Men's Second Style

Everybody remembers at least one. You know what I’m talking about—that one teacher who everybody kind of fainted over, got wobbly in the knees for, maybe actually lusted after. Maybe not in the “Give me an A, or at least a B+, and I’ll do things for you” way, but still. Read the rest of this entry »

Marie was late.

In and of itself, that was nothing new. Vraiment, she was always late. He ws convinced that this was not because she could not keep track of time (and anyway, she had ladies-in-waiting for that sort of thing). No, it was clearly a power play on her part. If she could keep you waiting, she was the one in control. And Marie liked being in control. In any case, if Marie expected you to wait…of course, you waited. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the beautiful things about SL is that I can (virtually) wear things I wouldn’t, couldn’t, or simply have no need to wear in real life. Although I do tend to express my own personal and particular tastes more often than not, I’ve also learned to find the fun in putting together looks for different “personalities” of my avatar that aren’t Ryan. Sometimes this is more challenging (I imagine because of a combination of “I know Ryan so well” and “There’s already a lot of me in Ryan”–both of which are of course true), but other times everything seems to come together almost as if by magic. Read the rest of this entry »

Not just anyone, and certainly not everyone, can be a dandy. My own image of the contemporary dandy is quite specific: Richard Jeperson, investigator for the Diogenes Club. Perhaps you’ve heard of him? Although little is known of his background, he is perhaps as well known for his flamboyant 1970s dress sense as for his psychic investigative work on behalf of perhaps the most secret branch of Britain’s secret intelligence services. Along with his sidekick and fellow operative Vanessa, he has been responsible on any number of occasions for preserving the safety of Britain, and perhaps the world, in the face of supernatural forces beyond our understanding.

Oh, and also—he’s fictional. But that doesn’t keep him from setting the bar pretty high when it comes to dandy. No indeed, it does not, believe you me. Read the rest of this entry »

In J-horror (and to a certain extent in horror from Asian countries other than Japan) there’s a well known archetype: the scary girl with long hair. She is traditionally a ghost or spirit, often with a horrifying face and inhuman skin, and she is most definitely scary. She is almost always bent on vengeance for wrongs done to her in life. Think of the central supernatural figures in “Ringu” (“The Ring”), “Ju-On” (“The Grudge”), and “Janghwa, Hongryeon” (“A Tale of Two Sisters”, actually an example of K-horror )—you’ll know just what I mean. Read the rest of this entry »

Ray Bradbury has written rather famously over the years in books and story collections about things deliciously and delightfully macabre. Evocative titles like Something Wicked This Way Comes, The Halloween Tree and From the Dust Returned hint at the fantasies and wonders to be found in the pages that lie between the covers. Of all Bradbury’s strange and wonderful autumnal fantasy titles, perhaps none more so than The October Country seems somehow to speak directly to something deep inside, something visceral, something primal. Ray’s vision is of not just a time of year but an almost-actual place where everything is slightly askew, where the weird is not at all unusual, and where the Pumpkin King reigns supreme. In autumn, the leaves fall and rot gently into the soil, the green of summer grass long gone. In autumn, the air turns crisp and cold, and often smells of bonfires. In autumn, jack-o-lanterns gleam and spirits roam the earth. In autumn, we journey into the October country. Read the rest of this entry »

There’s been a lot of talk lately about mesh. If you’re watching the login screen while you’re waiting impatiently to rejoin your second life, you’ve probably seen the messages about places to go for mesh clothing and avatars, and of course there’s a lot of coverage on the Second Life blog. What is this mesh of which you speak? Go ahead, ask, you’re dying to—I can almost hear you already. Read the rest of this entry »

Just a quick heads-up…there’s a very nice baseball jacket freebie out at SF Design.  Although the hovertext says “month of August,” I found it shopping around this morning and it’s still available.  But don’t dawdle!  The freebie is blue only, but other colors are just L$200.

Summer isn’t just about shorts, sandals and tees. I know, I know—it’s tempting, and it’s also how I dress pretty much every Saturday, all summer long. But there are still occasions and circumstances that call for something more. Do you have a job interview at which you must not fail to impress? An unexpected dinner invitation to the White House? What about that seemingly ill-advised September garden wedding? You’ll need something dressier. Read the rest of this entry »

When I visited the Soren Jaakobs mainstore, Vaughan Vendetta, the designer, came by and we got to talking about his Verce suits.

“Sorry about the wacky colors,” he said, “They were popular on the Teen Grid.”

But I had no quarrel with the colours, except perhaps with the obscure naming of them: Siphico for jet black, Charn for a brick red, Locke for a mature brown, Indo for indigo, and then, curiously, Beige. Read the rest of this entry »