Men's Second Style

I wonder what it’s like inside the mind of Raven Pennyfeather? I imagine a vast, dimly lit chamber draped in heavy, dark velvet, with plush carpets underfoot. Great paned windows look out into the starry, starry night like inquisitive eyes. Scattered about are immense wooden chairs, elaborately carved and with deep upholstery, perfect for pausing to reflect on one of the many ideas that flit about quickly, glittering in the dark.

Or maybe this is just Raven’s design studio. It certainly seems that only such a place could possibly be origin to her outrageously elaborate gothic haute couture clothing designs. Her new ensemble for men is called “Dysis,” perhaps named after the Greek goddess of the hour of the sun’s setting. This would seem appropriate, perhaps on more levels than that most immediately obvious.

The expansive set includes leather pants with sculpted cuffs (shown below), mesh shirt, leather lace-up shirt, leather “over-vest” and glove-layer sleeve extension. Prim accessories include a double-looped belt, full-length flexi cloak with raised collar, and two-part sleeves with detailed cuffs. One caveat: the prim accessories were clearly designed with larger avatars in mind. Some can be sized down via simple stretch only very little, or not at all. I don’t find this problematic for items like the cloak components, as the cloak is intended to be impressively large anyway. But I was unable to shrink the belt down enough to fit my avatar’s waist very closely. It’s not too obvious under the cloak, but otherwise it is noticeable.

On its own, this embarrassment of riches provides enough variety and flexiblity to put together any number of different looks and combinations. But, as you see, I found myself unable to resist the temptation to accessorize with other equally luxurious items.

Raven’s fabric textures, as always, are both aesthetically beautiful and technically impressive. A motif of delicate Celtic spirals is repeated across several of the leather pieces, and the cloak is lined in brilliant, deep red. I am amazed that she is able to create the illusion of the glow of burnished leather or the shine of metallic threads on clothing, and that her clothing items and prim accessories match and blend so well.

The complete “Dysis” ensemble is priced at L$850. All permissions are Modify / No Copy / Transfer. Raven has also tailored a version especially for the ladies. A styling notecard is included, in case you want to style your own look after Raven’s model.

Available at House of RFyre (Isle RFyre 97, 119, 23).