150

Style
Posted on October 16, 2022 by David M Willis

150 thoughts on “Style”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    to be fair, Bugs Bunny also acted just too good for the room

    and was super genderfluid

    1. StClair

      All true. Tricksters be like that.
      (Including Carla, definitely.)

  2. Doctor_Who

    Let this meeting of the Cool Awesome Redhead LGBT Alliance begin.

    Yes, Carla came up with the name, can’t imagine how she picked it.

    1. Laura

      Which redhead is the G?

      1. Taffy

        The G stands for Girl now.

      2. Nono

        Huh, there are no male redheads in the cast, are there? And at least four girls (Carla, Ruth, Becky, Rose).

        1. Taffy

          There’s Joyce’s dad, he’s a redhead.

        2. Nono

          Is this a terminology thing? Last I checked Hank was blonde.

        3. Taffy

          I don’t know what people call it where you live, but in my area we call that hair color “red”.

        4. Kamino Neko

          By the patches of non-grey we see, he seems to have had the same colour hair as Joyce, back before he went grey. Which very much is not red. Dirty blond is what I’d call it.

        5. Nathan

          Do we see him with red hair in a flashback? I only recall him ever having white hair.

        6. Thag Simmons

          Ron is the only named male redhead in the comic I can think of and he appears in like two comics, total

        7. King Daniel

          There’s also Ruth’s brother Howard.

        8. Thag Simmons

          Oh right, I forgot about him. Been a while since he showed up

        9. Sirksome

          I hope he’s doing well. Game of Thrones is over but House of the Dragon is out now. He still has to live with Clint though, which probably sucks.

        10. Thag Simmons

          I wonder how Howard feels about the later seasons. Honestly could go either way with him.

        11. Kamino Neko

          I am amused that you forgot Howard but were able to bring Ron to mind…

        12. Thag Simmons

          I have been cursed to get disproportionately interested in minor characters who don’t matter.

        13. the illerman

          There’s also acompletely harmless stranger.

        14. flake

          Galasso might? and he is gender confused on a technicality

        15. Lars

          Howard is red head male. It’s been a semester since we’ve seen him.

    2. Imogen

      Carla is the Cool Awesome Redhead Lesbian Asexual.

      1. Wack'd

        Yeah, if we have to do the initialism and not just say “queer”, Who missed a spot.

      2. a/snow/mous/e

        thinking wack’d meant to reply to Laura’s reply? dope backronym though

    3. Carla's #2 Fan

      I think I’d fit right in with that alliance!

    4. UrsulaDavina

      Pretty sure Carla would call Carla is a cool and awesome redhead LBT club featuring some other rando redheads

      1. Taffy

        [Homer Simpson voice] Mmmm, LBT club… [drooling sound]

        1. Wack'd

          Well, Carla’s not bi. Maybe the Carla is a Cool and Awesome Redhead LTA Club Featuring Some Other Randos.

    5. Meagan

      Wow, I didn’t even notice that. Great observation.

    6. Decidedly Orthogonal

      Ginger nordic descendant canuck, reporting in.

  3. Taffy

    Hell yeah, the two hottest redheads are back on-panel.

    Becky is also present.

    1. Nova

      Yes.

  4. butts

    Dumbing of Age: All Redheads

    1. Bryy

      Dumbing of Age: Oh No! All Redheads!

      1. Opus the Poet

        ?I understood that reference dot gif

    2. Needfuldoer

      No “Oops!” about it.

  5. alongcameaspider

    Carla is perfect, no notes 10/10

  6. chuckroast

    Nice Mario outfit, idiot.

    1. Sirksome

      Mario or Mickey Mouse tho? I want to know what the consensus is.

      1. anon

        given that ruth has green overalls (https://dumbingofage.tumblr.com/post/153972250682/ruth), maybe mario/luigi would be fitting haha

      2. Marianne

        Honestly she’s kinda giving me Dr. Robotnik vibes if anything

      3. darkgloomie

        Mickey doesn’t wear overrals, as established by Sal his look is “just pants abs gloves”

  7. Cattleprod

    Those overalls remind me of the outfits the Autobots wore in Only Human, which is perfectly suited to a character who started off as a car’s humansona.

    1. Laura

      Huh? I never read the other Dumbiverse strips. She was a car?

      1. StClair

        Yup. Check out the left side of her character banner.

      2. Taffy

        Yes, of the Ultra variety.

      3. Doctor_Who

        In the Walkyverse, Carla began life as “Ultra Car”, a car that was granted sentience and various other abilities by Joe. He eventually installed her mind in a human looking body.

        Since the sci-fi stuff doesn’t exist in this universe, Ultra Car is a television show that Carla merely loved growing up.

        1. Laura

          Wow!

    2. Doctor_Who

      Considering Carla’s creator (both in-universe and out), I’d bet that’s a deliberate reference.

    3. anon

      i don’t think i’ve worn overalls since first grade but be nice to find some ‘adult’ ones, other than like a jumpsuit, romper, some ‘overall dresses’ look nice, i know some were’ trendy’ again, maybe it’d be a good compromise versus finding jeans that might be too tight the next week (and i guess as long as they don’t look too “Farmer”-y, maybe some would be ok to wear as a work outfit? though i would hope any future min wage place wouldn’t care/allows anything other than being shirtless)

  8. Stephen Bierce

    Hasenpfeffer!

    1. ValdVin

      In the immoral words of Yosemite Sam, “Shaddup and start simmerin”!”

  9. Imogen

    hmmm who should ruth date, the funny ace transbian prankster roboticist nerd with a killer fashion sense and unapologetic “fuck you” energy

    or the

    the guy

    jason

    he’s british I guess?

    1. Imogen

      Carla is critically neglected and underspotlit in the Willisverse PLEASE let us have this

      1. Sirksome

        The problem with that is you’ll inevitably have to tell a story with her, which needs conflict, drama, stakes. You see all the crap main characters like Joyce, Becky, Amber, Sal, Ethan, Walky, etc went through in the first six months? Do you really want that for Carla? You really want to see Carla have to survive a car crash, or break her arm in a conflict when her parent’s business rival kidnaps her best friend? You wanna see her make a best friend only for that friendship to end over a difference in opinion on which episode of Ultra car was the best? Be careful what you wish for, cause more screen time is a double edged sword!

        1. Wack'd

          I mean. Yes? Trauma’s kind of the engine on which this comic runs. If it means more facetime, then she can have little a trauma, as a treat.

        2. thejeff

          No, this works.
          I now want a Jason/Carla rivalry leading to a clash between Ruttech and Dargon Chesterfield.

        3. not someone else

          I’m pretty sure there’s enough pure backstory trauma mixed into “hey, I’ve been out since that cover of Newsweek”, regardless of how blithely she put it, that we can keep going on that for a few storylines.

          I mean, in all seriousness- being openly trans can be hell. Being openly trans and a celebrity whose life is picked through like a dog through trash is worse. And imagine how that could have happened- did the magazine out her forcibly, did she get a choice? She’s barely an adult now, how young was she when she had to deal with this? We know her parents are supportive, but it’s not like she was a child actress, she was the daughter of some rich people, it’s about 50/50 that they thought she’d be a Jazz Jennings story of hope for other kids vs. ruh ruh look at these liberal rich people experimenting on their children.

          Carla is relatively well-adjusted because she has to be to function at all, it doesn’t mean she hasn’t gone through mountains of shit to find and defend the self-confidence she has.

        4. thejeff

          It also doesn’t mean that self-confidence isn’t a fragile shell of armor wrapped around fear of rejection.

          And she was not just outed on Newsweek, but the center of a court case that won some level of trans rights in Indiana. That Jacob’s brother was involved with.

    2. Jamie

      He has a bowtie.

      1. Imogen

        jason and danny would hit it off

      2. v.gay.person

        but consider: Carla in a bowtie Cate Blanchette style

        like, idk if she’d vibe with a suit, but if she did she would kill it

        1. Wack'd

          Consider: Carla cosplaying as Marlene Dietrich

        2. v.gay.person

          I like the cut of your jib!

    3. DailyBrad

      Ruth and Carla are friends, and would probably have a really funny dynamic, but I dunno if they would see each other that way. I know Carla seemed to really not be into Ruth and Billie’s “shoves equals loves” dynamic.

      1. Imogen

        Yeah, but the whole “shove = love” thing is very clearly something Ruth needs to move away from. Carla could channel that aversion-to-sincerity cute-destroy-response in a more healthy direction.

    4. Nono

      I think Ruth can date whoever she wants.

      (Also, I like Carla but right now she’s probably too narcisstic to focus properly on being in a healthy relationship dynamic.)

      1. Sirksome

        I don’t think Carla’s into dating anyway. She reads more like the type that’s into admiring cute girls but likes to act too cool to be in a relationship. She’s had crushes but they never seem romantic in nature.

        1. Imogen

          I don’t think I agree with that at all. She had a huge crush on Malaya and was visibly disappointed when Malaya went with Joe, and she’s been desperately hanging on Sal’s arm for, like, ever. Ultra-Car was also very much not aromantic, and we have no reason to think that’s changed.

          Also, I think a big part of why Carla comes off as so exaggeratedly narcissistic is that her role lately has been to appear in one-off jokes and gags. She hasn’t been allowed to appear in a serious scene in a while. When she has, we saw a lot more nuance to her. She’s not actually narcissistic, she’s guarded and falls back a lot on comedy and brashness to protect herself and maintain her own identity in spite of others’ bad treatment of her.

        2. Sirksome

          See I think there’s a difference between having an attraction and actually wanting to be in a romantic relationship. I don’t know where Carla falls in the human’s ever changing scale of attraction, but to me she doesn’t seem like someone who is seeking or needing a romantic partner which is different from wanting to be friends with hot girls you know. Yeah she was crushing on Malaya and Sal and is seemingly turned on by dominant women, but I don’t think she wants to date them.

          That’s just my take though. This stuff can be ambiguous since Carla as you’ve noted doesn’t have a lot of material to work with. Any interpretation could be valid. You’re right that she’s probably not as narcissistic as she fronts to be.

        3. Daibhid C

          Yeah, I think some of it’s real, but a lot of it is (sorry, I’m bringing out my Word of the Day Decade again) performative.

          One of the fun things about this is that, to an extent, she actually is what Malaya would call “fakey”, and Malaya is far to concerned with proving this about Sal to notice or care.

        4. Needfuldoer

          She and Becky are more alike than they realize.

        5. thejeff

          Which reminds me, given her sometimes crushing on Sal, have we seen her reaction to Sal and Danny yet?

      2. Imogen

        ruth is a fictional character so it’s not really about “who she wants” at all

        1. zip

          youre so right for this

        2. Needfuldoer

          Willis turns to look at the camera behind him after drawing the Ruth/Billie breakup strips: “Ain’t I a stinker?”

    5. Diner Kinetic

      I actually like Jason he’s british and sad and I like to watch

    6. Sporky

      ok but consider this: ruth clearly does not like carla, and i don’t mean flirty antagonism like in her relationships with billie and jason. she genuinely does not seem to like her.

      also: carla is sex-repulsed and ruth is horny, wouldn’t work out

      1. Sajuuk-Khar

        This is an odd take. I’ve never seen Ruth get particularly venomous with Carla? Exasperated, sure, but like, the same way she gets exasperated with her whole floor. She seems to see Carla as somewhere in between an unruly charge and a class-clown acquaintance.

        I don’t think they’d work romantically, no, but to assert there’s hate there is a bit much.

        1. Sporky

          “Somewhere between an unruly charge and a class-clown acquaintance” is not really what I would call liking someone. I’m not saying she HATES Carla. I just don’t think she likes her.

  10. Suet

    Don’t know why, don’t know how, but Bugs and company are wearing pale yellow gloves now.

    1. Opus the Poet

      I can tell you why, but I can’t tell you how. The why is white gloves has been connected to racism that was in the early-to-mid 20th century comics/theatrical shorts, and yellow gloves are not.

      1. Wack'd

        Bugs wore yellow gloves in the 1940s and some early comic books. I think it’s just Peter Browngardt and his team trying to distinguish their Bugs from earlier versions while still technically homaging the past. You know, like how MAD Magazine brought back the 1950s logo in the brief moment between “WE’RE REBOOTING AND TRYING TO BE RELEVANT AGAIN” and “WARNER CANCELLED US.”

      2. Needfuldoer

        An unfortunate portion of mid-century pop culture can be traced back to minstrel shows…

        ♫ I think I’ll drive to Beverly Hills
        Just before dawn
        And knock the little jockeys off the rich peoples’ lawns
        And before they get up
        I’ll be gone ♫

  11. Yeet

    Jennifer’s in this class right? Is she going to be mad that ruth is making fun of carla because ruth’s fashion sense isn’t better or because it’s “so clearly a ploy get over me already”
    or is she maybe going to try to do better at being insulting then get owned by carla

  12. Lawzlo

    Somehow, with the word “bongo” located directly above “style”, I misread it as “bicycle.”

  13. Yotomoe

    hehe got an honest laugh outta me.

  14. RassilonTDavros

    I was gonna comment that Carla favors Mii Outfit B over Mii Outfit A but a quick check of the Wiki tells me that when your Mii’s gender is set to female Mii Outfit B is instead a dress, and now I wanna write a whole fanfic about Young Carla having Feels

    Yes I know MKWii was almost 15 years ago, shut up Carla’s using tilt controls

  15. motorfirebox

    I would have gone with “fire flower Mario”

  16. anon

    i feel like the ‘gap’ would bother me, i could understand the comfort/practicality of fingerless gloves tho (though ‘style’ aside i wonder if there was a legit design wise for it [maybe for it to be ‘breatheable’/not too sweaty if they’re meant for wearing outside of winter months])

    1. Taffy

      I used to wear fingerless gloves with a gap on the back of the hand. They’re mostly ornamental, but you can also sorta tug on ’em to get a little ventilation goin’.

      1. Opus the Poet

        I wore them as PPE for years while bicycle riding. They protected the ulnar nerve with padded palms but were ventilated enough to prevent a sweaty grip.

        1. ValdVin

          Same here. Once in awhile I’d return for a ride with a telltale oval of noticeable tan on my hand.

  17. anon

    also hair envy

  18. bleepbloop

    Loving the different shades of redhead in this panel

  19. Sirksome

    Can’t decide if this is a Mario fit or a Mickey Mouse fit.

    1. anon

      can be both, though i’m surprised carla doesn’t wear some kinda visor/”fancy” frames (unless it was planned years in advance that joyce would get the only pair of colored glasses to stick out from the regular thin-wire glasses everyone else has )

  20. DailyBrad

    I am not sure if it says anything about me that is in Carla’s Top 3 of hot looks for me she’s had so far.

    Also the gloves and overalls for some reason are giving “Yatterman character” to me.

    1. Dr. Sharks

      I dunno if her outfit has anything to do with it but her panel 3 expression is adorbs.

  21. Nono

    Are rabbits even used for leather? I can’t imagine that would be very efficient.

    1. Taffy

      I think they’re mostly used for the fur. I agree, they seem like they’d give very little leather. Well, except the Mongolian Horse Rabbit, which is about the size of a Great Dane.

    2. anon

      i’m sure there are animals taxidermied/rabbit fur can be soft but i think most ppl’s hands aren’t too large and there are some pics of large bunnies out there so maybe there would be some just used for like the lining of some stuff as opposed to a full jacket or so

    3. Axel

      I think I’ve seen rabbit gloves, both fur ones and leather, but I’m not certain. I think goat would be more common though (ie ‘kid gloves,’ but also because cow leather is thick)

    4. Thag Simmons

      I mean, occasionally

    5. King Daniel

      I think 4 rabbit skins can be crafted into 1 leather

      or something

    6. DailyBrad

      It’s probably typically impractical. Capybaras are used for leather, but they are quite big.

      (Yes, I know lagomorphs aren’t rodents, but they’re still plenty similar enough for the purposes for this.)

      She did specifically say Bugs Bunny, though, and he’s got to have a lot of skin.

    7. Hof1991

      Rabbit skin gloves, with the fur on the inside, are very warm and comfortable. I mainly see them in women’s sizes and I’ve not seen them that would fit my hands.

    8. davidbreslin101

      There is the Flemish Giant rabbit, a domestic breed which can grow over 4 feet long and weigh up to 10 kg. They were once raised for meat and fur, but they also make excellent pets.

  22. BBCC

    Bugs bunny is cool as hell, that’s not a dig, Ruth.

  23. Orson Smelles

    In re: the alt text, my partner is continuously pioneering ways to rock a pair of overalls lately, so I’m not too surprised. They’re non-binary and an outdoor preschool teacher, recently realized that overalls with a bunch of pockets are at a holy intersection of gender euphoria and workday practicality, and promptly bought the same pair in three colors. They haven’t looked back for a second.

    (though as the person who does the laundry, I’ll add that more pockets means more volume for children to fill with mulch and twigs…)

    1. brionl

      Take a look at Duluth Trading Company. Their cargo pants are top notch, and they also sell overalls.
      Tough enough to stop an angry beaver!

      1. Wack'd

        spoot

    2. DailyBrad

      That’s awesome. I’ve got some teacher friends, I’ll pass this along as something they may want to look into.

  24. Joe Moose

    I remember some years back of some Paris designer doing a runway show based off of denim overalls, and I have to say they pretty much nailed it.

    But that years ago, and fashion never looks back. 😐

  25. Axel

    this is kind of adorable. she likes sal’s gloves

  26. Sajuuk-Khar

    Carla, as ever, is my returning queen, and Ruth is like Sauron. Except in his “fair form”. And also more lovable, less directly evil, you know.

    1. Clif

      All shall look upon her femers and despair.

  27. maxh

    Hasn’t it been established that Becky is very much not a “damn straight”?

    1. Mark

      Here “damn straight!” is a funny way of saying “you are correct.”

  28. Cmasta1992

    Respect Ruth in the Reverse Retros

  29. RowenMorland

    90s animated Supergirl* gloves.

    *and/or made of Supergirl gloves? D:

  30. Brasca1

    With those red overalls she looks more like Roger Rabbit than Bugs Bunny.

  31. Daniel M Ball

    Carla is too intelligent to be saddled with the crippling defect of romantic love or serious perverse sexual lust. (PSL). Unlike the other bags of hormones around her, hers are carefully balanced to protect her from being enslaved to them.

    more people should be like Carla.

    1. Taffy

      I’m assuming the “crippling defect” part was a joke, in which case it’s very funny.

    2. Wack'd

      We don’t really have any evidence Carla’s aro. Ace, yes, but not aro.

      1. C.T. Phipps

        Her Dumbing of Age counterpart is Aro.

        1. Joy

          Nah she’s shown attraction to Malaya

        2. Taffy

          Do we have Word of Willis on that somewhere? Not being in a relationship with anyone doesn’t mean anything on its own.

  32. Bicycle Bill

    As long as we’re talking about Bugs Bunny gloves, I’ll just toss this in here for giggles and laughs:

    Hiawatha, he went hunting, Went to hunt a bunny rabbit,
    Had to make a pair of mittens, From the bunny rabbit’s fur.
    Now the fur upon the rabbit has the warm side fur side outside,
    Hiawatha found that rabbits have the inside skin side in.
    So to keep the cold air outside he put the inside skin side outside,
    And to keep the warm air inside he put the skin side inside out.
    That is why to keep the warm side he put the warm side fur side outside,
    And the skin side inside-out side, and he turned them inside outside.

    1. eh, whatever

      Not bad… not bad at all.

    2. Needfuldoer

      Now read it in Elmer Fudd’s voice.

      You’re welcome.

  33. Carms

    Saw the small half/loaded thumbnail thingy and went Excellent today is a Carla day

  34. ADLegend21

    hair down Carla is hot

    1. Taffy

      Her hair looks amazingly thick and soft, too.

  35. Amós Batista

    Carla’s passing a car pilot vibe with this outfit.

  36. Mr. Random

    That feels like a Mike line.

    1. Council

      Sometimes Mikeness is warranted. The only problem with Mike – a big one – was that he was always Mike.

      1. JBento

        Yeah, a bit of Mike is ok occasionally, as a treat, but for Mikeness to be palatable it needs to be applie only in Mikero doses.

  37. Daibhid C

    “You realise, of course, that this means war?”

    1. Rotunda

      Turn left at Albuquerque to avoid.

  38. darkoneko

    They can’t be Bugs Bunny gloves, too many fingers.

    1. Ed Callahan

      Not if they are the ones Bugs wore in Rabbit of Sevillle.

  39. Keulen

    Carla as Bugs Bunny seems a bit too fitting, since Bugs has always been kinda a trickster and always acts too cool for everyone else.

  40. Rabisch

    it’s nice to see this trio be awesome together, but I have a feeling that Carla and Becky will end up being Ruth’s support group when Jennifer/Billie will arrive and (inevitably) she will try to provoke and hit her again.

  41. Smooti

    Alrighty well time to figure out where I can buy white leather gloves

  42. John

    I continue to both love and hate Carla.

  43. bagge

    Carla always dresses in style

  44. Liliet

    It is absolutely NOT hard to rock a pair of overalls.

    I love Carla, she’s the best.

    1. Joy

      I agree completely. Good job being right.

  45. James

    Personally this outfit says “Roger Rabbit” way more than Bugs Bunny

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