Men's Second Style

I don’t know how many of you are susceptible to summer colds, but I get them and let me tell you–they are miserable.  I’ve had one for the last week and it’s left me like the walking dead…and that’s with medication.  Sadly one side effect of all this has been some neglect of goings-on here at Men’s Second Style, but never fear–I’m getting back in the saddle.  I’m checking in with some new sculptie-accented items by designer Dolce Blackflag (Nephilaine Protagonist) of PixelMen at PixelDolls.  (I see that Cat also highlighted some other just-out PixelMen designs this weekend, so be sure to check them out too.)  Here you see one of the Longsleeve Tees paired with Strap Pocket Jeans.  Both feature sculpted prim attachments that create the appearance of looser, less rigid cuffs than system clothing otherwise allows–they’re kind of “slouchie.”  I’ve seen prim cuffs before that gave a crisp, rolled-up look, but this is an interesting innovation that results in a look that’s really comfortable and casual.

The Longsleeve Tees have a simple but great ribbed texture and come in four different designs: Plain, Leaves (shown), Diamond and Sunburst.  They are provided on various clothing layers for your wearing convenience.  The sculpted cuffs have the same ribbed fabric texture.  These shirts come in just one color, a light neutral gray, but all components are moddable and therefore tintable.  They’re also copiable, so you can save copies of your favorite colors once you’ve tinted to your liking (of course this means that transfer is not permitted).  I found that I had to tint the prim cuffs to color values that looked like they would be slightly darker to get a good visual match with the clothing layers–it wasn’t simply a matter of plugging in the same color value numbers.  I don’t know if there are any known rules for this matching process, but I found it wasn’t difficult with just a little slider tweaking.  The Longsleeve Tees are priced at L$150 each.

The Strap Pocket Jeans are provided on both the pants and underwear clothing layers.  The pants layer allows for  traditional wear with “system legs,” but here you see me wearing the underwear-layer version with sculpted slouchie cuffs (sorry, you won’t be able to wear boxer briefs under these).  This allows for length and drape not possible with system pants.  The jeans are available for L$100 a pair in several different variations: Blue, Brown and Black colors, regular and distressed finishes, with and without side chains.  The colors are quite deep and dark, so I’ve increased the brightness level in these pictures just a little so hopefully you can make out more of the detail.  Here you see the jeans in distressed brown; in the pictures that follow I’m wearing them in distressed black with chains.

The new Sculpted Velvet Jacket takes a more formal approach but makes equally creative use of sculpted prim accents.  However, don’t overlook the rich colors and luxurious fabric textures–as always, these are what make or break a garment, and in this case the prim collar, cuffs and flexi coat tails serve to highlight an already beautiful piece.  The jacket itself is worn on the jacket layer for length and features ornate metal front closures.  The lapels have rolled sewn edges and look as if they would feel thick and heavy between your fingers.

The stand-up prim collar, cuffs and coat tails are beautifully color-matched to the jacket, and the fabric textures are equally impressive.   I find flexi coat tails to be an interesting fitting challenge, and I did play with size, fit and placement for a while (the attachments are moddable and copiable, so you can fuss with a copy with no fear of wrecking the original).  Ultimately I decided that the default size and fit were already pretty good–I get some extension and a hint of movement without looking like I’m wearing a billowy skirt.  Depending on the size and proportions of your avatar, as well as your own preferences regarding flexi coat tails, you may need to adjust a little, a lot, or not at all.  Honestly, I don’t know how women manage with flexi-prim skirts.  ;)

The Sculpted Velvet Jacket is available for L$200 in Ocean, Grey, Burgundy (shown), blue, Green, Brown, Black, and Purple.

PixelMen clothing is available at PixelDolls (Port Seraphine 45, 131, 27).  Also available at the Chartreuse location (Chartreuse 235, 111, 23).