Does this outfit look a little familiar? The shirt is from here, but that’s not what I’m referring to. Let’s break this down piece by piece: I’m wearing a pleated skirt, some gladiator sandals, a high-necked shirt, and a skinny belt. And it all came from the thrift store. Hmmm. On paper, that’s the exact same description I’d use to describe this outfit from not two posts ago.
Pleats, sandals, hair down, it’s all the same!…But is it? Everything I wore in that post was light, fresh, and cheery. In this outfit, the basic elements are the same, except it’s, well, dark. White is black, gold is silver, and cotton is lace. Even my seafoam nails have been traded in for a dark violet shade. Ladies and gentlemen, this can only mean one thing: I’ve tapped into an alternate universe and channelled my evil doppelgänger.
Well, maybe not. But I am going to assume that if I did have an evil twin and my own comic book (or soap opera), she’d look just like this. If TV has taught us anything, we can safely assume that somewhere out there, we each have a look-a-like, wandering around town, undoubtedly doing very bad things. In mythic doppelgänger lore, the evil twin ususally gets himself a goatee. Wikipedia told me that this originated from an episode of Star Trek in which Spock and Kirk encounter their evil mirror counterparts. Mirror-Spock rocks a badass goatee to compliment his most-excellent eyebrows. Modern-day geeks like myself witnessed this phenomenon at work through the introduction of Evil Troy and Evil Aaaabed on Community. Since I lack the ability to grow facial hair, I’m adding another item to the footnotes on doppelgänger lore: I declare that evil twin girls get bangs instead of goatees. Makes sense, right?
Doppelgängers have permeated every corner of pop culture, and they show up in just about every show I love. How I Met Your Mother? Doppelgängers. Buffy The Vampire Slayer? Doppelgängers. Passions? Doppelgängers. Haha! Just kidding (about the love, not the doppelgängers). Man, that show was bananas.
Anyways, because I am a gigantor Buffy nerd, I have to grant Buffy particular doppelgänger dues. (Plus I’m doing the Buffy ReWatch! You should too!) There are all sorts of allusions to evil manifestations and dark timelines in Buffy. In particular, the episodes “The Wish” and “Doppelgängland” introduce us to alternate, evil vampy versions of our favourite characters. So, if this isn’t my evil twin coming out, it’s definitely what I’d look like as a souless vampire. Except maybe with more leather. Plus, If I did go vamp, I wouldn’t have to worry about that pastier-than-average skin I’ve inherited. Score!
This is the point in the post when I realize that I’ve just referenced Star Trek, Community, and Buffy in a single post, thus outing me as a 20-something woman with the mind of teenaged sci-fi dork. Oddly enough, I’m totally OK with that – on to the next one!
To close this double-dipping off, let’s tip our hats to Larry David. Who can forget that episode of Seinfeld when Elaine meets the doppelgänger versions of Jerry, George, and Kramer? Except in typical Seinfeldian fashion, this plot device is more of a trope than a cliché, as it’s revealed that Bizarro Jerry and his friends are actually far better, more ethical people than the original gang. Bizarro Kramer brings groceries!
So, let’s flesh this out a bit: if Original Julie loves cats and cheese, Bizarro Julie would love dogs and…whatever the opposite of cheese is. That right there is enough to banish Bizarro Julie (along with the Black Swan, Bizarro Jerry, and Vampire Willow) to the Dark Timeline forever. Silver pleats and purple nails are fun in their own right, but the opposite of cheese? That, my friends, is truly evil.
…It had to be done. Cue maniacal laugh!