Men's Second Style

It can be challenging to actually (virtually) meet up with someone in SL, even given the convenience of not having to leave my house or even, um, get dressed.  So many people, so many time zones–it’s not as easy as it looks.  I was fortunate enough to connect via IM with Abby Coalcliff earlier this week, and we chatted about her new fantasy menswear release at Analise.

Abby:  My sister [Talyn Barrett] is the main designer of Analise.  I usually sell women’s casual wear, and now I’m entering men’s fantasy. I know it’s a bit silly but it’s fun to do something a bit different sometimes.

Ryan:  I think SL should be fun–which to me means getting to do things I wouldn’t or couldn’t in RL.

Abby:  Oh, I totally understand!  I’m currently trying to get out of my RL box.

Ryan:  More of us should do that more often. 

Abby:  [If you] get any silly men’s clothing ideas, send them my way!

Read the rest of this entry »

Cattivo got a new (and bigger) store at Second Guy Clothiers earlier this week. To celebrate that Lissa made her new outfit available in that store only for a week. The outfit, called The Casual Sophisticate, is supposed to be the start of her spring collection and will be available in all her stores once the week is over.

The outfit comes with a dark red V-neck t-shirt, a charcoal unbuttoned dress shirt in two styles, striped khaki corduroys, and a pair of Lissa’s Oxford shoes in chocolate. Prims are included for the pant cuffs and the cuffs on the shirt with rolled up sleeves. Since they’re all single prim items, they’re easy to resize and reshape to fit you.

Read the rest of this entry »

It has been with some (not insignificant) jealousy that I have followed the coverage, by other contributors to this blog, of certain elegantly gothic designs by Raven Pennyfeather.  When I saw her new release, “Eminence,” I made an executive decision: it was my turn.  It seemed only fair.  Perhaps it goes without saying that such a task should not be undertaken lightly, but just in case it doesn’t–I say so now with all sincerity.  This is a more than ambitious design effort on Raven’s part, and I think she succeeds admirably.  The challenge I face is that of presenting her work here and making sure that it looks as wonderfully dramatic to you as it did to me.  All in all, it’s not a bad problem to have.  Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re one of the many people who have been looking for something slightly stronger than off-the-rack reading glasses, but slightly less than a full-spec. iota-class blast helmet, well, my friends, Hern Worsley may have just what you’re looking for. I’m speaking of the AVZ Vision Enhancement unit, 250 lindens’ worth of high tech goodness,available at your helpful AVZ retailer today . The trapazoidal lenses look black in most lights, but are actually highly polished metal and reflect light at certain angles. The top sliver of each lens pulses whenever you’re wearing the unit, in a colour that you can select with an oral command like “/88 trim gold”. Read the rest of this entry »

Although it’s pissing down rain today for me in RL, luckily I have the escape of SL, the virtual “endless summer,” if that’s what I’m in the mood for.  To accommodate my need for escapism, Tesla Miles was kind enough to release her new “Enchant” sunglasses this week at TESLA.  I’ve tried out some other sculptie glasses, but these are the first I’ve really liked, and I think they’re well worth the brief wait while the sculpted prims assume their final shape.  They’re billed as unisex, and although I don’t have a female alt to try them on, the clean, classic design looks as though it would indeed work equally well for the ladies.  As for me, these were exactly what I needed for my shift at the lifeguard station.  Fortunately there was a steady supply of drinks decorated with little paper umbrellas. Read the rest of this entry »

If you remember the 1980′s movie “The Abyss,” in which a group of explorers discover intelligent life at the depths of the ocean, you will understand why my first visit to the clothing store Lookr was, to say the least, a little eerie. The clothing store is just below the surface of the water and is enveloped by the darkness of the sea. To enter the store you must swim through a fog of cold water and up through a hole in the floor of the complex.

Read the rest of this entry »

When I visited SOREAL in the past days, I already got a sneak peak at the upcoming sneaker design. I remember I was quite impressed at first sight already, even if they were still not finished. Now that they’ve been released I’m even more impressed.

The sneakers share both characteristics that already made me fall in love with the jackets and sunglasses. The first is the exquisite use of sculpted prims to make the shape look as realistic as possible. The second is the scripting that’s been added to make the sneakers as easy to use as is possible.

Read the rest of this entry »

My home sim hates me. I don’t mean the estate region I live in; I mean the simulator hardware that runs it. I think it really hates me, and I’m pretty sure it’s because of the high-prim-count accessories I love so much. Sometimes I think I can feel it chug and grind as I click to put on a 200-prim hairstyle. It’s a terrible thing to be so vain. I don’t blame the designers–this failing is all mine, and I take full responsibility. After all, they only create their primtastic masterpieces; I decide on my own to wear them, nobody holds a scripted gun to my virtual head. That said, some of the “worst offenders” (in a good way) in my inventory are jewelry and accessories by Yukirei Greene. Even her apparently simple designs tend to be highly complex upon close inspection: chains are made of dozens if not hundreds of minuscule prim links; what might be highly detailed 2-D textures turn out to be “inlays” of tiny prims. You get the idea. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve written reviews of coats and jackets that have lots of prim attachments with high-tech gizmos or buckles. But mirai Jun’s creations for Cubic Effect are remarkable for their use of organically-shaped sculpted prims. And these aren’t exactly attachments or ornaments, but rather the attachments are the coat or jacket, as with that Soreal sporty jacket reviewed by Daman a few days ago. You may have some hair that’s similar… where a hair ‘garment’ lays down some basic colour on your scalp in strategic locations and then a prim attachment forms the main part of the hair. These jackets and coats are a little bit like that.

My favourite is the military jacket. Look at that collar, lazily flapping back from that wide open neck. Wonderful! It’s an attachment to the spine and provides some of the shape of the coat’s back as well as the collar. There’s also a sculpty attachment to your pelvis that provides the skirt. If you’re ‘blessed’ with a slow enough computer or internet connection, you’ll be able to see it ‘bloom’ in that way sculpted prims have of first rezzing as a little lump and then unfolding themselves into their proper shape. Then there are also prim versions of bunched up sleeves. The jacket-layer garment really is only there to lay down a stretch of similar colour to the boring areas. All the pockets and other main features are done with (or on) the prims. Read the rest of this entry »

Are you a lookr? That’s the slogan Lookr is advertised with. If you think yes is the right answer, then you should definitely teleport by the store sometime.

Lookr sells both men’s and women’s outfits, but most noticeably also makes custom branded items. These items are paid once, by the brandowner, and then handed away for free to the citizens of Second Life.

When it comes to the unbranded stock, Lookr doesn’t have a huge assortment yet. There is some choice already though. Currently available in the men’s corner of the store are sweaters, jeans, tee shirts and hoodies.

Read the rest of this entry »