I like it when I receive random emails from designers, especially ones I do not know or are relatively new to the SL grid. I was recently approached in world by Jura Shepherd who represents Shiki Designs on behalf of designer Shinichi Mathy.
Shinichi is a relatively new designer who, in real life, is Hawaiian born but now resides in Tokyo. His designs are created from multiple disciplines but his signature is hand painting textures on traditional Washi paper.
Now Im always a little weary from random people sending me clothes. Experience shows that most of these designers show little imagination of fashion or creativity, but I must say Shiki Designs has a slight edge. The two outfits that were sent to me ( Shiki Kuroneko Dress & Shiki Tokyo Night Dress) I absolutely loved:- casual boarding on ladies that lunch, but definitely high end fashion. Personally I am not a great fan of black. I wear it in RL, but in SL I can get away with wearing vivid , vibrant colours. Nevertheless, I was not disappointed with my two gifts. Attention to detail was evident. The Kuroneko Dress below has an attachment skirt piece, you know the ones that normally look odd which I despise and never purchase, but I have to give credit where credit is due, this prim fitted perfectly and didnt look odd when I walked, so thats one extra point in my book.
Model Jula Carnell , wearing:- Shiki Kuroneko Dress.
The Shiki Tokyo Night Dress below, Ooooo , was wonderful. The skirt has been designed with so much attention to detail. With 94 prims you can see why. No prim is out of place and it lays beautifully on the body with flex. Its like a party girls dream outfit. The upper part of the dress can best be described as a wool texture with beautiful fur trim. I am a girl who loves fur trim. It makes me feel glamorous. So when I put this on for the first time, I cooed like a kid in a candy store.
So what do I think of the store ? Overall I was very impressed. The store is pretty large and covers two floors. Casual / Formal on the ground and Beach on the first. One thing Im pleased about is they sell mens items too. There are certainly not enough mens apparel and I do feel sorry for the men of SL. No wonder they are all converting to female avatars, at least they get more choice. The mens casual's are very nice and lots of choice. There are lots of vibrant colours with an array of t-shirts and cardigan twin sets, a must have for mixing and matching. Shinichi's Hawaiieen roots are evident when you make your way upstairs. The mens section offers boardie shorts and fantastic hawaian shirts for as little as $60.
From a female perspective, this is certainly at the moment geared towards the gentlemen of SL. There are very few female pieces to choose from, excluding the beachwear upstairs. The few female items that Shinichi offers however are kind to the eye , well made and look slightly different from the norm. Attention to detail is his forte. I say branch out Shinichi, make some more female items, like the ones you have instore and preferably not all in black ;)
Watch out there is a new kid on the block and his designs can only get better !!
Model Jula Carnell , wearing:- Shiki Tokyo Night Dress
How much will it set you back in lindens ? Anything between $60 - $400, inexpensive quality :)
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