Men's Second Style

It is a sad and unfortunate truth that things sometimes sit in my inventory for…a while…before I get to them.  There can be any number of reasons for this sad state of affairs.  Time, that’s a good one, or rather the lack thereof.  Forgetfulness is a classic—I forget how great something looked in the shop and it doesn’t come properly to mind when I notice it in the vast array of inventory folders.  Lack of organization, though, is the culprit far more often than not.  No matter how valiant my efforts to impose order upon the giant heap of chaos that is my inventory, like Sisyphus I face a never-ending, impossible task.

But through this dark cloud of chaos can sometimes break the shining light of serendipity.  Every so often, I find in my heaps of inventory an all-but-forgotten gem that I had intended to feature, but which somehow got lost in the shuffle.  Today is one of those days, and the recovered treasure is an outfit called Bruised, from Blackstar by Izzy Dench.  I picked this up, I’m pretty sure, on a shopping trip some several weeks/few months back with my friend Kith, whom I haven’t seen in way too long.  Ah, good times.

For such a relatively basic ensemble, there’s a lot to love here.  It just goes to show that, while bundles of prim attachments can certainly be fun–and, believe me, I’m a whore for the prims—they aren’t necessary for the creation of clothing that’s both convincing and beautiful.  Fine fabric textures are the real essential, and here they are absolutely the star.  Although it’s provided as a single jacket-layer garment, the shirt presents the illusion of two carefully chosen, artfully layered pieces of clothing that play together very nicely indeed.  You’ll notice the layering effect on the sleeves (of course), less obviously at the neckline, and still more subtly at the waist.  While in a perfect world I’d love to have both shirts as individual items on separate garment layers, for mixing and matching (or just solo wear), it seems churlish to register an official complaint.  The fabric of the “outer” shirt is printed with a goth-y scattering of skulls, bats, razor blades and other symbols, superimposed as if spray-painted on a ground of horizontal stripes.  In case you were afraid that there were no prim attachments or other accessories, never fear—you also get sculptie rumpled cuffs  and simple fingerless gloves.

The pants are something of a wonder, too.  Consider the charcoal-grey fabric, shot through with narrow purple stripes (almost like a bruise, hmm) to coordinate with the outer shirt’s color.  The texture work is smooth and fine, with delicate wrinkles and folds, subtle shading that actually looks like fabric sheen rather, and stripes and seams that are no more and no less perfect than they would be on a real garment.  You’ll find that the rise is very low indeed, and the integrated brown leather belt is accented with a metal buckle.  No sculpted cuffs are included for the pants, but in my opinion they would add little if anything to the look and simply aren’t needed.  Sometimes, less really is more, or at least just enough.  The Bruised outfit is priced at L$250.

Can one possibly have too many leather jackets?  I’m inclined to think not.  Fortunately, my rediscovery of the Bruised outfit prompted a return visit to the Blackstar store.  Upon arrival, I was greeted at the entrance by a display that prominently featured an array of jackets in night-black leather.  I tried to look away, but it was already too late—I had noticed that one of the jackets was emblazoned with a skull, and I knew that I was doomed.  I tried to tell myself “It’s just another leather jacket,” but I could tell that myself was not listening.

I resigned myself to my destiny and clicked Buy.

And I was not disappointed.  Izzy’s skull-design Leather Jacket is entirely classic in construction, but unique in interpretation and detailing.  The leather is dark but not jet black, so details of the texture are not lost in a blur of undifferentiated, featureless shadow.  Bright silver metal snaps, studs and zippers highlight the black leather, and the snaps themselves are decorated with grinning skull motifs.  Sculpted cuffs, collar, shoulder tabs and belted jacket bottom add detail and give the jacket dimension and shape.  The notched collar is actually provided as two separate attachments; depending on your shape, this may make fitting an easier task.  I’m especially impressed by the detailing of the cuffs—notice the gleaming teeth and pull tab of the open zipper.  The jacket bottom has a realistic but not overdone flare that I think works all the better because the jacket is open.  I did not, as I often do with prim jackets like this, have to resort to my “butt size zero” shape for a proper fit.  I have my share (and then some) of very good leather jackets, but Izzy’s has joined the ranks of the best and is now a personal favorite.

Prim components sized and shaped for both male and female avatars are included, so the jacket can be worn by men and women alike.  Choose from the Skull design shown here, Plain (undecorated, natch), Anarchy and a very Bettie Page-esque Chick Skull design.  L$275 each.

Available at Blackstar (Blackstar 204, 109, 84).