Mens Stuff Fashion Hunt

Hunting prizes seems to be an endless activity in the virtual world, with hunts organised for fashion items on a regular basis. Some are themed for specific genre others are based around the stores on a sim and they are generally heavily biased towards items for the girls. However a while back a few hunts started targeted directed at men, the prizes all being for men. One such hunt is the Mens Stuff Hunt currently running until the 3rd of July 2011. Whilst these hunts are stuffed to the brim with items to find, spending hours scouring various stores to locate the gift item its not often that there are items suitable for the aspiring virtual mod. I had a brief potter about and located the odd one or tow items. So, if you're bored and fancy a look why not participate, join the group find the Blue T-Shirt symbol click on it and away you go.

So what did I find, I liked the Alphamale prize, the preppy sweater which had a revivalist feel to it, I also liked the trousers from another prize, the Brocade Tiger cargo shorts looked good for my Style Council Long Hot Summer romp, plus the Philo shades looked awesome contemporarydesign but so sharp I'd add them The Duh shoes look cool plus I'm sure there'll be a few other pieces out there just need to filter through the items to find them. Have fun.

Modernist Fashion in SL

Enjoying my Carnaby moment I went delving into my virtual wardrobe to pull out an old favourite that met the pop art Carnaby mod criteria. A nice piece of crafting from Meriken, the "Napoleon" jacket comes with a sharp prim collar, hem and sleeve cuffs. All needed slight adjustments to fit Albion's Hyperion Studio Endymion shape. Its a simplistic design without too many frills but still very sharp and eye catching. The subdued black and subtle tones allow for a splash of colour elsewhere. Therefore, its well suited to the dazzling range of trousers supplied by Armidi. Both the flame orange and vibrant green are able to lift the dull black of the jacket and are a nice match. Worn with a cool mod graphic T-Shirt the Meriken jacket fills the pop art mod niche beautifully. Nice trainers/shoes from J's add to the look whilst the classic Strike bowling shoes [unseen] look as cool as ever.

Alles Klaar

were you Paul Weller in a previous life, perchance?

The T-Shirts from  Action (The Jam) and Juice (the target) help the look achieve a stylish indie Britpop NeonMod style that looks cool and marries sixties fashion classicism with the more gritty indie look of the nineties. The Carnaby Street look popularised in the media is for several the mod look of the sixties, reinforced by the Austin Powers franchise, whilst not classic mod [as seen in Quadrophenia et al] its still a legitimate mod look as its what many sixties mod fashionistas developed as their style and so its suits my NeoMod fashion etiquette sublimely. As mod fashion moved into the brighter pop art period the classicism of the look may have been lost but other fashion possibilities were uncovered, and this is replicated in Second Life. Modernist fashion encompasses much more than drab grey and brown suits, with white shirts and ties; explore the fashion possibilities whilst remaining in the modernist culture and further fashion options become apparent. After all its not real life and we can afford to be far more daring with an avatar than you can with the frail ego of a forty seven year old.

Continuing the rummage through my engorged inventory I discovered other Armidi outfits, including a wonderful NeoMod styled leather jacket that Albion wears with the Armidi green trousers and Strike bowling shoes. Another neat mod visage following more nineties NeoMod design than classic early sixties mod, but nevertheless easily achievable and worth taking on if you're looking to expand your virtual fashion profile.

Was kind of fun rooting through old purchases to see if any would fit the mod style, and talking of fun Soul Mods regular Josie sent me a YouTube link of a great tune, with plenty of old scooter action, and I have been listening to it quite a lot. Check it I'm sure there's plenty of Soul Mods sods who appreciate this kind of tune. So 1..2..3...hit it!!!!

Absolutely top tune, have fun amigos

Modernist Fashion in SL

A trip to the Marketplace

Another item that is not strictly mod but the iconography used the, George Cross, all very English yells Britpop circa '90 and thus has a great NeoMod feel. Worn with a suitable pair of jeans and a low profile shirt these nicely sculpted boots give a sharp dash of modernist graphics to your look. They are well made, beautifully textured and look very good on the dancefloor. Perhaps a little small for some but a little tweaking soon solves that tiny issue. Not one for the modernist fashion purist, of which there are several, but for the indie inspired NeoMod they are a great buy for a hundred lindens over at the Marketplace.

Stuffie's- England Sneakers

Another cool item available at the Marketplace is the Fenix 194 unisex hoodie, as with several other hoodies I merely drop the scultped hood to create a decent casuals style top, ideal for the NeoMod looking to flash his stanley whilst spending very few lindens. And as this item is free, well one linden but surely thats not shattering the bank, even if you decide its rubbish you have lost almost nothing.

Its a neatly textured item that evokes sharp memories of track tops, Lois jeans and adidas trainers, floppy fringes foreign beer in bottles, and trips to the football. For a single linden do not anticipate a wealth of sculpting, its a straightforward textured jacket layer but I think its a nice addition. It fits my memories of the casuals brief and fits neatly in the wider NeoMod fashion stable that is the staple fashion fodder of this rather pitiful blog.

FENIX-194, Track Jacket

One of my current favourites bought at the Marketplace are the wonderfully versatile Adjunct- Armando jeans. I have been wearing these a lot lately either with loafers and a jacket for a sharp classicists mod look, or with more NeoMod items, such as the above sneakers, to shape a sharp indie Britpop inspired look. They are a marvelous addition to your NeoMod wardrobe, or indie freak cupboard, go on treat yourself to a pair.

The jeans are low slung, not always ideal for the mod look but acceptable and really well textured. They come complete with prim cuffs as seems standard on most jeans or trousers now, there is also a scultpie belt which I have yet to use but looks nice enough in the promo images I have seen. The 185 linden price tag may seem steep but over the years the virtual economy has changed and whilst there are still some fantastic FREE options out there the dollar speaks loudly in Second Life nowadays and if you want a quality item there is usually a price to be paid. But as these jeans can be worn in so many different ways to help create several different looks and are a well cradfted creation the price seems reasonable to me, as ever we all make our own call on price, I think they are great check them and perhaps buy them!

Adjunct - Armando Jeans

Awaydays

Amongst the many things I find myself endlessly wittering on about in this loose collection of waffle is casuals fashion. Undoubtedly many people assume this is a relaxed kind of dress, easy enough to surmise that but its quite the contradiction. Casuals had extremely rigid dress codes, in essence they were little more than neatly dressed football hooligans; but their hooliganism oozed sartorial style.

Read this book years ago, rekindled some lost memories not on this scale but severe enough. Along with other sharp styles, over time casual dress codes become absorbed into the wider sharp fashion yearnings of the NeoMods. Although Second Life struggles to provide an array of suitable classic mod wear it is however bulging at the seems with aspects of the casuals dress code: trainers, jeans and track wear. Find it, wear it just leave the stanleys at home cheers.

Amongst the many suppliers of trainers, Hoorenbeek should be a first port of call. There is a wealth of finely sculpted trainers here. Classic retro eighties stylings are a specialist of the Hoorenbeek designers. This classic pair are on old freebie pair modelled along classic Adidas lines. Hoorenbeek rarely strays into reality fashion these days sticking to its own virtual branding, but the styling is close enough to please the virtual mod seeking to immerse himself in some casuals footwear. Also worn here are some khaki jeans with prim cuffs from  ::Mr.Poet:: and a cool casuals styled jersey from [Sheep Door] , which is FREE just join the group and get your group gift. If Hoorenbeek is not ticking the correct boxes do not fret, there are a range of other footwear options. First to try is the uber cool Adidas branded trainers from SoReal. This is a very cool urban funk store, not cheap, but their items are well crafted and possess great scripts to help you tailor your fit. However there are trainers spread across the grid just ensure you select the correct style. Decent pair of jeans and a track top and your almost there, sharp hair and your casuals inspired NeoMod styling is complete.

As for the film and book, nostalgia of the darkest kind, read the book watch the film both are quite good, but I'm no film or literary critic I just like what I like, ciao la!

Modernist Fashion in SL

St Patrick's Day Mod

For those of you who like to join in the festivities I grabbed a few treasure hunt freebies, some group gifts and a few old favourites plus the odd cheap item to create a kind of green NeoMod look to groove with the Oirish on their big day of booze laughs and the craic. This time of year there is so much green about its hard not to trip over it so if you want to green up for next year keep your eyes open for the freebies. Albion has a neat hat from StarChild, its Fedora Brown in Tartan and a gift at Menswear Fashion Week. He is also wearing some Role Optic shades which are part of the DIMH2 Treasure Hunt. Along with an old favourite the Meriken shirt, he is wearing a sweater from Acid and Mala Creations as part of the 49L$ Sale For Dudes, it has three colours available, and is multi-layered allowing multiple wear options. Next up is a great group gift from Gizza, the jeans from their group gift for St Paddy's day, and finally my classic Gos Dr Martin boots.

So, okay where can I grab this stuff:

StarChild
Role Optic
Meriken
Acid and Mala Creations
Gizza
GOS

Modernist Fashion in SL

Whilst wandering around the Moonletters hang out I stumbled upon Shauna's store, its got a few concession items in there for sale and amongst them was this very cool black denim jacket from UM. It has very nice texturing and a sharp well fitting prim collar. Matched with some uber modernist white jeans from the Unknown Boutique and a cool T-Shirt from Micio's Ready Steady Go shop, and the sharp mod bowling shoes which are iconic mod fashion items.

Perhaps not a strictly modernist look this is archetypal sixties fashionwear, strong bold monochrome coloured clothing is typical of this period of casualisation in sixties fashion.

Shauna's Shop @ Moonletters

Modernist Fashion in SL

There I was adding a few snaps to a Flickr group when I came across a great fashion snap that oozed sixties style; a quick add followed by a quicker request and here I have my first guest fashion piece, even though its still me waffling just better quality pics than my usual feeble attempts at techy stuff.

What drew me initially to this shot was the hair, very Weller circa '79/'80 combined with the excellent poses it screamed sixties cool. The all black clothing adds to the feeling of relaxed confidence typical of the scene. I could have gathered all these items and fumbled about trying to recreate it; but I felt it was cooler in its original format so thanks to Beelly Blanco for allowing me full use of his work. Armidi are one of my favourite designers, Italian classic design the foundation of sixties modernism. These sharp black pants matched to the simple but well textured sweater give a very cool style and the plain black loafers from Kalins adds to the beatnik modernist cross over. However for me the item that propels the image into mod stardom is the hair from UncelWebb. It is one of the classiest pieces of modernist hair styling on the grid, right up there with the legendary GL Menace, as worn by virtual mod face Lupo Lexington. Both share Welleresque stylings and this new discovery now firmly sits in my mod folder, what a find!

Again thanks to Beelly for letting me use this shot, an excellent slice of uber cool mod fashion, get on your scooters and get collecting.

UncelWebb

Modernist Fashion in SL

One of the easiest pieces of mod clothing to acquire within Second Life is the classic revivalist monochrome 2 Tone black and white coloured items. There are several pairs of checkered trousers across the grid and this particular pair from Zoobong are a wonderful example of sixties styling matched with a classic modernist design. The trousers texture includes a neat belt on the hipsters which has been emphasised with a cool black/white ying/yang prim buckle. Hipster styling, classic colours sharp texturing and excellent design have created a fine pair of mod trousers, check them and buy yourself a pair.

Worn with the trousers are some old freebie shoes from Kalins which are scripted for size and colour, so worn in a monochrome black and white the beautifully match the sharp hipster trousers. The casual slip on style and the colour lend itself to a more dressed down look than a formalisation of the trousers and so the best option in this instance is a T-Shirt to be worn with the trousers but a sharp cut shirt and tie would suit equally as well. However, keeping to the chilled theme I opted for a classic white T-Shirt emblazoned with an iconic mod graphic of one of the foundation mod bands of the sixties - The Who.

The T-Shirt is one of several classic mod graphic based T-Shirts I bought from Arteeshirt Garden. This image has been replicated on a myriad of modernist items both in the virtual world and the Real World, the band in their hippest mod clothing posing somewhat artfully with a target background. Iconic modernist pop art which looks fantastic when textured and applied to a well created T-Shirt. The ying/yang buckle can also be clearly seen in the accompanying snap. Not an authentic mod style item it does however marry well with the checkered trousers [due to its shared monochrome look] to beautifully accentuate the contrast in colour and give more life to the textured items. A sharp chilled retro mod look, find the items and mix and match to create a cool retro look of your own,

Zoobong
Kalins
Arteeshirt Garden

ciao.

Modernist Fashion in SL

Inked or Not

As you wander the grid you will noticed several iconic codes of male avatar creation; iconic things that define the majority of male avatars in Second Life. Number one they tend to be huge, some really huge [but even these can be dwarfed by the Glamourzonians]; secondly they wear a lot of denim and leather; freebie T-Shirts are almost compulsory and also they must be inked to the extreme. Yes tattoos are everywhere in the virtual world, the girls have them and so do the guys, blink and you'll find yourself in a tattooed morass of rock fantasy. However, tattooed beef-blokes are not really archetypal mod fashion gurus, but in the world of the NeoMod and the absorption of skinhead suedehead fashion philosophy perhaps there is a role for the mod tattooist. However I'm unconvinced the black ink really suits the mod image but coloured tattoos well maybe they can have a role ... occasionally. The advantage of virtual tattoos is that they are like those you get with the stick of chewing gum, they are instantly disposable.

I grabbed this multi-layered ensemble from XStreet which is a good source of easily found fashion items, type in your item then wade through the ubiquitous morass of naff gear to find items that you want ... cool! Whilst I like these I would have preferred even greater variation, with options for single duo or multiple combinations of the ink; and I would not have included the football tattoos this seem pointless - I mean who has a tattoo for two different teams Derby [the Ram on the back] and West Ham [on the arms] quite bizarre. However the iconic English British tattoos look fantastic a great piece of work, wonder if he does custom pieces?

Matched with my standard Liam skinhead faded jeans and a belted Union Jack flag from Patriotic Series flag store; the tattoos added to the skinhead hooligan style that some NeoMods could be striving for. Hair is obviously optional.

England Tattoos

Modernist Fashion in SL

Dyn is not the only store with a fabulous sale occuring at the moment as Arai, another standard issue mod store, is offering a feat line in discounted items.

These four shirts retail at a fantastic twenty five linden; multi-layered [ah bliss] they are highly versatile. Whlist they lack the classic button down collar styling the use of fabric texture lends itself marvelously to NeoMod styling. Worn with jeans in a shirt layer with a Harrington jacket or with a jacket layer and jeans in classic Britpop style. Excellent value, four multi-layered shirts for 100l I suggest you check them out as its fantastic budget shopping.

I can already hear the calls of outrage, High School Letterman jackets, what's next Triumph biker boots. Not remotely Mod. but because they have a huge A emblazoned over the front I figured a NeoMod stylist like Albion [spot the link] might be tempted to introduce such an item into his modernist style bible, after all the face leads the fashion and is not dictated too by fashion. So yeah the current laws of mod fashion scream NO!. But what the fuck we can write our own mod fashion laws ... so long as you dont look like a raging biker, dump the heavy leather you ticket!

On much safer ground here, a classic popart Union Jack fabric textured mod styled jacket. No accusations of digression away from mod fashion here. I already possess such a jacket but this one is suitably different, and at such a throw away price, to encourage me to buy another. The fabric texture is sharp, the creation of the styling is excellent and its retro design is ideally suited to the modernist fashionista. Any mod looking for a classic retro style would do well to check this store and specifically this item.

However, one of the real gems of the sale is the Arai range of polo shirts. As a virtual labels they possibly lack the kudos of the virtual Fred Perry polos. But, they are beautifully textured in a wide range of colours. A double D ... Divine Design, these fabulous items should feature heavily in your modernist wardrobe if you do not possess a polo shirt, shuffle through your virtual wallet grab fifty lindens and treat yourself to something beautiful, and a function fashion masterpiece.

Arai

Modernist Fashion in SL

I have blogged this sale before but as it is still raging I thought I would give it another mention, so the fity percent sale is still raging at Dyn, go take a look!

The Dyn fifty percent sale is still running, so its well worth checking out this UK fashion stronghold a bastion for casual NeoMod clothing. Dyn sells a selection of cool shirts, sweater, polos and sportswear that all tilts its head toweards NeoModernist fashion. Some of their stylings are firmly based on real life fashion, indeed using the real life label in their branding, but they seem to be moving further away from this to create their own unique designs which are perhaps less modernist in concept and execution.

I grabbed these three Paul Smith influenced polo shirts in the sale, a bargain at 50L each; however, I would have prefered a shirt layer alongside the jacket layer to allow me to combine them with a corresponding v-neck sweater or a sharp jacket. This insistance on single layer fashion design can become quite frustrating for the dedicated mix and match modernist stylist. As for the items themselves they look great, neat NeoMod look with cool textures and a sharp stylish design ... I am happy with them despite my minor grumbling.

Another sharp real life item I recently picked up at Dyn was this uber cool Sergio Tacchini track top. A classic of the eighties casuals fashion wardrobe this white track top worn with jeans and my MK Adidas mamba trainers yells retro casuals fashion to anybody able to listen. Its a classic NeoMod combination of Britpop fashion duistain moulded onto eighties casuals styling. The neat feather cut styling of the hair plus the cool shades all combine with the well textured clothing to create a sharp Neo Mod look. Faded rather than pristeen denim looks better but the look can also be achievec with a dark denim but the jeans must remain quite a simple denim design if you hope to achieve the casuals retro look.

But it is not just copied textures from famous real life fashionistas that Dyn sells they have an ever expanding range of their own designs that at well worth taking a look at. One that particularly caught my eye was the short navy blue duffel jacket, neatly textured with a nice prim hood which I felt had an air of the NeoMod about it. Another jacket to be worn with jeans and trainers. Totally abhorrant to traditional retroist modernist in their sharp tailored suits I still feel such items have a place in the wider fashion stuylings of the NeoMod virtual style. Its a well crafted item and a slightly unusual look, and standing out dfrom the crowd shoyuld feature in anyb mods fashion criteria ... no wall flowers required thank you.

Amongst my favoured Dyn items are their range of sweaters, simplistic linear design with a modernist influence which lends itself fantastically well to either the retro sixties styling or the more contemporary [although thats nearly thirty years ago, so contemporary is a bit of a misnomer] casuals styling of the eighties. This simple tight v-necked sweater is an example of the latter, possessing its own label on the texture. The texturing and design look great, and worn with jeans and a suitable shirt its a classic piece of NeoMod styling.

I urge you to go check it out at the Dyn fashion house before they decide to end it. And while your there grab a few other items too, it all fleshes out your virtual mod wardrobe wonderfully.

Modernist Fashion in SL

In my NeoMod style collective I often mention suedeheads and skinheads, and group them into my expanded modernist fashion directory. If you are to adopt this look you can survive in smart loafers for a while but at some point you must display your rolled up jeans and your boots, without doubt its impossible to make any claims at suede or skin fashion without possessing at least one pair of outstanding boots. Left-Right, here we have some great MK Dr Martin style boots with scripted laces, each boot is a single prim ideal for wearing with prim cuffed roll up jeans. Sadly the male version of this boot only comes in black or brown, girls have more choice including a great cherry red pair. Next up are the ROT Test boots, these rugged combat styled boots are also scripted to achieve various colous or degree of wear and tear. They come in a two prim mode, for the foot and ankle; this means you have to realign your prim cuffs to a different location which is kind od tricky. Generally for posing this is not an issue but everyday virtual activities, can look a tad strange. As for the boots themselves, they are beautifully textured and wonderfully sculpting a fine addition to anyones wardrobe. Below them, are the GDC Polished Combat Boots, not a particularly retro skin/suede style of boot but nevertheless a welcome addition to my boot drawer. Well crafted they are a more contemporary styling, higher up the calf than the other styles and burnished intensely to get a real gleam. Again these are two prim boots, similar to the ROT, and suffer the same difficulties. But they are a fine pair of boots, well made and very stylish. The final pair are my most recent aquisition from GOS, and they are outstanding.

These boots come in a wide range of colours in both male and female sizes, they are scripted for sizingand colours, uniquely you can purchase tin of polish and add that to your boots scripting. Therefore you can add more colours to your standard boots, you can also alter the lacing colour in a similar way, so my cherry reds are also scripted for yellow laces, black colouring and Union Jack toe caps, through an addition purchase. Very imaginative. The boots look marvelous as close to the real thing as I have witnessed in Second Life, they are the most expensive by far but also they most resemble Dr Martin boots. Texturing and sculpting is exquiste the scripting affords variabilty and as a single prim for each boot they also allow easy use of prim cuffs with your rolled up jeans. Expensive but worth it.

Any of the four boots are worth purchasing* and cover a range of pricing and styles. If you are hoping to cultivate your skinhead or suedehead look a pair of boots is essential, several even better. And if I had to opt for a single pair and cost was not a factor then I would opt for:

*scoured my inventory for Landmarks for ROT and GDC and cant find them, irritated somewhat by this, tried search that was worse than bloody useless. Will continue trying and will update with a landmark as and if I find them, if you stumble upon it add to to comments and I will use it with much gratitude.

GOS

Modernist Fashion in SL

 Perusing the Second Life fashion blogs I caught sight of this cool hipster pair of jeans. They come in two version a dark striped pair and a white/black striped pair, its the latter that seems most apt for a mod fashionista. The trousers come with neat prim cuffs and various layer and styling variations. They have a cool sixties vibe and look very sharp with trainers and a suitable T-Shirt [this freebie from the Dyn treasure hunt with a rather apt slogan seemed perfect] you create a very casual retro look, or BritPop standard styling. Priced at $L150 I guess the jeans are safely placed in the middle of virtual fashion pricing, but with so few male classically retro style clothing on the grid they are well worth snapping up for you expanding modernist wardrobe. Matched with a shirt and tie, or the AAi shirt/sweater combination they create a wonderfully retro mod look. Get over there, it may be a surfer dude spot but it hides a few classic mod gems.

Action

Modernist Fashion in SL

Its easy for virtual casuals to continue looking exceptionally cool in the virtual world when there are a raft of virtual designers producing wonderful clothing; the casual look is a simple one to adopt requiring only three essentials: a cool pair of trainers, a smart pair of jeans and finally a sharp track top over your polo shirt or shirt. There are many stores producing some great track tops, some basing their designs on real life classics like Adidas  or Tacchini et al. Of all the modernist styles the casuals look is possibly the easiest to achieve in the virtual world as sportswear, jeans and trainers appear to have a global appeal and are therefore readily available. However, to attain a cool casuals look you have to purchase the correct sportswear jeans and trainers, its in the detail. As ever with modernist fashion its the details that are crucial, in real life or the virtual life.

This fantastic track jacket from Style Extem, is a classic example of a fantastic casuals product. The fabric design and colouration is suitable retro, the high prim collar and prim cuffs also add to the retro eighties feel of the item. The striped design is classic eighties and thus peferct for the modernist seeking to axchieve the casualist look. If I had a tiny grievance its that the jacket comes with its own T-Shirt texture which resricts its use with other modernist items, but at a great price, 89L$, its well worth investing in, there may be no real life labels to place it in its casuals epoch, but the design screams casuals too me and hopeful to others as well. There are several cool casuals style items on sale that are well worth looking at; I have already spied several I would like to add to my wardrobe, just need to stash the linden cash in order to aquire them.

Style Extrem

Modernist Fashion in SL

White Light White Heat

This look has Britpop overtones rather than classic retro mod style, the high collared leather jacket and cap are very reminscent of the early nineties style of Britpop behemoth Oasis, the white jeans are classic mod in any decade.

The cap is scripted, for size and colour, and comes from Argrace is a great accessory and comes with blonde hair so requires no fiddly adjustments to wear it without your hair poking through the hat. An excellent addition, but not strictly mod more a generic sixties [check Lennon] or NeoMod item.

The white leather jacket is fronm Armidi, and is also stylistically NeoMod rather than a classic modernist fashion piece; but, worn with the white jeans from Unknown Boutique it creats the all white look of the ace face as seen in many retro photographs of the period, just tweaked to match a NeoMod look, yet still retaining its essential modernist foundations. No crime in experimenting with the modernist look to create your virtual mod image.

ciao

Modernist Fashion in SL

Check out Noar, as there are some very cool items available here with a real mod style.

First up is an essential piece of revivalist fashion, the cycling jersey which seemed to be evetywhere amongst young mods circa '81. The brasher and louder the better in cycling jersey design there is no roon for understated subtley, neither in real life or virtual; despite this, the rather wild and bold red spotty design of this cycling jersey may be too much for some. However, married to a pair of cool white jeans, some chilled shades and bowling shoes and I believe you have a great piece of modernist styling. Indeed I liked this look so much I opted to wear it on my return to the virtual mod scene after my week away. Come out of the grey shadows and adorn yourself in a splash of scarlet.

Another great item is the neat cardigan with a simple graphic stripe design, an ideal sixties piece for wearing over polo shirts with jeans. The bold green stripe and simple black trim are classic retro fashion devices and so work extremely well when attempting to cultivate your virtual mod look. Choose a solid coloured polo and wear the cardigan over it to give yourself a true sixties design. Wear jeans to accentuate the casual nature of the cardigan/polo combination with ideally a pair of iced deserts boots [and if you find some let me know] or failing that your trusty Jeepers Creepers bowling shoes. There is a second sweater that would be great for those modettes outt there or mods bolder than I in startling pink, pink suits are one thing and entire pink wardrobe is a shade too far, but it would be an exceptional piece for those modettes looking to dress down but still have a touch of colour, a bit of flash, whilst wearing denims and polom shirts and at less than a 100 linden your not crying yourself to the bank. A nice sharp relaxed sixties retro look that is easily achievable, so get one!

Next up, that casuals classic the sheepskin. Not a typically mod piece at all but as the NeoMods absorbed the retro, revivalist and offshoot styles the sheepskin has a place in the pantheon of virtual mod fashion. Reasonable for the price but I felt the prim collar was a touch small and required some serious editting, so although it looked ok in snaps as I moved it looked a tad disjointed. Overlarge male avi shapes lie at the heart of it but what can you do unless you want to look like a dwarf? Anyway, that slight criticism apart its a nice item and if your looking to develop your mod style along casuals lines this would be a good purchase.

Noar

Modernist Fashion in SL

I visited Valiant today, and agreed with myself to restrict my purchasing and set myself a very humble budget which allowed me to purchase a single item. Wandering the store, this became very difficult indeed as there were several choice items that possessed a modernist flair. First there were a couple of sweaters, then a jacket, then a cardigan, shorts...hey mods go to the beach too, and not always to brawl. I was stumbling back and forth regretting my budget setting, but determined to stick with it whilst also wishing I was an uber blogger who gets this stuff hurled at him to review. Eventually I decided to opt for the cool military style blazer that comes with several prim details to give it that mid sixties mod feel.

The blazer is similar to the miltary jackets that are on sale, which come in a range of colours, the blazer, however, comes in black with white trim nothing else. Its the addition of the miltary stripes that give the blazer its mod feel, similar to the military regalia sported by Townsend and Entwistle in the early mid sixties Who publicity shots. The prim cuffs also sport a white trim which matches that on the lapels, and make the jacket a loose casual item rather than a staid more formal style blazer; thus, it is ideal for wearing with jeans.

I matched it with a cool Lonsdale shirt, which is multi-layered and so hugely versatile; some cool faded jeans from Juice, that come with prim cuffs; and finally, some smart shoes/trainers from "J's", I bought the flatpack as they come in very useful for a variety of styles.

Check Valiant out, splash your lindens freely or be more circumspect there is plenty to keep the virtual mod happy.

Valiant

Modernist Fashion in SL

As I tp at random across the grid in search of items i think could have the inkling of a modernist look to them I struggle to find some truly classic retro male fashion. Yes there are glimpses of brilliance with some outstanding items available but their brilliance is so prominent because of their rarity, there are still far to few class sixties style male items on the grid. Suits rule the roost, but I feel that perhaps one day we geezers will get our own little Mod factory bringing great male designs to our door.

One ray of encouragement is the ease with which the casuals fashion so easily weaves its way into the contemporary male fashion trend on the grid. Cool trainers, smart jeans and a handsome sweater or track jacket and your in the groove. There are also more casuals male designers out there than retro male designers which gives us blokes half a chance. Let the girls revel in Mary Quant, us guys will grab adidas and make do.

Luckily there are some designers hoping to break into the mod market, Martin Glom has developed some fantastic old school adidas tops that yell casuals at you from the rooftops, he is looking in to creating more mod designs so a bit of support his way would be welcome, he produces womens stuff too but many items are unisex so the possibilities for casuals girls are there too. I really like his stuff, and appreciate that he is making an effort to provide another fashion outlet for guys into the virtual mod, casuals NeoMod fashion scene. Worn with a polo shirt and jeans these tops are awesome NeoMod items that are ideally suited to the casuals style.

Because casualswear is, well simply, casual it is easily found across the grid. Quality sweaters of a certain style, along with cardigans and vest paired with the correct shirts trousers and shoes combined to create classic casuals looks are quite easy to find, and another great selection can be located at FIR, a great male fashion house.

FIR* are designing some fantastic casuals mod items, not specifically targetting this fashion group nevertheless the designers offerings beautiful synchronise into the modernist styles currently worm on the grid. Take, for example, the beautiful navy sweater and grey cardigan, matched with a simple single colour button polo shirt they are classic casuals or mod clothes and can easily be worn with either jeans, to affect the casuals look, or as in this case trousers tio create a more retro mod style. The FIR range of clothing is a great addition to the casuals fashion scene and I'd suggest you head over to the Menswear Fashion Week 2010 and take a good look in this store and the other exhibition stores. There's still a few days lift of this male fashion extravaganza.

Sadly its the retro style that is the more difficult to locate.  Male retro fashion seems to reach the fifties and then grind to a halt maybe the view is that the sixties consisted of little more than dark Beatles suits followed by a hippy shake. And perhaps for some that is all we need, a simplistic black suit, I guess I just want a tad more.Classic popart designs and iconic emblem design seems scarce unless its attached to some rock motif or is a dedicated girls fashion item. and yet these are iconic late mod male fashion items. And as for two tone tonic suits, you're going nowhere in that direction. So, whilst male fashion as a whole appears to be flourishing the retro sixties male stylings seem to be making as little progress as ever.

* FIR store by Rob1977 Moonites, the organiser behind the fashion week, any geezers interested in virtual fashion would do well to check it.

Modernist Fashion in SL

This week is Menswear Fashion week a huge virtual male fashion celebration designed to highlight quality male fashion across the grid. Its well worth investigating, as there are some choice items on sale, many with a definite mod vibe. There is more on the fashion spectacular on the Moonletters blog. Grab a quick look at it and then go spread some linden love. The organisers are looking to maximise exposure for this event to highlight the great items available in the mens fashion stores across the grid, hence my double blogging. I urge you to check it out, and yep girls there's unisex stuff too.

Menswear Fashion Week 2010

Modernist Fashion in SL

As often happens on a dull grey morning I often find myself wandering across the grid hoping to uncover some hidden modernist fashion gem. The Ska Shack is hardly hidden but its most certainly a gem. So, what can you expect to find, some classic mod band T-Shirts, the classic Pete Townsend Union Jack jacket, an uber cool outfit from the cult TV series The Prisoner . There is a large selection of Union Jack T-Shirts that filter out onto the mod fashion scene, plus an awesome Soviet sweatwhirt, thats beautifully textured and a fantastic piece of casuals fashion. Worn with a well textured pair of jeans and classic trainers the sweatshirt is classic NeoMod style. The sixties jackets very rare items indeeed, being amongst the very few specific male mod fashion items on the grid, grab them if you can.

Ska Shack