Rudd Stud: Rhinestone in the Rough

Cardigan: Hearts & Roses London, Zulily; Top: Simply Vera, Kohl's; Shoes: Chase & Chloe, Zulily; Bag: Betsey Johnson, Macy's; Green bracelet: Parade of Shoes; Red bangle: B Fabulous

Beading Rainbow Necklace

Sweater: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's; Boots: Apt. 9, Kohl's; Bag: Tatty Devine, Modcloth; Headband: Macy's; Coral bangle: Silver Linings, Ocean City; Black and white bracelet: Mixit, JCPenney

Un-Ugly Duckling Necklace

Paul Rudd is the kind of hot, hip, and self-deprecating-slightly-dorky leading man that makes women realize that men don't have to be testosterone-spewing alpha males to be sexy.  Just like sparkly stones don't have to be diamonds to be bedazzling (Rhinestone-encrusted jean jacket?  Yes, please!  Aunt Mitzi's tennis bracelet full of blood diamonds and also, possibly, the blood of Uncle Marve?  No thanks!).  So I was especially stoked to hear that Rudd is People's 2021 Sexiest Man Alive.  I'm so glad that this once-upon-a-time geeky dreamboat is finally getting his due.  Not that joining the Marvel universe as the world's most intrepid insect was too shabby either.  

Of course, true fans know that Rudd has had it going on since Clueless.  Awhile back, I read an article saying that Rudd, who played Alicia Silverstone's stepbrother-turned-love-interest in the iconic '90s flick, was "a wry forty-year-old" even then (his real age in the movie?  A callow twenty-nine.). 

Rudd's turn in Clueless is reason enough for me to pull out the plaid (yes, again!).  I'm particularly taken with these oh-so-'90s skirts.  All they need are a couple of big safety pins.  

Skirt: Almost Famous, Kohl's

Skirt: Almost Famous, Kohl's

What's more, their side-by-side contrasting plaid makes for an aesthetic that's classic-meets-edgy.  Kind of like the gentlemanly yet slightly snarky Rudd himself.  Who, by the way, in response to becoming officially "sexy," quipped that he'll now "have to spend more time on yachts."  

Oh, Paul.  That dry -- excuse me, wry -- sense of humor is why you'll always be the object of our (and Jennifer Aniston's) affections. 

Getup and Go: Comic Book Costume Look

Rita Rainbow Necklace

Tee: JCPenney

Skirt: Ellen Tracy, JCPenney

Shoes: Payless

Bag: Nordstrom

Jacket: Gap outlet

Sunglasses: Brigantine beach shop

 Ribbon Rose Rainbow Necklace

Tunic: Bongo, Sears

Tee: Merona, Target

Skirt: Bongo, Sears

Shoes: a.n.a., JCPenney

Bag: Nahui Ollin

Sunglasses: Relic, Kohl's

Wonder Bread Woman Bow Barrette

Tee: JCPenney

Skirt: Decree, JCPenney

Shoes: Not Rated, Journeys

Bag: Nine West, Marshalls

Sunglasses: So, Kohl's

Marvel looks marvy for fifty.  Yep, that's half a century, or, time being money, one Ulysses S. Grant.  For, it was back in 1966 that the comic book giant launched "The Marvel Super Heroes" cartoon, a fun fact that I learned while checking out Kohl's limited edition line of Captain America-themed  clothing, even if I wasn't intrigued enough to take anything home.  No, no demure shield prints, sedate insignia, or Peter Pan collars for me, such style (under)statements being better left to the likes of DC's much-martyred Aquaman.  It was good old graphic novel-ty tees from J. C. Penney's or nothing.  Well, those and the banana-print tunic in outfit number two.  Because even superheroes need their potassium.  

Now, I'm no comic book queen.  But I've always been drawn to Marvel movies because they're about characters facing, not only external antagonists, but the challenge of their own inner demons, making them vulnerable and universally human.  I guess it's this appeal that keeps the remakes coming . . . and the Avengers avenging.  Since 2003, there have been three Bruce Banners: Eric Bana, Ed Norton, Mark Ruffalo . . . and, just because it's so dang funny, Lou Ferrigno as his un-Hulk (but equally angry) self in I Love You, Man.  That said, my Spidey senses suggested that Spider-Man was not an Avenger  -- misinformation exposed by a Google search confirming that he became one in May's Captain America: Civil War.  So much for depending on the intuitive powers of an arachnid.  His spirit animal's shortcomings aside, Spider-Man remains my favorite (un)caped crusader -- something that Debbie (Leslie Mann) of Knocked Up and I have in common.  (Sort of.)  Remember when she picks a fight with Pete (Paul Rudd) about spending too much time away from home, and he says that he went to the movies to see Spider-Man and that she wouldn't have liked it, and she wails, "I like Spider-Man!"?  In that vein, Rudd, in addition to being in I Love You, Man, is also -- oh, the connections -- the title character in Marvel's Ant-Man.  Although not exactly tee shirt-worthy, his Scott Lang is, as an ice cream scooping-work-release-program-minimum-wager, on the receiving end of one of comic book films' funniest one liners, namely: "Baskin Robbins always finds out."

So, it was with a hulkin' dose of Norse force that I set out, in my small way, to pay tribute, fighting my own design demons (and not a few rolls of wire gone wild) to make some stuff worthy of the superhuman (i.e. forever young) aesthetic.  Which is to say as bright and plastic and timeless as a mint-in-box action figure.  The Marvel look is striking yet simple, with its crayon box colors and clean cartoon graphics and flair for making everything from denim to dresses seem modern.  No tee (or DVD) collection is complete without it.      

On an unrelated note, I finally finished wearing all of my spring and summer clothes.  It took me six months, but I wore that wardrobe like never before in a Lollapalooza of layers and pattern-mixing abandon.  Which means that I'm now down to the tedious business of washing it all and somehow stuffing it, clown-car-style, back into my closet.

I guess that's my super power.