Stuff, Stuff, Everywhere

There are limits, even in WoW, to how many outfits and how much cool RP stuff you can accumulate without running out of storage space. Even if you dedicate all your bank slots to your hat collections, broken bottles and offhand frills, the day will come when there is more that you want than you can fit in your bags and still have space for your raid gear and the stuff that actually helps you win fights.

What is a fashionable toon to do?

If this were real life, you might be compelled, as I am, to have a tag sale (the equivalent of a trip to the vendors). If you are super organized, and I am not, you might decree that for every new item that you acquire, an old one must go. Or you might just rent a dumpster - that old standby DELETE.

Here are a few tips I have learned about maximizing the potential of every item in your collection and the space you have to keep it.

1. Use your Bank All for anything not Soulbound. This will be mildly inconvenient when you need to log off to mail yourself a stack of fish, but most of your fashionable gear will be bound to you and can only go in your own bank or bags.

2. Use the most versitile items of apparel in many costumes. Imelda Marcos had closet space for 2,000 pairs of shoes. You don't. Do what the Real Life fashion mavens do and find a belt or two that goes with everything. Unless it is a matched set, you do not need a one-off pair of gloves or shoes. Even the same pair of pants can be used for many different looks. I get a lot of mileage out of Azure Silk Pants, Willow Belt, Studded Belt and Calico Shoes.

3. Don't equip that perfect hat until you have acquired the full outfit. As long as you leave it BoE, your Bank Alt can store it for you.

4. Covet not the Bosses Gear. If it is not available to players, it doesn't matter how hot you think you would look in Queen Alexstrasza's Uber Babe armor. You can't have a Pirate Admiral's Coat, either. Get over it.

5. Avoid trying to fill non essential fashion slots. Especially for male toons, there are very few times when you will want to equip shoulders, capes or bracers to complete a specific costume look. How many pirates do you know who went running around looking like linebackers? Unless you want to be a high fashion wizard, these are of limited costume value. Stick with Hats, Chests, Legs, Waists and Feet in that order.

6. Be distinctive! After you have been browsing the AH for a month or so, you will have exhausted its fashion potential. The distinctive gear comes from quests. Seek out that stylin' red hat and consider dumping the threadbare one. You can always get another from the AH if you miss it later.

7. Take a screenshot and save that, not the garb. Especially with one-off costumes where it was a fun look to acquire but you are unlikely to use it again, record the moment in all its glory and then send that headress and loincloth off the to the vendors.

8. Keep it Fresh! Find new opportunities to use the cool fashion attire you have assembled. I like to joust in mine, which for a DPS warrior has the added advantage of letting me dual wield the lance with my offhand item. Stuff like this goes in you bags, not your bank.

9. Let an alt have the fun. Not every toon needs the First Mate Hat....well, maybe they do need that, but there are other looks that you can let your alts have without burdening your main. And frankly, some fashion looks better on certain races and genders than others. Male dwarves and dresses are not a pretty combination.

10. Remember to play the game. You still ought to be out there questin' and hackin' and slashin' and castin' and whatnot. And acquiring mounts and vanity pets. They don't take up bag space. And you will still look marvelous!

Tim-m-m-m-ber-r-r-r!

"I didn't want to do this job. I wanted to be....a lumberjack!" Well, thanks to four tailor made shirt patterns, now you can. The Red Lumberjack Shirt is the classic choice for this look, but you can go with Blue, Green or Yellow too, depending on access to the patterns. Better yet, they are all wearable by level 1, so your bank alt should be making the most of these as well.

For the rest of the outfit, Sterk wears Walking Boots because of the gaiters, Azure Silk pants because he doesn't have Solliden's trousers yet and they pass for Denim blue jeans, Fingerless Gloves and the leather Studded Belt. The hat is one of the smaller brimmed designed, in this case the Crochet Hat.

Sterk wields the 2 handed Woodchopper, although there is 1- handed lumberjack axe he might deign to use as a hatchet but not to fell the mighty trees of the Grizzly Hills! Aside from this great logger's paradise, enterprising lumberjacks can find suitable worksites in the Stonetalon Mountains or wherever else the Venture Company has decided to start a clearcut. As long as the daily lasts, your Level 80 toon can make it more of a challenge by equipping your lumberjack garb and doing the Jack Me Some Lumber quest from the goblins at the Argent Tournament Grounds. Let me know how that works out...

Bandito

The Haliscan Brimmed Hat (or Don Carlos' Famous Hat for those who put in the extra effort to get it) is an outstanding and distinctive lid. There are times, though, when you don't want to look like a Mariachi in the rest of the Haliscan outfit (unless your toon looks like Antonio Banderas; in which case, Mariachis ftw). There are times when you just want to say "Emblems? We don't need no stinkin' emblems!" and for that you need some different duds to wear with the hat.

Sterkvark (the short guy next to ol' Don Carlos) models a bandito look I've been working on for a western themed screenshot story. The Common White Shirt is paired with the Aurora Pants and knitted sandals. The belt is that versitile item, Captain Sander's Sash, and the gun my old standby the Dwarven Hand Cannon. The best part, though, is the bandolier, which is the leather chest Warden's Wraps and wearable at level 39. I can live with the extra bands on the biceps and the look is dead on otherwise.

"HEY BLONDIE! YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE?! JUST A DIRTY SON OF A B-"

Haliscan Hottie?

Well, perhaps not on a dwarf. But if you are a higher level toon you are really missing out if you haven't made the effort to look like a mariachi or an extra from Zorro. better yet, if all you want are the Haliscan Jacket and pantaloons, a tailor with the patterns (sold by a vendor at Steamweedle Port in tanaris) can make them for your level 1 bank alt! The mats for these two items are:

• 65 Mageweave
  
  
• 6 Heavy Silken Thread
  
• 5 Black Dye
  
  
• 1 Red Dye
  
• 2 Thick Leather
  
  

The hat, though, takes a bit more effort, but it is well worth it, not only because it truly makes the outfit but also because there is a rare version guarrenteed to drop in Old Hillsbrad on the heroic setting that will give you an awesome non combat pet!

You start out in Tanaris at the graveyard just to the east of Gadgetstan, where you will find the inebriated Don Carlos, moping about the passage of time. At level 68 you can get the quest Nice Hat from him and travel to the caverns of Time and Old Hillsbrad Foothills to defeat his younger self. Doing so can be a challenge, as he is a level 68 elite hunter with an elite level 68 coyote pet, but completing the quest awards a haliscan brimmed hat for your outfit.

But don't settle for that. If you do it on heroic (and this requires a reputation grind to honored with the Keepers of Time to purchase the Key of Time to unlock the heroic setting), Don Carlos' Famous Hat will drop, and equipping this hat allows you to summon the awesome Spirit Coyote non-combat pet. Unfortunately, this does not count toward pet hoarding achievements, but it is huge in comparison to other vanity companions as shown here.

Don Carlos and his Coyote "Guererro" are level 72 elites on heroic, however, and a challenge for some classes to solo. My dps warrior had difficulty closing with him while fending off the coyote and dealing with plentiful scatter shots from his gun. You will find the Don riding along the road toward Durnholde as far as the bridge. There are those who say that even if you get a message after killing him that you are saved to the instance, you can exit and reset and kill him 4 more times so that others in your group can get the hat.

Sterk wears Calico Shoes with this outfit, which come only to the ankle so as to show off the buttons and embroidery on the pantaloons. They are a nice dark color and are a fraction of the cost of dress shoes. I like a black cape with this costume, and Juno's Shadow - a rare drop from Strathome - fits the bill nicely. There are several rapiers in the game for those who can wield swords, and I made dazzling mithril rapier for this outfit. Others swear that dual wielding the mace Baron's Scepter looks like maracas. And there is yet one more item that belonged to Don Carlos that is well worth a visit to Area 52 in Netherstorm, where Boots hawks Don Carlos Tequila: just the thing for rewarding anyone who helps you get the famous hat! I am told it is also available to Alliance toons in from Bartender Jason Goodhutch in Howling Fjord.

If you really want to go overboard, you can track down and equip some of the other items belonging to The Dons of WoW. I have a Jones for Don Rigoberto's Lost Hat, though not for the haliscan outfit...

Those who want the Mexican bandito look can use either hat without the Haliscan chest and legs if they get a bit creative. We'll model that look in a subsequent post.

Home on the Range

It is a shame that WoW doesn't offer 1 handed firearms, because so much else about this medieval fantasy world lends itself to Western attire. Here we see "Sherrif" Sterkvark riding through a landscape which could be freshout of Bonanza (at least in this view which has no goblins or Tauren visible).

Mulgore could be the Big Sky Country, northern Rockies at the very least, while the Badlands and Thousand Needles have the Desert Southwest sewed up tight. And the burning Venture Company caravan in Mulgore was clearly attacked by those bison-headed Tauren "redskins".

The Farmer in the Dell (or ThinkPad)

Alliance toons who wanted to look like farmers rejoiced after the release of WotLK. Previously, if you wanted a pitchfork you had to hope that a Horde who was slaughtering Hillsbrad Farmers put one up in a neutral AH, or farm Zul'Gurub for his Pitchfork of Madness. But now, DK's on their starter quests can farm the Rusted Pitchfork in the Scarlet Enclave.




Sterk's brother Ystervark is a DK, but he was not paying attention to his drops and lost the opportunity to snare one of these pitchforks. Sterk picked his up in the AH for about 5g, but it is by far the best farming implement for this costume. You can also go with a shovel, of which there are six from which to choose, or a Farmer's broom.





Here is your chance to use those Blue Overalls for something other than a fishing costume. You can also farm Solliden's trousers, which look like the bottom half of the overalls, from Farmer Solliden in Tirisfal Glades. I went up there and when he finally spawned for me his rarer shovel dropped instead of his pants, but this can be used by Level 2 so my Bank Alt now struts around with it.





Sterk is wearing the yellow lumberjack shirt, which looks far browner than its name suggests, paired with a willow belt and Thread-bare hat. There are all sorts of options for boots, and since he does not have limitless closet space, Sterk wears Nat Pagle's Extreme Anglin' Boots.





Farmer pets could include the various chickens, the Elwyn lamb, or if you are really lucky you might be able to equip one of the promotional pigs. Mr. Wiggles from children's week is an easier pig to acquire. Sterk poses here with his Anaconda chicken and assorted Dalaran mounts.

Wild Wild West Part I

Though it may seem somewhat incongruous for a medieval fantasy world, there are all sorts of possibilities for giving your WoW toon a western look. I previously showed you what a bearded dwarf looks like dressed like an indian and a prospector. Thanks to at least 24 different styles of wide brimmed hat and a number of others of a smilar nature, there is really no excuse not to get on your cowboy duds.

This is a very clothie friendly look, and many of the garments can be made by tailors. Sterkvark is wearing brown linen pants (azure silk pants are a reasonable alternative), and a red linen vest. This vest and the green woolen one are both open fronted and unlaced on male toons and have that western look. The blue linen vest is closed in front but also works well. The white tuxedo shirt with its string tie is perfect for wearing beneath the vest.

It is hard to find decent cowboy boots, but simple styles without cuffs or extess adornments are appropriate for cowboys. Sterk wears simple linen boots.

Leather wearers should consider the Wanderer's Belt, which looks like it was inlayed with silver. Simple belts with big buckles are just the thing. There are no pistols and holsters in the game, but some of the double barrelled shotguns are a great choice. Sterk has a Dwarven Hand Cannon.

The hat, though, is key. The black Master's Hat is Sterk's favorite. As for the pet, he goes with the worg pup and rides a slow pinto mount from Stormwind.

First Mate Hat

I have given considerable space in previous posts to extolling the virtues of the various eyepatches for would be pirates without the First Mate Hat. I still think they are an excellent way to go for those who can wear leather.

But having haunted the AH for a couple of weeks, I pounced on the First Mate Hat when someone who did not know its rarity listed it with a buyout of 10g and change. 1:10,000 drop rate. I would have paid 1,500g.

The broken bottle, by the way, is Barman Shanker, a rare item that drops from the barkeep in the Grim Guzzler in Black Rock Depths. It has an 8% drop rate, and I got it on the 5th try.

I do like the hat...

What's Cookin'?

The inclusion of the chef's hat in the last patch opened up a whole new look for cooks. 100 Dalaran cooking awards may seem steep, but I have almost never needed to buy more northern spices and am well stocked with both food and recipes after 6 months of doing the daily. It was an easy choice, and one which may become slightly more useful after the hat gets an upgrade in the next patch.

For now, though, it is all about the look. It is a creamy ivory color that really stands out even in dimly lit environments such as Ironforge. There is not, alas, a white tuxedo jacket or apron in the game suitable for a Male dwarf who cooks, although the Brewfest dress does have a dark apron and might be a good alternative for a female toon. The White Tuxedo Shirt and Black Pants combo, either from Noble Garden or tailor made, are reasonable choices for an executive chef. Sterkvark models this look above, with Calico shoes. One could also throw on Blue Overalls and go for barbecue pit boss, or Deckhand's shirt and Solliden's Trousers for short order cook. Horde can do a quest for something called leather chef's belt.

No self respecting chef (who can equip a mace, at any rate) should be without Cookie's Tenderizer, and there are many cleaver options for those who use axes. Sterk, as a dual wielding warrior goes with both. Other offhand options include the various hand-held fish or even last year's mutton for 50 Darkmoon tickets.

Miner: Version 2 (and 3)

Here is a second take on the miner look from a previous post. Sterk still wears the Expert Goldminer's Hat and blue workman's shirt, but this time the legs are Brown Linen Pants with Willow Belt (of the Monkey). I am not yet satisfied with the boots, trying Haal'eshi Boots (of the Boar) this time though I think they make him look too jackbooted.


I am very pleased, though, with his dual wielded mining tools. Along with the cold iron pick, I picked up The Shoveler for around 50g in the AH and am certain there are many other times I'll be glad I had a shovel onhand.

It is amazing what transformations are possible just by changing headgear. Slapping on the black Fireheart Skullcap (of Spirit) makes a prospector out of the hard rock miner. I will do another version based on this hat with the yellow lumberjack shirt and blue overalls one of these days...

"Betcha Goin' Fishin' Alla de Time"

Even those obsessed with tier gear make room in their bags for clothes that help them fish. Sterk has been a maxed out fisherman for a long time, and even when he is after Monsterbellies he rarely catches junk, but he wouldn't be caught dead - even angling for baby crocolisks in Stormwind - without his weatherbeaten fishing hat. This is the

fishing hat, even better than the other one that is a reward from turning in a rare fish from the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza. It is a rare reward from the Shatt and now Dalaran Fishing Dailies. No serious angler should be without it, and wearing yours while fishing marks you as such.

In fact, there are a number of rare fishing rewards that anglers equip to show off their good fortune. A number of these are pets, including the four baby crocolisks that 1.4% of the time are rewards from the Shattrath Crocolisks in the City daily. Sterk has done this daily everytime it has come around since Februrary and has both Snarly and Toothy to show for it. Although acquiring even one of these ought to count as a significant achievement in anyone's book, this is not yet considered one officially, the way catching Mr. Pinchy and then getting him to cough up the magical crawdad pet, or fishing up the Dalaran Sewer Rat both are. Or that confounded Sea turtle mount which has yet to drop for me. I did get the strand crawler pet during my first week of Dal fishing dailies, however, and any of these make ideal fishing accessories.

Be that as it may, if you have the space and like to fish, it is worth taking a little time with how you look while doing it. Sterk models his current fishing look, having set aside his standard blue overalls for something more suitable fro fishing in northern streams. Along with his weatherbeaten fishing hat, he wears the green lumberjack shirt with brown linen pants. His fingerless gloves drop from Thuros Lightfingers, a rare spawn at any of the four Defilas camps in Elwynn forest, and have the +2 fishing enchant. There are other fingerless gloves in the game in different colors - knitted gloves are black versions of the same model and are sold by many cloth vendors.

As for the feet, they are Nat Pagle's Extreme Anglin' Boots, the reward for catching Brownell's Blue Striped Racer at the Stranglethorn fishing contest. The waist is the reliable leather studded belt that goes so well with working stiff attire. The rod is the Mastercraft Kalu'ak Fishing Pole gained at Exalted from the Kalu'ak Quartermasters.

There are plenty of other fishing costume possibilites out there, and there is an extensive thread on this subject in the forums at El's Extreme Angling.

Miner: Version 1

Here's a relatively simple look that lends itself to variation. To be honest, I am not yet satisfied with the lower half of this miner costume - I think the pants should be a carhartt brown and the boots more like sh*tkickers - but from the belt up I like the look.


The headgear, discussed in a prior post, is the Expert Goldminer's Helm : an 8% drop from the rare level 38 elite Digmaster Shovelphlange in the pre-instance parts of Uldaman. I found it in the AH for 20g and as a non-engineer was thrilled to have it. It serves very well for any construction worker look (for instance, if you and your guild wanted to dress like the Village People, not that any that I know of have done so (see previous post).

There are a number of weapons in the game that look like miner's picks, and a few of these actually work as picks as wellnd go in your miner's bag. Sterkvark models one of these above: Cold Iron Pick.

The blue workman's shirt is a great choice for a miner or others who do manual labor. I especially like the rolled sleeves and suspenders. The mats are cheap and many high level tailors can make it. The studded belt sold by leather armor merchants is just the thing for holding up your dungarees if you can wear it.

Sorceror Pants and Simple Linen Boots are acceptible, but not ideal choices for the rest of the outfit but were what I had on hand. I will substitute Brown Linen Pants in all likelihood, perhaps with Durable Boots or another simple, lighter colored design.

This miner costume is just right for city sanitation engineers (think Dal sewers) and those who labor far underground. The prospector, on the other hand, is a very different look, and one that we shall attempt to duplicate in another post.