Hot to Trot – Dressage

If you’re in for a spot of horseback riding, Avatar Bizarre has you covered with this new, improved version of the Dressage outfit.  The original only came in Male, and had system layer pants and shirt.  The new, improved version is also available as Female (which includes a flat chested X Small coat).

Here’s what you get:
– Rigged mesh coat with color HUD (eight colors)- System layer pants (9 colors), plus system layer shirt and gloves
– Pant, shirt, and glove layers on SLink and OMEGA applier HUDs
– Unrigged hat
– Unrigged cravat
– Alpha

The Male version comes in five standard sizes.  The Female version comes in the standard five sizes, plus the flat chested X Small size for femboys, furries, and child avatars.  Try the demo first, though.

This should be released pretty soon.  I just need to finish uploading and scripting the female sizes.

Boots will be sold separately, and will include a color HUD.  They will not only be materials enhanced, but will come with rigged and unrigged boots.

When you’re hot to trot, this outfit will be ready and waiting for you in a few days.

Sleigh Bells and the Cableknit Sweater

Winter is coming.  It’s not only a failed attempt on the part of the Starks to instill fear into Westros, but it’s also a (ahem) cold, hard fact.  The Holiday season has slammed its way into our lives like the powerful consumerist juggernaut it is, and with it comes snow, ice, sleet, and all kinds of reasons to enjoy a bit of frostbite with your friends and loved ones.

I live in California, so slieghing behind a magnificent horse wearing jingling tack is just not a normal activity.  But for folks in areas that receive actual weather, and in Second Life, it’s not such a rarity.  Some of my friends had a wonderful time riding behind Buck the Horse in one of Second Life’s most spectacular Winter sims the other day.  You can visit here.  Don’t miss out, because I’m pretty sure this is a holiday thing that will likely be turned into something else later on.

Of course the whole point of my bloggishness is to showcase some brand new Winter wear from Avatar Bizarre!  It’s not usual to find some actual modern day casual clothing options at Avatar Bizarre, since it’s a store that specializes in Gothic, Fantasy, and Historic.  But occasionally, the normal, every day clothing options happen.

This time, it’s a clothing option with a Scottish twist.  Inspired by the traditional woolen cableknit sweaters you might find in any shop on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, the Avatar Bizarre Cableknit Sweater is available in both Male and Female options.

There’s also a full range of colors available.  Made only from the highest quality vertices wool, spun into thick, warm woolen mesh yarn from the Blender loom, each sweater package includes five sizes with a twist.  You see, these run a little baggy, because sweaters are supposed to be warm, comfortable, and somewhat bulky.  If you have Advanced Lighting enabled, the knitting pattern stands out nicely for a cozy sweatery feel.

Special thanks go out to Buck the Horse for entertaining all of us in pure equestrian form.  Thanks also goes out to my female model, Misha-Selene, for once again coming through for a wonderful photo shoot.

On the Marketplace and inworld

Dressage For Success – A Twisted Hunt Gift

A friend of mine on plurk was pining for the Fjords while lamenting the lack of Dressage suits for men in Second Life.  I was vaguely aware that people riding in horse competitions wear something that looks a bit like a tuxedo with knee high boots, and it’s just the sort of thing I enjoy making, so a promise was made more or less sorta kinda.  After doing some research on the various Dressage looks out there, I decided on the classic tail coat version.

Since the pants on a Dressage suit tend to be skin tight, I figured this suit didn’t have to be full mesh.  The pants are a system layer, along with the system layer Dressage shirt, and leather gloves.  The rest of the outfit is mesh, both rigged and unrigged.  The tail coat is knee length and comes in the five standard male sizes.  The Cravat and the low Top Hat are both unrigged and can be resized as needed.  There is, of course, an alpha included for the coat and for the boots.

The rigged boots (included) are a special new addition to the Avatar Bizarre collection.  Not only are they superbly textured patent leather, but if you run on a Materials compatible viewer and have Advance Lighting enabled, you will see a subtle leather shine you wouldn’t otherwise see in viewers that aren’t materials compatible.  The shine has a slight color applied, based on the color of the coat.

This brings me to the Twisted Hunt gift for men (Twisted Hunt starts March 1 and runs through March 31)…

The theme of Twisted you probably already know, if you read this blog regularly (or just look at the post below this one).  The color of this hunt is a magical purple.  Frankly, it’s one of my favorite colors, and lends itself well to a Dressage outfit, even though the traditional color is, well, black and white.

The Magic Purple Dressage outfit from Avatar Bizarre comes with two pairs of pants:  a black pair with a colored stripe down each leg, and a more traditional white pair.  This suit will be available in more colors at the end of the hunt, including the traditional black.

Till then, Tally Ho!