Men's Second Style

The male bower bird has a fascinating way of attracting a mate.  Rather than relying exclusively on his own physical beauty to catch the eye of a promising female, he builds a decorative structure in hopes of winning both favor and the opportunity to pass along his biological distinctiveness.  These bowers can take a variety of forms, and can be quite complex.  The males often decorate them with brightly colored found objects, and I have read that some even “paint” surrounding grasses using wet bits of bark.  The females compare the bowers and choose a mate based on their own whims and inscrutable inner workings.

When you think about it, this isn’t so very different from what humans do.  Lacking natural plumage of our own, we (males and females alike) use clothing, jewelry, hairstyles, shoes, automobiles, money, hot tubs, and even etchings to enhance our appeal to others we find desirable.  All for the sake of procreation.  Well, that and sex. Read the rest of this entry »

So, I went away for a while. When I left, Mr. Oh had just started his reviews, and Catero had gone on hiatus. Now that I’m back, I see all these new guys. And they all look mighty familiar.

I became skinny goth emo boi because it seemed like every other guy in SL was big buff tan guy. But now that all I see on the blog are skinny dark-haired guys, I can’t keep it up. I gotta stand out! And if that means going for the big B, so be it. Read the rest of this entry »

I love me some steampunk.  Truly, I do.  So it was with no small pleasure that I explored the various accessories, clothing and other design offerings by Luther Carfagno at his shop, LCC.  As will be made clear in short order, rather than the more typical Victorian-era styles, I was inspired by certain of Luther’s designs to shoot for a steampunk look that’s kind of contemporary.  I think it works; you be the judge.

Among Luther’s relatively few clothing designs are the Lowrise Pants.  These are indeed most certainly low-rise, so much (little?) so that you would never find them in any Victorian gentleman’s wardrobe.  Such decidedly 21st Century styling more or less dictated the straight-ahead contemporary look I ultimately decided on.  The Lowrise Pants come with larger and smaller sculpted cuffs, for larger and smaller avies (or, I suppose, really baggy cuffs).  $100 a pair in four colors: Black, Blue, Brown and Green.  As with a beetle’s hard wings, the pants often just look dark, but then the lighting will change and you realize they’re actually shot through with color.  Also, although dark and unfaded, they aren’t just smears of charcoal gray–there’s noticeable fly and pocket detailing.  The low low rise is dead sexy and worth a shopping trip, even if you’re not so much into the steampunk. Read the rest of this entry »

You’re wondering if you read that right, huh? That’s right, period wear. One of those things on the spinning wheel that no one has landed on — yet. My opponent this week, Prad Prathivi, picked out 1930s period wear.

I’m not sure that Prad needs an introduction. Blogger, artist, dj, businessman… it’s tough to find a hat Prad can’t put on his head. He’s even been named one of SL’s hottest male avatars of 2008. With 2500L to find himself 1930s period wear, now is his chance to add fashionisto to his hat stand. Read the rest of this entry »

Kobe Flatley of Mechanism has put out a scarf, spiked belt, and tshirt in the lobby of his mainstore. While you’re there, also pick up his latest group gift — rolled up jeans.

It feels like an age and a half since Fallingwater Cellardoor used her superpowers of creativity for the specific benefit of SL malekind, and we of that particular persuasion have been the poorer for it.  Good lord, could her Murphy shoes really be her last release for us guys?  Fallingwater, we’ve missed you!  Please don’t leave us again like that.  We promise to behave ourselves.

One look at her new men’s release, though, and I find myself thinking that maybe, just maybe, it was worth the wait.  The Xing Boots are ferociously styled and immaculately constructed, with care, attention to detail, and love to spare.  It’s good to feel the love again. Read the rest of this entry »

I first found Theodore and Drusus DuCasse’s Zanzo a while back quite by accident–or maybe it was serendipity intervening, which is always fun.  I noticed one of the small satellite shops (I think it was the one at The Wharf), did a little browsing, and took a few things home.  Ultimately I ended up at the seriously extensive main store, which is laid out like small, themed specialty shops along a central main “street.”  This layout seemed both smart and convenient, as it makes it easy to browse and shop for items in a particular style or genre, if you have something specific in mind.

King’s Road is Zanzo’s new line of menswear, inspired by different cultures across the world.  It was launched recently with an introductory selection of nine different clothing designs, most enhanced with sculpted attachments.  Here I’m presenting a cross section of these new designs, including some of my own favorites. Read the rest of this entry »

Seems y’all like Stokely’s souvenirs better than mine. Maybe I should have gotten some for you instead of showing mine off. I’ll have to remember that for next time. This time though, Stokeley beat me, 46 to 27.

Next week I’m up against SL Renaissance man Prad Prathivi. Honestly, I’m not sure if there’s something in Second Life that Prad hasn’t tried his hand at. Between blogging at Metaversally Speaking, DJing at Crown and Pearl, and building for Amodica, he seems to be able to do just about everything. So I decided to put a throwdown on his plate as well. Prad had the good fortune of selecting a type of throwdown we’ve never had before — period wear. So blame Prad that we now have 2500L to explore fashion from the 1930s.

Nothing says “I love you” like jewelry.  And I’m not just talking about the ladies here–it’s a not-very-secret secret that guys like jewelry, too.  I think it’s because there’s so little good lingerie out there for us.  I mean, hey, a good pair of boxer briefs and we’re done.  (Although, hmm, there are always silks…)  I’m not talking about watches, either, at least not today.  I love watches, but for me they’re more an accessory item than jewelry.  Jewelry is something you wear just because it’s pretty.  There, I said it and I’ll say it again: pretty.  Deep down, you know it’s true.

In case you haven’t noticed, Valentine’s Day is coming right up, check your calendar!  For your gift-giving consideration, I thought I’d suggest some jewelry items that I love and admire.  I’m hoping that you (or your man) might like them too.

Read the rest of this entry »

“When someone asks you if you’re a god, you say, YES!” – Winston Zeddmore (Ernie Hudson), “Ghostbusters” Read the rest of this entry »