Hidden Treasure:  BalAni Clothes for Men, Quality and Affordability

Let’s face it, the women of Second Life have far more adversity when it comes to quality clothing and diversity in fashion.  The men, we search harder and have fewer options.  Lately I’ve been on a search to add more color and more layers to my wardrobe.  Jori has been encouraging me to mix and match more… resisting at first, whining she’ll tell you, I usually later submit because often she’s right… but let’s keep that part quiet.  Though men’s fashion in SL isn’t easy, the outlook seems to be improving.

As part of a group for men’s fashion in SL called “Make Him Over,” I stumbled on a store recently called BalAni owned by designer Onix Anthony.  Pleasantly surprised by the color of the textures displayed, I thought it worth more investigation.  The store is average in size; and, the clothing and accessory collection is not overwhelming yet has variety.  I purchased a few items and left.

Within minutes of having left the store, I received an IM from Onix personally thanking me for the purchase I made and extending a small gift.  Likewise, by subscribing to his group via the SoM, I received a second free gift- this one a complete outfit.  Now I know that some of you may not find the personalized customer contact blog-worthy but in my opinion, the genuineness of people in general in SL is lacking so the contact from Onix was appreciated.  And, I don’t know anyone reading this who does not like free gifts.

In general, I’m very happy with the quality and the affordability of the clothing from BalAni.  But, let’s break it down:

Walking into the store, there is a large display of argyle sweaters with great color.  I chose the “Vest Green & White” and paired it with BalAni Black Jeans #4 Long & Low cut.  The prim cuffs on the shirt were a little long, the collar fit perfectly, and there are several variations in layers and wear.  Editing the prim attachments was simple and the texture in the sweater creates a realism and dimensional depth that is sometimes hard to find in men’s clothing.  The black jeans, which are also shown below in a blue version come belted (with an optional prim attachment buckle) and with prim cuffs.  In this case, I found the prim cuffs to be a little more time consuming to edit perfectly.  I prefer a more slim fit cuff, lower and tighter over my shoe: once I edited to that, it looked decent but it also required an edit to the texture color as there was a noticeable variation in the jeans vs. prim cuffs, particularly in the blue jeans.  There remains a bit of inconsistency in the prim and the pant layer but unless you are scanning for it with a critical eye, like I am for the purpose of this blog, it’s not an obvious defect.  Paired with a great pair of Kalnins shoes, it’s a great look for Friday jeans day at the office or date night with Jori.

The Winter Knit Sweater, shown in Ruby, looked great paired with blue jeans.  The texture and lines are clean and the red color is not too harsh on the eyes as I find many reds to be in SL.

As I mentioned, the variety at BalAni is not overwhelming but runs the spectrum from underwear to formalwear.  Pictured below are two examples from opposite ends.  BalAni’s Dress Vest Black is a multi-option casual formal wear (no jacket) with two pants (the pinstripe pictured) and 3 options on the shirt cuffs:  rolled, one button, or the french cuff with cufflinks shown.  The textures are all clean, the prim attachments fit my shape well, though easy to edit with some basic editing know-how for any shape.  Again, paired with Kalnins Terra shoes and Kalnins Respect v1.61 Glasses, it’s a professional look that would also look great with a jacket or overcoat and worn at a formal event.  The limitation here is, though the vest/shirt combo comes in different layers, the lack of prim location attachments and single collar option make it difficult to add an additional layer.  And, if I had my way, there would be a prim cuff on the dress pants in my opinion.

When the day is done, or on a lazy weekend, the BalAni lounge pants (shown in the trio of colors) are a great option for relaxing at home.  They come with a prim drawstring.  BalAni also has an assortment of neat t-shirts: I have paired the grey lounge pants with the White Twin Skulls, which Jori tells me will also look good under a black leather jacket with jeans… I haven’t gotten that far yet.  The red lounge pants are paired with  a Zaara wife beater in sheer white:  the blue pair are shown with the Oscar tshirt in sheer white from Hell Bop Clothing.  Also noted in this picture is the BalAni Wide Band Watch in Black and Silver.  I am a watch guy, have a ton of them in my inventory.  This is a great casual watch, keeps SL accurate time, and is not over the top in prims.  It did, however, have a design error that caused it to glow like a beacon of light when I first put it on; but, Onix was quick to identify the problem, repaired it, and sent me a replacement.

Check out BalAni, with clothes made by up and coming designer Onix Anthony.