursmith)
Shoulders: Hardened Steel Dunlending Pauldrons, violet dye (Dunland quest)
Hands: Gloves of Forbidden Love, grey dye (Great River quest)
Feet: Rusted Boots of the Dunland Berserker, dark green dye (Dunland quest)
Back: Hooded Cloak of the Silver Birch, violet dye (Store)

Emotes:
./charge
./look
./roar
./lookaround
./swordsalute
./kneel

Guest: Eodread of Nimrodel

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

This mysterious traveler hails from Gondor, specifically Pelargir. He has traversed the borders of Gondor and Harad, and feeling the heat, found an armour to protect himself, but to keep cool in the harsh heat. With his favourite horse Jade they roam the lands of Middle-earth, helping those in need and punishing the allies of evil.

This outfit might be less original than the previous creation of Eodread, but I love it because of the chosen dye. I've never noticed how awesome and nomadic does the OD burglar set look in white. The little details such as dagger on gauntlets or little daggers hanging around the waist make it one of the most valuable sets for cosmetic purposes and each and every part of it can be nicely matched.

Please let us know what do you think about the outfit in comments, or simly rate below the post's title :)

Chest: Lesser Secret of the West Breastplate, white dye (Ost Dunhoth burglar level 65 set)
Legs: Lesser Secret of the West Leggings, white dye (Ost Dunhoth burglar level 65 set)
Head: Lesser Secret of the West Helmet, white dye (Ost Dunhoth burglar level 65 set)
Hands: Secret of the West Gauntlets, white dye (Ost Dunhoth burglar level 65 set)
Feet: Cry of the West Boots, white dye (Ost Dunhoth captain level 65 set)

Mount: Prized Algraig Horse (Algraig reputation)