Outstanding in its field

January 14th, 2010 at 07:43pm Ryan Darragh

It isn’t too unusual that I find myself impressed by a single clothing item or accessory.  In fact, the creativity and ingenuity of SL designers never ceases to amaze me—they constantly find ways around inherent limitations in the virtual world, and they manage to amaze and delight in spite of the technical ties that bind them.  Even so, it’s not often that I’m surprised and taken aback by something as seemingly basic and utilitarian as a polo shirt.  After all, aren’t they everywhere?  A dime a dozen, basically?  Well, yes…and no.

It’s nice to be surprised now and then.

GonzuS Decosta’s new Sport Polo, just out at his newly opened shop Stash, is a distinct exception in the vast sea of rules.  On the surface, it’s stuff we’ve all seen before:  clothing-layer garment on all feasible layers, plus sculptie bottom hem, sleeve cuffs and collar with buttons.  Yeah, yeah, so what?  In this case, it’s not so much the what as the how that impresses.

The sleeve cuffs are realistically thin (like fabric, aha!) at the bottom edge, not artificially chunky, and they’re properly shaped for easy fitting close to your biceps.  A graceful curve allows the bottom hem, unlike some others I’ve seen, to look like it’s falling naturally over your avie’s butt—I didn’t have to resort to my Butt Size Zero shape, or even size down at all.  The hem on both sides is notched to fit neatly without overly stretching the fabric, like some RL shirts you may own.  But it’s the sculpted collar that really caught my eye.  It’s neat and crisp without being impossibly, mathematically precise, and its slightly rounded edges look like soft cloth rather than hard prims.  Both chest-attach and spine-attach versions of the collar are included, for your fitting convenience, with your choice of dark and bright prim buttons.  Oh, and the fabric texture?  Very nicely done, with a small brand-icon lizard embroidered on the chest.

If you aren’t accustomed to wearing shirts with sculpted bottom hems—the sculpted section is really more like the whole bottom half of the shirt—you’ll want to make an extra effort to fit it carefully.  This isn’t like a jacket or coat, where the bottom hem or tails can be a little oversized, or even big and flowing, and still look good.  A shirt needs to fit closely or it just won’t look right.  You may need to swap out some of the stands in your AO, too, if some of them end up making you look like an auto accident victim, with rigid, unforgiving pieces of your shirt bisecting your torso without remorse.

Permissions are Modify / Copy / No Transfer, but there are gift vendors in the shop as well.  L$390 each in your choice of 18 colors; Mocca is shown here.  I’d say this is definitely premium pricing, but the workmanship is first-rate and the garment is quite beautiful.  Also, shirts will reportedly be on sale at 50% off January 14-16 for group members, during the store’s grand opening.  As of this writing and my last visit, the Sport Polos were the only item currently available.  However, I understand from GonzuS that he’s working on shoes, so be sure to check back in the store now and then, or join the group for updates.

Available at Stash (Blue Sky Island 54, 216, 21).

Disclosure: Seen in world: Yes | Review copy: Yes | Friends list: No

Notes: On Ryan: “Antonio” skin by Funk Schnook (FNKY!). “Noah” hair by Truth Hawks (TRUTH). Corduroy Pants by Dan Senyurt (Dan Senyurt Menswear). Offshore Pro watch by Beyondthematrix Boa (GBTM).

Entry Filed under: Casual,New Items,Shirts,Stash