Let's Talk About Set Styles!
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Hi everyone! I hope you all are doing well and are enjoying 2024 so far. It's been a while since I have done a blog post, and thought this topic might be a fun one to cover for some of the newbies. Let's talk about some URSTYLE vocabulary! For those of you who might be like "What? URSTYLE doesn't have vocabulary, mayblooms what are you talking about?", I assure you that it exists, just some people have different names for the same things! Some members' vocabulary is heavily influenced by old language from Polyvore, whereas the same things may be called something different here on URSTYLE. One of the most common vocabulary we have is different set style types, so I thought I would focus on that primarily and how I define them.
Each of the set styles I name will have some key characteristics that differentiate it from other set styles, any alternate names I find, and an example or two!
MAGAZINE STYLE SETS:
The most popular and common set style on URSTYLE
While they are mainly used in fashion sets, I use them in beauty sets (shown below) as well. If you're interested in how I make my magazine sets, feel free to check out my other blog post here: https://urstyle.fashion/topic/2419085/behind-the-scenes-how-i-make-my-magazine-sets
Key Characteristics
- Tend to fill a full square of space
- Clothing gets "cut off" to create this effect or a border image
- Includes clothing, accessories, text, fillers, or images in order to fill space in between clothing border
Other Examples
BEAUTY SETS:
Any set where the primary products are beauty products, also presented as a flat-lay set
Interesting Fact: The reason it used to be also called a flat-lay set is that the beauty sets were styled as if you dumped all your beauty products onto a table!
Key Characteristics
- Any format goes
- Consists of entirely or majority beauty products (more beauty products than anything else!)
- Beauty products tend to be larger to be placed in higher focus
Other Examples
ORGANIZED SETS:
The most popular set style on Polyvore, also includes outfit-only sets
Outfit-only sets fall under this category but there are more restrictions (such as no images, fillers, text, or beauty products).
If you want to know more about how I make my organized sets, feel free to check out my blog post here where I break it down step by step: https://urstyle.fashion/topic/2415677/behind-the-scenes-how-i-make-an-organized-set
Key Characteristics:
- No products can be cut!! All whole products only!
- Limited to no overlapping items
- Filler items are often used to "fill" empty space
- No images (unless used as a filler and not overlapping)
Other Examples
COLLAGE STYLE SETS:
Super fun and creative sets with lots of images. Great for a theme with a rich visual!
Collage style sets can be as detailed or simple as you like, it depends on how complex the background is! As long as the following characteristics are included, it can be classified as a collage style set.
Key Characteristics:
- Lots and lots of images or other elements to create a background
- OVERLAPPING ELEMENTS!
- Clear background and foreground
- Text is a part the background
- Outfit products are in the foreground
- Clothing is not cut!
- Clothes are arranged to loosely simulate someone wearing the outfit
Other Examples
ART SETS:
The most creative and versatile set style on URSTYLE. Essentially using elements to create visual works of art!
Art sets have always impressed me. Really good art sets look like they were just one painting or piece instead of made of a handful of different elements! Just like in real life, there are different styles of art such as more realistic or more abstract.
Key Characteristics:
- Ideally, composed so a viewer will think it is one artwork
- All elements need to look painted or drawn
- No products!! (only exception is if they are blended into the scene)
Other Examples
DOLL SETS:
Styling a look so it sits on a person, mannequin, or "doll"!
This set style is personally one that I have never tried but it is super cool to see!
Key Characteristics:
- Products and other elements are manipulated to fit on a person as if they are wearing it
- Person or doll must be present!
- No borders, frames, or text
- The only images are those designed to create a slight background around the "doll"
Other Examples
HOME SETS:
Also called interior or exterior sets, focus primarily on interior or exterior design!
Home sets are usually styled so that you feel like you are in the space itself! However, the way I used to do them because I wasn't as experienced about that was to create them like magazine style but primarily use home items! Either way works!
Key Characteristics:
- Home items are arranged to resemble the space and their function
- All items are scaled
- Home, kitchen, or furniture products ONLY!
Thank you guys for taking this journey with me about different set styles! I'll probably make a part two for other common URSTYLE vocabulary, so be on the lookout for that!
Have a great day,
Mayblooms(this is just for the blog banner hehe)
Comments (18) -
This is perfect! Thanks for the clarifications and taking the time to make this. Everyone benefits.
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Great guide for newcomers and tribute to the creative range of URSTYLE and Poly veterans.
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Back on Polyvore I was outfit-only. I was just starting to explore using other elements when the Buyout of Doom occurred (and let us not speak of it, ha ha). I guess now my sets are kind of magazine-y except for sets made for contests for organized sets. I generally don't use people or photographs in my sets, though, so maybe they're not that magazine-y. Maybe mine are a hybrid of some sort. One thing is for sure, I need to get back to creating them! Thanks for this entry. It gave me a much-needed nudge.
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@mayblooms This is an excellent explanation of the different types of sets. Thank you!!
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Probably would be a good idea to have something that shows people what you mean when we are doing our contests, so there is no confusion.
I always referred to your first two types of sets as magazine style. Whether they were beauty or fashion as they were cut off with pictures and words.
Outfit only was only an outfit and any accessories you might use. The items could be laid over each other because the purpose was an outfit like you were putting it together for work, play, etc...These didn't have writing or pictures.
Then Organized Fashion sets were the ones where the clothing wasn't laid on top of each other or cut off including no items cut off.
These were terms that i learned on Polyvore for the contests that I frequented on that forum. We do have a few contests like these here too. It seems more relaxed here, but the ones that I noticed as outfit only there, are not as popular here. Those were the sets that got me taking a look at Polyvore in the first place such as those by Stylish Eve.
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Wonderful blog post with helpful details I didn't even know about!!
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Great description of the various types of sets along with your awesome set design examples of each one. I was never a fan of the organized sets so popular on Polyvore. I did try making some, and realized they are actually much harder to do than one would think!!!! The truth is - each type of set is not as easy as one might think.... but the fun lies in being allowed to create them. Thank you to @URSTYLE for giving us the opportunity. @mayblooms your sets show what a wonderful range of talent you have!!!!
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@laughingdog Of course! I'm glad you found it useful!
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@mahvelus-24-7 Thank you! I am happy that I did my fellow Poly-veterans justice!
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@zenzalei I am glad this inspired you to keep creating! I will say that it is still a magazine set even if you don't include any images (the primary difference between magazine and organized is the cutting of the products to make borders vs. whole products). Here's an example of one that I made without any images, I would still consider it a magazine set.
Anyways, I am excited to see what you create! I bet it will be amazing
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@shelley-harcar Thanks!
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Excellent in all aspects!!! Thanks so very much for your efforts in compiling this guide for EVERYONE to benefit from!!
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@maisondeforgeron I agree! Since there are a lot of contests with the same terms but different restrictions, I always find it helpful to either do an example set post or clarify in the contest description what is and is not allowed!
Also, I agree with you on the fact that the first two are both magazine! I do my beauty sets in the magazine style because that is just how I have always done them. It was hard doing this post since some types of sets are more categories (beauty, art, fashion, home) versus styles (magazine, organized, doll) that can be adapted to different categories depending on what products you use.
When I also joined URSTYLE, I was so surprised that the set style that was popular was more magazine especially since I was so well known for doing organized on Polyvore. It was my bread and butter, but I also could do magazine. Now it's almost the other way around! It was the first major difference I noticed between the platforms
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@pvjewelry Awesome! So glad you liked it and learned something new!
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@sharee64 That's so interesting! I definitely agree that they can be difficult, but I think once I got in the groove it really clicked for me. I agree 100% that each style has its own challenges (for me, art sets were always a challenge and I only did them on the occasion, the one example I have here is the only art set I have on URSTYLE and it's more abstract than realistic) but the fun is definitely in giving it a try and creating what you want! Thanks for your compliment too, maybe I'll give art sets another attempt!
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Love this!! On Polyvore I definitely made a mix of art sets full of textures and then moved to more fashion sets. So far I have only really played in fashions sets with varying degrees of organizations
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@papermarked_hope I totally get that! I was the same way. On Polyvore, I did a lot more abstract layered art sets along with my fashion sets but now I only do fashion and beauty sets (magazine style and organized)
