Grand Reopening @ Desert Moon Clothiers

February 7th, 2007 at 03:29pm Ryan Darragh

I was lucky enough to attend the Grand Reopening event at the new Desert Moon Clothiers store this past Friday evening, and what a bash!  At some point somebody said, “Designers are just falling out of the sky!” and it was true.  It was really great to see members of the SL design community turn out in such numbers to support one of their own in an exciting new venture.

Fortunately I managed to snap a few pictures before the lag became truly lagtastic, so you can see how packed the place was.  That’s owner/designer Dragontat Zagato way in the back at left, chatting away.  Oh, and me in the middle, cam-shopping madly.  I’ve been shopping at Desert Moon since I was still a fairly fresh newbie, and Dragontat Zagato’s jeans, tees and jackets were some of the first clothing I actually bought after discovering his shop in Provincetown.

The re-imagined Desert Moon isn’t just about great new clothing designs–Dragontat has carefully designed the shop itself to make for the best possible shopping experience.  I was blown away by the store layout and the way it accommodates camera shoppers as well as those who like to walk around and look at items the way they do in RL.  The mix of wall vendors and prim displays is visually interesting and works very well; the layout is a great blend of what a “real” store looks like and what works for shopping in SL.  Dragontat says, “I wanted the store to be fun to look at.  I had seen prim displays before in other stores but I wanted to take it to the next level.  This is like ‘my dream store’…you’re looking at over 1950 prims in this store, but I think it’s worth it.”

Awesome, I hear you saying, but what about the clothes?  I’ll let Dragontat tell you himself:  “Yeah, I’ve been mad crazy for the last three weeks, LOL.  I don’t do things gradually…it all comes in one lump sum.  All the t-shirts/shirts/jackets are new designs.  All the jeans are from my original collection but they’ve been revamped…I added side seaming and an additional underwear layer for tucking in boots.”  I thought the best way to let you see what Dragontat has been working on was to put together a couple of different outfits using exclusively his designs and show you the results.

This first outfit starts with the Inspiration tee (L$75) and the Fueled jeans (L$125).  The tee is layered over a simple white thermal (L$75).  The artwork and texturing on the shirts is exceptionally good, with great “real-cloth” feel, designs that look muted from repeated washings, realistic wrinkle details, and shading that suggests your magnificent physique underneath.  ;)  The Medic brown leather prim belt (L$100) adds some snap and visual interest.  The end of the belt strap is flexi, a nice touch, and a useful notecard is included that provides detailed instructions on how to re-size the belt for a proper fit.

Rounding out this outfit is the Kaigen necklace (L$200) and the Desert Avenger boots (L$200).  Dragontat’s new necklaces (there are currently three different designs) are gorgeous, decidedly masculine, highly detailed pieces of primwork.  The items themselves are on display in the shop, not just 2-D artwork, so you can get a good look at them before you buy.  The Desert Avenger boots have a fantastic leather-grain texture in a dark, rich brown with shiny silver accents on the toes, heels and side buckles.  I have not been a big boot man, but I’m lovin’ these all right.

I decided for the second outfit to start with the Griffin tee (L$75) and the Rugby jean (L$125).  This time I layered with one of Dragontat’s signature design-printed thermals; the design you see here is called Dagger.  All shirts and jeans come in multiple layers for wearing flexibility, so if you want to layer these items in a very specific way with something else, chances are you can do it.  The Rugby jean might just be my favorite of the new designs, with its beautiful faded coloring and worn patches that suggest items carried for a long time in the same pocket.

To these I added the Faith prim belt (L$100), a silver-studded black leather number with ornate enamel-and-silver buckle, and the Ring Tab necklace (L$200), a stunning construction of burnished and polished silver metalwork on a black cord.  These pictures simply can’t do justice to the jewelry–go in and check these out in person!  At right you can examine the shading and texturing on the back of the shirt.

Finishing off this outfit are the Hunter boots (L$125).  These black leather boots have a rich leather texture and a subtly worked cross design that echoes the design of the belt buckle.  Dragontat has several different boot designs available in different colors, with different leather textures and finished with a variety of metalwork.

As much as I’ve shown you here, I have barely begun to explore the huge stock at the new Desert Moon.  Also available is a nice selection of wrist cuffs (L$50 per pair), which I somehow managed to walk away without sampling.  There are also some classic boxer briefs in white, black and grey (L$50 per pair) that feature a detailed, highly realistic cloth texture.  For some more colorful options in men’s underwear, you can also visit Dragontat’s other shop, Brief Encounter (Yeanim 109, 80, 21).

Oh, and that’s only half of the store–there’s a great selection of women’s clothing too, although the girls may have an unfair advantage over us guys as many of the men’s items are totally unisexy. 

All these designs and more are available now at the new Desert Moon Clothiers concept store (Goodelli 228, 193, 25).

Disclosure: Seen in World: Yes | Review Copy: Some | Friends List: No

Notes: On Ryan: Dante Light (Toned) skin by Lost Thereian (Naughty Designs). "Untamed" hair by Lost Thereian (Naughty Designs). "Rectech" glasses by Cienna Rand (Primcrafters).

Entry Filed under: Accessories, Boots, Casual, Desert Moon Clothiers, Designer Reviews, Jewelry, New Items, Pants, Shirts