Ophelia's Gaze on the Second Life of "Mad Men": Donning Don Draper!

 

Exclusive to NWN, Iris Ophelia's ongoing showcase of all things stylish in SL

Don Draper: As perfectly embodied by Jon Hamm, Mad Men's masculine icon of a bygone era, smoldering rogue, mysterious object of female desire. I don't know if I can accurately describe the trepidation I felt when starting to create this avatar for my series on Mad Men fashion in Second Life. It can be a real chore to build a foxy male avatar in SL, and it's infinitely harder if you don't want that avatar to look goth or emo or even Gorean. This was not an endeavor for the faint of heart!

To create a Don Draper worthy of the name, I visited Laqroki [SLurl], as I did for Betty before him, to pick up their Daniel skin, which is one of the few male skins with a bit of a "muzzle" of manly stubble that doesn't look scruffy. Building his shape was tricky, but trickier still was finding the right hairstyle for him! I settled on Harrison by Aemilia Case of Philotic Energy [SLurl], but I spent some time editing it to make it rest much closer to his scalp (the "Edit linked" checkbox is a godsend.)

Next up: Decking out our Don! Suits can also be fairly hit and miss in SL, so I combined the top from Donna Flora's Ronnie outfit with the pants from their Alex outfit. While I'm a huge fan of Squinternet Larnia's brand Donna Flora [SLurl], in particular their jewelry, I'll admit that this suit jacket's skirt layer bothers me-- the textures don't seem to quite match, though that could simply be because Don has larger hips than normal, since it is a mesh skirt. The texture on the prim pant cuffs also seemed to be a bit off, however neither issue was enough to spoil the outfit in my opinion. I didn't have to change Don's shoes for this outfit, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to pimp the incredibly affordable colour-changing men's loafers from HOC Industries [SLurl], something that no well-dressed modern male avatar's wardrobe is complete without. I added some eyes by L.Fauna [SLurl], and of course a smoldering cigarette from FNKY! [SLurl], to complete this Mad Man's outfit.

As anyone who watches the series knows, Don is most recognizable while sprawled out and brooding at his desk. After the jump, find out what I've dressed Don in for a day at the office!

A man like Don is nothing without a few sharp suits, right?  I used the tried and true Classic Italia Suit from Armidi [SLurl] for Don's office look, and edited the tie to try and slim it just slightly for the sake of accuracy. The Allen laceup men's shoes from Hoorenbeek at the Shoe Fair [SLurl] and a smart fedora donated to the cause by Siyu Suen of Illusions [SLurl] round out this clean-cut look. If you find out where to get a convincing looking glass of whisky in SL, that would also definitely add to this ensemble!

Don was a challenge, but the most daunting avatar remains. How could I ever do justice to the unearthly beauty of the voluptuous Joan Holloway in SL? We'll find out in the next article!

Iris Ophelia has been featured in the New York Times and has spoken about SL-based design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan.

Comments

[Delinda Dyrssen]

Hey thats a dapper looking Don Draper! its so odd to me when I see avatars in SL that look like celebrities. There is a guy who shows up at The Pocket Sometimes as President Obama. Its funny to watch him boogie on the dance floor. :-)

[Adeon Writer]

"t can be a real chore to build a foxy male avatar in SL, and it's infinitely harder if you don't want that avatar to look goth or emo or even Gorean."

I agree 100%. Unfortunately, when you finally find one that's none of the above, the catch-all is that it's a celebrity look-alike.

THAT ASIDE, this is an amazing avatar. GREAT work Iris! Flawless victory. It's an absolute dead ringer. I will soon be looking into buying some formal threads from you, as well.

[Ignatius Onomatopoeia]

Ka-ching! go registers at your featured merchants as I try on those suits.