Men's Second Style

As I mentioned in my last post, I was wearing a new skin by Namida Akami.  Typically, if I plan to give a new skin a formal review, I try to do so before wearing it in a post primarily featuring clothing or other designs.  This time out, I broke with tradition—I thought that Namida’s skin had just the right tone and facial features for my summer elf.  I had already put the outfits together, but I made an atypical last-minute change and swapped out the skin.  That’s taking a certain risk, and I wouldn’t normally do it, but in the end I think it worked out very well.

Namida’s new skin is called “Edwen”.  Although I don’t know if this was Namida’s intention, the name immediately struck me as a blend of Arwen and Edward.  Half-elven Arwen Undómiel, of course, was the daughter of Elrond and Celebrían, granddaughter of Galadriel, and ultimately wife of Aragorn in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.  The most popular Edward in fiction these days is probably Edward Cullen, Stephenie Meyer’s ethereally beautiful boy vampire, who sparkles rather than burns to ash in sunlight.

Perhaps in keeping with these possible influences, Namida’s “Edwen” is pale, with delicate and beautiful features.  I don’t want to just say he’s pretty, because that seems limiting and dismissive.  But he is at least somewhat androgynous (although I think not effeminate), with Cupid’s-bow lips and flawless complexion that would be the envy of any boy’s older sister.  The skin looks smooth and soft, and the musculature is lightly but distinctly defined and shaded rather than heavily ripped.

The hand-drawn artwork is clean, with no inappropriately visible seams or edges.  Details like ears and even toes are carefully drawn and shaded, although the sad truth is that there’s only so much anyone can do with toes.  In particular, I very much like the shading of the back, which nicely defines the spine and shoulder blades without excessive, unrealistic highlighting or shading and shadows that look like dirt smudges.

Unsurprisingly, there are no facial hair options, but you will find a wide variety of other face options, with six variations in each of five categories:  Classic, Make Up, Rock, Scars and Wounds.  My own favorites are some of the subtler Classic options.  One has a slight one-sided smirk, more gently ironical smile than serious Billy Idol sneer.  (If you look closely, you’ll see that of necessity this is accomplished by extending the mouth artwork beyond the usual polygon-edge boundaries.  It may look a bit odd up close, but at normal viewing distance the effect works very well.)  Another face is dotted with rivulets of sweat.  There’s no sweat on the body, although I have seen this detailing on one or two other skins, notably “Draco” at SUBARU.  On the cheek of another, you’ll see the flushed mark of an open-handed slap–it’s fading, so you almost have to look twice, but definitely still there.

“Edwen” is currently available only in the pale tone shown here.  Namida says, “I wanted to make this skin for fun at first, but I’m certainly going to release soon a darker version.  ”

Each skin is provided with and without treasure trail and pubic hair.

Single skins are a bargain at L$500; face option packs are priced at L$2000.  You may like the rather boyish “Edwen” shape, which you can buy for L$900.  Free demos for both skins and shape are available.  Overall this skin is very well done, certainly one of my personal favorites in this price range.

Available at MUWU (Crocus Island 150, 146, 352).

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In my last post, I wore some sandals by Yukirei Greene and mentioned that I’d be working in a few more of her newer designs in upcoming posts.  Today I’m wearing and accessorizing with Yukirei’s Showy Best vest (L$200), with its highly decorative chain necklace.  As if the necklace weren’t enough, the back of the vest is decorated with a large, elaborate medallion featuring a stylized skull and crossed swords.  A stone-finish necklace is also included.

The Stylish Sandals (L$120) are stylish indeed, but a bit less dressy than the more formal sandals featured in my last post.  The central rounded stone is scripted to cycle among a handful of different semi-precious stone textures.  The Luxurious Ring in Silver (L$150) is intricately constructed and beautifully detailed.  A ring in Gold is also included.  You can find Yukirei’s designs at Skill Normal (Horseshoe 163, 9, 143).