Men's Second Style

My home sim hates me. I don’t mean the estate region I live in; I mean the simulator hardware that runs it. I think it really hates me, and I’m pretty sure it’s because of the high-prim-count accessories I love so much. Sometimes I think I can feel it chug and grind as I click to put on a 200-prim hairstyle. It’s a terrible thing to be so vain. I don’t blame the designers–this failing is all mine, and I take full responsibility. After all, they only create their primtastic masterpieces; I decide on my own to wear them, nobody holds a scripted gun to my virtual head. That said, some of the “worst offenders” (in a good way) in my inventory are jewelry and accessories by Yukirei Greene. Even her apparently simple designs tend to be highly complex upon close inspection: chains are made of dozens if not hundreds of minuscule prim links; what might be highly detailed 2-D textures turn out to be “inlays” of tiny prims. You get the idea.

Although I’ve been happily wearing her jewelry and other accessories for some months now, Yukirei’s recently released designs include her first prim clothing item. Her new Winter Down Vest (L$180) is available styled and fitted for both men and women, and comes in Black (as shown), Silver, Red, Orange and Green. It’s a single linked-prim attachment, not worn in pieces, and moddable for size, all of which make for relatively easy sizing and fitting. The vest has flexi ties, fur-trimmed collar and hood, and a detailed prim medallion-style ornament on the chest. The cloth textures of the puffy vest are shiny and glossy, like slick nylon. The detail is perhaps a bit rough or blurry across the wide part of the hood, I suspect due to stretching over a greater surface area, but for me this is a minor quibble rather than a show-stopper.

Yukirei’s new Awe Scull Belt (L$250) is something of a cousin to some of the other belts she’s created, and unsurprisingly primtacular–I didn’t compare prim counts, but at 246 prims this might just be a personal best for Yukirei. Beautifully grained shiny black leather and an over-the-top proliferation of elaborate decorative elements are signs of her immediately recognizable style. A small “maker’s mark” plate in the front medallion confirms the designer’s identity, as if there were ever any doubt.

The mix of imagery and iconography is interesting, to say the least–up front there’s a grimacing skull-like face with feathered wings, backed by crossed swords; fangs or talons sprout along the circumference of the main leather belt; and is that a Book of Common Prayer I see dangling on the right hip? Perhaps not actually a mix of the sacred and the profane, but certainly close enough to be fascinating.

All this talk of prims reminds me of an experiment I tried some time back. I put on every high-prim attachment I could reasonably wear–hair, jewelry, shoes, I’m sure one of Yukirei’s belts was involved–and then went hopping around the grid to see if I would run into any problems, oh let’s say like crashing a sim. If this sounds reckless, yes, it seems like it might possibly have been, but the big news is that Absolutely Nothing Happened. I ran around all evening, sporting attachments that added up well into the hundreds of prims, and nothing happened. I never even had a shoe inconveniently lodged in my ass, which any other time would have been a sucker bet. I don’t know what this means, I’m just telling a story.

Other recent releases from Yukirei include a variety of plate-style necklaces (L$150) in different finishes and decorative styles. Each features a detailed pendant ornament suspended from a delicate chain in matching metal. Although these designs are simpler by far than the belt, the construction and detailing are no less impressive–if you look closely, you can make out the leather insets in the black and gold necklaces and the delicate veining of the turquoise bead on the silver design.

Above, from left to right: Neat Leather Plate Necklace in Black; Leather Plate Necklace in Gold; Turquoise Plate Necklace in Silver.

All of these items, and so many more I can’t quite get my head around it, are available at Yukirei’s new shop location, Yukirei Accessories (Yukirei Accessories 126, 155, 30). Men’s items can be found in the striking onyx-black building.

For those keeping score at home, the colorful slip-ons I’m wearing are Zabitan Assia’s Lazy Shoes. Casually and comfortably styled, these are available in a variety of patterns; the design shown here is called “Hime.” You can buy a pair for yourself at FORM (Varado 149, 141, 31).