Blatant Indulgent Vanity

Not much free here today, but maybe a couple of designers you might be willing to give some of your hard earned lindens too.

I've blogged before about the detail in the clothes from designer hiwinyu Fazuku of ::[ Mr.Poet]:: . The latest release of workshirts is no exception.

The look is layered and so are the sculpted necklines and cuffs, one on top of the other for the kind of look that makes the fabric look like you can reach out and touch it.

I am completely bowled over by the skill and artistry of hiwinyu's work. And given the level of detail, the cost is scarily reasonable.

::[ Mr.Poet ]::Work shirt Denim - $200L

Three shots here, just so you can see the details -- and even when you move (and I have a pretty constant movement AO) this shirt and jacket set holds together. Amazing.

Worn with this shirt are ripped jeans from Kobalt. Now jeans are generally not all that exciting. Let's face it, there's only so many pairs of jeans one avatar can wear in second life and if you are like me, you tend to find a pair and a designer you like and stick with them until you find another pair and another designer you like and so on. Well, I may have found that magic switch off.

I have to give a hat tip to Aida and M4ri1yn over at S.Luxury; who in addition to being one of SL's hottest couple, also have an amazing eye and taste for really good, new designers. Their latest fashion photo essay featured some of the works at Kobalt and I had to go check it out and was impressed with what I found.

$250L is about the top of what I will pay for a pair of jeans unless they come with multiple wear options. Kobalt managed to do that and gives you an unexpected but hot extra. Most of the jean I looked at came with two wear options, but the second wear is a blatantly sexy look, for the the hard core cruiser (and not a bad choice for an erotic dancer,) or for those nights when you want to give your partner an extra thrill.

To the left I have on Kobalt dirty tank top Moonlight ($110L), and Kobalt jean "2 styles- moonlight" ($250L). The basic style comes with cuffed pants and a well fitted prim bulge, but dig into the box a bit and you'll find and open version, complete with a well designed package for show and tell, and a hud to assist in matching your bonus package to your favorite skin. The look is sexy-hot, even if only for show (for more interactive genitals you will need to look elsewhere.)

To the right you'll get a hint of what kind of options you have with Kobalt's suki speedo blue ($200L) -the reveal here is a little less blatant but you get the idea. The speedo, like the jeans comes with 2 wear options -- in case you find yourself in more polite and less frisky company.

In case you need a little warm up before you strip down to the dirty and playful, you might want to stop by Brocade Tiger's new location and see what Lexi Vargas has been up to.

Lexi has been realigning his work to match his new logo "a style for every man," and you can find a wide array of options from street wear to the glam look of his newest offering, Dark Luster, in multiple color options. Luster is a neuvo-goth-glam look with a full coat, nice drape and movement to the coat skirt and adjustable chest chains. Clubbing or just dressing to impress and you can't go very wrong here, and he's currently running a sale. At $400L, Dark Luster is a pretty sweet deal.

He's also been working on some new lines so keep your eye on his Brocade Tiger blog.

Rounding out my latest indulgences is a gift from one of my favorite designers in SL, The Black Canary. Morrigan continues to impress and push his creativity. This fur trimmed cloak was a gift to his subscribo members and it's yet another example of what he's capable of. This comes with a hood option (not shown) and is unisex. It's a full double cloak, that moves amazingly well, the perfect outerwear for the cold night creeping up on us. Paired here with the pants from his Worthy Pearl set ($350L), it only reminds me I need to stop by his store and see what of his I don't yet have in my inventory.

And lest you think I've completely given up on free, I haven't, although most of what I am wearing is no longer free (That will teach you to miss those hunts, now won't it?) the skin is from LaVie, the Echo promo release with dragon tattoo that Pompeja offered before the full line release, and the Feather Necklace is from the MHOH4 hunt from Zenith. The hair is Army Crop from MADesigns (not free but not scary expensive either ), and the *Gemma* earrings are from Rozoregalia, from prior hunts.

Back to the Future

Nik had a plan: the plan was to go hunting for Gothic, accessories, clothes, run the gamut and see what was available for the ambitious but pocket poor Goth follower.

The pickings were scarily thin, possibly because there's another Twisted Hunt coming up, or because not a few of the Valentine's hunts turned a little Gothic as well. But, just because the journey doesn't end up where you expected, doesn't mean it wasn't worth the time it took.

Dark Closet was the first shot. The kilt pictured was an earlier drop from the DSN network, and following up on the DSN offerings that really appeal, is on the long list of ways to find free or discounted stuff. That led to this Torn Chainmail Outfit and this Assassin Outfit in Blue.

But, those finds gave an excuse to show off the preview for Sable Rose's offering in the next Twisted Hunt, which Rosie Barthelmess was kind enough to forward. She'd previously offered up a set of collars called The Poisoner and the Poisoner's Wife, and now she steps away from the jewelry she makes so well to offer up The Poisoner's Son Men's Arm Cuff & Dagger, in two versions -- one blooded and one not. She put the same fine detail in this she does in all her work. It's not out yet, but look for it when Twisted starts up again on March 1st. And since the look was pseudo gothic, hunting up hair became a sidestep. .:hct:. was on the list of places to check -- but the actual find was on Xstreetsl -- where a combo of 11 fat packs of retired men's hair styles can be foundfro $1L, including the ponytail pictured.

While poking around at Inedit, I tripped over this fiver pack of buckled shirts for free, from Fire Roses. These are basic system shirts, and came fitting more loosely than shown, but the folded placard front is a favorite, and tightening the wear up a bit actually made the texture - which is pretty damn detailed -- look a lot cleaner.

The last veer off the beaten gothic path led to the Jet Lag sim of all places, which is in the process of being retrofied in some really fun ways. A stop in at the local high school produced this leather jacket - JohnnyD- from J.FIN; nice retro detail and a great way to finish up a hunt that wasn't successful, but was far less than a total failure.

And, just for fun, also on the Jet Lag sim is JUICE which often has some great finds and gifts but this time -- the hunt they have going is the Potty Mouth hunt, and while normally averse to the sillier mouth attachments -- this one was a keeper. Because, really, how often do you find yourself wanting to say, just that?

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other items pictured:
=Zenith=Sweater hat hair-Male SAH 7