Men's Second Style

Welcome to the second installment of my Hair Fair 2009 coverage!  Here you’ll find another handful of solid new styles for men by creative designers.  Trying on such a torrent of styles in a relatively short timeframe has also left me just a little bit ranty, and I feel the need to get it out of my system, so bear with me.  A lot of hairstyles these days (including many I’ve featured on this blog, and some included here) include resizer scripts for simple, automatic resizing.  As you may already know, I am kind of torn on this practice .  (Admit it—you knew I’d have to rant about something.)  On the one hand, resizer scripts are easy for new residents to use and make for fairly straightforward fitting.  On the other hand, they typically don’t allow for the kind of custom tweaking of individual hair strands (prims) that I often want or need to do for the hair to fit my avie perfectly, or as perfectly as I can make it.

Not much has changed in the last year or so, except that more (although certainly not all) designers do seem to be using resizer scripts in their hairstyles.  I’m certainly a fan of making things easier whenever possible, so from that perspective it’s kind of a no-brainer.  Also, my sympathies definitely lie with designers who prefer to make their hairstyles (or other complex prim accessories) no-mod in order to protect their intellectual property, and rely on scripts to allow their customers to resize their items to fit.  When the item is a belt or pair of shoes, simple size-up/size-down controls are generally all that’s needed.  However, with hair I often need to adjust the size and/or placement of individual prims to make the style look just right.  No-mod styles don’t allow the familiar manual edit (via edit linked parts) of individual prims, and the scripted counterpart to this process so far to me seems cumbersome, frustrating and fraught with potential for error and disaster.

So, what do I mean by all this?  In short, I’m still not crazy about the use of resizer scripts in hairstyles, due to the lack of editing finesse they allow.  Don’t get me wrong—a lot of hairstyles look just fine when they’re simply sized up or down to fit, and this is great when it happens.  Some styles, though, really need more detailed adjustment to look great and “real,” and in my opinion the best way to accomplish this is still via manual editing.  In particular, Rita Groshomme’s “Beach” style (shown below) would have been impossible to fit properly on my avie if I hadn’t been able to re-position the “swoops” of fringed hair around the ears.

Okay, that’s enough ranting for today.  On to the fun stuff!

Starting up top and working our way down…

“Pace” by Aemilia Case is a short style, closely groomed but a little bit spiky.  Longer strands in front sweep over the forehead, and a few loose flexi bits escape just in front of the ears.  I’ve really liked Aemi’s styles for guys, as they tend to be casual, fun, even impertinent, and not too carefully controlled, and this one’s no exception.  Available at Philotic Energy(Imogen 211, 76, 251).

Aleri Darkes’ “Griff” style suggests a certain wild abandon, but with elegance.  Long strands sweep smoothly forward from back to front in graceful curves.  The look is well groomed but intentionally just a bit shaggy, without any hint of impossible perfection or JoBro cuteness.  Available at Diversity Hair (Addictive 95, 168, 293).

“Lukman” by Shylah Honey somehow reminds me of one or two early prim hairstyles from way back, but executed with greater sophistication and attention to texture detail.  We all have higher standards as time goes by, don’t we?  Seemingly casual, even slightly messy, but every strand is exactly where it should be.  Another hairstyle I’d kill for in RL, but my hair just won’t go there.  Available at Damselfly (Damselfly Hair Salon 145, 237, 25).

Reopa Laval’s “Random Arc” is a fresh, youthful style that may look simple at first glance.  But looks can be deceiving—it’s actually quite detailed and complex.  I love the contrast between the thick shock that falls off-center over the forehead, the wispy flexi ends in back and the thin tendrils that curl about the ears.  Available at Find Ash (itutu RR 77, 116, 32).

And now for a couple of favorites from my Hair Fair haul.  To me, “sweet” by Eko Strom looks like the ultimate surfer-boy haircut—loose, shaggy and with highlights that (in this color, at least) look like natural sun bleaching.  Prim strands are artfully arranged to suggest realistic layering and feathering.  Available at Eko Eko (White 140, 167, 21).

Rita Groshomme’s “Beach” was mentioned a couple of days ago in a comment (with photo links) left by Rhys Ackmann.  At the time I thought, “Damn!  Not only did he beat me to the punch, it looks really good on him.”  Who makes it work better?  I’ll let you be the judge.  This style is cropped close on the sides and in back, with feathered “swoops” (the very ones I mentioned earlier) at the ears.  But it’s impressively (although not unrealistically) lofty on top, an effect that can be achieved by skillful application of appropriate styling products.  Available at Curio  (Curio 128, 128, 37).

Hair Fair styles are now (as of July 5) available for purchase at the designers’ own shops.  All styles come in a range of colors.  Most are available in “color packs” that include hair in a handful of shades in the same color family.  Some styles are provided by the designer in multiple “starting” sizes, for your fitting convenience.  Some are moddable, so you can resize and otherwise tweak them to fit your avatar; others are scripted for automatic resize.  Most styles are priced at around L$200, but some may cost less or more.  All have free or L$1 demos available, so be sure to try on the demo before buying.

Stay tuned for Part Three (and possibly Four) of my Hair Fair Roundup!  Actually I’m thinking of breaking things up with something different next, but I’ve definitely got more hair to share.