Baby It's Cold Outside

Stay warm in this cozy coat from GizzA and stylish pants from [Sleepy Eddy]

Glasses: Kumaki Glasses Style - K_gs dub 1.00 at The Mens Dept.

Coat: GizzA - Padded Coat Male in Blue.

Pants: [Sleepy Eddy] - Corduroy Bush Pants in Off White at The Mens Dept.

Boots: [Gos] - Desert Boots in Blue Tartan

Phenomenal Mesh Avatars

Detailed skins and dimensional muscles make mesh avatars hot.

Animations Rising has been a Second Life presence for as long as I can remember (and I'm much older than I look) and designer, Miro Collas, has always been an innovator. From unique poses and animations to his Living Light line, he has been introducing creative items to the grid for years. His most recent venture along with Prodigal, L'Uomo mesh avatars, brings us a line of muscular, detailed avatars to enhance our Second Lives.

Mesh body hair layer from SJ Thursday

The benefits of mesh avatars often outweighs the costs for those who love a muscular look. A quality modeler can create a mesh avatar like "Bruce" (seen above) with muscles that have lifelike dimensions, rather than those painted onto skins to define our standard avatars. From head to toe, Bruce's details more closely resemble those of a real life muscle man. The fit of clothes designed for the L'Uomo mesh avatars is tighter, fitting to the avatar, rather than hanging off it as so many other mesh designs seem to do. Designers such as SJ Thursday, Georgette, RGDW, and Omega Man create high-quality, sexy clothing designed solely for these avatars.

Kal Rau Casual M4 Blazers

Available in Dirty, Dark, Brown and Washed with 32 T-shirt Options

Kal Rau has released an incredible new mesh blazer with layered T-shirt, just in time for fall. With four colors to choose to from and an amazing 32 shirt options, plus a no t-shirt option to allow you to show off your sexy chest, this is a must have for your wardrobe as we move into cooler weather. The HUD interface makes changing styles simple. Stop by the store and try on the demo, then grab your favorite color-or all the colors. They're worth it.

Sleepless

Sometimes, I just like to plug a random word into Second Life Search and see what turns up. The word in my mind today was "sleepless" and it yielded some surprisingly good results.

I narrowed the results to Places, and the first place I landed was in the middle of the TonkTastic store, in the heart of the Sleepless sim. I've known of TonkTastic for a long time (the now-defunct landmark I have for it dates back to 2008) but the shop had somewhat fallen off my radar. The richly detailed "Legend" flight jacket and the rigged mesh Gumboots that I landed in front of made me glad that TonkTastic is back on my agenda.

I resisted the lure of the boots (though many Lindens will undoubtedly be spent here soon) and selected the next promising location in the Search results.

Which was somebody's house. Not wanting to be caught trespassing, I hurried on, but not before peeking in the open windows. The inhabitants may be low on furnishings but they are high on mushy family photos, which made me smile.

The next hit I clicked on was Sleepless Nights, and the view I saw when I landed would make staying awake worthwhile.

This looks like art. It's actually a shop. I followed the line of falling down power lines to the Fiction & Chaos store which boasts a selection of women's and men's clothes and hair in the punk/neko/goth/rave styles. Wandering through it, I happened on the main store of House of Usher and admired the carefully crafted gothic furniture that would be at home in any remote and foggy palace.

The last destination I selected was a sim called SleeplessMUSIC. It also happens to be the main store of Connors Clothing.

I had heard of Connors but it's not very familiar to me, so I lingered briefly, checking out the casual styles for men and women and made another note to spend some more time (and money) here later.

At this point, I ran out of sleepless locations and time to visit them. I headed back home, pleased with my discovery of some new and new-again places and secure in the knowledge that shopping is the cure for insomnia.

Even More Kal Rau Goodness

The latest release from Kal Rau was one I was especially looking forward to. This Casual Blazer M3 in Mesh is beautifully sculpted like all of Kal's items and 4 sizes are included. Both the hoodie and the strings can be customized easily using the included HUD. As with all mesh, be sure to test a demo before buying.

Lip Piercing: A:S:S deLuxe - Cross my heart, male

Hair: Dura - Boy*36 in Strawberry

Necklace: Gabriel - black bead necklace MENS

Kal Rau Denim Jacket

In the midst of our magazine rush, Kal Rau released amazing mesh denim jackets that are essential wardrobe additions. These aren't for the big men (I'm wearing the largest size), but will look great on those with smaller, less muscular shapes.

Just look at that texturing at style.

Like Kal Rau's other designs, the denim jackets are available in a variety of colors:

So many options...

Unlike Kal's other designs, this one is available for the ladies, too:

So cute, right?

Stop by and pick up these high quality mesh jackets. You won't regret it.

Kauna

Just a quick post to share a recent discovery. Kauna is a small store, situated in a space ship and consisting of just a few items, but the few items are worth checking out and more are on the way.

Sexy tan tweed.

This tan tweed blazer is perfect for those times when you need to dress nicely but don't want to wear a tux. It styles well with jeans or slacks and you can wear a shirt underneath or leave your chest bare. Stop by for some must have jackets and be sure to hit the subscriber sign so you'll be the first to know when new items are released. With this kind of mesh start, the designer is sure to bring us great things in the future.

Hair: Wasabi Pills - Zack
Pose: Glitterati

More Mesh Hair

Yes, I fell in love with it the minute I saw it.

The Fantasy Faire yielded much more of interest to me than I expected, including this sexy new mesh hair from Wasabi Pills, a Fantasy Faire exclusive. The Teeloh hangs naturally down one side while showing a sexy shaved skull on the other. Included hair bases provide a realistic look to the style. The Gingerbread color (one of the demos) is such a gorgeous color that I'm almost tempted to go red.

Menswear Fashion Week 2012

All the best for men, all in one place? It's true. Stop by the Menswear Fashion Week sim and rest assured that every store you enter will cater to your male styling needs. Anything a man needs to fill his inventory has been gathered to make shopping a dream.

In addition to shopping, Menswear Fashion Week offers a variety of runway shows, demonstrating the designs of talented creators across the grid. Earlier, Aleida's runway show displayed the new male releases of a talented designer who has been creating gorgeous feminine fashion since 2009.

Aleida's designs brighten up the runway.

Orange isn't really a color that appeals to my fashion sensibilities, but the sexy Edmilson Blazer in orange by Aleida challenges my preconceptions; not only can orange be worn well, it's sexy.

Free Accessory from Kal Rau

Kal Rau's highly detailed mesh keychain in green.

I was thrilled to see this new gift from Kal Rau and excited to share it with everyone. This intricately detailed keychain is available with clasp metal in green, red, pink, black and silver. It's an amazing complement to a variety of outfits and the colors ensure infinite coordination options. Although this keychain is mesh, it is unrigged, meaning you can move it to different locations on your avatar, ensuring that it hangs from a belt loop on any jeans. To receive the gift, join the Kal Rau premium group and check the notices. Be sure to remain in the group so you can receive the latest information about new releases, gifts and more.

When Creativity and Mesh Mix

Mesh takes artistic expression to surreal new levels.

One of the best things in Second Life, in my opinion, is the expansive creativity that colors the grid. With only the tools provided by Linden Labs and impressive imaginations, creators bring us objects to enhance our world and beautiful sims to explore. An example of the creativity inworld is Art Screamer's "spirit", a sculptural installation viewable in SL now through the end of the month. Claudia222 Jewell is the mind behind this amazing, multi-faceted mesh exhibit, and says she only started working with 3D rendering in January of 2011.

Mesh, Part 2: The Controversy

I fell in love with mesh hair at first sight (or first wear). Done right, mesh hair has beautiful shape, fabulous textures and the added function of moving with the avatar, rather than poking through the shoulders. This is an example of rigged mesh. Creations that are rigged are designed to flex and bend as the avatar moves, so it works well for hair and clothing, adding to the clothing options in Second Life.

Dragon Mesh Hair from Wasabi Pills

Wasabi Pills's Dragon Mesh Hair (and other mesh styles) demonstrates how mesh hair wears and moves. See that curve in the hair? While the lower part of the wig stays still, the rest of the hair moves as the head moves. This eliminates the hair-through-the-body problem that comes with prim and flexi hair.

Mesh Leather Jackets!

I'm not supposed to have this bike. I'm dangerous when it comes to steering pixel vehicles.

Nothing beats a well designed leather jacket when it comes to wardrobe musts. They add a nice, masculine touch to an outfit and are perfect for riding your bike along the mainland roads. When Kal Rau released his new, mesh leather jackets, it was impossible for me to contain my excitement.

Mesh, Part 1: The Horror!

Mesh is scary.

It's hiding in the stores, lurking in the shadows of sims, watching you as you try to go about your Second Life in peace. It knows you know it's there, but it doesn't care. It's a demon, poised to take over your screen, robbing you of the prims you've loved while introducing you to new addictions that no 12 step program could touch. Mwahahahahaha!

The real problem isn't that mesh is some evil demon, but that change is frightening. While the photo above has horror elements to it, the fact that the trees and cross are the equivalent of one prim each is rather sweet. Take a minute to look at the textures on the tree in the foreground. Notice the many branches on the tree next to the cross. Intricate designs and beautifully baked textures are just two of the many benefits of mesh in Second Life.

Kal Rau Mesh Shirts

The more I learn about mesh, the more I like it. I like the way it's textured, its realism, the way it moves with the body. While there are some issues with it (that I'll discuss in a future post about mesh), it brings SL another means to create beauty and a sense of reality.

One creator who has embraced mesh clothing possibilities is Kal Rau. Kal has been designing for years and his innovation and attention to detail has kept his clothing among the highest quality SL has to offer. So, of course, we would expect him to transfer that quality to mesh.

Kal's newest release, these wonderful plaid shirts in mesh, demonstrate just what mesh designers can bring to the grid. They are perfectly textured, available in two sizes and in six different color combinations, and a sexy style that wears the way layer clothing doesn't.

These shirts are available for L$350 each color or for L$1500 for the fat pack of 6. When it comes to style and function, these shirts are a perfect addition to any wardrobe. And, if you're one of the holdouts who hasn't tried mesh anything yet, Kal Rau's plaid shirts are the ideal introduction to an exciting new SL technology.