Springtime Symphony

Another year has come and go in LOTRO. Not only does the Spring Festival herald the return of warm weather and fragrant flowers, it also heralds the coming of both LOTRO's fourteenth and Material Middle-earth's ninth anniversaries. It's hard to believe both this game and blog has been running for that long. Time is incredibly short this month, and odds are I won't have my usual anniversary post. In lieu of that, I've put together three outfits, each of which use at least one bartered piece obtained from the Spring Festival. Some of the pieces seen here, like the Naruhel cosmetics, are new while others, like the Simbelmynë cosmetics, are nearly a decade old.

This first outfit used the newest addition to the Spring Festival vendors. Not only does it use the aforementioned Naruhel cosmetics, specifically the vines covering the arms and shoulders, it also uses a dress worn by Goldberry and the various River-maidens encountered throughout the story. Though not the most original skins in the game, in a sense because they're pre-existing assets, it's amazing that we've been seeing NPC clothing converted into player clothing (my fingers are crossed for Glathlírel's armor)! I hope the trend continues. Anyway, between the dress and vines, it was possible to create a nature-centric outfit combining the essences of earth and water. And the Groom's Myrtle Circlet was thrown in for good measure.

Head: Groom's Myrtle Circlet (Autumn leaf, Midsummer Festival barter reward)

Shoulders: Naruhel's Shawl (Default, Spring Festival Festivity Token barter reward)

Back: Cloak of the Autumn Traveler (Rohan green, Fall Festival barter reward)

Chest: Short-sleeved Dress of the Spring Maid (Rohan green, Spring Festival barter reward)

Hands: Vines of Naruhel (Default, Spring Festival Festivity Token barter reward)

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When I think about Spring, I don't think exclusively of of the grass and trees returning to a lush green. I think about the flowers blossoming in the fields, on bushes, and on the trees themselves. I think about the bold, bright, and exciting colors as the weather begins to warm. I love the beaming yellows, the rich purples, and the vivid magentas. Just as the northern hemisphere bursts with life, I wanted to create an outfit doing the same. 

Of the three outfits here, this was the most difficult to create. Finding a shoulder and cloak combination to compliment the dress was challenging. I had originally planned to use the Mantle of the Spring Woods. Unfortunately, it can't be dyed. I've submitted bug report after bug report, but SSG hasn't corrected it. It would have been a perfect pairing with the dress too! As a result, I had to look elsewhere. After scrapping this outfit two times already, I settled on one of my overused fallback cosmetics, the Wildermore Shoulderpads of Tactics. The bronze-yellow tones in the dress don't match well with anything else, leaving me no choice but to cover the shoulders. Despite that, this appearance is still stunning!

Head: Celeborn's Circlet (Default, Enter the Remmorchant quest reward)

Shoulders: Wildermore Shoulderpads of Tactics (White, crafted from the T8 Wildermore Tailor reputation recipe)

Back: Cloak of the Mountain Meadow (Shire plum, Spring Festival bar)

Chest: Braided Dress of the Spring Woods (Shire plum, Spring Festival barter reward)

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It's been several years since I've anybody wearing the Simbelmynë cosmetics. I'm not surprised as they were added to the festival rewards in 2012. By MMO standards, sadly, that would make them old. But that doesn't mean they don't deserve any love, right? With this particular rose and sea blue combination, I hoped to revive a gorgeous and classic tunic and display it in a way never seen. Although I haven't looked, I imagine that tunic's dress counterpart would look equally as stunning in this combination. And that Cloak of the Summer Sea, with the unique feature of creating gradient with any color, finishes the look by seamlessly melding the two central colors together. Pastel and easy on the eyes, this was a perfect outfit for the season.

Head: Circlet of the Night Watcher (Rose, Dol Amroth Lore-master class vendor)

Shoulders: Embroidered Mantle of the Doomfold (Rose, T11 Tailor recipe)

Back: Cloak of the Summer Sea (Rose, Summer Festival barter reward)

Chest: Simbelmynë Tunic and Trousers (Sea blue, Spring Festival barter reward)