The Not-So-Wild One

April 15th, 2009 at 12:49pm Ryan Darragh

It begins here for me on this road.  How the whole mess happened I don’t know, but I know it couldn’t happen again in a million years.  Maybe I could’ve stopped it early, but once the trouble was on its way, I was just goin’ with it.  Mostly I remember the girl.  I can’t explain it–a sad chick like that, but somethin’ changed in me.  She got to me, but that’s later anyway.  This is where it begins for me, right on this road.

Let’s face it: I’m no Marlon Brando.  I have no problem with that reality.  It’s probably just as well.  Nobody wants to see me in “Last Tango in Paris” or (God forbid) off my crazy ass in “The Island of Dr. Moreau.”  All the same, some new stuff I’ve been accumulating recently fell together serendipitously last night and cried out to be a biker.  And so here we are.

One look at this leather jacket and you’ll see why.  The seed of this ensemble is AIR Winx’s beautiful Leather Blouson, still fairly new out at ARGRACE.  I’m a whore for quality sculpted clothing, but I probably don’t have to tell you that fitting can be, um, a challenge.  Much of the drama has been eliminated or at least reduced here by resize scripting, and the overall design of the whole garment appears to have been conceived and executed from start to finish with Looking Good in mind.  I say this largely because of how smoothly the sculpted pieces (there are just three) fit together, and how rarely a pose causes a nastily unrealistic intersection of sculptie and avatar.  The leather texture is buttery soft, and copious intricate detailing includes buttons, zippers, snaps and flaps.  Whether you wear the jacket with ribbed V-neck, on its own, or sleeveless as a vest, you’ll be all set for real Fifties-style rebellion.  Six different colors, L$450 at ARGRACE
(shin zushi 150, 161, 26).

What’re you rebelling against, Johnny?
Whaddya got?

A man’s gotta love his boots.  Good boots will get you through when lesser footwear has long since given up and fallen apart.  Ju Weissnicht’s Kboots are straightforward and classic in design–Johnny Strabler would recognize them in an instant–but with detail work that includes gorgeous leather seams in back and sturdy pull-rings.  They weigh in at a simulator-friendly six prims each and feature Ju’s own original sculpties, all hand-painted textures, and no invisiprims.  (Sculptie mirroring is at work and play here, so make sure you’re using a current viewer that supports this feature.)  You won’t find much on Ju’s raft-borne shop yet (the only other items for sale are a few animations), but Ju says there’s more to come: “As classic mesher with a serious shoes fetish, the general idea would be male, female and unisex footwear–original, high quality, versatile, low resource, hand painted, modifyable, few or no invisiprims.”  Five copiable, moddable preset sizes are included, or you may contact Ju by notecard for a mod/no copy/transfer pair.  In Brown and Black, L$450 a pair at Treads (Covet 153, 18, 22).

You think you’re too good for me.  Nobody’s too good for me!  Anybody thinks they’re too good for me, I make sure I knock ‘em over sometime.  Right now, I could slap you around to show you how good you are and tomorrow, I’m someplace else and I don’t even know you or nothing.

A tough guy calls for a tough belt.  James Schechter’s newest release, the Chameleon Belt, could almost be a tribute to both Brando’s tougher-than-nails persona and his near-mystical ability to vanish into a role like no other actor.  Okay, that’s probably not what James had in mind, but still–in addition to automatic resize, it’s extensively scripted for easy texture and color change (dozens of choices), so you kind of have to wonder.  Rather than using a simple prim loop, the belt’s “base” is made up of multiple pieces, their edges cleverly camouflaged by hardware and other detailing, carefully arranged for better, tighter fit on most avatars; your mileage may vary.  Extensive detailing includes a hip chain and shiny metal studs that will gladly take up some of the simulator load left untouched by Ju’s boots.  L$250 at Perfectionist (Ileina Cove 226, 194, 22).

The “Rising Sun” Cadet Hat by Posy Trudeau is textured in canvas, with contrasting colored stitchwork, and it’s decorated with a handful of patches, buttons and pins that suggest a collection accumulated over the years.  Touch scripting lets you choose from six different fabric colors.  The fairly rough-and-tumble hairstyle is softened a bit by a small pigtail in back.  The hair comes in Black, Blonde, Brown and Red; it’s not scripted for texture change, so you’ll need to commit to a color up front, or buy more than one hat.  L$200 at Miau Haus (Scout 103, 234, 251)

So far I’ve held fairly true to the original Wild One’s iconic look (well, except for maybe the pigtail), but here we part ways–Marlon’s Johnny would never wear jewelry, but I can’t resist.  I found a few appealingly rugged, interestingly constructed pieces at Lotus Li’s shop, Relish.  The Scorched Wood Leather Necklace (L$100) features a small length of natural wood, scorched and carved in almost totemic fashion, suspended from from a simple black cord alongside a few loose flexi strands.  I’m also wearing Lotus’ Cubic Leather Metallic Wristband (L$50) and the Crop Circles Wristband (a freebie!), both finished in mysteriously dark-grey, low-luster metal.  All available at Relish (Soju 111, 131, 83).

I wish I was going someplace.
I wish you were going someplace.
We could go together.

Disclosure: Seen in World: Yes | Review Copy: Some | Friends List: Some

Notes: On Ryan: "Miguel" skin by Tricky Boucher (Belleza). 000 Jeans by Zabitan Assia (FORM).

Entry Filed under: ARGRACE, Boots, Casual, Freebies, Grunge, Hair, Hats, Jackets, Jewelry, Miau Haus, New Items, Perfectionist, Relish, Treads, Vests