Our original plan was to put out Jack in a Box, a freebie male avatar shape, skin, hair and clothing starter kit, the day after Jill in a Box. Wow did that not work - because let me tell you: decent freebies for boys are thin on the grid. So it took an extra day, but it’s now out and set for sale at $0L.
The basic problem is that while there are 30 million freebie t-shirts out there, they are all on the shirt layer and because of the way the mesh works, that sucks. Shirts only reach the top of the hips, and for boys this is bad because it means a choice between high-waisted trousers that meet the shirt so you look like a complete geek, or low-waisted trousers and a bare belly so you look like an escapee from The Village People. Neither is a good look.
The solution is shirts on the longer jacket layer, but there are very few of the freebie variety out there. However, we’ve come up with three outfits, plus underwear, plus hair and shoes for men, all in one copy/transfer box so you can freely hand it out:
On the left is your basic underwear, with boxers raided from the Library. I have no guilt about this because I suspect that men don’t rummage through the Library folders in nearly the same depth women do, and I’m willing to bet 90% of the guys on the grid have never seen 99% of their Library items. Which is fine, as some of that stuff is terrifying and we don’t want them wearing it anyway.
We do however want them to wear the very cool rugby shirt (jacket layer!) you can find in there, as well as the rather rad black jeans unearthed from another folder. The shoes are no-mod Doc style lace-ups in black. They also go well with the really, really nice faded bluejeans and very metro brown corduroy jacket. Accessories like sunglasses and hats are included.
Also included are a pair of orange and blue running shoes, and an utterly brilliant pair of painter jeans:
They’re shown with some of the sweaters and henley t-shirts in the box. There honestly just were not enough acceptable jacket layer tops out there, so I ended up making this jacket layer jumper and a tintable henley shirt for underneath. (The one on the left was shot before I got really ambitious and added buttons.) I know the red and orange combination is like a female fantasy of what colours men would actually dare to wear, but there are plenty of pre-tinted blues and greys in there and hey, a girl can dream.
The funky new Linden newbie skin is not as refined as it’s female counterpart, but overall we are very happy with the starter items in this box. However, my single greatest contribution to SL may be the creation of a freebie male shape that does not resemble the love child of Tarzan and GI Joe, so I’m pretty happy about that.
And a tip to the chicks: there are some fun clothes in the Jack box, so it’s worth it to pick one up:
All the jeans are really good, although you will have to adjust the fit in the sliders. Actually, since I have no idea how men prefer to wear their pants, boys may well have to do that too. But whatever your gender, who doesn’t want a free cowboy hat?
Where to Buy:
Linden Lifestyles Headquarters
All items free: $0L
Calla (163, 56, 22)
Box items are copy and transfer so you can take one box and give out copies, though some items are no mod.
What a great idea - and even though I’m past the newbie stage - I will be trying out some of the items you include - especially that really good jacket. Also, the shape you provide looks good to me, and will be modelled soon for my partner’s comments, and , I hope, her delectation.
Men’s clothing in SL has long way to go to catch up with what you girls have to choose from - but I read and apply your advice! More power to you!
Comment by Earl Semaphore — May 9, 2007 @ 2:52 pm
Wow, not sure to what we owe the honour, but thank you so much for thinking of us guys in the reading audience!! It’s always a nice feeling to hear women express the same sentiments regarding decent cheap or freebie clothing options for men as we feel on a daily basis. Some of us having problems enough dressing ourselves appropriately and affordably in RL, nevermind the more narrow cheap options in SL, hehe.
Now if only we can find more clothes for guys with prims and flexi to add more realism than the millions of painted on t-shirts….
At any rate, looking forward to checking out this Jack in the Box to see how it looks - thank you for all the effort!
And yikes - you mean we are actually allowed to browse through the Library?!
Comment by Wrath — May 9, 2007 @ 4:28 pm
I think the jack and jill in a box project rocks.
The painter jeans live on! I think that was the very first thing I did in Second Life, taking the Linden Lab free jeans texture and messing it up to get close to some jeans I had in RL.
oh, and yeah I definitely fit your assumption — I have studiously ignored the linden library all these years
Comment by Forseti Svarog — May 9, 2007 @ 5:34 pm
Wow! What a dope I am - I have been scrounging all over SL looking for decent freebie stuff and of course, I should have checked with Linden Lifestyles first (like I usually do when I need to shop). This is a fantastic box for guys and you are so right, there is woefully little out there for them. Thanks a ton and I will be passing the box out to every male I know!
Comment by Myg — May 10, 2007 @ 11:48 pm
Just a quick follow-up: can’t recall at the moment who did the freebie hair that comes with this Jack in the Box set, but that single item alone is a must have for any newbie male and should be the first thing they change about their appearance, it’s that significant. Seriously.
Otherwise, all around, this is a great collection and put together so very well!! So complete - everything you need all in one package, impressive. Knowing all of the attention to detail and thought put into each hand selected item made opening this freebie box feel so much different than any other freebie box I’ve ever looked at. My kind of shopping! And if I could be guaranteed that all of my shopping adventures would prove as productive, it would be so totally worth it to go around buying everything prepackaged as such, hehe.
Not sure how much your chances of getting a “Hey Sexy” goes up without buying new skin, but at least your chances of hearing “Hey n00b” goes way down with the Jack in the Box in your possession.
Comment by Wrath — May 11, 2007 @ 4:47 pm
Great stuff! I really would like to try these clothes! Regretfully, how hard I tried the box does not seem to work. Probably my fault (I am only 2 days old) but if I press “Buy” nothing happens. Could you give me a hand? Thanks. Quinten
Comment by Quinten McMillan — May 13, 2007 @ 10:27 pm
Check your recent items and then search your inventory for Jack. It should be there, we just re-tested them. It’s stopped popping up a box since the last update but it is selling.
Comment by Sabrina Doolittle — May 15, 2007 @ 1:40 am
Thanks for the help! I tried that but the only thing I get is the box itself, not the content.
Comment by Quinten McMillan — May 15, 2007 @ 12:39 pm
you need to rezz and unpack the box
Comment by Sabrina Doolittle — May 15, 2007 @ 1:36 pm
^
|
a newbie with a box in his hand! aww, so cute ^_^
(sorry, it was stronger than me
Comment by moire — May 15, 2007 @ 4:12 pm
@ Sabrina Doolittle
Thank you so much for helping me out! At last I managed to understand how to open the box and I am very happy with its content. You have combined style with generosity which is a rare thing in this world. Many kudos to you.
@ moire
LOL! As a newbie you have to start somewhere and I feel lucky I started on this site.
Comment by Quinten McMillan — May 17, 2007 @ 1:06 am
I love this so much, not only is it generous, but I’m making my fella Jez get one because he has NO FASHION SENSE and it does my head in.
Seriously!
=^..^=
Comment by Kitty O'Toole — May 18, 2007 @ 4:24 pm
Sabrina you are a GODSEND! I’m another newbie who looked like he was made out of lumps of candle wax and scraps of things you’d normally find under the couch (that default SL hair - ugh) until I found Jack. Ahhh, now I feel like my avatar is someone I’d actually cruise at a bar.
Thank you for the hair, thank you for a shirt that actually fits, thank you for some wonderful shoes. You are a blessing.
Comment by Dov Watanabe — May 27, 2007 @ 8:23 am
yay this is awesome! thank you for sharing
Comment by erin — September 12, 2007 @ 7:59 am
Hot Garden Fountain Freak…
I love that to, but my hubby doesnt want it, that is really to bad….
Trackback by Hot Garden Fountain Freak — January 15, 2008 @ 11:05 pm