So sorry if this has been recently created and/or asked a million times already. I've been debating whether to make this for a while, but the curiosity got the better of me. I know there was a recent neighbourhood statistics thread, but what I'm curious about is a bit different. It's hard to explain in words, so I'll just give some of my personal most extreme examples...

• When deciding on a Sim's hair per outfit, I take into account what their 'normal' (everyday) hair is like, in terms of length, obviously colour, and even whether they have a fringe/bangs. So if Sim X has long hair all the way around (no fringe/bangs) then their formal, swimsuit etc hair will not have a fringe/bangs either. I find this helps to keep a Sim's unique look and character, instead of just another Sim with 'THAT hair'.
  
  
• When deciding on a Sim's outerwear, I take into account how much it 'makes sense' to their everyday outfit. So if Sim X normally wears black leggings, if possible I'll choose a coat that is also paired with black leggings, because in real life we don't have jeans, leggings etc specifically for when it is raining/snowing (well, I know I don't...), we just throw our coat on.

There, I said it.

Now that I've hopefully clarified my question, please share yours. Basically incidents where you've thought, "wow, I think too much about this game" I guess.

I do that. Now that separates are available for Outerwear, I've actually considered learning my way around SimPE to recategorize all Everyday bottoms as Outerwear too so that my sims have less mismatch between Outerwear and Everyday...

On a related note, I'm not happy that earmuffs and hats change the full hairstyle instead of just going on over the hairstyle my sim already has.

I would say that neither "obsessed" nor "realistic" is the right term. I'm "consistent" when I do those things, not "obsessed."

Although having said that, my family lives up where it is very cold in the winter (below 0 Fahrenheit is not at all unheard of) and they do have different pants that they put on over top of their regular ones when they are going outside. Or they use leggings under their regular pants, sometimes, but their outfits can and do change very dramatically when they're venturing out on a -23 day.

I'd agree with esmeiolanthe about how I handle Sims (and about having different clothing in real life for different weather, though in my case it tends to be more geared towards dealing with hot weather, not cold!), but I WOULD say I'm obsessed, at least on some of my lots (the non-skyscraper ones, usually- it's annoying to have to put that much detail into the 14th floor when the camera keeps falling down the side of the building! ), with making them appear as though they would function properly in the real world, sometimes even going so far as to make a lot slightly less practical in-game, just so I can get the perfect look I'm going for. Then there are the other lots that I'm making to fit in with the "normal" approach to the game (this is what most of my skyscrapers fall under), which I tend to take a much more casual approach to.

In either case though, the fact that I don't use any build or buy mode CC means that I have to think more about the game, if for no other reason than that I have to come up with more creative ways of doing things than someone who's fine with filling their lots with CC would have to do.

I knew that somebody would say that. Like I said though, these are my examples based on where I've lived in the world (UK, Spain and Oz). My Sim hood however isn't any extreme temperature wise, which is why it is an annoying obsession for me.

Plus, I also meant other clothing. For example, I've never known anyone to wear pants outside only to change into a skirt at the door of the building they're entering; in the restroom, maybe, but again, this is how obsessed/particular/consistent I am.

Oh yes, the hat thing too. I basically avoid hats all together because of that. Only exception is if their hair is very short normally anyway.

I'm right there with you on hair. I will almost always utilize the hairstyles feature and try to keep the lengths and colors consistent. If my sim has bangs then I for the most part will keep all their other hairstyles with bangs.
I will always usually pick 2-3 outfits per season too so they aren't always seen wearing the same outfit all year or even all season.

I try to do that, too, but I'm not obsessed. I just feel it's weird if my sims go from short hair to long hair, or change hair colors, or switch pants to a different color from one story scene to another. I also try to give them clothes that would fit the weather and climate. If I make big changes to a character's look, I often do it over time. I also hate that there's no life stage between child and teen, because it doesn't make sense to grow two heads from one age to another, so if that happens I usually like to explain it as if a couple of years have passed or some such.

For outerwear VS everyday, I usually try to choose outerwear with pants that match everyday, if possible. Or at the very least with the same color pants and shoes. I really need to start categorizing separates properly...

Hey, that's my family, not me. (Unless I'm visiting them during the winter, which means any time from about October through April.) Where I live, it's the same for outerwear as for everyday, except maybe you'd add leggings under, or a pair of boots. Seriously, I'd love a reclassification of all bottoms as outerwear. And perhaps earmuffs/hats as accessories/BV jewelry, with the ability to plan them by outfit.

I'm something of a completist when it comes to city planning, too. I just spent over an hour redecorating an elementary school that I will never use. It will look nice in the background when I take screenshots from inside a different lot, but for that, I could have left it exactly the way it was when I downloaded it. The thing is, it wasn't decorated right so I'm redoing it. I even took care to make the classrooms all look different. That way when it shows up in screen shots, I will know that it's really right, not just a shell with the really funky interior you get when you don't install all the cc that was packaged with the lot. Does that count for the topic?

Same here. Having a Sim owned hairdresser becomes more fun for me this way, because if my Sim (or me...) wants short hair but has long hair, then they have to go visit the local hairdresser. Or if vice versa, then they have to go there for extensions.

I'm probably more realistic then most. I start with babies by dressing them in something appropriate for the season and if they have a lot of hair as an infant they will get more as a toddler, or at least thick hair, as they may have had a hair cut by then. But a bald baby girl will never be given longish hair as a toddler.

With toddlers I also keep them upstairs with a baby gate if they can't walk and they must also walk to be given a bed. if I am feeling particularly OCD I will give my toddler older looking clothes at the 4 day mark and take away the dummy if they had one and occasionally they only eat toddler foods at a booster seat as well. (double aging mod gives them 8 days)

Everyone is dressed for the season and with hair I mostly keep the same hair style for all outfits. I'm not bothered by pants change into outerwear as that is mostly very different to their normal ware and in rl people have more than one pair of pants. The one sim who changes clothes every couple of days owns the fashion boutique.

What is this separates as outerwear thing?

It's relatively new. Theraven/simmer22 explains it here: http://digitalperversion.net/garden...82795#msg682795 Basically, you can have tops and bottoms in outerwear, not just full-body outfits. I believe Skell/skellington7 has done most of the recategorized stuff I've seen: http://whattheskell.tumblr.com/tagg...-Revamp-Project She has a tutorial here: http://whattheskell.tumblr.com/post...-to-make-a-safe

I do the hair thing. but the outerwear thing, no. I do, however, choose something that I think the character would wear, you know, something that fits their personality.

Definitely do the hair thing. In fact, when I'm being logical (or insane, your choice!) I use the "all outfits" to pick the hair for swim/sleep/undies first, then change the everyday/formal/active/outerwear to suit each outfit. The color and length each have to be fairly consistent (unless I'm going with a combo of straight and curly. I had a friend in HS with naturally spiral curled hair, which always looked about shoulder-length. Once I took a lock of her hair and gently pulled it straight, and it was halfway down her back!). Bangs/fringe can be pinned or brushed back, depending on the style. So I might pick "up" formal and/or active hairstyles without bangs even if the sim normally has them.

This is much more possble to achieve, but also much more time-consuming, with lots of default & CC hair in the same textures and colors. Which reminds me, I should get back to my project.

I don't get as obsessive about outfits, probably because my CC varies a lot more from hood to hood. Although I am tempted by separates outside the everyday category.

I always - to the extent of whatever CC I've got in at the moment, anyway - try to clothe my sims according to their age and personality, both with hairstyles and with clothes. This also makes it easier to see a difference between younger and older sims of the same age group, and can add or subtract several years.

Newborn babies might have fluffy, thin hair, and wear baby pink or baby blue, while older babies might have longer hair and use dresses or pants and sweaters. Young toddlers will have more cutesie, baby-ish clothes that makes them look like they're 1-3, while older toddlers will have older-looking clothes that makes them look like they're 3-5. A 5-7 year old child will wear lots more of big flowers, pink, tractors and cars than 8-11 year old children will. A 20-year old adult wears 'cooler' clothes than an adult sim who's 50, and usually have a 'hipper' haircut. It's often the smaller neuances that makes it easier to see the difference.

As for separates, I've had plans to recategorize all my CC so that everything is in proper categories. I actually started on the project a while ago, but it's just a lot of work and my CC is an almost complete mess despite everything being in folders.

I do the hair thing and the baby gates. Fences around pools at homes with small kids, too.

Certain areas are set differences away from each other, and that affects the Sim's mode of travel. Like, my megahood Sims cannot walk from Pleasantview to Veronaville. That's a few hours away. And if they stray too far away, they'll have to stay the night at one of the neighborhood hotels.

There are Sims who share child custody and do transfers at set times.

All this just reminded me how I am frustrated with outer wear; I want a coat/sweater/something that can go OVER whatever they are wearing! And I can't find anything for my cave, or medieval poor people. And yes, I pick all the outfits, from toddler to old, based FIRST on the hoods' period (from cave people, medieval, 50's or so, and alien). By modern times (because there are so many options available, and I figure people were lucky in the poor, old times, just to have something to cover themselves with) I dress each Sim according to their personality and life style. From Goth to business suits to shy nerds to frazzled poor mommies - that's what makes it fun!

I like your shared custody idea. Never thought of that. As for means of transportation, I forgot to put that one in my first post! I only have the one, bigger sized hood, but it is split into sectors i.e. middle class residential, the city, a farm and fields area with bungalows, farmhouses and pubs, etc. Each is quite far apart, so I won't for example, allow a village resident to 'walk to' the city. They have to cough up for a taxi.

Apparently, I am neither realistic nor obsessed
I choose a hairstyle for my Sims which I think suits them, yes - and they go everywhere with that hairstyle, including to bed.
I like comfy clothes myself so all my Sims wear comfy clothes.
They walk everywhere, my Sims, I don't care how far they have to walk. I don't build garages and don't use them; I prefer to use that space for either a hobby room or a bigger garden.
I don't have a problem with outerwear - mostly use the stuff from All about Style and Bunhead's cigarette pants and jacket. As long as I can recognize them among the townies, I am fine. They don't seem to suffer from any cold effects.
Sometimes, my Sims will also stay over at hotels. I get a nanny to look after the kids

Thank you for these links. I'm going to read through these carefully. I downloaded a pair of jeans that had been categorized as outerwear as well as bottoms. It did not show up in the catalog as an outerwear choice. It randomly showed up as a pair of jeans and a textureless (nude) top when selecting outerwear though, and since it had been enabled for townies, showed up that way for them, too. It took many, many hours to figure out what was going on and remove the clothing, and I still don't see how you take those outerwear jeans and combine them with a top.

Yeah, thanks for the links.

Now I've finished derailing the thread with questions (and it's totally cool that there is still 'relatively new' stuff being made for Sims 2) ... I can't let my sims wear a ponytail or bun or other 'uncomfortable to lie on' style to bed. If they have short hair then they'll probably have the same style for all outfits, but a ponytail etc. will only be kept for everyday, swim, athletics and outerwear and they'll get it taken down for sleep and undies. I also like giving them a slightly fancier hairstyle for formal.

I use the "walk to" option, no matter how far it is - but they're taking the bus. Drama Acres has an excellent public transportation system. Strangetown and Widespot are tiny with express buses to the only attached locations - LFT for Strangetown, Bigg City and ALT for Widespot. The Genderswapped Uberhood is connected by a web of bullet trains. Downtown is the hub.

I am often frustrated, when changing hairstyles, trying to find an underwear/sleepwear loose hair that seems to match the everyday style well enough to pass as the nighttime version of it. Formal I can let myself get away with more hair, as there's dodges for that (rats, falls, weaves, etc.). It bugs me that all hat styles aren't classified as outerwear. I like to let short hair "grow out" over time but I don't always.

I'm not obsessive about realism, though. At all. I have never gone on a frantic CC search for the right hair; I just make do and get on with the game. Anything I can make story sense of I'm comfortable with.

We are scarily alike in this regard. I actually get a little excited when deciding a Sim's everyday hair is going to be long and put up in some way - it means more variety for the other outfits, since I too always have Sims let their hair down for bed.

@eliset For outerwear jeans to work, you have to have an outerwear top to go with them. If you don't have both a top AND a bottom characterized as outerwear, then they won't work. I've not encountered the "nude top" thing myself, but I downloaded tops and bottoms at the same time, and I haven't had either for very long.

My sims will occasionally wear braids to bed, as I knew girls who did that back in the day to may their hair wavy, or to keep it looking nice and easier to deal with in the morning. I will also try for a slightly fancier hairstyle for formal outfits, although sometimes a sim's normal hair is either perfectly fine or not changeable (on account of being too short or something). Men get that too: some of the shorter styles are quite believable as looking like other of the shorter styles if you just slick it down a bit with water/hair gel/Brylcreme.

My sims usually walk or carpool everywhere, with the occasional taxi ride depending on game mechanics. (When you ask someone on a community lot outing, the game seems to prefer that you use a cab.) Some sims have cars, but most don't. This is because my family gave up their cars when I was six, and we walked or biked everywhere that was two miles or less away. Now that I'm an adult, I walk or take public transit most places, with the occasional cab. I've never thought about it, or about how my sims are really getting there -- it's just that driving and cabs are not part of my usual worldview, unless it's really far or really late.

I know some of my Sims with the fancier Maxis hair, change to a much plainer style in swimwear / nightwear / underwear (and take their glasses off), but I've no idea how to do this myself. So, unless the creator has done this for me, my Sims with custom hair (which is most of them) keep the same style all the time (unless they go to the mirror for a makeover). If it's not too difficult, I'd like to know how to control this. By the way, if your female Sim has a very curly style in daytime, maybe the night-time version should be with her curlers in! This would be essential in a 1950's 'hood. Also those Sims, whose "bathing suit never gets wet" could keep their fancy hairstyle in their swimwear.

Not having Seasons, the outerwear question doesn't effect me, but if it's possible to now to have separates as outerwear, might it be possible to have separates for formal wear too? Andrew thinks that a pair of moderately short black shorts, with a shirt and tie, should be perfectly acceptable on formal occasions,

I can't see why you couldn't have separates for formal. I know skell has made separates for Outerwear, Swimwear, and Athletic. (I think Pajamas as well.) However, Andrew would need both a shirt and shorts categorized as formal.

Unfortunately, the changing-hair-by-outfit things came in with BV and was one of the things that really made me want to buy it. Some hairs do have an auto-change built in (especially hats), but for you to control it, you'd need BV or higher.