Men's Second Style

But hey, doesn’t everybody?  So I figure I’m not alone in that, not hardly.  Surely you yourself are fond of getting a good deal.  Here’s the thing:  there are any number of other great blogs that focus on the great freebies, dollarbies and other bargains you can find in SL.  As much as I like me a good bargain, bargains aren’t my main emphasis here.  That said, if as you’re reading this you’re thinking, “Well, I love bargains, I’m killer at finding them, and I wouldn’t mind writing about the ones I find”…hey, give me a shout.  We can do a deal, Mr. Bond!  Today, though, I’ve got some great (I think they’re great) all-but-freebie items to show off.  I’m hoping at least one or two of them will entice you do a little low-budget, high-value shopping.

The items making up my various outfits are all (with some few exceptions) from Slanted Fox.  I’m sure I had visited Slanted Fox at some point in the past, but if I took anything home with me I’ve lost track of it somehow since then.  I forget exactly what I was searching for the other day, when I ended up visiting again, but I think the phrase “3L$ Store” jumped out at me from the search listings.  Apparently I must have clicked the link because there was a telltale whoosh, and next thing I knew I was in Harajukubox Town.  You know, sometimes stuff just happens, and all you can do is roll with it.

In case you’re now saying, “Wait, what was that one thing you said?”—yes, you heard me right.  Everything in the quirky little shop, from jackets to shoes to complete outfits, is just L$3.  So, although those aren’t technically freebies, I still feel justified in touting these as great bargains, even if your SL “income” is limited.  Most of these clothing designs are by Riki Yifu, with a few exceptions as noted.

Riki’s Gotta Grunge Belted Pants are the foundation of this first outfit, and they are, if anything, perhaps just a bit too much fun.  The fabric texture is soft and stylized rather than strongly photo-real, which works for me.  A detailed sculptie belt sits casually at a slight angle, matching the waist of the pants themselves, and the sculpted cuffs are big, but not TOO big.  The waist of the pants may look a bit rough at the top edge, but you should be able to soften this a little by tweaking the appropriate garment slider.

My tee is one of the few items not from Slanted Fox.  This is Paco Pooley’s Dark Striped Tee.  The contrasting stripes are bold but not in your face, and the muscle shading is subtle but very effective.  Although it’ll set you back more than L$3, I still think it’s quite fairly priced at L$75, which includes all garment layers for flexibility.  Hey, I’ve seen shirt-layer-only tees at L$50 and higher, and I bet you have too.  Although my previous features [link somewhere] of designs by Paco Pooley were all about his vintage steampunk items, he has a pretty great collection of contemporary casual clothing as well.  Drop by 22769 (Sunny Island 111, 32, 22) and check things out for yourself.

Note Buaka’s Tooshi Roll Shoes are casual lace-up sneaks that come in four color combos for your mix-and-match convenience, and as promised they’re all just L$3 a pair.  These are just the kind of stubby little shoes that (for whatever reason) I love—they’re like puppies you can wear on your feet.  A resizer script has been included, which should make for easier fitting, but for some reason (perhaps the selection of base prim in the linked set?) the shoes go off-center from your foot when you resize them and must then be re-positioned.  It’s a bit tedious, but hardly fatal, and after all they’re practically free.  Try to think instead of the fun inclusion with each pair of a decorative pack of Tooshi Roll candies as well as a single candy [photo link?] preset for wear as a mouth attachment (you’ll see).

For contrast, I’ve accessorized my otherwise casual outfit with the rather elegant Marin II necklace by Kotori Skytower.  A variety of marine-theme emblems in shining silver are suspended from a doubly looped thong of black leather.  This is a fantastic freebie available at Kotolier (Christmas 181, 105, 55).

Winter Wage is an all-but-complete outfit ready to go right out of the box—all you need to add is shoes.  You get a nicely textured wool sweater in nubby-weave charcoal with skull motif (so you know I’m happy), complete with sculpted cuffs, gloves, and chunky collar that’s detailed with a prim zipper.  The set also includes a pair of jeans with slouchie sculpted cuffs.  The wash of the jeans is a fairly light blue, as shown here; I’m thinking I’ll probably go back and tint them darker, for a better match with the sweater.

Unsurprisingly, I’m wearing the “for him” version; Winter Wage is also available “for her”.  Rather than being included with the outfit, the Wage Cap is sold separately, but at these prices that’s far from a complaint.

The Holy Relic Uniform is a dramatic themed outfit-slash-costume that needs only shoes to make it complete.  The set includes floor-length military-style coat, coordinating pants, and a variety of prim accessories, including a very official-looking hat.  The coat gets its impressive profile from the showy, flexi-yet-stiff bottom section, but here the details are just as impressive as the broad strokes.  Beautiful finishing touches include a collar with flexi tie, cuffs and epaulets with contrasting piping, detailed belt and shoulder strap.  Cross accents make it clear that your calling is religious in nature, but the ensemble’s military styling suggests strongly that you are no meek priest and will be more than happy to kick ass before taking names.  The overall look is starkly monochromatic in deep black, with highlights in bright white and silver metal accents.  All for just L$3.

My fourth and final look for today is the most casual of the bunch.  The Jrock Love Shorts, with their patchwork construction and wild-and-crazy colorful skull-motif belt, are another design that’s just plain fun.  The sculpted cuffs with integrated side cargo pockets are well and truly rumpled, so much so that you might well have slept in these and just rolled out of bed.  Choose from Cyan, Green, Orange and Red.  Mighty fine (and fun) for just L$3.

The Thrill Me Zip-Up includes sculpted collar, cuffs and slouchie jacket bottom.  Both collar and jacket bottom are thoughtfully included as separate attachments pre-set for two different attachment points each, which (in theory, at least) should make it easier to avoid conflicts with other attachments.  Your mileage may vary; mine did.

It’s worth noting that all attachment points are not created equal—the jacket bottom works better on the stomach attachment point than it does on the spine, but the collar works just fine there.  You’ll want to play around and see what works best for you.  In Blue or Green; attachments for both male and female avatars are included.

Riki’s Jrock Love Bear Hat is softly shaped and textured, with no hard edges anywhere.  Even the front “brim” is rounded and stubby, almost more of a suggestion than anything else.  The metallic star emblem would be decoration enough, but brown bear ears add a touch of serious whimsy.  Hmm, am I sensing a motif here?  Puppies on my feet, bear ears on my head.  Nah, it’s probably just coincidence.  I’m sure it doesn’t mean anything.  Animal metaphors aside, a resizer script makes the hat easy to fit, so there’s no need to settle for Too Small or Too Big when Just Right is only a click away.  (Hmm, too obscure?  Too tenuous?  Just not funny?  Maybe so.)

Visit the Slanted Fox 3L$ Store at Harajukubox Town 155, 106, 25.  Let yourself go crazy!  At these prices, you can afford it.