Partee: So nice to meet you!! Thank you again so much. I’ve been following your store, Le Fil Cassé, for quite a while.

Ruffle: You’re welcome!

Partee: Very kind of you, so if I might begin. How did you come into Second Life? What brought you here?

Ruffle: Oh! During my last year in college, where I was a fashion major, we had a work/study sort of thing at American Apparel which, at the time, had a presence in SL, I also read an article in an industry newsletter about SL. So on a whim, I signed up to see what it was about.
I roamed around a bit and logged off and forgot about it for a few months. One day when I had a better computer I remembered it and installed it again. After that, I sort of just never left.

Partee: Ah yes. The case is we dabble for a bit and finally get hooked.

Ruffle: This was not my first avi. This avi was the “oh I remember this weird game I signed up for” account because I didn’t remember the first one! After all, the first avi was just one roaming session, so I guess this would be my first official one.

Partee: So you’re a veteran! So you have been there thru all the changes.

Ruffle: I have! Mesh mouths, Lola Tangos, and the various ‘azz’ phat, cute, etc.

Partee: So you mention that you were a fashion major in college. Most who start a store didn’t have many connections to fashion in real life. So what was it like when you got started?

Ruffle: Trying to put what you want onto a flat texture that was skin-tight on a jagged digital body is hard! I had a horrible-looking brand back in 2010 called “Black&Blue” that was just system clothing and some prims I bought off of the Marketplace. I was working as a designer in real life while Second Life was my fun place. But it did not have the clothing I wanted to wear. So I made them myself.

Partee: I am not surprised. Many stores got started because the owners could not find clothing they liked. When you got started it was a different market back then. I presume you went through all the transitions.

Ruffle: Yes, all of the transitions. I was buying rigged mesh off of marketplace during the standard sizing days, and one day in 2015, I decided maybe I should try meshing.

Partee: Nice! How did you get started?

Ruffle: YouTube is a great buddy! But also Rebeeca Dembo who is the creator of CandyDoll and is also a great friend gave me a lot of advice and tips that got me through the hard things that I didn’t understand at first.

Partee: Oh wonderful! So often it is friends who help us to learn the ropes. When did you come out with your first mesh offering you made yourself?

Ruffle: It was a little dog that you could hold. It was the first thing I meshed and finished. Rigged mesh, however, was still a mystery to me at that point!

Partee: Many owners pass off the work of rigging to others to do while they come up with the mesh.

Ruffle: As for rigging I am cheap so I learned to do it myself. Paying someone to rig, I understand, can be very expensive.

Partee: Well I would say you are resourceful and like to do things for yourself.

Ruffle: Jack of all trades and master of none. That is me!

Partee: I can appreciate that entirely! So when did you start your current store?

Ruffle: I think that was 2011.

Partee: I think your store has a very distinctive style I must say. Did you start your store with that style in mind?

Ruffle: I wanted ruffly things and girly things, I started very, very pink and sort of weaned myself off of it over time. At that time though my brain was girly, floral, ruffles, and lace! I have deviated a bit from that nowadays but the feel is the same. Perhaps a little bit sexier and a little less frilly. I guess my eye got old along with me!

Partee: So what is your process like these days in coming up with an outfit? How do you get your ideas and how does your process flow?

Ruffle: I sort of sit there until something comes out of me, to be honest! Such glamour, I know. Designing in real life was very fast-paced. Often we needed to come up with, say, 8 variations of one top in just a couple of hours. Second Life design gives me a little bit more time to play with shapes and make it a style that can look good with all shapes and sizes without having the mesh deform too much for extreme sliding.

Partee: You sound like a real pro! I have always heard real-life fashion can be stressful. Is Second Life easier?

Ruffle: It is! Real life is stressful. You are responsible for 150 styles a month and I was having to travel to Europe and Asia a few times a year to attend trade shows while also running a design team when I was out of the office. That is not including the domestic trade shows that would run every season. Now in Second Life, I get to have my favorite show running in the background and my dog in my lap while I work! I mean, I don’t even have to shower when I am working in Second Life. No one can smell me through the computer. That was a joke. I shower!

Partee: Hehe. So how long does it take you to create an outfit, generally, from the germ of the idea to the packaged product in the store or at an event?

Ruffle: 24-48 hours depending on the item. Mesh can be finicky and rigging for bodies is only over when you give up and realize it’s never going to be perfect. That is when you’re actually done with it. It occurs whenever your brain waves the white flag! It’s awful, but I have to tell myself to give up.

Partee: Haha! How many bodies do you provide your outfits for?

Ruffle: Currently Legacy/Perky, Maitreya/Petite, and Ebody Reborn, and whichever add-on to that is relevant to the design. If I get a lot of requests for a certain body I will add it!

Partee: Seems like a good solid core of bodies. Reborn must be a recent addition. It seems to have considerable popularity these days.

Ruffle: Yes! A lot of my customers have told me they’ve switched over to Reborn.

Partee: Still even that number of bodies must require a lot of rigging work. Sometimes owners I talk to seem ready to tear their hair out.

Ruffle: I have felt like tearing my hair out!

Partee: Hehe. So how many events are you involved with these days?

Ruffle: There are 8 monthly events that I am a regular at and then whatever special extra ones I have time for that are seasonal. The monthlies are Fameshed, Collabor88, and Kustom9. Dubai, Dollholic, Warehouse, Uber, and Kinky.

Partee: That is quite an amazing set of events. I love them all!

Ruffle: They are indeed amazing! I have been with them for many years.

Partee: Reminds me of the ones we have lost like Shiny Shabby and Crossroads. I remember when Shiny was theeeeeeee event each month

Ruffle: Yup. I really loved Seasons Story.

Partee: Oh yes Seasons! Was curious about any plans you have for the future of your store.

Ruffle: My most daunting and current task right now is to try and get my entire store on a vendor system … as you can see from the servers here. It has been half a decade of no vendor system so this is my current project that will take forever. It is going okay! it is quite tedious and the minute I start it, I start to yawn but I need to get through it!

Partee: Well I am sure you will master it! I want to thank you again so very much for letting me interview you it has been a delight!

Ruffle: Awww, you are welcome! Thank you for your consideration!

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