Men's Second Style

I was surprised and pleased a couple of days ago to get an IM from designer Eponymous Trenchmouth of Jeepers Creepers: “Hey, check out these new boots!”  Words like that are music to my ears (both sets).  I’ve been looking for some ways to shake up my look lately anyway, so this opportunity was not to be missed.  The new Rigger Boots come in six different color/pattern combos: Stealth, Camo, Mud, Sand, Sky, and Urban.  Here I’m wearing them in Stealth, just because the black goes so well with the emo/neko thing I’ve got going today.  These boots have a fantastic, glossy shine to them.  Note the dangling flexi laces and loose tongue–nice touches all around.  You’ll need really tight jeans to tuck them inside the boots like this; the Super Slim Extreem Vintage jeans by Lost Thereian are perfect, but any that allow you to mod the flare way down will do just fine. Read the rest of this entry »

He claimed his focus was purely in creating tattoos and that the possibility of developing a clothing line was highly improbable. No interest whatsoever. Then came Renown. He said he would never design skins. Totally out of the question. Less than a week ago Aitui Premier skins were released. The bottomline: there’s no convincing Jesseaitui Petion to not use his creative talents. Ladies and gentlemen, he can’t even convince himself.

Within a short period Petion has expanded his brand beyond body art to include apparel and now skins. The line debuted with the “White” mid-toned skin (pictured left), closely followed several days later by a lighter “Fair” and nicely bronzed “Island” tones. The inspiration for developing the skins was born from two motivators: a desire to (1) accomodate variance in the skin market, and (2) provide more cost accessible options. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a must-have that no guy should be without.  No, that’s not redundant; it’s just me being emphatic.  ;)

This bad boy pretty much speaks for itself, actually.  This new ball cap by Donovan Brennen of GearShift features wonderfully detailed fabric texturing as well as realistic stitching and a shiny metal buckle on the adjustable strap around back.  And who doesn’t love a skull and crossbones?  It just makes you want to growl and say things like “Avast!” and “Shiver me timbers!”  And now you don’t even have to look like Johnny Depp to get away with it.  It’s the perfect accessory for Talk Like A Pirate Day, which for some reason seems to roll around far more often than once a year.  Really, you can’t start getting ready too early. Read the rest of this entry »

Hey, any Men’s Second Style readers in the NYC area?  If so, this event may be of interest.  I’m a West Coaster, so timing and location don’t work so well for me. 

If you’re in the New York City area tomorrow, Tuesday, February 27, and want to participate in or just attend a discussion of male fashions in both the real world and the virtual world of Second Life, drop by the A.I.R. Gallery at 511 West 25th Street, Suite 301, in Manhattan, at 5:30pm Eastern time (2:30pm SL Time) for an event being put on by Daria Dorosh, a long-time professor at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology — and also a long-time explorer in virtual worlds. …

The event is a discussions of male fashion both in-world and in the real world. Bruce Damer, who’s organizing the event, is hoping to find SL residents who could show up to the gallery as well as those who could show up in-world. Extra points if you have a male avatar who’s a clothes horse.

Celebrity Trollop is posting this info on the Second Style Fashionista blog as well.  If anyone can attend, please post a comment and let us know how it went!  If you can take pictures and post on Flickr or Snapzilla, that would be great too.  Or even consider doing a guest column here. 

After months of anticipation and two sneak peaks for Dazzle Girls group members, Ginny Talamasca (a.k.a Devyn Carmichael) opened the doors to Last Call, her updated fashion haus. Prior to Last Call, Ginny designed the hugely successful Dazzle brand which was particularly well-known for its formal dresswear.

The spacious store itself has a department store layout which is divided into six key areas. Though layout signage has been strategically placed throughout, the floorplan is well laid-out. Even without reading the signs shoppers have easy visual and physical access to the various departments. In addition to the primary Femme and Homme sections, Last Call is comprised of “Qismat” (Gorean fashions for men and women), “Vamp” (couture-inspired shoes for the ladies), “Covet” (jewellery and accessories by Lyra Muse; located in each gender-specific section), and “Catharsis” (men’s undergarments and women’s lingerie). Display panels located in the central lobby area feature a selection of female skins which have been themed to reflect the new brand, in addition to gift certificates in denominations of 250L, 500L, 1000L, 2500L, and 5000L. Read the rest of this entry »

Something new from Kaejo DaSilva of [Renegade], these Stitches Street Shoes are just out and ready for your casual road-trippin’ enjoyment.  Sporting a detailed canvas texture, high-contrast white stitching and laces, and bright white rubber toes and soles, these are a whole lot like the ones you had when you were a kid.  You probably wore them when you played Kick-the-Can, when you rode your bike, when you were skateboarding.  Maybe you even grabbed your Mom’s bottle of Clorox and a rag every once in a while to touch up the toes, so they’d stay nice and bright.  I know I did. Read the rest of this entry »

Since last November, I had followed with great interest the forum thread in which designer Namssor Daguerre of Second Skin Labs shared the ongoing progress being made on a new line of male skins, MGX 2.0, a.k.a. “Adam.”  What really impressed me was how Namssor not only solicited and responded to feedback regarding pictures of the skins in development, but also incorporated suggestions into the design work where possible.  “Adam” was released in late January, and Namssor was kind enough to provide me a sample copy so I could review it for Men’s Second Style readers.  (You can also read more about “Adam” at the Second Skin Labs website.)

If  you’ve read my reviews of skins before, you already know that I think our preferences in skins are highly personal and subjective.  Therefore, what works (or doesn’t work) for us in a skin is also personal and subjective.  To be as helpful to readers as possible, I try to review skins in an objective a manner as I can manage.  You can imagine the challenge I face!  I say that not to complain about how hard my job is (oh, poor you!) but to get you on board with me regarding how I hope you’ll consider my evaluation.  Read the rest of this entry »

The Second Man classifieds were started as a resource for designers when the conventional wisdom was that the Official Linden Forums Classifieds were going to be discontinued. LL reversed thier stance of this shortly thereafter, and have kept them indefinitely. The Second Man classifieds never saw much traffic, and recently there has been a big upswing in spam registrations. In light of this we will be dicontinuing the Second Man Classifieds at the end of the week, unless there is a great hew and cry from the design community.

The recent Grand Opening of Last Call by Dazzle Haute Couture was one of the most eagerly anticipated SL fashion/style events in recent memory. Last Call is the new joint fashion venture of Ginny Talamasca/Devyn Carmichael, Starley Thereian and Lyra Muse. I was lucky enough to sit down last week–after some of the craze had died down–with Devyn, Ginny’s alt and designer of the new Last Call menswear line. I think he may have been glad for the opportunity to sit down and relax for a few minutes. Read the rest of this entry »

There is a Chinese proverb, “the Truth is perfect like the vastness of space, with nothing wanting, nothing superfluous”. This pearl of wisdom aptly describes TRUTH by Truth Hawks, an up-and-coming designer whose growing brand is sure to become a fashion industry mainstay. It’s one of those secret finds you want to keep to yourself, but sheer excitement will not allow you.

His shop, containing a collection of fresh and simple men’s and women’s casual apparel, has garnered him a dedicated following within a relatively short period of time. Word about the brand is spreading solely through word-of-mouth and the buzz is surely a result of his experience as a 3D texture artist in the real world. Truth’s clothing is highly detailed and incorporates his own style of texture light sourcing. The interlocking knit-weave of the Body Fit [Blk] (pictured left) and Body Fit Geisha shirts have a very tactile appearance, evoking warm thoughts of your favourite sweater. The resulting naturality is sure to provoke your significant other(s) to want to stroke the fabric while you wear these. That statement is based on research. Read the rest of this entry »