Men's Second Style

This review is long, almost shamefully overdue.  In my own defense, I can only offer that I came across this beautiful suit by designer Rebel Hope shortly after covering some similar items a while back, and I try to keep some level of variety in my posts.  I don’t want to hit you with too much of a good thing or get stuck in a rut.  Sadly, this sometimes means that coverage of great designs can be delayed.  But let us move on and dwell on the past in another way. 

Inspired by the myth and romance of Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, the dreamer and vision behind the Flamingo Hotel and Casino and arguably the founding father of Las Vegas, Rebel has created the Bugsy Suit, an ode to men’s fashion of the 1940s.

The following clothing items are included:  pinstripe jacket, pinstripe pants, solid black pants, white shirt with both black and red ties, and black socks.  The jacket is a beauty, with classic lines, wide lapels, shiny buttons in double rows, and clear chalk stripes.  The suit works equally well with the pinstripe pants, as you see here, or with the solid black pants, shown below.

To complete the outfit in any of a variety of ways, the following prim accessories are also included:  hat in large and small sizes, walking stick, briefcase, shirt cuffs with cufflinks, pinky ring, cigarette with particle smoke, and lapel rose.  Items like the cuffs and pinky ring are moddable for size, but can only be “stretched down” so far due to already-small prim components.

The cufflinks and pinky ring feature optional bling.  I’m not usually a fan of bling myself, but here it is fairly subtle and seems not at all inappropriate.  The walking stick’s texture suggests elaborate inlay of different woods.

As if this embarrassment of riches were not enough, the set also includes a ”Bugsy walk” AO you can wear to give your avatar a powerful walk appropriate to a man of Bugsy’s mental and physical presence.  Although I’m not able to show the walk itself to you here, it’s a broad, rolling walk animation that seems entirely suited to a character as big as Bugsy.  (Yes, I know, Cat did a video, but it was a lot of work, and you need help to take video of yourself properly, and my schedule is impossible enough as it is, much less coordinating with another person, and then there’s editing, and besides all that when you come right down to it I’m lazy.)

All told, this is a beautiful vintage suit with a full set of accessories and accoutrements.  Although you’ll find it in the Costumes section, don’t wait for a costume party–it’s perfect for a night out at your favorite dive bar or jazz club.  Priced at L$850 for the complete set, this may not be an impulse purchase, but this is an outfit complete with all accessories save shoes, not just a suit.  Considering what the various accessory items might cost if purchased separately, the package price seems appropriate to me.  Permission on the set are No Transfer.  Rebel Hope Designs also features a selection of fantastic formalwear–see Second Style Magazine Issue #8 (the feature begins on page 28) for a layout featuring Rebel Hope’s gorgeous Carlton Tux, modeled by our own Catero Revolution.  Yes, the truth is out–now you know what he does on the side.

Available at Rebel Hope Designs (Monarch Bay 214, 83, 33).  The Bugsy suit can be found in the beautifully Deco-styled “Costume Theater” building.