Category:
Fashion
What image could possibly be great enough for our milestone fiftieth installment? Only this one!
At one time, during either the seventies or the eighties, I believe, this campaign was ubiquitous. I would run across OJ and his boots in every issue of
Playboy I intended to cut up for collages, whereupon I would promptly rip out the page intact and mail it to a friend. That's why I had to find a scan on eBay, for this post, and can't tell you the exact provenance of the advertisement.
Of course, today we laugh because of OJ's appearance. "So that's how he was able to escape so fast after the murders! He deployed his third leg!"
But consider the campaign even without OJ.
First you get the off-color allusion to "third leg = penis." Then you get the Addams-Family-style associations of "Our boots are worn by mutants and freaks."
Brilliant!
[From
Playboy magazine for October 1965.]
If you wear one of our sweaters, you'll look like a ridiculous chimp.
"Me Retailer, you Jerk!"
ADDENDUM: Reader Vern notes that the text ridicules the chimp as wearing an older, out-of-style sweater, while the man sports the manufacturer's sleek new model. That's a good point. Nonetheless, how convincing is the comparison, when the human's rival is a monkey?
[From
Life magazine for March 5 1956. Two separate scans, picture and text.]
"And they come with matching panties, as you can plainly see!"
Ian's Shoelace Site promises that it brings you "the fun, fashion & science of shoelaces". Wondering why your laces keep coming untied? Or maybe you're looking for some new ways to tie your shoes? Ian's is the place for you. There's even a frequently updated page of shoelaces in the news (example: "a hapless burglar was left hanging upside down against a window after trapping a shoe lace during a break-in"), as well as a Shoelace Urban Myth Warning:
It is widely mis-reported that shoelaces were invented by Harvey Kennedy on 27th March 1790. This date is centuries after shoelaces were in common use and is clearly NOT correct.
The latest weird Japanese fad:
hime gyaru, or princess girls. They're grown women (in their 20s and 30s) who spend lots of money trying to look like fairytale princesses. They speak in soft chirpy voices, apply mascara on top of fake eyelashes, strive for "supervolume hair," and decorate their bedrooms with rococo furniture. One 36-year-old princess-girl housewife estimates she spends between $2000 to $3000 a month on dresses, which doesn't leave a lot of money for groceries. Luckily her parents help support her princess habit by sending food to her and her husband. Link:
Wall Street Journal.
I wonder when the Japanese will be coming out with a male version of
this:
Air-pump bra pad safely and effectively improve your bust line. The nylon and polyurethane pad inflates with every squeeze of the air-pump area for custom adjustable sizing, while pushing a metal disc releases the air.
Is it just me, or does the after picture look strangely misshapen? (via
RSG)
We like bacon-themed stuff here at Weird Universe. So here's some more of it, available from Etsy.com:
A Bacon and Eggs Scarf
"The bacon curls just a bit to give it a more realistic look, and is approximately 5" wide and 5' long. The eggs are pinned on using standard safety pins, and can be repositioned to suit your fancy or removed altogether for those events requiring a bit more solemnity."
Bacon Christmas Tree Ornaments
"glittered and embellished with a creamy white vintage seam binding bow... has hooks ready for hanging."
Related Posts:
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Chocolate Bacon
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Baconhenge
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Bacon Beans
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Bacon Bloody Marys
What I find odd is that the men in the ad don't seem to need a brassiere. So are these being marketed to cross-dressers? But wouldn't cross-dressers want genuine female clothing? (via
Gizmodo)
In case you want to buy one, they're available from
Wish Room.
[From
Life magazine for September 30 1940.]
Either a 20th-century man's shoe has been transported through time back to pre-Columbian America, confounding the primitive redksins, or else some 20th-century Native Americans on some especially traditional and cloistered reservation somewhere are incredibly ignorant.
Or, some Madison Avenue genius thought this was brilliant.
How much would you pay for this t-shirt? Before answering, consider that it shows the Nintendo character Mario with an ape on his head. Surely that's worth something.
Also, consider that it's produced by the trendy Japanese clothing company A Bathing Ape (aka Bape), founded by designer Tomoaki "Nigo" Nagao. Some info about him from
Wikipedia:
After studying fashion editing at college, he worked as an editor and a stylist for Popeye magazine. After borrowing four million yen from an acquaintance, who also let him use his shop, he opened "Nowhere", his first store, on April 1, 1993 in Harajuku, Tokyo. Deciding to start his own brand, he named it after the 1968 film Planet of the Apes. According to Nigo, the name "A Bathing Ape" is short for a Japanese saying "bathing in lukewarm water". Japanese people typically have daily baths in water at temperatures above 40 degrees celsius (104°F). As such, bathing in luke warm water is to complacently over indulge. This is, ironically, a reference to the lazy oppulence of the younger generation of Japanese, the brand's own customers.
So how much would you be willing to pay for it? Unless your answer is
$175 or more, you're not going to have it. Anyway, they're already sold out.
All original content in posts is Copyright © 2008 by the author of the post, either Alex Boese ("Alex"), Paul Di Filippo ("Paul"), or Chuck Shepherd ("Chuck"). All rights reserved. The banner illustration at the top of this page is Copyright © 2008 by Rick Altergott.
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Celebrities, Death, Fashion, Shoes, Law, Lawsuits, Sports, Scary Criminals, Stupid Criminals, 1980's, 1970's