Favorites Old & New

Taking time out to revisit some favorite designers and get acquainted with some new:

Redgrave is a perennial favorite; my favorite skin and my favorite footwear come from there (Biker boots - not shown and before they got a resize script which I'm really happy about. No script lag with those babies)

That said, I'm really fond of the newly releases Survivor boots in canvas and./or leather. Nice construction and detail, and like my favorite biker boots, well worth the price. While there I also found the relatively new release of a pair of vintage jeans. these are sharp looking for also being so worn and the detail options (keys or purse, smokers pack,) set them above other jean sets. Unisex and reasonably priced.

Another favorite is SF Designs. swaffette's been making us all look good for years and she's amazingly generous. The Grey Marl Double breasted cardigan is a free gift and it's sharp and classic looking.

Newer to my wardrobe are both EMO-tions hair and [Y] Style Jewelry. EMO-tions came to me highly recommend by a friend and I have several styles I wear but the favorite of the partner is this long look, Resurrection II. The hair is mod and since I'm not a Gor or Historical RPer I took the liberty of making the bone and skull accents invisible. I like the loose look around the fair and the heavily wrapped braids and ponytails come across just as wonderfully messy as any such style will after a day of fighting, foraging or if you are like me, knocking together furniture or digging in the garden.

Also new, is this great necklace from[Y] Style. Greta's been pleasing me a lot with her bold but simple designs. Most of the Quartet that make up StyleYakuza  have amazing talent for both style and statements and Greta's not disappointing anyone with her designs. It's a small set of offerings so far but growing and scarily reasonably priced. Be sure to hit her group as well, since as you'll see later, the lady gives out great gifts.

Another hairstyle from EMO-tions, this time shorter, but with the same kind of loose easy look as the more involved designs. Aaron comes in multiple colors as do all EMO-tions styles, many of which are unisex.

Destination and Infinity are new releases from GothiCatz, which is one of the first shops my SL mentor took me to in looking for outfits that met my style as well as my wallet.

The skin, left, was a group gift from Belleza, another favorite skin maker. The group admission isn't prohibitive and it's worth it given the regular price of their skin packs.

CPD {Chaos, Panic & Disorder} provided this Celtic Cross necklace over Christmas and I like the detail on it a lot. I have a few pieces I tend to wear all the time -- this just got added to that relatively small folder.

I've had these black sneaker boots from Duh! for awhile now. Given my penchant for boots, you'd think I'd wear them more often, but something abobut the GothiCatz outfit made them seem like the exact right thing. They are seriously a lot of fun, and like most of Duh's shoes and boots in credibly easy to fit and with a lot of little details that  might go unnoticed. Loose flexi laces aren't exactly a requirement in footwear but having them makes me grin since I can't seem to ever tie my shoes anyway.

The Zero Natural skin from Heartsick was a pleasant surprise in the Millenium Hunt. Find it secretly marked to $1L for the Millenium Hunt and you get 7 versions of the skin n a dark tan. Rich tones, fuller lips, and a great set of eyebrows. I wasn't as enamoured of the included shape - it ran a little too young for me -- but it's a well done shape if you are looking for a style that runs on the slim, youthful end of the body ranges. (Also included in the pack is a gorgeous set of skins and shapes for the ladies. This is a deal you don't want to miss.)

Back on track with the old reliables would be a really bad list if it didn't have Doc Eldridge's DE Designs in the mix. Doc's been a  favorite for a long time, he does dome amazing thing with his textures and designs and seriously gets how men's clothes should fit. There's not a lot of extra attachments beyond the necessary -- most of the detail comes from his amazing gift for laying textures and shades and shadows on textures which provides not only a seriously nice looking set of clothes but also a low lag fashion statement.

Rune is a more casual line for Doc and he's been adding to it steadily. Kain features a grey Henley (and I love my Henley's) with a plaid overshirt, musltiple sleeve options and open and closed. It also comes with a well worn pair of jeans in regular and low rise. Be sure to open the optional layers box and do not fear the underwear layers!

I finished this set off with another favorite trend setter -- Gabriel and the group gift of Black leather low boots. I may love my biker boots, but I also love my jean cuffs. Gabriel lets me have both.


Ali & Alli have made a name for themselves in both their prolific out put and the variety of styles they offer. the ladies are also generous to their group members (as well as pretty much everyone else.) Sticking with a shorter style is this crop cut loose look in black and silver, light weight and easy moving.

The necklace is the gift I mentioned from [Y] Style, multi-link chain that rest close to the skin. if you don't have an open shirt or jacket, then by all means get one to show this off.

Luckily for me GizzA had this tartan open jacket up for sale. I really like the look of this[ from the epaulets to the zippered edges and the loose fit of the bottom of the jacket. it's sharp and contemporary and would look as good  with striped slack, leather pants or a kilt as it does with jeans.

The first time I encountered Egoisme was on a hunt (crafty bastards). I've been a fan ever since -- not of everything (the collection is huge) but they never fail to impress. The Trekking boots are no exception. As with Redgrave's boots, the devil's in the details and the textures.

Tableau Vivant is doing some amazing things with fashion, but also with photography. M4ri1yn Magic and Aida Ewing both have style and flair coming out their pores (if avatars had pores) and they are the brains behind both TV and Glam Affair (and the former Beauty Avatar line) as well as a bunch of other amazing ideas and offerings. From Skins to clothes to amazing photo props, (and some killer photo shoots) you can't do any better than tagging along on the ride these two are taking a good portion of SL. Whether you want to spend 10L or thousands, you will get quality and style; and you can get great gifts too. The Noctis skin is a group offering  from TV and it's a stunner. Bluish undertone, glittersheened glam, without being cheesy, it's a great skin to offset the designs of other talented creators.

Getting this skin, I hunted for things to offset it and took in TGL's (Tokyo Girl) Eyes and Hair. I'm more and more impressed with TGL everytime I come across her work  - including the mesh belt in this picture. It's got some amazing details and handles and sizes like a regular prim or sculpted piece, which for me is important cause I like my shape.(and yes, Tokyo Girl -- think outside the box guys.)

Also pictured is a better view of the [Y] Style group gift, Harnessed. I also found the Celtic band tattoos from .:CoLLisions:. released last fall, worked amazingly well with this skin, (as did the Life is Beautiful tattoo) but I tend to think Guen Decuir is a pretty talented designer anyway.


Hair:
Ali & Alli
EMO-tions
TGL (Tokyo Girl)

Skins:
Tableau Vivant
Heartsick  
Belleza,

Eyes:
TGL (Tokyo Girl)

Jewelry:
[Y] Style
CPD

Tattoos:
.:CoLLisions:.

Clothes
Redgrave
SF Designs
GizzA
DE Designs
GothiCatz

Shoes/Boots
Gabriel
Egoisme
Duh!
Redgrave

When you don't need a reason hunt - For Whatever

::Upfront Disclaimer:: I'm participating in the For Whatever Hunt as a merchant. Luckily for me (and seriously, for you too) I don't make clothes. I got a preview because I'm a blogger, not because I'm in the hunt. And can I say, FWH's blogger room is a brilliant idea. I'm sure others have done it, but this was the first time I've used one and While I like seeing what the ladies are wearing or what the trends are, both my inventory and my time management skills really appreciate being able to see what's available to blog without trying to do the entire hunt which, now that I have my own store, is getting increasingly hard to do.

If you do choose to do the hunt, there's some really excellent gifts for the guys, and maybe one or two that may not be meant for the guys but, you  know, I'm all about taking advantage of what I can find and use. 

 There's a couple of full outfits which is always nice. Left is the gift from #88 Silhouette Fashion; Egoist. Jeans and collared black shirt. Jeans are a nicely worn pale blue but otherwise not remarkable. The shirt though, has some nice texture elements to it, including a subtle graded tone stripe and some nice cloth pull lines across the chest.

Worn with this is #58 CPD (Chaos, Panic & Disorder) really nicely simple Celtic Cross. This piece of jewelry (unisex) hits that sweet spot between being simple enough to wear casually as with jeans, and sleek enough to merit serious consideration as an accessory to something more formal. 

The hair here isn't part of the hunt, but it a new release from Alli&Ali : Elements Hair Lava (unisex). It's got kind of that Tokyo pop look and feel to it - a bit shaggy, a little mohawkey, not so subtle color shift between blond and black and red, that offers a striking first glance. I don't generally go in for the faux-mohawk look but I was pleasantly surprised at how well this went with pretty much everything else I was trying on. This is a group gift at their mainstore. They also have a version called ice, with the same kind of color shifts.

22769 Brings it on  with this dark brown double jumper. The hint of an undershirt is a golden tan and the silk scarf brings elements of both, and has a double leather buckle catch on the left folds of the scarf. It's a pretty classy look for something so obviously casual, but those guys at 22769 are really aces at making it all fun. 

Graffitiwear (#15) took an ethnic walk with the Aztec Feathered pendant; heavy rope chain links (that need no resizing - AWESOME!) connect to a really nicely done Aztec motif coin in copper, accented by three feathers. I can see wearing this a lot. I pared it here with one of the Hoodies from Envy Me. Most of them were a Christmas style but there's a couple of plain ones in the fat pack and I like the fit of the black one. Hoodie comes with and up and down option (and i the up option was one of the few things that didn't work with this hair.

Stop #73 on FWH brings you to FA Creations which tucks this full outfit into the hunt prize. Components are the stripped knitted sweater with loose sleeves. The undershirt is a button down black shirt, which unfortunately only came as a shirt layerand no underwear layer extender which limits the ability to wear the shirt with anything else. It is a pretty basic black shirt, so you may be able to find some other black extender you can wear with it. (The best match I found was Indi Designs Harper, which is an older set.) The over sweater is really nicely done in terms of the fit and the sculpt bottom of it. It comes with an accented collar and loose tie, that overall makes it a nice piece to wear with pretty any pants you have. But, if you don't like to Mix and match, FAC has you covered because they also provide you with a pair of dress slacks, and just to make sure you are all put together you get a pair of black casual shoes and socks -- although given the nice look of the sweater and collar, if people are looking at your shoes, you're wearing it wrong.


Kennedy's offers another full set, although I admittedly like the shirt the best. The jeans are a pale grey with a hint of shine and a skull pattern on the right thigh. The shirt is a darker grey, nice pull lines and a fun caption.

Orchid Lotus & Moondance (#74) gives you something a bit more formal with Ethan, a full set of beige button down with accented collar and darker grey dress slacks. Another shirt that I like but which has limited use outside the set itself. without the shirt extender and the color is just unique enough to make a match nearly impossible although you could certainly extend its wear by adding a scarf, vest or jacket.(the slacks, though, went pretty well with the 22769 offering, so that was all to the good in my mind.)

Last is a Black turtleneck from SE*Designz (#17). I'm not entirely sure it was meant for males or if the turtleneck was meant to be unisex. There's a vest with the outfit that seems not to be for guys but the turtleneck worked out fine (did have to resize the turtleneck itself) and is a nice solid black wear-with-anything kind of sweater that I love.

There may be other options in both clothing and jewelry for guys, opting into the blogger room was optional for the merchants and I haven't had time to even start the actual hunt, but even for these offerings, it;'s worth taking a break from whatever you are doing to do at least some of the For Whatever Hunt.