I like this game, it's what I call "Thousand-hour-game", ...except LiF is way past that nick name by now and I'm still hungry for more.
well, to keep going, the game needs players and dedicated team of developers. And the more dedicated they are the harder they work making the game more attractive, hence more players.
make sense?
I would suggest shop where you could pay to make your gear/armor more decorative. Not pay to win. Pay to decorate.
And not much, it should be cheap since the items would bring no extra game leverage besides being better looking. Durability would apply so it would wear off in time just like all the other items.
the only difference would be that it have to be either bought or given as a gift. If taken from killed player, the item would automatically revert to original design.
the improvements could be bought as blueprints that would have to be give to someone with sufficient crafting skill. Used resources would still determinate the quality of the item.
This could be used for gear items, furnitures or even buildings.
Again, it would bring only visual effect.