“I still have my feet on the ground, I just wear better shoes.” ~ Oprah Winfrey

This week, almost everything at Maitreya is 50% off, except animations and the m.a.ii.k.i line. Since I don’t care for their clothes and I own all the hair already, that means one thing.

Shoes.

Specifically, the “Maitreya Gold” Shanti shoe which is, simply the best shoe on the grid right now for a number of reasons.

"Maitreya Gold" Shanti Heels in Silver

I first became aware of the Shanti style a while back, but I refused to purchase them. L$1k per pair, per color simply offends me (as I’ve already ranted). When you’ve managed to offend a super-consumer out of buying what she considers to be the best product on the grid, you’re working hard at it.

Previous to the sale, I’ve had two pair – both purchased for me as gifts by friends who drug me by my prim hair to get them. My principles do not extend to gifts. Also I wanted them. Pixel vanity > outrage when I’m not the one rewarding bad behavior directly.

Why, yes, I can rationalize anything.

So let’s talk about why I feel these shoes are superior. For one thing, the sculpted toes are much higher quality than anything else I’ve seen. Unlike their equally overpriced counterparts (whose initials are SM) these toes have a lot more dimension — they are rounded over the top with the short cut nails standing out above the toe’s curvature and not just pushed down into the toe or laying flat. This is done with a combo of sculpt and texture shading that really pays off for those of us paying attention.

Maitreya actually does themselves a disservice not having a rezzed display example, because whoever is doing their sculpts is doing a better job for them than any other designer I’ve seen. The toes are also slightly offset and not perfectly aligned like flat little piggies in a row. Why does this seem more real?

Unlike sandals, where your toes are able to spread and lay flat, the gravity and pressure of a stiletto forces the toes into a position where they actually pout up slightly. Obviously, the degree of the pout depends somewhat on the toes themselves and shoe models are picked for the appeal of their toes, so mileage varies. However, anyone that has spent time in high heels, especially open-toe mules, should appreciate this difference.

That is just the toes.

In addition to the above details (which I consider to be key in creating a superior product) there is also the shoe itself which greatly appeals to me. As we all know when dealing with prim feet products, the way the shoe meets the ankle is a key element that will make or break the illusion. The Shanti handles this better than any product I’ve yet seen. The wrapped satin ties are sculpted and shaded to trick the eye in all the right ways and create a good camouflage into the system leg. There is no issue in movement at all — it’s flawless for me to walk in them.

I also like the fact that the shoe is dressy with a designer feel that doesn’t make it look like I just got off shift at the Bada Bing.

"Maitreya Gold" HUD

Moving on to performance issues, we have the HUD that comes with the shoes. I don’t own other Maitreya shoes, but I would imagine the HUDs for their other styles are similar. My eyes are miserable (something about being in glasses since I was a nibblet) so I can’t read squat on the thing, but the images are pretty self-explanatory. Across the top are the skin pre-sets. My LAQ “Fair” skin is already one of the presets. Otherwise you’ll have to play and tweak to get your own saved. The next two rows are all nail colors and below those are your customization pickers and sliders.

To size the shoes you click them directly and navigate drop-down menus. I had very little problem customizing my pairs. I did not experience any significant script time jump while wearing them. Also, I believe they only currently come with invisiprims, although I couldn’t confirm this.

It’s also worth noting that Maitreya puts a lot of class in the products they put out, so you do not have trailer-trash pink hearts or other symbols vandalizing the sole of your shoes. Again, this is the sort of thing that matters to those of us paying attention.

If, like me, you simply refuse to pay L$1k for a pair of heels, then you should wiggle on over and pick up a few of these. Be prepared to play the “this Sim is full” game of clicking every 20 seconds to try and sneak in when someone else leaves because the sale has the place packed.

Hopefully, when the next best shoes comes out, they’ll take a page from the GOS handbook and offer color packs at reduced prices.

Where Does She Get Those Wonderful Toys:

Shanti Heels – L$485
Maitreya

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Maitreya%20Isle/207/165/26