Men's Second Style

I love me some steampunk.  Truly, I do.  So it was with no small pleasure that I explored the various accessories, clothing and other design offerings by Luther Carfagno at his shop, LCC.  As will be made clear in short order, rather than the more typical Victorian-era styles, I was inspired by certain of Luther’s designs to shoot for a steampunk look that’s kind of contemporary.  I think it works; you be the judge.

Among Luther’s relatively few clothing designs are the Lowrise Pants.  These are indeed most certainly low-rise, so much (little?) so that you would never find them in any Victorian gentleman’s wardrobe.  Such decidedly 21st Century styling more or less dictated the straight-ahead contemporary look I ultimately decided on.  The Lowrise Pants come with larger and smaller sculpted cuffs, for larger and smaller avies (or, I suppose, really baggy cuffs).  $100 a pair in four colors: Black, Blue, Brown and Green.  As with a beetle’s hard wings, the pants often just look dark, but then the lighting will change and you realize they’re actually shot through with color.  Also, although dark and unfaded, they aren’t just smears of charcoal gray–there’s noticeable fly and pocket detailing.  The low low rise is dead sexy and worth a shopping trip, even if you’re not so much into the steampunk.

Belts are for more than keeping your pants from falling to your ankles.  (Don’t.  Just don’t.)  The Steampunk Belt (L$200) has an interesting embossed-grid texture and a weathered metal buckle.  Suspended in front you’ll find a flexi leather thong and a single bright brass gear on a chain.  Available in Brown or Dark, as shown here.  Although it’s not particularly steampunky, you may also like the Hide Belt (L$200), with its dangling test tube, flask and tiny necromantic skull.  Although stoppered, the test tube and flask emit continuous streams of possibly noxious particle vapor from the bubbling liquids contained therein.  Hmm, I wonder if I should perhaps be exercising slightly greater caution with chemical reactions in this particular region?  Nah, I’m sure it’s perfectly safe.  All belts are included in larger and smaller sizes, for male and female avies.

I wear glasses in RL, and last time I needed new ones I splurged on some really nice (and, um, expensive) frames.  While this is arguably a luxury rather than a necessity, I think it makes a huge difference in one’s self-image.  (A friend said, “Ooh, you’re good to yourself!”  Hey, I’m worth it.)  Sadly, Prada doesn’t make a steampunk-inspired eyeglass frame, so in RL I’m kind of out of luck, but in SL I can wear Luther’s Steampunk Goggles (L$300).  The heavy-duty construction is gorgeously detailed with worn and rusted metal textures that make them look like you could have inherited them from your grandfather, after he wore them on his zeppelin voyage around the world.  Don’t worry–in spite of all the metal fittings and fasteners, they’re lighter than they look. You can choose from 12 different lens colors by touch.

If you look closely, you can see that I am (rather uncharacteristically) wearing ear plugs, or rather [G]ear Plugs (L$150).  Look even more closely and you’ll notice the clever touch of tiny animated spinning gears within.

You don’t have to be a man of tin (or brass) to need a heart.  With the Steampunk Mechanical Heart (L$350), you too can trick yourself out like a period Tin Man/Tony Stark hybrid.  Who knew that medical technology had advanced so far, so long ago?  The pressure hatch-like front cover can be worn closed to protect the delicate inner mechanism, open for inspection, or hidden from view–just touch it to choose.  The gearworks inside are animated to suggest the clockwork life they provide, and the device comes complete with winding key, so you need never worry about dead batteries.  Out of the box, this attachment was fairly large (see the first picture in this post), but it is moddable for size.  I was able to “stretch it down” pretty far before hitting the minimum-prim-size brick wall.  Here you see it at a smaller size that feels more natural on my smaller-than-average avatar.

Although you could certainly mix and match them and do very well, in addition to the contemporary designs there are a few items in the LCC catalog that are more “vintage” in style.  The Steampunk Bowler Hat (L$200) is a worthy addition to any gentleman’s wardrobe.  Its classic lines are enhanced by the inclusion of up-front motoring goggles flanked by two tiny skulls, an unexpected and even whimsical addition that makes the hat just that much more special.  The jaunty feather is a flat texture with transparency; the alpha work is clean and precise, so it looks good even close up.  If the goggles somehow aren’t enough, you may want to add the Mesmerizing Glasses (L$150) to your ensemble.  Aided by the hypnotic twirling patterns in the lenses, you may be able to bend others to your will.  Or perhaps not, but you won’t know until you try.

No man can consider himself a gentleman unless he can boast at least one good top hat.  Luther’s Victorian Top Hat (L$200) is straightforward and sedate with its thick, dark felt construction.  Stuffiness is kept well at bay by a pair of wheat stems tucked into the decoratively patterned hatband.  Zoom in for a close inspection and you’ll see that, unlike the bowler’s feather, the wheat stems are extravagant all-prim items, and so very detailed indeed (I think the total prim count for this hat was in excess of 200).  Here again, a touch of whimsy that turns something ordinary into something unusual, interesting, even noteworthy.  For the gentleman of true refinement, Luther humbly offers the Victorian Monocle (L$100), a fine example of the single-eye glass.  By its very presence, the monocle lends authority, integrity and virtue no matter how scandalous your conversation or conduct.  Don’t leave home without it.

All of Luther’s steampunk designs (and more!) are available at LCC (Ursa Major 236, 237, 21).

Last but most assuredly not least, I must mention the wristwatch I’m wearing.  I know that I featured Steinwerk Designs just recently, but I simply couldn’t resist including Luv Stein’s SteamMachine watch (L$475), and you would not have wanted me to.  As with all Steinwerks watches, it’s scripted to allow a high level of control and customization, right down to the time zone.  The watch face is mounted at one end of the miniature high-pressure steam containment vessel.  Painstaking detail work includes sturdy screw fasteners, runs of copper tubing and rotary pressure regulators.  At the top of each hour, the piercing alarm whistle is accompanied by the whoosh of escaping steam, a particle effect that’s attention-getting, to say the least.  Available at Steinwerk Designs (Primitive City 185, 110, 66).