A Total Beginner's Guide

This is "A Total Beginner's Guide to Upgrading Your Avatar from Body by Jazzz" I found it from this location

AVATAR BASICS:
The appearance of your avatar is made up of several components. 

- YOUR BODY (the things a real person is born with) is made up of four pieces:

     •  Shape - This is the way your body looks in 3D.  Your height, weight, figure and the proportions of your head, arms, legs, etc.

     •  Skin -  The texture that is projected onto your shape.  This includes the color and texture of your skin, including makeup, nail polish, eyelashes and eyebrows, etc.  The skin you start in has 'underwear' built in, so that you can never really undress.  It also interferes with some outfits.  So you'll want a new skin soon.

     •  Eyes -  The color and appearance of your eyes.

     •  Hair -  Your hair color and style.


- YOUR CLOTHING (anything you wear):

     •  SL has a nearly infinite variety of clothing, shoes, jewelry and other accessories.

BUYING CURRENCY (LINDEN DOLLARS)

To purchase items in the many stores in SecondLife, you'll need "Linden Dollars", represented by the currency symbol "L$".  To buy Linden Dollars with your credit card, simply click the "BUY L$" button at the top right of your interface.  Then follow the onscreen instructions.  Your account will need to have current credit card information to purchase L$'s.  Follow the onscreen instructions to enter your billing information as well.

You can also earn Linden Dollars in-world, but this can be very difficult for beginners.  I recommend purchasing Linden Dollars if you are able, to get started, or borrowing from friends.

There are also quite a few "Freebie" stores in SecondLife where you can get new avatar elements for free.  Use your in-world search, and type in "Freebie" to find some.  But be aware that just as in Real Life, when it comes to quality, you generally get what you pay for.


CHANGING YOUR LOOK:
DEMOS:
Once you find an item you like, you may want to try it out before you buy.  Buying free or inexpensive "demos," if available, will let you see how it looks before you pay for the real item. 

BUYING:
To buy an item you like, just move your mouse over the in-store display until your cursor turns into a hand with a L$ symbol.  Click to begin the purchasing process.  Once you click, you'll have a chance to see what's inside the package you're about to buy, before you confirm the purchase.  Click "Buy", and your money will be deducted, and the item(s) will be moved to your inventory.

WEARING YOUR ITEM:
Once you've purchased an item, you need to find it in your inventory.  If your inventory window isn't already open, follow these steps: at the right of your interface, you will see several icons in a vertical bar.  Second from the bottom is a suitcase icon.  Click it, or press Ctrl-I (on PC's, Cmd-I on Macs) to open your Inventory window.

If you don't see the item you just purchased, try clicking the "RECENT" tab at the top of your Inventory window, to show items that have been added to your Inventory since you logged on this session.

Use the little triangle beside the folder for your purchased item to open it.  You should see your new item or items.  Double-click an item to wear it.  In your inventory, you'll see the word "worn" appear to the right of the item name.


TAKING THINGS OFF

Sometimes when you wear an item, the old item you were wearing will stay on, too.  You can type "worn" in your inventory search field (the white bar at the top of your inventory) to see everything you're wearing.  You can also open the "Current Outfit" folder to see everything you're wearing.  Right-click worn items and "Take Off" or "Detach From Yourself" to take them off.

UNPACKING ITEMS (OR: WHY AM I WEARING A BOX?!)
Sometimes, when you buy an item, especially a larger package of items, a detailed outfit, or a complete avatar package, it will come with many pieces packed in a single box.  When you look in your inventory, you'll only see one item, and if you wear it, you will suddenly find yourself surrounded by a large box!

IF YOU FIND YOURSELF WEARING A BOX, DON'T PANIC!  :)
Just right click the box, and choose "Detach".

This is a container that needs to be "unpacked" in order to be worn.  Many stores do not allow you to "rez" or "create" objects inside their stores.  They do this by limiting visitors' permission to build on their sim.  You can tell if they have done this by looking at the top of your interface.  To the right of the white Location Bar, you'll see a green star.  Immediately to the left of that star, you may see a grey box with a "no" red barred circle.  If you see that symbol, you may NOT rez (create) items in that area.

There are many areas in SecondLife where anyone may rez anything they wish.  These are called Sandboxes.  Here is a link to a popular Sandbox where you may unpack your items.  Just teleport there, go into the empty field.

Click here to visit public sand box 

Note: you have to go to ground to open the box (see on the top if the image with box dissaperas it means you can open the cox)

Here are the steps to unpack a box:
•  Drag your boxed item from your inventory to the ground. 
•  The box will appear on the ground.  It may take a moment for you to see it, so be patient.
•  Hover your mouse over the box. 
          - If your cursor turns into a box icon with an up arrow, just click the box to being opening.
          - If not, right click the box and choose "Open".
•  A window will open showing the contents of your box.  Click "Copy To Inventory" to unpack.
•  The contents of the box will be copied to your Inventory, and now you may wear them as usual.
•  Be sure to right click the box on the ground and "Delete" when you're done… you don't want to leave a mess in the Sandbox :)