Balancing Act.

I'm running short on time as usual so it's nice when designers themselves give me a heads up about new stuff. Equilibrium is a new player in town for shirts and jeans. Right now, they are giving away a new freebie a week as well as a gift in their group joiner. This weeks. Freebie is a graphic white ribbed tank that you can pick up in the bag by the door. (click picture for larger view.)

Their regular prices run between $100-150L for shirts, $250-300L for some really well designed jeans and jeans sets (good texture, nicely done prim cuffs and belt options.) The freebie shirt comes in multiple layer option too. If you head upstairs where most of the shirts are, you'll also find a vendor that sells their older graphic design tanks and tees for $10L each. These are single layer as far as I know, but the graphic work is nice and the cloth textures are just as nice. I picked up this blue on blue fox graphic -- I wish it came ina shirt layer but I think I'm going to get a lot of wear out of it regardless.

After picking up the free tee, I headed over to Maschienenwerk to see what I could scare up there and while I'm not much of a track suit guy, the new ones looked sharp - top and bottom and a hoodie (down). I grabbed the grey, (365_Suit_coal) but there are multiple color options that are, as usual, free. These are great renderings, moddable, shirt in a jacket layer. But the other thing I caught was a really nice living room set on the first floor of the first building. Mute the Colors is a full set with poses; sofa, two stools and a table. It's not prim heavy, has a nice shadows, and again, free. (Sofa is partially pictured here.)

In a another time saver, Davi Designs, dropped a really nice tattoo called "Doodles" on me recently via DSN. It's a mayan/aztec influenced design in multiple layers and multiple shade options: Black, Dark, Henna and Soft.

I hit the store and what should I find but an MM board with a really nice dragon design and a fast camp chair for these gold and black wrist cuffs (10 minutes. ) I camped while typing and signed up on the board. The store offers and eclectic mix of goods: tattoos, jewlery, artwork, furniture and even photography. There are two lucky boards there that didn't roll me an "R" while I was there, but they are worth watching.

(The jeans pictured here are from Equilibrium (Calca)(RGs)(B1), $250L.)

Gorgeous skins and much more!

*Wolf whistles*

OMG! You guys look smoke'n hot in these skins. These are the latest group gift from Belleza. left to right: Thomas V2 Pale - Thomas V2 Med

Thomas v2 Sk - Thomas v2 Tan - Thomas v2 Deep Tan

Hair: MADesigns - Slide DBIII free - available in the hair section.

Eyes: The Plastik - VaeColl. Ageis green (previous group gift).

Shape: Le.LOOK! le homme christmas gift.

Underwear: Vitamen - Athletic sheer boxers brown/blue (past lucky board prize).

Belleza Christmas group gift is still available in notices. Thomas V2 in 3 skin tones.

Underwear: Zarra white boxers from the Le.LOOK! le homme chrissy gift

Nikita Fride - Men's tattoo'd skin and shape, lucky chair only. Must be wearing group tag before you sit.

Gritty Kitty have a wall of freebies set up just inside the entrance to the right. There's shirts, tees and a few hair styles available, all for $0L.

Hair pictured: Zombie (left) & Ministry.

And the tees: Dangerdoom, Catnip, Play kitten & Pussy liquor.

Para Designs have this 'Cyber Scales' tattoo in a Midnight Mania (MM) board at their second store at CStar Mall. It comes in a couple of shades and also in a coloured version.

**UPDATE: MM board prize has actually changed since I started this post. Prize is now 'Carnival sleeves' unisex tatt, coloured only, all layers, 90 hits. Para Designs main store have another MM board for 'Noxious' tatt as well as a lucky chair for more tatts.

Rotten Defiance are having a rotten hunt. 10 skulls to be found. Skulls numbered 6 - 10 are male prizes and they're easy to find! There is a MM board here too.

#8 Grunge Jacket (had trouble making collar fit, no modify)

#9 Grunge shirt (collar & cuffs)

#7 Men's design tee

Spiked wrist bands: Little Britain Designs past camping prize.

#6 Brown cords

#10 Stitched jeans

On the right are Snake skin pants from Poison MM board. ***Don't rush over there, the store seems to have vanished :(

Rotten Defiance are also involved in a few hunts:

DBHH Death mask hunt gift #9 Jeans and shirt. Includes sculpted collar and cuffs.

Hint to find death mask: need to make a phone call?

40 Below hunt gift #14 - Men's Ice skater outfit, also comes with a bloody top version and an ice skate to embed in your chest. Hint to find snowman: OMGAH! I've been kidnapped by a Bunneh!

Little Britain Designs still have their converse ice skates available for free. You can get them in red and black. Just look for the frozen pond to find them.

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Extra credits:

Hair: FNKY/Cake - Jealous $300

Skin: Dragonfly - Joshua

Boots: Little Britain Designs - New Rock Black flame $400 (pic 9 10)

Piercings: Reaction (location currently unavailable)

Gloves: SiniStyle - Finger tape and black nails

Pants: SD Wears (pic 6)

Tank top: FNKY/Cake grey tank (pic 6)

All poses: Kuso DZCP SL005 P40 pose HUD $150

Connors dollarbies

Head over to Connors and pick-up these cool dollarbies!

ALOHA! Tombo shirt (sculpted collar and sleeve cuffs)

Rolled up jeans - Khaki

Other goodies pictured:

Hair: KMADD Christmas group gift - MADesigns Jude in Irish coffee

Skin: Belleza group gift - Thomas v2 SK Joining fee $250L definitely worth it!

Shape: LE.LOOK! l'homme amazing Christmas gift (now costs $250L)

Eyes: Umedama Holic - Frozen eyes gift07

Pose/Animation: Animate This - MaleStand3

SiniStyle: Taped fingers & black nails (not free)

MHOH2 - Made it to the End...

....and sheesh... the designers have outdone themselves. I talked to several while on the hunt and they were all excited and glad to be participating and it shows in what they have on offer. (Click for larger images)

RL is being a bit of a bear this week so, I'll post pictures and stores and do my best to get the links in as I go, but in the meantime, the official hunt blog has links and hints.


# 20 Bryce Designs: Greedy Pack Hair Shag, if you can;t find your hair color in this pack, I don't know what to tell you, except that chartreuse is so 2007.

#13 A:S:S: Cropped knit top in teal, low waist checked jeans, teal & black with a little sheen, sculpted cuffs. Groovy man.

#114 Vassnia: Earth Shoes in brown -- casual or classy, nice leather finish (I'm becoming a fan of #114. Vassnia's shoes)


#14. HellBop Clothing for the discerning gentleman:
layered sweater w/patched elbows, plaid bermudas, gartered rust socks and pork pie hat. I've already booked my tickets to Florida.

#18. Trixxy's has been offering great guys casuals for awhile now,but I think she stepped her game this time. Skull appliqued brown jeans and an open checked shirt that steps away from the basic blue and black of most looks and she added a bullet chain necklace. Good cuff and collar work. Looks really good over a black tank too.

Lexi Vargas over at #118 Brocade Tiger is offering two gifts - first up is the new design for MHOH2 - with a southwestern flair and smooth look for the next time you go out two-stepping with your significant other. Vest and shirt in one, collar and cuff, nice flare to the jeans for your boots.

Also at Brocade Tiger is this bonus Skully shirt, Day of the Dead them (or Grateful Dead, your choice) , nice pattern and fit. Matched up here with the ripped jeans from #130. Alexohol. I like the weave and detail on these jeans a lot.

And yes, Bryce hair and Vassnia shoes again, natch.

MHOH2 - More Good Stuff

#1 MADesigns: Cruz Espresso Hair.

#159 Artful Cravings: Dragon Brown Jeans & Dragon VButton Shirt. Nicely worn brown jeans and comfortably creased shirt.

.:Condensed Chaos:. Jack Bracelet (#62 on the Vampire Hunt)

#149 ::Wicked Tattoos:: Torn Apart - Jacket, Shirt & Undershirt layer, great detail front and back in brown and white ink.

#140 :Robbish: MHO 2nd Edition Jeans. Worn waist, great pocket work.

MHOH2 - Seriously Happy

This hunt is making me seriously happy.

#1 - MADesigns: 4hair styles - 4 colors, three sets of eyes
Hair: Alex ~ Corvette, Cruz ~ Espresso, Jude - Silk, Jin ~ CB II
Autumn Eyes: Gold-Cold, Twilight-Dawn, Night-Spider

# 1 MADesigns: CRUZ ~ Espresso

# 4 RFyre: BanSidhe Unisex Black: Cameo Belt

# 5 Zaara: Nalin summer shirt yellow & white tank (I want to marry this shirt set)

#149 ::Wicked Tattoos:: Torn Apart

#148 *FIR*: MHO Jeans 1

#151 7071: Engineer Demi Boots

Fancy to Footloose

This may have been blogged before but I didn't have this suit so, you know... new to me.

This isn't part of the Steampunk Hunt, although the BlakOpal Burgundy Cutaway Suit could be. It looks to be a permanent freebie from [BlakOpal Designs]. Solid period look to it (although without the tails, it works pretty well as a contemporary suit), prim cuffs and collars and nice detail work.

I pulled out my new Brass Frame Glasses from [The Brass Needle] and then ducked into [Philotic Energy] to pick up this PE Colby Clinker tousled hair for a either nothing or a $1L (I grabbed several new hair styles from PE... some were. some had a token cost.)

Over the weekend, FFFM member and reader Juliet Broono was like a freebie radar, tossing tons of good finds onto the list. I got some good stuff but I think I may have found a new favorite casual designer... [e.style].

Juliet's tip was for the black polo shirt and jacket you see pictured (there's a black version of the jack as well), but among the limited offerings I also found some jeans I really liked and at the minimal cost of $5L from the vendor, it seemed worth it to at least try a pair. I think I ended up buying everything but the shorts...

Nice textures and interesting details make these feel a little more....I dunno, finished, than your regular denims. The polo shirt is also really nice. I did have to widen the collar a touch but I like the look and fit of this shirt. The same went with the jacket... graphic is a logo but it's not overly glaring and the jacket comes with a bulker in case you want it too look more like a coat than a windbreaker.

Free stuff is on the second floor, but there are also lucky boards for furniture and a nice sky island on the first floor.

I grabbed the jeans, the polo, and both jackets. I'm also wearing [MADesigns] Jonas - BMT II hair, which is part of the [MADesigns] VIP September gift.

Again, thanks, Juliet! for the tips and finds!


Final note: keep an eye on the blog -- there's some new stuff coming to the sidebar under the heading of "Resources". Cameron is going to blow you guys away. And hopefully a little Designer Spotlight for designers who consistently offer quality freebies, even though the spotlighted items won't necessarily be free.

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[BlakOpal Designs]: BlakOpal Burgundy Cutaway Suit
[The Brass Needle]: Brass Frame Glasses (Steampunk Hunt)
[e.style]: Shirt25 (Black Polo) free, 005-pants (jeans with belt) $5L, wing skull jacket white free (also comes in black)
[MADesigns]: ~ JONAS ~ BMT II (VIP gift September)
[Philotic Energy]: PE Colby Clinker

Also worn:

Skin: Librarian II ~ Inflict
Eyes: Teal II ~ Sin Skins
Beard: Leon - Chocolate ~ Discord Designs

Things not to skip in the Skipping Stones Hunt

EDIT: Hunt Ends on the 25th. Go Now.

The Skipping Stones hunt runs through the end of the month and while there's not a lot of clothes for men, there are some very, very cool prizes worth grabbing.

Mostly summer themed, there are clever and creative offerings including this dock from [chanimations #16] that comes not only with the dock and sitting animations but incorporates a very fun "stone in mid skip" set of posed sets for great pics, including water ripples and a stone for your hand. The poses are more or less feminine but there's enough unisex ones to make it worth grabbing, plus it's a nice, light addition to any water feature you might have access to.

Another really nice set is this full conversation porch from #07. [Second Spaces]. It's a complete set with sits and a nice relaxed feel to the whole thing. Do rezz it in build mode and take it up the same way. Rezzes as one piece but the sofa, ottoman, cushions table and accessories aren't linked, so you can use it as a whole installation or in pieces.

Another full set with some chuckles is #05. [Frop!]'s DayDreaming Trundle Bed. Two fun poses on the trundle (one sleeping, one chilling) and a spinning animaton on the stool.

From 41. [the Sea Hole] comes "Drinks Crazy crooked Steampunk-ish House". At 107 prims, it's big, but it's got some fine detail and its a seriously usable space if you have the land for it (needs slightly more than a 512 plot.) There's some incredible light and texture elements, and the whole look is something between the Adamm's Family, Strawberry Shortcake, and Psycho. An odd combination but one that works in all the best ways.

#38. [Reek] offers you a smaller domicile in the Lyric Skybox. Basic box but again, nice lighting and texture elements, not dark inside at all. The outside is logo stamped but inside it's light and amazingly usable and fun.

There are some clothes for guys; light weight colorful fun casual wear like this Retro Chic set of shorts and a lavendar button down from # 26. [Shiki Design]. The shirt is prim collared and cuffed, making it wearable with a lot of things, but by itself, it kind of makes me want to spend the day at the beach.

12. [NachtMusik] offers you this Indie Kid set with shorts and a shirt (there's an argyle sweater in there too). And a surprise modern plaid couch -- so when you set up in your new skybox or steampunk mansion, you'll have new furniture to go in it.

If you are in need of footwear, 14. [Duh!] offers up these Grey Leather Work Boots. I got a similar set to this in another hunt and I get a surprising amount of use out of them. Nice detail, resizable and fun.

#39. [Addict] had what may be my favorite outfit of the lot. It's a casual look, crop pants , tee and a vest, but it also comes with accessories: a nicely done razor blade necklace, the tiger eyed cross bracelet (above)that I am wearing a lot, and bandanas for your pocket and wrist. The set goes really nicely with the flip flops and prim feet that I picked up at [+grasp+] as a group gift (not part of the hunt.) It's just a nice easy look and all the pieces can be worn with other things.

And last but not least, #37. [Republica] offers up this striped beach umbrella set (there's a strawberry themed one too) to make your day at the beach comfortable and relaxing. Poses, component pieces and most importantly: they didn't forget the sun screen.

I have to thank Vina and some other very kind ladies who are sweet enough to do some of these hunts and provide me with notecards of stuff of interest to guys. I'm gonna have to throw a luau to thank them all properly.

Again, the hunt ends at the end of the month. You are looking for a glowing stone, but none of them were particularly difficult to find and in this batch, well worth the time it took some places to rezz fully.

Shiki Group Freebie

A cool Group Gift for strolling along the beach, cool flower print shirt.

SHIKI

Logo this

I'm not always keen on logoed apparel -- in 1st or 2nd life -- because it doesn't take much to stick a logo on a t-shirt or stamp it on the pocket of a pair of jeans. Then again, some logos become fashion statements in and of themselves -- like the long line of changing Panama Jack graphics that were popular a few years ago, and let us not forget Rebok, or Addidas, or Nike.

[Beck & Carter] haven't quite reached that level of notoriety in Second Life yet, but they've certainly got the start of it; their graphics are cool and attractive just as graphics and in their current crop of freebies (5 gifts in all and some extras) they've incorporated an already cool logo into some fun stuff. And the non-logoed stuff -- in this case a vibrant colorful shirt and short set -- are also kind of a signature of the designers in their own way. Hot trendy colors, vibrant designs, and a rich look that you could find on the Cote de Azure or Riviera. For those of you willing to part with a few lindens, their prices are pretty reasonable, in the $100-$250 rang for shirt and jean separates and up from there for complete outfits. If you are looking for head turning swimwear, this might be the place to look.


That said, they don't hide the fact that some of their looks are kind of courting the gay market, (they have a line of t-shirts and jeans celebrating the noted gay cartoonist Tom of Finland - not free) but from jeans to shirts, you also get that they understand how clothes fit and look on a male avatar.




Also, if you're looking for a few home accents, you might try clicking on the floral arrangements and maybe the floor... there's more free in the shop than the obvious stuff, so poke around. If you get all five gift releases, you'll also find three very cool document cases in red, leopard and black.

The logo for [Jetcity] has only recently started making an appearance - small and kind of whimsical -- you can see it in the newly redesigned shop and on the clothes that Jiru sets out. Nearly everything in the shop is free or only a few lindens -- well worth checking and rechecking. The new offering is a pair of front placard short pants (in 4 colors) with leggings ( in 6 colors). The placard is reminiscent of WWII uniforms and the addition of the leggings just reinforce that look. It happens to be a design detail I like, and with the right pair of boots this is a pretty distinctive look -- logo or not.


The last couple of items on my list aren't representative of logos, just a couple things that came down the pike while I was hunting for them: First up the lucky chair win at [Analise] that Eliza announced in the group. Called Sandman, it's a black on grey set of pants and top, wrapped sscarf and simple belt. I'm wearing the top here with an offering from Raven at [Rfyre]; laced black leather pants in both regular and boot cut styles, that she put out as a freebie to correct an issue with the pants that accompany the Bytterwynds line of awesome kilts.

And from [Maschienenwerk], my perennial go to place for casual clothes, is this camo tank paired with another of the offerings from[Beck & Carter]. It's not new -- I've had it for awhile, but pulling it out for this reminded me that it was probably about time to go check and see if anything new was up and lo and behold, there are chucks and sneaks. I don't have them pictured -- but if you ever wanted a pair of Converse All Stars, high tops or low rise, in pretty much any color you can think of... Armin has you covered. (Third floor. Can't miss them.)

Oh, and in case you missed it -- for a name in 2L that doesn't actually seem to need a logo, my hair is from MADesigns, the fat pack offering this month prompted by the popularity of the the same style offered in the JFTG hunt ~ Slide in NB III.

Edited to add: The creative brains behind [Beck & Carter], Joyd Beck and Croce Carter, noted that joining their group gets members a free gift every month, so if you've got the slot, I'd go for it.


Wearing (from top right to left and down):
[Beck & Carter]: Black T-shirt 3 & Pornosophy jeans
[Beck & Carter]: Maglia Velata Nera Con Cuore Maniche CORTE T-shirt & Astrakan slacks
[Beck & Carter]: Molticolor shorts and shirt
[Beck & Carter]: Amanda Lear T-shirt & Astrakan slacks
[Beck & Carter]: Pornosophy jeans and t-shirt
[Maschienenwerk]: Camo tank and [Jetcity]: short pants--Brown-- Leggings grey
[Analise] : Sandman Black (shirt, scarf & belt) and [Rfyre]: Bytterwynds Black Leather lace ups

Wearing but not free:
[*Redgrave*] Biker Boots -Night-
MCD (Mystical Cookie Designs) Rimless 605 Glasses