Men's Second Style

So, I was hanging out in SL last night, grumping about the usual post-update foolishness…oh, great, I can’t TP.  Oh, no, the Christmas decorations I just tried to rez are lost in limbo somewhere!  Hmm, and Search appears to be borked, so I can’t find anything, and God only knows how out-of-date my landmarks are or, oh right, if TP will even get me there.  Well, now I’m definitely not doing anything like building or shopping where things could go awfully awry.  Now I’m alone, bored, and getting lonely…sigh.  So when my friend Andy sent me a TP invite with the hopeful encouragement “Grab it if you can,” I was thinking about bravely taking the plunge.  And then he said, “Oh, come on–Shai’s here too!”  Fortunately the TP worked and at least I had friends to hang out with.

Shai Delacroix is a madwoman.  She’s mad, I tell you, mad!  And her madness has infected me.  I don’t usually post reviews of items that last time I checked weren’t actually available in-store yet, but hey, rules were made to be broken.  Here’s what happened:  Shai said, “I’m working on this coat, and I’m not sure I’m completely happy with it yet.  Ryan, would you be a dear and try it on for me?”  Why, um, yes, and thank you!  And it turns out to be this beautiful shearling coat, a re-working of a women’s design she just released.  Frankly, I think the men’s coat is even better than the women’s version!  The upper coat is worn as a  jacket, so you can layer it with a shirt.  (Or not–I’m wearing it with a simple tee, but don’t be afraid to show a little skin.)  The bottom of the coat is worn on the skirt layer, and it’s moddable so you can adjust for size and fit.  The transition between the two pieces is very cleverly camouflaged by the coat’s belt, and once you get the bottom piece properly sized, you really can’t tell it’s not a single garment. Read the rest of this entry »

I can’t say enough nice things about Jonquille Noir’s men’s styles, available at Little Rebel Designs.  Her photosourced textures are among the best I’ve seen, and always used well in the construction of the clothing, never just slapped on with a “There you go, that’s good enough!”

I am completely crazy about her new Worker Jacket, which you see me wearing here in Navy (also available in Brown, Green and Grey).  The detailing is very nicely done, with smart-looking sleeve cuffs and a front zipper.  The killer touch, though, is the glitter-edged devil-babe silhouette graphic on the back–awesome!  Also included is a version with a plain back, I guess for more somber occasions.    I’m trying to think of situations where I would not want to show off a glittery devil-babe on my back…but…no, I can’t think of any.  Still, it’s good to have the choice. Read the rest of this entry »

I probably own more items of clothing from MIA than from any other clothing merchant in Second Life. Ayla Holt consistently turns out quality outfits at reasonable prices. I discovered this brand early in my Second Life, when the main store was in the Atlas sim and the name was “Made in Atlas”. Since then, MIA has acquired its own sim, and the name has changed to “Men in Action”. (I liked the old name better, personally.)

MIA recently released this fine ensemble, the Nothing but Leather set.. It’s just what the name says, and plenty of it. The set contains a pair of black leather pants, two leather vests (red and black), and four pairs of leather gloves (red and black, fingered and fingerless). The outfit makes me look like somebody I wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley. But people in dark alleys rarely dress this well. This would make a great outfit for a Goth or cyberpunk avatar, or just somebody who wants to look a bit menacing. Read the rest of this entry »

Designer Trinitee Trilam recently released a new collection of men’s casual shirts at Roxee.  You can see all the designs in the ad apart accompanying this post, but I am modeling the “Check Mate” design in Charkole and Steele colors so you can get an idea of how it looks and fits.

I love the asymmetrical artwork on this shirt, and the the contrasting collar, chest pocket and sleeve cuffs really make the design pop.  You’ll see that, even on the darker shirt, there’s a clear difference between the black trim items and the charcoal shirt background–it doesn’t all just blur together.  The hem spread below the buttom button gives it a realistic, almost-sloppy look.  This is a great shirt!

Available for L$80 each at Roxee (Gramela 18, 46, 25) and at Reaction Surf Store (Yeanim 200, 109, 22). Read the rest of this entry »

Thanksgiving is past and the Christmas shopping season is officially upon us.  What’s better than a gift that keeps on giving?  How about a gift that you give to a significant other, but it’s really for you?  Or vice versa?  Confused yet?  Read on.

Dragontat Zagato has added some special holiday cheer to his great line of underwear, available at Brief Encounter.  The same great briefs and trunks styles now come in special holiday designs guaranteed to put a smile on your face…and hopefully not just yours.  There are seven designs in all:  Xmas Plaid, Snowflakes (red and blue), Lollipop, Jolly, Filigree Red, and Canes. Read the rest of this entry »

Last weekend I ran into a guy in-world wearing a white newbie t-shirt and a pair of untextured, fully-saturated lime green bell-bottom pants. I didn’t ask, but I’m guessing that he made the pants himself. They were absolutely hideous, and he was probably proud of them. You get what you pay for, and when you’re a newbie with limited lindens, your clothing options are likewise limited. There are some pretty decent freebies out there for those willing to hunt them down, but you aren’t going to get top-quality clothing without shelling out some money.

With that in mind, I took a look at the Bold in Violet Velvet outfit from Back in Tyme, created by jessika Taggart. jessika is quite up-front about targeting the low-budget newbie market with the Back in Tyme series, offering complete outfits for only $69L or less. Bold in Violet Velvet is a medieval-period outfit, though not historically accurate to any specific time period or culture, placing it more in the “fantasy” category. It would make a great outfit for an elf avatar or perhaps a pirate. The set contains a buff-colored tunic, a violet velvet vest, black gloves, black pants, and black boots. Read the rest of this entry »

Kaejo DaSilva is still rocking with a constant stream of new designs at [Renegade] Clothing.  His latest addition is a pair of V-neck shirts with beautiful front artwork and great lines that really show off your physique.  Here you see me in the ”Fallen Angel” design, which I think is especially gorgeous but the “Global” design (see the ad artwork below) is great as well.

As usual, Kaejo’s design work is impeccable–the textures are awesome, and the wrinkles and folds really add to the realism.  The “West 07″ jeans I’m wearing here are also available at [Renegade] (shown in black, also available in blue).  The paint/bleach splatter design has a great, natural look. Read the rest of this entry »

It is no secret that Zabitan Assia of FORM is my favorite male designer but what can I say? He makes me look good… and it looks like he has done it again! This time he has joined forces with Helyanwe Vindaloo of Curious Kitties and he could not have chosen a better partner for this project. I think she is going to be next on my list of designers to start begging to make more stuff for us deprived male fashion enthusiast.

The Beanie is Scripted to change color textures when clicked, six colors to choose from or you can change it to your own custom color. So basically the options are endless! The beanie is not a new concept in SL as you all know, but this is by far the best I have yet to put on my pixelated head!

As you can see in the pic, this beanie looks great by itself but this post does not stop here. Thanks to Helyanwe you also have the option of adding this amazing Curious Kitties Style hair! So far the Hair comes in 9 colors that you can buy individually or as a fat pack. I can’t even think of the proper words to describe how great of a job these two did on this. Hopefully this will not be the last project these two talented designers put together… and if you are reading this Helyanwe, please don’t make me beg

Thanks for the welcome, Nicholas! I’m happy to be joining the staff here at Second Man. As quoted, I’ll be covering some of the less-covered categories here, including Goth, fantasy, and period outfits. But first, I’ll review my favorite SL outfit, the one you are likely to see me wearing if we ever meet in-world.

Recently I spent a great deal of time searching the stores and malls of Second Life looking for a really exceptional black suit. Seems like a simple think to find? It isn’t. There are a lot of mediocre black suits out there, made by designers who simply don’t understand that a 100% black texture, or even 90% black, simply doesn’t look realistic on virtual clothing. There are also a lot of very good Goth outfits out there, and while I don’t mind a dash of Gothic atmosphere now and then, I wasn’t looking for a period suit or a vampire-hunter outfit but something modern and sophisticated. My search came to an end when I walked into the Musashi-Do main store in Anton and discovered the Midnight Rain ensemble. Read the rest of this entry »

I am pleased to announce the addition of Zebediah Godwin as another new writer to The Second Man.  In his words:

I’ve done a bit of writing before, and it seems like it will be fun to contribute to this. I’ll probably focus mostly on the goth, period, and fantasy categories, since there aren’t a lot of reviews of those already. I do have a love of formal wear, though, so I’ll do a bit of that now and then too.

Welcome Zebediah!