JUST JEZ-THE MENS DEPT WINS AGAIN!

April 13, 2014April 13, 2014 by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

It’s hard to believe that THE MENS DEPT is celebrating its second birthday in-world, and of course it’s doing so in style. This monthly event has firmly established itself into the SL calendar and is always choc-full of inspirational menswear and furnishings and really is a favourite of mine. This is because it’s a one-stop shop for making your fella look fabulous. It’s made of win, it really is!

Let’s be honest, there are so many regular events held in-world now that it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, but TMD is one that I rarely miss for a number of reasons. For a start I can be sure of finding super-stylish clothes for Jez to wear (because when it comes to his making choices he’s nothing short of useless) and for another thing it is a fantastic place to spot some of the most stylish, fashion-forward avatars on the grid. If you’re ever stuck for male fashion ideas, TP over to THE MENS DEPT and loiter with intent. It won’t take long before you spy some seriously tottylicious avatars, and if you’re cheeky (like me!) you can ask them where they found the items that they’re wearing. (Pro-tip: If you’re single this is a good way to start a conversation too! Shhh!!)

I’m especially impressed by the quality of items for this birthday celebration. Particular favourites for me are the THEOSOPHY ‘Monmouth’ spectacles and the CASA DEL SHAI dirty plaid and chambray shirts. The EUDORA footwear is gob-smackingly good, and the PUMPKIN Parka is perfectly styled and fits like a dream. There is so much to fall in love with here, there really is, and you would be a bit of a fart to miss this collection. In fact, I’ve actually been waiting for this month’s TMD with baited breath, because an old friend has come back to second Life after a considerable absence, and he’s been badgering me about the best places to find cool threads. My short answer to him was, of course, GO TO THE MENS DEPT!

Anyway, back to Jez. So what did we end up with after our shopping spree? Well it was time for a change of hairstyle for my beloved, and INK hair is always a good place to start. They’re selling two styles at TMD this month, but it was the romantic ‘Foglia’ style that won me over when he tried the demo. Sometimes when you try hair on it just works, you know? Well this beautiful style is a perfect example of that occurrence. He looks dazzling in it doesn’t he? Teamed with this fabulous APHORISM shirt/waistcoat set he looked like an old-fashioned romantic, ready to sweep me off my feet and read poetry to me. If only eh?

As usual APHORISM uber-designer Rucy Byron has created an excellent product for the event, and this combination mesh waistcoat and undershirt is a must buy for role-players as well as the stylish hipster crowd. The waistcoat is available in Herringbone, Houndstooth and Pinstripe patterns and is very dapper indeed. (Jez paired it with his favourite jeans, also from APHORISM. I don’t think he’s taken them off for the past few months to be honest, stinky Jez!) I also insisted that Jez treat himself to the fantastic ETHAM ‘Alexandro’ mesh combo blazer/shirt and the incredibly cool ‘Kotowari’ necklace from MANDALA. When worn with the blazer and shirt it makes a great alternative to a tie, and looks incredibly on-trend.

Had I the cash I would have purchased everything from the event, but alas I don’t. However what I did invest in has made me incredibly proud, because not only does Jez look scrumptious, he has some classy threads in his inventory that I know he’ll get loads of wear from, and such things make this Kitty very happy indeed! Oh, and a quick shout out to POSEOLOGY. They have a fab wee set of poses available at TMD this month, and they worked really well when posing Jez for this piece. Now please excuse me, I have to go ravish my boyfriend.

While I do that, why not go visit THE MENS DEPT? Here’s your taxi!

KITTY GOES SUPERNOVA

February 10, 2014February 21, 2014 by Lisa Millar ♥ 1 Comment

February’s Collabor88 has landed and as you would expect it’s a bit of a corker.

Every month when I eventually get in to the Sim I always have the same thought, “They’ll never better this round”, and guess what? The following month they do just that.

I know a lot of people are unhappy at the moment and vocalising loudly that events are taking interest away from individual stores and content creators and that there are too many of them. I can see why they would be so alarmed, especially when you consider that every time you try to get into C88 you’re unable to because of the sheer volume of avatar traffic. Perhaps there are too many events but not every one is quality, featuring original and inspired content. I’ve no doubt the less professional events will eventually fall by the way-side leaving room for even better ones to take their place, but the harsh fact is that quality events will always bring in an audience, and regular events such as C88, Fameshed The Liasion Collaborative and The Mens Dept certainly have dedicated fans who eagerly await the new releases each month with baited breath. And it’s no wonder, because they are excellent .

This month the theme is Supernova, and you can expect to be faced with an intergalactic explosion of colour and style when you eventually manage to get into the event. There’s a sensational array of clothing, hair, skins and furniture as well as accessories and jewellery all ready to be drooled over, with all the items meeting the space-age brief in an original and exciting way.

For my look of the day I’ve mixed a couple of C88 finds with some old classics from my inventory. I’m wearing an old favourite of mine, the ERRATIC Cory Oversized Sweater, and I’ve teamed it with the absolutely out-of-this-world ‘Nebula Leggings’ by NYLON OUTFITTERS. I’m always excited to see what Nylon Pinkney has contributed to C88. She has an original, quirky style, and it mixes in really easily with more conventional pieces to help you create a totally individual look. It’s effortless but really effective styling. To complete this ensemble, I’m wearing just one piece of jewellery, but it sure makes a statement and brings the look together. It’s the ‘Galactic Necklace’ from PILOT. I really like the fact that this pendant features an animated, swirling galaxy and like every one of Kaz Nayar’s creations it’s expertly crafted.

I’m also wearing the BELLEZA ‘Ria’ skin here, from the last round of C88, although at first glance you may not recognize it. That’s because I’ve been really cheeky and added some tattoo make-up layers, in this case from the IZZIE’S ‘Asia’ range of eyeshadows and lipsticks. Last but not least I found an old hairstyle in my inventory that I had completely forgotten that I had from EXILE.

I’m really pleased with this look, I hope you find some space-age inspiration at Collabor88 this month too!

Kitty wears:

HAIR- EXILE ‘Arihana’ in Moreno
SKIN- BELLEZA ‘Ria’ (Med tone, option 5, dk brow)
EYES – IKON ‘Destiny’ Eyes in ‘Maya’ (ML)
LASHES- MC ‘Falsies’ (Upper and lower)
MAKE-UP- IZZIES ‘Asia’ Range-Purple Eyeshadow and Brown Lipstick
TOP-ERRATIC ‘Cory Oversized Sweater’ (Purple)
SHORTS-EMERY Mesh High Waist Denim Short ‘Hope’
LEGGINGS-NYLON OUTFITTERS ‘Nebula’ Leggings in ‘Purple Galaxy’ COLLABOR88
NECKLACE- PILOT-Galactic Necklace in Purple/Gold COLLABOR88

Click HERE to see if you can get into the C88 sim! Good luck!

The Men’s Dept: Jumpers For Goalposts!

January 8, 2014 by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Well actually, no. Not even once. This lovely woolly number should never be used as a goalpost, nor should it be tied around the waist in a hap-hazard fashion. Instead, it should be lovingly caressed and fondled. Better still, caress it and fondle it on your beloved..or even better than that, BOTH of you wear one of these fabulous ‘Crew-Neck Sweaters’ from APHORISM at THE MENS DEPT, then you can caress and fondle each other lovingly whilst safely ensconced in the snuggly warmth.

Granted, you may find that you don’t actually wear it for long, but be sure not to throw it upon the floor in a fit of gay abandon, no, please fold it before you carry on with your naughtiness.

Because this is a sweater that deserves more than being thrown around, turned into a dog-bed or used as an emergency tea-towel. This, dear readers, is sweater heaven, and demands respect. So listen up while I tell you a little more about this glorious crew-neck sweater that has made me feel all amorous in a way that normally only happens in February each year. It’s from one of my favourite labels, Aphorism, and by gum it is a corker. Even better than that, ladies aren’t left out so that we can enjoy some sweater-happy too! YAY! But first of all cast your eyes over my man-piece looking resplendent in his..

Doesn’t he look simply astonishing? There’s a very high-class feel to this sweater, don’t you think? I’ve also been wearing it for a couple of days now, and I can vouch that it’s really well made. We’ve both commented upon how well it fits both of our avatar shapes well, and it has smashing detail too, which I hope these pictures amply demonstrate. The collar and cuffs are finished beautifully with just the right amount of shadow added to the contrast weave to add definition and the torso of the sweater itself, no matter which option you choose, is extremely well shaded making it look authentic. Oh, it also makes your norks really stand out too…ahem.

I’m wearing a large in the picture above because I like my jumpers to be a bit on the sloppy side, and I’m really liking the way that my curves are highlighted in this. Look at the picture above and check out that lovely crease by my left hand; just a little thing I know, but it looks perfect. I love little details like that. I really like the colour options for this sweater too. The selection of plain colours is good, but for me the striped variations are just fabulous, in particular the red/black and the brown/cream. For such a humble item it can lend itself to a legion of looks successfully too; the purple and black in particular is very Emo/Goth, but can be worn with a pair of slacks or jeans and look super casual, yet elegant too.

But you see that’s the thing; in my experience it’s often the case that the items that can be styled the most effectively are the simplest, but what makes them stand out from the crowd is the way that they are made.

Even a simple vest top can take you to another dimension of oomph if it is carefully sized, textured and detailed. The Aphorism Crew Neck Sweaters are an excellent example of this principle, and the fact that they look so good on girls as well as boys is a reason indeed to be cheerful, ESPECIALLY when you learn that they are a mere $150 each. So cheap that they’re almost criminal, but there’s nothing dodgy about these at all.

You’ll find the Crew Neck Sweaters just to the right as you walk into The Men’s Dept. Be sure to try the demos first and make sure you hit the subscribo too, and then buy yourself a sweater. And treat your beloved as well; after all the best thing about wearing a sexy sweater is getting all sweaty and..I’ll leave it there!

CLICK HERE to go and grab yourself one of these beauties!

Aphorism on the Marketplace: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/63251

Aphorism Mainstore: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Legione/162/172/21

Note: The jeans Jez is wearing are also from Aphorism. They’re called the ‘Men’s Regular Jeans’ and he says that they are the best jeans that he has ever had in Second Life, and he refuses to take them off. This is all well and good BUT they’re starting to smell a bit now, and Febreze only goes so far. Whilst I know Raw Denim is a thing, I don’t think it applies to people who parp out new elements for the periodic table on a regular occurrence, so if you see him in-world, have a word would you? Thanks!

Just Jez: The Mens Dept. Makes it easy to look good this Xmas!

December 8, 2013December 8, 2013 by Lisa Millar ♥ 2 Comments

The Mens Dept has to be one of the resounding success stories of Second Life retail 2013. Every time I visit it’s busy, especially in the first few days after a new collection is revealed. I don’t really know why this is but I think it’s because having menswear, accessories, poses and other male-orientated goodies located in one spot is just more accessible than searching the grid. Certainly I struggle when looking for quality items for Jez to wear (because he’s bloody useless at shopping for himself) and visiting The Mens Dept allows me to kit him out in quality from pretty much his handsome head all the way down to his stinky toes. This round is as exceptional as any other, but highlights for me this time include this mesh sweater from XIAJ. It’s available in a number of prints and plain varieties, but for me it had to be this great wintry wool print. Jez didn’t have a really festive jumper, and now he does he looks very Christmassy indeed. It’s an incredibly reasonable L$185 per jumper too, which means you can add a few of these mesh lovelies to your fella’s winter wardrobe without breaking the bank. As you can see from the photos the sweater photographs extremely well; the texture is nice and crisp, and the red and navy combo on this particular selection is bang on trend.

Of course, you can’t just have a good jumper, you need some quality jeans to team with it, and that’s where APHORISM come into play. They’re selling some fantastic denim jeans at The Mens Dept. that really must not be missed. Now, I am very fussy about certain items in SL, you’ve probably noticed, and jeans are very near the top of that list. Why? Because they are so easy to get wrong. You have to suggest depth and wear on a good pair of jeans. All too often textures aren’t applied correctly which is a shame, because when textured correctly a pair of denim jeans can really look stupendous in-world. You need to suggest creasing in the right places, as well as wear and tear, because denim jeans always look better when they’re aged a bit. Not only that, but they need to ‘hang’ on the avatar correctly, depending on the fit. Baggy jeans can look like a pair of MC Hammer pants if the shape is wrong, and straight-leg pants can just look incredibly flat. It’s a balancing act that few designers manage to pull of successfully, but fortunately APHORISM have successfully risen to the challenge. I’m exceptionally impressed by these jeans. They fit just right, and really look the part, especially the vintage options. The creasing is spot on, not just at the top of the thigh but also around the calf area too. They’re styled as regular jeans and I would say that’s correct, they’re neither too thin or overly baggy, and in my opinion that makes them an absolute must have for a male avatar. Not only that but they’re just L$200 a pair, so they’re a bit of a bargain. I think Jez looks brilliant in them, but then again I’m biased:)

Last but not least, check out Jez’s pose. He’s using the pack from POSEOLOGY, also available at The Mens Dept., and it’s a very nice selection of male poses indeed. There’s no over-the-top posing here, just nice stands that allow for great photographs and work really well in-situ. You can buy them individually for L$25 each, but Jez insisted on splurging ion the full pack for L$100 because he hasn’t got many quality poses in his repertoire, and I agreed these were pretty good for the price! So there you have it, a few picks from this round of The Mens Dept. Take your fella, drag him down there if you must, and get him kitted out for Christmas in style!