Tag Archives: stylin’

Alice in Wonderland

Speaking of Marc Jacobs, he is featured in one of the best Vogue portfolios of all time, from the December 2003 issue. It features Natalia Vodianova as Alice, and showcases frocks from Chanel, Versace, Gucci, and Lacroix to name a few. I love how Vogue incorporated the designers themselves into the story – Galliano as the Queen of Hearts, Tom Ford as the White Rabbit, Jean Paul Gaultier as the Cheshire Cat, Viktor + Rolf as Tweedledee and Tweedledum, Christian Lacroix as the March Hare, and my beloved Marc Jacobs as the Caterpillar (I had this picture of him hanging up in my closet for years).

Here’s the shoot in its entirety (photographed by Annie Leibovitz).

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Marc Jacobs

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I am a HUGE fan of Marc Jacobs. I think he is a bit of a design genius. Also a very interesting dude. If you are so inclined, please check out this article from the January 2012 issue of Vogue. Be sure to click through the slideshow images, where some of his historic designs for Louis Vuitton are spotlighted — amazing.

Many column inches have been devoted to the deconstruction of Marc Jacobs’ design savvy, so I will simply devote this post to sharing with you some of my favourite MJ designs over the years.

There was, of course, his iconic 1992 “grunge” collection for Perry Ellis:

MARC JACOBS X PERRY ELLIS. 1992

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MarcJacobs Grunge

And when it comes to the military look, nobody does it like Marc. His entire Fall 2002 RTW show basically makes me want to punch myself in the face with joy:

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fall 2002 military

Look at those jackets!! Aaaaaahhhhh so good!

Of recent years, my favourite was probably his Fall 2009 show. I love the combination of the shiny, luxe metallic tweeds and brocades with the dashes of asian-inspired detailing…

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…with a nod back to those grunge-era plaids:

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Brilliant!

And just to prove to you how long I’ve been following Marc Jacobs’ career, here is a page I ripped out of a magazine back in the late ’90s featuring one of his ensembles. I don’t think I could pull off this outfit myself, but I remember loving everything about it when I saw it.

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In summary, Marc Jacobs is awesome, and I hope he is on the scene designing beautiful things for many more years to come.

Angelina Jolie in Hackers

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I spend quite a bit of time writing about bad movies that I secretly love. Most of them are actually fairly decent films…but I’m not sure if that can really be said for Hackers, 1995′s cyber-conspiracy flick starring Jonny Lee Miller and Angelina Jolie. To be honest with you, probably the main reason I love this movie so much is because I’ve had a thing for Jonny Lee Miller ever since his turn as Sick Boy in Trainspotting. But I will also say that this is the only movie in which I have really found Angelina Jolie attractive.*

*That’s not actually true. She was pretty smoking in Gia as well.

I think I just liked Angelina more back when she was kind of boyish-looking and badass. She and Brad bore me, you guys. I think he makes her less exciting. Now, she and JLM on the other hand…is it weird and/or pervy to say that I would totally watch them make out? Well, I would. Don’t lie, you would too. Do you know that when they got married (in real life, not in the movie) she wore black rubber hot pants and a white men’s dress shirt with his name written across the back in her blood? Yes, that was her wedding day attire. See, isn’t that Angelina way more exciting than her current iteration?

Anyway, in Hackers she plays Kate Libby (a.k.a. “Acid Burn”), teen hacker extraordinaire and daughter of a world-renowned feminist author. JLM’s character, Dade (a.k.a. “Crash Override”) meets her on his first day at a new school and becomes instantly smitten with her, obviously.

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Wouldn’t you?

Throughout the course of the movie, Angelina’s character sports a series of outfits that are at times kind of bordering on hideous, but she manages to pull them off. Let’s take a look:

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In this scene she is wearing what appears to be a bright turquoise wetsuit, which is obviously insane…but she looks pretty decent!

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These dudes loitering in the school hallway to check her out clearly think so too.

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That is some funky eyeliner…

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Well, this is pretty adorable…

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This jacket/wetsuit combo is ridiculous. But, she’s still hot.

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I literally cannot think of anyone else who would look good in an all-white onesie and shin guards…that is quite an accomplishment, I’d say.

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Even though she looks like some sort of demented anime character, I secretly love this dress.

Let me be clear here — I don’t think most people would look good in any of these ensembles. But Angie is not most people, and she looks rad. I think she should ditch Brad, reunite with Jonny Lee (he’s single now, right?) and bring back her Hackers-era stylings. The world would be a better place for it.

The Doubtful Guest

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If you have tried googling anything this morning, you may have noticed that today is Edward Gorey day on Google! Yes, apparently they are commemorating what would have been his 88th birthday* with a special logo.

*I wonder why his 88th would be of significance…I know, I will google it!** Hang on….

**Please note that this increasing dependence on machines to do our searching and thinking for us is one of the first steps in our eventual downfall as a species. Yes, you are witnessing the genesis of it all right here, friends. And perhaps one day, many years after our Robot Overlords have wrested control of the planet, a small rag-tag band of rebel humans will mount a resistance movement. Hacking into the matrix, they will search back through the annals of internet history in search of a clue as to how it all went downhill…and maybe they will find this post. If you are reading this, rebel humans, please allow me to extend an apology to you. On behalf of the entire human race, I am sorry that we were too distracted by pictures of cats on the internet to notice that the machines were quietly plotting their attack.

Anyway, back to Edward Gorey. A cursory search has failed to reveal why his 88th birthday would be of importance. There must be a reason for it though. Am I missing something? Is 88 a significant number for Gorey fans? Or for Google? The number 8 is basically the infinity sign flipped on its head, so maybe that has something to do with it. Is Google engaged in an ambitious rivalry with infinity? That would be just like them, wouldn’t it?

Whatever. Some mysteries are never meant to be solved. Like the mystery of Edward Gorey’s ‘The Doubtful Guest’…

Where did he come from? Why did he stay? Was he sporting the same pair of white canvas shoes for 17 years, or did he keep ordering new pairs? Is falling asleep in a soup tureen as uncomfortable as it sounds?

There are no obvious answers to these questions. But I do very much enjoy the Doubtful Guest sitting here inside of the Google logo, surveying the scene with polite interest.

the doubtful guest

“Do tell…”

Thank You

You guys. It’s December 31st, which means that this is my last blog post of the year. I’ve made it through almost an entire year of posting an entry every day (well…ahem, sometimes I would skip a day or two and have to catch up — but that was the exception rather than the rule :)

I would like to thank each and every one of you for reading my site. For those of you who took the time to comment and give feedback — you rule! I really appreciate it.

From the entire team here at Mental Skillness, we wish you a very Happy New Year, and all the best for 2013!

NYE Skillin'

Wildlife Pop

You guys, I randomly Shazam’d this song somewhere, cos it sounded super ’80s (i.e. great) to me.

There isn’t even a vid for it, just this photo of a dude surfing in a business suit. As you do! I like everything about this.

Also, please check out the album cover for the band’s record Wildlife Pop, which is rad:

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Lest you think that dude doesn’t actually run around wearing red jeggings, a fur cape, and a giant gold medallion, please see this photo for reference:

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I am actually a bit obsessed with their style in general:

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This is all quite amazing.

Favourite Converse

I post about Converse a lot, cause I love ‘em. I’ve been rocking this pair for a few years now, and they’re pretty much in perfect beat-up condition. Pretty soon they’ll start to totally fall apart, so I’m enjoying their glory days while they last.

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Tacos & Dead People

I was at La Carnita on College Street last night for a friend’s birthday. If you live in Toronto, I highly recommend this place. I looooove Mexican food, and their tacos are superb. They have all sorts of varieties like battered cod, beef cheek, and swordfish ceviche, just to name a few. They also mix a pretty killer cocktail.

On top of that, their aesthetic is really awesome. All the waitresses are dressed up in that Mexican Day of the Dead makeup, which looks amazing. They’ve also decorated the walls with photos of famous dead people. Behold:

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Napoleon and Josephine

I love this painting, which was hanging in one of the rooms at Versailles. I love what everyone is wearing, especially Josephine.

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♥ Chuck Taylor ♥

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Finding this article in my inbox this morning put a smile on my face. I have long been a big fan of Converse, and this piece is an interesting read, particularly the parts about the genesis of the company and the history of Chuck Taylor.

I mentioned a while back that I was planning on wearing my pink Chucks at Versailles as a tribute to Marie Antoinette.

Et voilà!

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