Anita Clarke is a familiar face on the Toronto fashion scene, from party snaps to bus stop ads. To some, Clarke is better known as Geekigirl, the mastermind behind legendary local fashion blog i want i got. Anita’s site has long been a must-read for both covetable items and current info on the best sales and fashion events happening in the city.
SDTC: What’s the outfit that makes you feel the most like you?
Anita Clarke: Picking single things so goes against my Gemini nature. I feel the most me in a variety of outfits.
SDTC: From which era in time do you find the most fashion inspiration?
AC: I love the 20s and Art Deco.
SDTC: What fashion object is always sexy?
AC: Leather pants.
If you had to choose a character in a TV series or film whose style you dig, who would it be?
AC: Right now it’s all about Olivia Pope on Scandal, Jessica Pearson on Suits and Claire Underwood from House of Cards.
SDTC: What are you currently obsessed with?
AC: Pomegranates. It’s the season and I developed an unhealthy addiction while working at a startup near Chinatown. I’m a junky and usually eat two at a time.
SDTC: Is there something you have in your closet that you don’t wear often but have kept for years because of sentimental value? What is it and why is it still there?
AC: I have the first piece of vintage I ever owned still. A friend from university introduced me to vintage and she had a dress that didn’t fit her that she gave to me. It’s pretty delicate so I don’t wear it often, but it’s something I cannot part with.
SDTC: What would we catch you wearing as a teenager? What was your style in high school?
AC: I was an athlete in high school, pretty much a jock without the obnoxious attitude. You could find me in sportswear or jeans and a tshirt. I didn’t really start wearing dresses often until after high school.
SDTC: When and where do you do your best creative thinking?
AC: Things come to me at random times, usually when I’m focused on something else. Rarely will this happen in the morning as I’m not a morning person at all.
SDTC: What’s one piece of advice that a role model taught you that you’ll never forget?
AC: It’s funny, I had a flashback of this advice after watching a recent episode of Scandal where the line, “You have to work twice as hard for half as much,” came up. This is something my parents drilled into me from a very young age.
SDTC: What did you originally go to school for? Where?
AC: I went twice actually. First, I got my B.Sc in Kinesiology at York University. Then I went to Seneca College and received a diploma in Computer Programming and Analysis. Nothing fashion related here.
SDTC: What other secret talents do you have?
AC: Hmm, I guess I don’t talk about participating in the Canadian Junior National Track and Field Championships for Long Jump and Triple Jump in my younger days.