Glam, Grunge and Groovy man

I got a virtual and literal handful of advances from two of my favorite designers: 22769 and Equilibrium, and a new find, the discount room at Glam Affair on the Beauty Avatar sim. Not all free but definitely worth a look.

(As always, click for larger pictures.)

22769 is participating in several hunts: Go 4 the Goal, Groovy Love, Fallen Angel, and the Song Lyric Hunt. (Fallen Angel ends Sunday, the 20th.)

Also 22769 is giving out a skin, Julian, as a gift for the group hitting 250 members (pictured left and right). This is a nicely detailed skin, striking classical features, moderate body hair and and overall nice even skin tone, excellently shaded and with a skin texture that eliminate the bland perfection of a lot of skins.

Left: The June group gift is this Lounge Lizard casual look -- for those nights when Muzak and a bowling ball is all that you need.

Right: Child of the Sun should evoke every summer of love reference you ever heard. It's a unisex set, flamboyant and bright. I'm not sure how often I will actually wear the pants, but hey, everyone should have something flashy in their wardrobe for those club nights where the theme is peace, lovem and rock & roll. Comes with the belt, necklace and bracelet.



Below - Left to Right: 22769 - #1: Go 4 the Goal hunt gift #2: Modern Hippies hunt gift #3: Song Lyric Hunt gift#4: Living in the Seventies hunt gift.

Equilibrium has released an entire grunge line for your fashion pleasure. Six styles of grey gritty t-shirts and 6 versions of jeans at various levels of distressing.

The graphic Tees run $150L Each and the jeans are $250L.

I'm particularly fond of the Mug Grey jean and the N002284 shirt - I like the fit and stresses of them both, and overall I think Junior offers a nice addition to the casual wardrobe.

While you are there though, do check upstairs and get on the MM board and grab your prize for picks. EQ also has a Mystery Board as well, so you can try your luck at the prizes there.
For World Cup Fans, $10L gets you Brasil's yellow team shirt.

And if that wasn't awesome enough, someone tipped me off to the discount room at Glam Affair which, seriously, empty out your virtual piggy bank and take a look.

(Glam Affair is formerly Beauty Avatar and some of the clothing still has that line name. Don't be confused)

Almost everything is $10L. A couple of the suits will cost you $20 -- separates and sets, there's a lot to choose from.

Left is one of the suit sets at $20L: Padborg 08, separate jacket and tie set.

Right: Caen Blue/white - one of several color combinations.

Below, Left: Nevers Pants and shirt set. Center: Amry. Right: Nevers Pants and Kapus 10 (other colors available.)

It's a good weekend to update your wardrobe.

Fashion Fair

The 2010 Fashion Fair opened yesterday and runs through the end of the month. While the show itself has a lot of designers to offer, it was a bit disappointing to find so few offerings for men among even recognizable designers. There's not much offered in the way of free or promotional items, or even discounted ones. Sponsored by Simode, and boasting international designers, it looks as though they'll have a full schedule of events throughout the month.

Maverick Designs has a presence there with both their shapes and clothes, and they have a offering from Flavor Designs for hair for $1L just inside the door, but I wasn't actually looking to change my shape, so after a look around, I moved on and found La Rosa, which did have some bargains -- nothing extraordinary but most of their outfits include shirts, pants and shoes. The shirt in the menswear 002 I picked up, only has a jacket layer which, given the open design of the shirt, works okay for me -- I can toss a tank under it to change up the look and at $99L for the outfit including the shoes, I was okay with that (and the odd placement of the buttons - which I only noticed when I was working with the photo.)

PixelFashion had a couple of things I liked, including their jeans, but I passed on those for the Khaki & Blue shirt at $190L, because I'm a sucker for plaids and this was a nice one -- there were other colors available, subtle rather than bold, old faded plaid cotton as opposed to the thicker look of a flannel. The downside is the cuffs are no mod. I also really liked this Knotched Jacket at $230L in black. Since the coat is unwearable (there is no other version of it, unlike the waist plaid shirts SF Design offers), it's pretty much an accessory rather than an article of clothing. There is a demo in the display. If you like the look and are considering it, do try the demo first.

Brocade Tiger introduced a new crop look into his line; Black Snakeskin pants with a lace-up leg, sheer snakeskin long sleeved shirt with a really subtle sheen and pattern, and a fringed bolero jacket in the same black snakeskin. The Fringe comes sized for a back less broad than mine but it lined itself up perfectly on my chest so actually making the minor adjustment to size it was a snap, and no resize script to add lag. This is pretty obviously club wear but pull the bolero off or wear it alone and as with most of Lexi's pieces you've actually got several new elements to add to your wardrobe rather than a single outfit. At $300L, it's pretty mid range for something you could conceivably wear 6 or more ways.

The last outfit here isn't at the fair but I tripped over it looking at something else, and since I'm currently RPing in a urban sim, it was a little too much to pass up at $199L. From DrD, [Death row Designs] is this Dirty Deeds outfit -- pants, coat and two versions of a bloodied tank in white and beige. Add one of your own tanks (without blood) and you've got something very cool, or, put the bloodied tank back on and head out to your favorite RP sim to enact virtual mayhem on your friendly Co-second lifers.

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Hair:

#1 Flavor Design Eric Hair Coffee (in the Maverick Designs showroom at Fashion Fair. $1L)

#2 & 4 ZEUS YH-01 5color Black (not free)

#3 Rigel Mesh black - from the Hunting 9 hunt.

When dog days were puppies

I've been a bit MIA lately -- wish it was because I was on a fabulous vacation but alas, mostly I've just been insanely busy. But, here's hoping June will be a little less hectic...and to start the summer off right, both Gabriel and Equilibrium have some cool stuff for you.

Gabriel swapped up the group gift to include a tribal tank in blue and black. Summer is the best time for tank tops and these graphics reflect that -- not a store logo, just a cool summertime sun emblazoned along one side.


That makes them perfect to be matched up with the usual generous gifts offered by Equilibrium -- this month there are three separate pairs of jeans and a fun Guitar Hero graphic Tee (in store gift -- look for the bag near the door.)

The pale blue jeans, with the dark shading are this month's Group Gift. For having the store in your profile picks, you can pick up these dark brown jeans, and the Midnight Mania offering are these open-waist blues (and fixed boxers - sorry those of you who like to go commando -grins-) complete with undone belt.

Over at Bellissima! you can snag this full outfit from their lucky board. The T shirt set (three versions, tucked and untucked ) are from the popular "Archer" animated series on FX --the outfit comes fully loaded: shirts, jeans, belt and boots. Even if you aren't a fan of the series, you can certainly be a fan for the generosity at Bellissima!

In the Free and Not Entirely Free category, I offer up the new monthly from F2H, which is one of my favorite places for nice looking , stylish looks that don't break the bank, Linden or otherwise. This red Racerback tank has a nice sheen, shadow and wrinkle texture, an unobtrusive logo and pride star at the chest.

I put it with this not free kilt from Sangre Noir (at the Shopatorium) which you should consider for a couple of reasons: First, its $200L which is an excellent price for a kilt of this quality. And what makes it quality, you ask - well, you can't see it in this static picture, but this kilt moves like it's made of cloth. It's a dark charcoal grey texture that looks like finely scraped leather and the triple wrap belt detail on it is amazing (take a look at the clasp sets). You actually get two versions of the kilt itself - one with a resize script and one without. Noirran Marx, the creative mind behind the Sangre Noir line, doesn't do men's clothing very often, but she's a kick ass designer and when she does something she does it well. (She also has a couple of turtlenecks available for men with equally nice detail and textures -- but since we're going for the summer theme here, I'll let you take a look at them for yourself.)

Psst. I've got a secret...the password is 22769

Among other things, the Hide Out Hunt starts today. You're looking for a scroll, and the hints are few and sneaky. Fifty stores, twice that many prizes possible since it's aiming to offer goodies to both men and women. Among the participating creators, Pasarella (left) (also one of the sponsors of the hunt), who provides a little spring cool to ward off the summer heat.

For the gals, a cool blue short summer tank style dress and stockings. Elegant for nights and flirty sexy for days. For the guys, fitted tank and jeans...suitable for a game of frisbee in the park, or a nice boardwalk stroll with your favorite partner on those warm summer nights.

Killy is also wearing an opening gift from Demise leather bracelet for men and women, plus one with a resize script.

From Soul Distraction (right), you get these sets; striped hoodies and ripped jeans, coordinating outfits that don't make you look like your partner's twin and set you up to keep it rocking all night long.

Myself has their Shuto Jeans and boldly striped shirt in multiple layers... not quite something that will let you blend in with the crowd but a nice statement to make when you don't want to keep your sense of style hidden.

And keeping in theme of Hide Out #Before Sleep offers you two hideaways; one for the guys and one for the gals. Killy's not all that keen on the Boy's only rule on Kyr's clubhouse, so she moved her things right in and made herself comfortable.

These are relatively small structures wooden slatted with working doors and wired windows. Each set comes with a rug, a table and two box crate chairs to share with your friends. (They also make awesome treehouses.)


Thus far, I'm pleased with the hunt, but it's not the only one and Paco over at 22769 sent me a truckload of great prizes to be found at his store:

first up is this Hermes outfit for the Myths & Legends hunt; the fleet footed messenger of the gods, whose winged boots let him traverse heaven and earth with speed...not unlike our own SL tp system. Jacket and trousers, winged heels and feathered helmet.

The may Group gift at 22769 are these stonewashed denims and batik shirt that can be worn with or without the coordinating cropped brown vest. the color bleed on this shirt is really very cool, almost as if you can see where the dyes were laid, without looking like a muddy texture rendering -- and that's not an easy thing to do. Most bleeded textures come off looking like they never quite rez; not so with this shirt.

For the Fallen Angel hunt, Paco offers you this slate grey striped shirt, faded jeans and angel cap.

And last but not least, for the Fashion Freaks hunt, bronze on brown ribbed shirt and jeans, casual but not quite meant for lounging at the pool or in the back yard. Nightclub or Night life, 22769 has the right look for you...for free.

Nomine

First, you need to know that that Munchflower Zaius has a wickedly creative mind. And a prolific one. And is slightly twisted. Her stuff isn't cheap, but it's not wildly budget busting either. The other thing you need to know is that she can be incredibly generous. She routinely runs amazing sales, she gives things away, and even her subscribo messages are first rate.

Skins, Clothes, Accessories, full Avatars, male, female, undeclared, angel, demon, gypsies, tramps and thieves, Nomine has you covered.

However, you might not want to call her a soft touch to her face. I hear she has fangs... and minions...possibly even attack zombies. I could be wrong about that...



What you should do is go to the Nomine sim, which is pretty damn amazing all by itself. And then you should spend lindens there.

But if you don't have lindens, you can hang out near her lucky chairs and look cool and edgy just by association.

On the Nomine Lucky Chairs - three waist levels: high, low, and ultra low. I snagged the green and black.

MHOH3 - Final hours, final finds.

MHOH# has just a few hours left and Mat Kungler put out his last gift (I assume it's his last.. but you know, he may get a wild hair at 11:45PM SLT and sit back and watch his sim crash in the rush.)

The last outfit is called mystic...full out fit including shoes.

I have more but I wanted to get this out there before the hunt is over.

Spring Cleaning

MHOH3 ends in a couple of days, as do a lot of hunts. And new one's start in May, so some Spring cleaning is necessary. This means checking and clearing landmarks, unpack and sorting hunt gifts, and generally trying to make room for the new stuff to be picked up as the hunt season continues.

Tuft was in one of the first to pop up; offering all kinds of interesting and fun builds, accessories, clothes and clothes and a good dose of odd, this Creepy old abandoned house can be found in the cheapies and freebies section for $5L -- it has a 24x35m footprint and weighs in at 70 prims, but it is kind of creepy but oh so much fun with built in dust covered furniture. rickety staircase and working fireplace.

RoTtEn DeFiAnCe is having another mini hunt with five items each for men and women, including these (low) low rise plaid jeans.

The shirt is the April gift from SF Design (in addition to the MHOH3 gift swaffette is offering).

Wrist cuff is the group gift from Gabriel and comes in black and brown and with or without chains.

Hair is Trowa2 from Mischief Boy.

Shoes are part of gift #4 from the ever generous Matt Kungler at Sensual Mistery for MHOH3 The skin is the MHOH3 gift from Atomic Bambi.

Also while checking landmarks, Sweeter than Candy popped up and these men's jeans & grey shirt were hiding in the back of the men's section on the Freebie Wall.

Random: theosophy, khush, connor, jetcity, mischief boy

JetCity is back, paired up with Mischief Boy, for new looks at the best bargains.

Free from JetCity: Border Shirt in grey (also available in brown and blue. The deal with JetCity is, new releases are free -- when the next new release is put up, the older releases will cost you $2L...I think you guys can deal.

From Mischief Boy at the same location, 4 styels of hair for free: this is Trowa in black -- resize menu included.

If you haven't visited JetCity before, you should go, casual and a little odd, always fon and more than reasonably priced.

And from the MHO3 Hunt:

Connors (#34) is giving out this really nicely textured and shaded hoodie. Cuffs and hood and just enough color to make you stand out in a crowd.

I paired it with #84 Khush's MHOH3's offering of lightly ripped blue jeans. They do come with prim cuffs, nice torn fabric effect and pocket and waistband detail.

$50L Fridays can be on the slim side for guys, but today you want to hit {theosophy} for these very nice ankle boots. Called Aith - Coast, ankle height, smooth leather and articulated buckle. Upper is invisiprim, so you can't wear them with prim cuffs, but the fit is tight so a hem flare will handle it if you want to wear only the foot part. But go today because it's all over at midnight.


And last, but never least, Rosie Barthelmess at Sable Rose has put out this The Green Man choker (pendant style for women) for The Beltane Hunt - which is part of a series of pagan-themed hunts held throughout the year. In addition to the hunt items, you also get clues to a final prize area.

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Skin is from Den Dou - Ichiro (not free)
Hair is from Detour - Writer II (not free)