I don't want to suggest that this is a huge problem. It really isn't. Often times the most grandiosely described garments feel like they should be the most expensive, anyway. But there are also certainly times, especially when making garments for other characters, when I feel like I am 'padding' the level of description in a way that's actual not entirely aesthetic. After all, when we craft our @describe me messages or our @nakeds, more is not always more. Sometimes it's great, and sometimes something short and punchy gets the job done better and comes off as intriguing.
I feel like clothes are the same way. I see player-made clothes where the @worn message is just a few lines, but they manage to completely capture what my character is seeing, and I appreciate that the tailor was able to distill their vision so succinctly. I totally get the idea of long descriptions being worth more because they might represent greater effort, and there's certainly a feeling of achievement when finishing a very detailed piece, but my second reaction when doing so is often, are people even going to read this? I mean at what point am I cataloging byzantine minutia just for fidelity's sake in a way that will limit how other players then appreciate that garment, just so that I feel it has a value commensurate with my character's skill?
What I mean by limiting other player's appreciation is simply that, you can "get" an article of clothing as described in two lines or even five lines and digest it relatively quickly compared to one that stretches on for ten lines. Sometimes I feel that by clothing characters in a novella, I'm actually making it harder for other players to get their look or outfit.
The second issue, the size of garment physically, seems to make some sense, a long coat or gown being worth more than a hat, for instance. Shoes kind of get the short end of the stick here, as do open coats versus closed coats.
I feel like I already know that the solution to this is to just ignore the valuation entirely except when comparing apples to apples, and I also feel like I have no better method for how valuation should be influenced by these factors. I'm not bitching, it's not even a big deal for me, it's just been on my mind, and I want to see if it's something other people have considered.
