Oh Yes. There's a bounty of great free stuff if you know where to look. To prove it, I'm wearing all free items in this post!
Free Shops and Warehouses
One of the first things I did when I joined SL was go on a freebie binge at the free shops and warehouses. This is a great way to start building your wardrobe. You can get some cute clothes, prim shoes, a few nice prim hairs, animations, objects galore, and even build objects. There are a bunch of great places exclusively for free or 1$L items, like The GNUbie Store and Free Dove. A search for "free" or "freebie" will yield plenty of places to explore.
Shirt: unknown, Pink off-the-shoulder top, Pants: AE free jeans, Shoes: Free Pirm Shoes by She's So Unusual Shoes, Necklace: Baccara's cameo choker Amber, Bracelet: RC- But I'm not the Only One-Unltd., Hair: ETD WLSB Collection: Bedded Additude in Mahogany.
Like my outfit? It was totally free.
One of the first places I'd recommend for freebies is actually one of the last places I found (silly me): Sarah Nerd's Freebie Paradise. What is so great about Sarah's is that it has a huge selection and most of the items can be bought individually instead of lotted boxes. That way you can choose just what you want. Most items are free or only 1L$
Did I mention it is huge?? There's also a money tree, a lucky chair, and a fun modeling booth for taking profile pictures.
Hola.
Freebie Paradise is located in Sarah Nerd's Nifty Fifty. Everything outside of the Freebie area costs 50$L or less. Not free, but still a great deal in SL.
**UPDATE** Builders Heaven has a large freebie store that has over 6000 items! All types of free items can be found here including some free skins I haven't seen before.
Decent skins were the hardest thing to find for free. The main problems with free skins are crazy, unnatural eyebrows and clownish/whorish makeup. The "CS Passport Skin-Malibu/Brown" is a popular choice, but it is a little too tan and, um, harsh looking for me. The "natural skin-light makeup" is a conservative choice, but it has a sort of porcelain doll vibe.
Sarah Nerd has a small skin shop in Nifty Fifty where you can buy any skin for only 50$L. This is a pretty great deal and the skins are pretty nice.
50$L is too much, you say? Then you may want to try Body Basics.
Dress: Flexified Sequin Crochet 3 Outfits in one (unknown), Necklace: But I'm not the Only One- Unltd.Hey, look! another fabulous free outfit.
They have a good selection of totally free male and female skins. If you are not ready to invest in a skin, this is a great place to get something a little different than the same few skins you find in boxes over and over. The makeup is a bit intense, but with the right hairstyle and color you can make it work until you are ready to buy a skin. The body details are cute without being too explicit and the displays give you a good look at what you are buying. I wore the Debra skin for a while when I first started.
Retail Stores
Sooner or later, the freebie stores and warehouses will get monotonous. You will find that you keep finding the same things you've seen seven times before. At that point, you need to find a new source of freebies. You may have noticed that many free items include the store or designers name, such as "Bacarra's Amber Cameo Choker." If you like a certain item, search for the designer's store is the first step in getting familiar with the SL fashion world.
Skirt and top: Canimal Phrik Girl, Necklace: Black EmeraldRuby Necklace1 (unknown), Hair: Black Night at Yoursecondplace.com main, Skin: Sexy Vamp (unknown), Stockings: Black thigh highs (unknown), shoes: Black Knee Boots (unknown)
For instance, here I am all grim at the Freebie section of Wilted Rose. Oh, did I mention i have a mysterious alter ego, Noelle Noir? You can tell it is still me by the flower in my hair:) Wilted Rose has a HUGE free area called Freebie Jeebies where I got this Corset Outfit (Canimal Phrik Girl), the skin, and the hair( Black Night).
Top: Shirt from Retro Princess 2 Canimal, Skirt: Rebel Skirt by Canimal
I liked the Phrik Girl, so I searched for Canimal and visited the main store, where I found additional 1L$ items, majorly discounted items and a huge clearance sale! See, the saving can just go on and on.
Wilted Rose's free section is so huge, I should have put it under free shops and warehouses. Regardless, most major designers have some free items in their store, like Calla above. The volume may not be as large as the free stores, but the items are usually higher quality!
Groups
If you are interested in having freebies delivered right to you, you may want to join a fashion group. During your freebie hunt through the stores of SL, you may come across a few designers whose items you just love. You might consider joining their update groups. Most designers have an update group that will keep you informed on new releases, sales, and even give you exclusive free items or demos.
If you just can't decide on a certain store or designer, you can join a collaborative group like Fashcon to get info on tons of designers from one spot. You will get lots of free items from collab groups, as well as info on store releases, new store openings, and events like scavenger hunts (freebie paradise)!
Most groups are free to join, so why not take the plunge?
Final Notes
The strategy for freebies that works well for me is to grab anything that looks remotely promising, and purge often. Find a good spot to act as a changing room and take the time to go through the massive amount of items you are sure to collect. If you have too much junk in your inventory, you are likely to overlook the gems. Yes, it takes some time, but it is worth it.
Also, scan the contents of a box before you buy. You may find that it contains items that you already have. However, you may find that there are new items in with a bunch of repeats.
And remember, you don't have to keep an entire item if you only like parts of it. Like the top of a dress, but the skirt is not your style? keep the top and ditch the rest.
I rename a lot of my items so I can remember what they are easier. However, if there is a designer name, I always leave that in for reference. Nothing is worse that having an item you love and not knowing where it came from. Ok, there might be a few worse things, but it does suck.
*For a great guide on starting out in SL, see Natalia Zelmanov's Second Life Diary.
*For an extensive list of free stores and warehouses, see Anna Zwiers Blog.
Happy Hunting!!!
