This one is fighting and fighting to get mats to effectively change two crafted sets from Mercenary to Thieve's Guild. Due to the ridiculous rarity of gold level components this is very frustrating and sad to burn so many mats just to change the look. (The set and enchantments I'd use are currently the same.) Not to mention things like new expansions bringing in new changes in what looks to be every 4-6 months cycle from now on.
I would love to see a "transmutation" option for known styles, so instead of re-making the items I could simply change it from a known Mercenary part to a known Thieve's guild part. (As example.)
Sure, some of the economy might get a slight ding from my not needing to re-harvest all the mats, but considering it took something like 4-6 months (at 40 hours per week) for me to gather enough parts (to up from purple to yellow) I really don't think it's unfair to not have a transmutation option. In fact, this might actually be a boon to the motif economy as more might seek out the different styles.
And though it would take a bit of re-coding, what if transmutation were a passive for Blacksmithing, Clothing, and Woodworking, which unlocked at say rank 5 of each of those? That would also encourage players to try out the crafting skills at least a little. Though maybe a 'transmutation trade window' might be a way to go to allow for some interaction between crafters and non-cafters to transmute the look of an item.
Thoughts? Any other crafters / fashion slaves out there like this one who feels pain every time a nice new motif comes out?