Neopets Customisation - Red Carpet Ready

It was the 10th night of the month of Sleeping, when I noticed that my little Draik Lyndie was up way past her bedtime. (So was I, but that was nothing unusual.) When I asked her what she was doing up at 2 am NST, she seemed frazzled. “I can’t find anything to wear tomorrow!” At first I was confused. What was so important about tomorrow? I didn’t even have to ask, though, as she so kindly reminded me. “You do know the Neopies start tomorrow, right? And I have nothing to wear!”

Knowing the extensive selection in our closet, I found that hard to believe. With all of the choices in Neopia today, surely there had to be something appropriate for her to wear in there! “But I’ve worn all of those already,” she whined, folding her short little Draik arms across her chest with a pout that begged me to take her shopping at the NC Mall. However, I do have other goals I’m pursuing, which means that buying a new outfit for every new occasion is not an option – as much as we would all like it to be. I tried to explain this to Lyndie, but she seemed apprehensive. How can you create a slammin’ new look out of boring old clothes that you’ve already shoved to the back of the closet?

There are so many possibilities when styling your pet – some of them fabulous, others not so great – and of course there is no right or wrong way to customise, but this guide will hopefully give you just a little more insight on how to keep your pets looking classy without having to buy them a whole new outfit for each fancy occasion.

Let’s start with the basics. The first thing you want to avoid is over cluttering your pets. While you may have the urge to equip them with every article you possibly can, this will only serve to distract people from your adorable pet’s natural charm and beauty, and they will end up looking more tacky and overloaded than anything else. There are 25 different zones where items can be applied, which means your pet could wear up to 25 different things at a time – and that’s a lot! As a general rule, I like to start out simple with an appealing background and a basic outfit. For Lyndie’s Neopies look, we decided on the Black and White Hall Background. But don’t worry –even though some of us are addicted to the mall, you don’t need to buy NC to customise your pets beautifully! There are plenty of lovely Neopoint items available for purchase as well, but you do need take the time to hunt them down. For example, the Checkered Background gives the same sort of feel as the Black and White Hall Background, or you could also try out the Silver Glitter Background or any other fancy, sparkly background you can find!

Now it’s time to pick out the outfit. Make sure it matches the look and feel of the background, and fits your pet well – some species just look odd in certain styles. (On that note, make sure you keep in mind your pet’s colour when customising as well. Some colours, like white or skunk, can match most any clothing, while others – say Plushie, Split, or Rainbow - have a much harder time finding complementary colours.) For Lyndie, we had to go with a gown of course for this red carpet event. The obvious choice here might be the Elegant Feather Dress (they did come in a superpack together, after all!) but if we want to create a new unique look, we need to make sure to steer clear of anything too matchy-matchy, or anything that was sold together. That wouldn’t be very creative at all! This is a good time to look for species specific clothing, especially if you are going the NP route because there aren’t as many all-species dresses out there. If you have a Hissi, a Hissi Pop Star Dress or Pretty Pink and Black Hissi Dress might do the trick, and Blumaroo owners can try the stylish Colourful Blumaroo Dancer Dress or perhaps the ever fashionable Pink Blumaroo Dress. In Lyndie’s case, we went with a pretty pink little number, the Figure Skating Dress.

One more concern to address before we move on – what if you’re customising a male pet? Boys can’t wear dresses! Okay, well, they could, but they might get picked on by the paparazzi if they tried to wear one to a fancy event like the Neopies. Customising a manlier pet can be a bit of a challenge, but have no fear, for it can be done. The NC mall has offered a few jackets with nice shirts, such as the Festive Gold Jacket and Festive Shirt with Gold Bow Tie combo, and the Handsome Blue Jacket along with its counterpart Handsome Shirt and Tie. Go ahead and mix up these jackets with any suitable shirts you can find! It’s a good idea to look species specific again, if NC isn’t your style. The Black Quiggle Tuxedo Jacket is quite formal, and the Kyrii Host Jacket gives a nice touch too. Finally give your boy a pair of nice slacks. Khaki Trousers are a good affordable option that can fit any pet, or if you like the mall then try out something like the Moltara Inventor Trousers or the Winter Prince Trousers. Also keep in mind Paint Brush clothes, because they can be useful, especially when it comes to the typically elegant Royal clothing.

Now that your pet is fully dressed and decent, and not floating around in the emptiness of a plain white background, it’s time to get creative. This is the fun part, where we get to play around with trinkets, accessories, and all that good stuff. Right now Lyndie still looks quite plain with simply a dress and a background, but she will be all fancied up soon enough! I’ll start by completing her outfit. Wigs are very popular accessories, and there are plenty of them out there to choose from. After trying on every wig in my closet, she finally settled on the Pretty Dark Wig, which looks great on any pet. A Neopoint option that anybody can enjoy is the Curled Blonde Wig, and of course there is a plethora of species specific wigs as well. If you have a boy, the new Suave Wavy Brown Wig is quite impressive too! However, if wigs aren’t your style, there are many classic hats, hair accessories, and other items that can add a very refined touch. There are many fancy species specific hats that could add a nice element to a male pet’s outfit, including an assortment of gentlemanly top hats.

With something to keep your pet’s head from getting too cold – or hot, if they live in the Lost Desert – now you can move on to the smaller accessories. I’ll start with one of my favorite items, which is the Icy Blue Eyes. Most Draiks have unsightly red eyes (they really should sleep more!) that don’t blend in with the rest of Lyndie’s color scheme. Luckily these handy little contacts can cover them right up. A fancy pair of wings can add a nice touch too, and there are a lot to choose from. The Faerie Queen Wings are a lovely NP option, as are the more affordable Shell Faerie Wings. Other accessories you might want to check out include face paints, jewelry, gloves and belts. If you’re sending your pet to a red carpet event, she should at least have some sort of sparkly bling to make her stand out! Make sure you give her something to hold onto, too, like the Beautiful Beaded Purse (NC), Flower Purse (NP), or Pink Knit Purse (NP). For four-legged pets, this can be a bit of a challenge, because many purses end up being oddly pegged onto the side of your Neopet – ouch! For these guys, some items – like most staffs or parasols – will lean against the pet, while others simply sit in front of them. Find them something appropriate for the occasion (perhaps a mysterious Fancy Ball Mask?) and they’re good to go!

Depending on the background you used, you may notice some bare spots that you want to fill in. Well, my dear, that is what trinkets are for! Popular trinket types are garlands, showers, frames, hanging items and assorted little decorations that are usually categorized in the Lower Foreground Item zone. This is where it can get a little tricky. To avoid clutter, you don’t want to put something in every single one of these zones. Two or three is generally enough to fill the space and make the look feel more complete. Make sure that all of the items are working together to accomplish the overall feel you want for your Neopet. The Anubis Fountain is one rather graceful looking NP trinket that can help complete a high-class look, and the NC Mall always has plenty to offer as well (Twinkling Star Garland, anyone?). When you are satisfied with your pet’s overall appearance, step back and take a look. Is anything missing? Oh right! We can’t let our pets leave the house without shoes! What kind of owner would do that? Good thing there are plenty of options, for both NC mallers and NP-only players alike. Check out your species specific items once more, or perhaps spring for a pair of School Girl Shoes or your boys can try on a pair of dashing Wellington Boots. Lyndie’s favorite footwear is her pair of Taelia Racer Slippers.

Now that your pet is fully dressed and looking fabulous, it looks like they’re ready to hit the town! The Neopies may be over now, but your pet will be sure to have paparazzi following them wherever they go – that is, until they change clothes of course. This is wanderinthoughtz reminding you: help keep Neopia fabulous. Have your pets dressed and accessorized!