High Marks in Fashion

The art gallery’s ambience seemed turned on “low” as polite viewers wandered by paintings along the walls. They wore mostly grays and browns, were decorous and pleasant, and very possibly a little bored. Then the door opened … and Jane Marks happened.

As if a dam had breached and a spectacularly colorful, wonderfully elegant “yacht” had just floated into the gallery, Jane Marks in a red turtleneck tunic, black cigarette pants, 4-inch red stilettos, and a dramatically tilted black-and-white Panama hat had joyously entered the room. As if a burst of fireworks had awakened the visitors, they too began to chat and laugh, using their hands and swinging their hair. This is the effect that Jane Marks of Tallahassee has on people. Is it her personality, personal style, or that the persona she presents seems to reach out to everyone she meets? Whatever it is, it is magic.

Marks, who at 77 checks few of the stereotypical expectations of her age, says that from “8 years old, I knew I wanted to work with people.” Born to Filippino parents, a psychology professor and an academic librarian, Marks says that, like them, “I’ve always been driven to achieve.”

Today, she celebrates her fifty-sixth year as a licensed mental health counselor, providing care to youth and adults. In that role, Marks has had her own mental well-being programs, Teen Talk on WTXL and From the Heart on the Black News Channel. Now she produces Mental Health Mondays on social media. A mental health journal is next in the works.

Photo by Alicia Osborne

Almost a household name, Marks has operated with confidence in the public eye for years. There was her role as Tallahassee’s First Lady when her husband, John Marks, was Tallahassee’s mayor from 2003 to 2014. “Yes, I got an opportunity to wear lots of lovely clothes during that time but also to engage with women and to encourage them to ‘buy local’ like I do,” Marks says.

Always with an eye as to what brings people together, Marks led groups of 100 to 150 women on Tallahassee “shopping sprees” to boutiques and specialty stores. In addition to being beneficial to local merchants, the outings gave Marks the opportunity to offer advice and camaraderie to the shoppers.

And just as she advises women on self-care, Marks knows to attend to herself as well. “I believe that the way you present yourself to the public can have a great bearing on how you feel,” she says.

Her bottom line is to “try something new and dress the way you want to feel. I love skinny pants and boots, and I love high heels—but they’re only good for about two hours,” she says with a laughs.

Marks loves color, particularly the bold reds and powerful patterns that are her signature. “Maybe it’s my Filipino heritage,” she says. She recently wore a red and black off-the-shoulder gown to a Miami gala, pairing it with a red fur wrap. But when most people think of Marks, they think of something less glitzy but nonetheless dramatic—hats.

Photo by Alicia Osborne

“I have lots of them,” she notes with a smile. “From Panama hats to fedoras and baseball caps … maybe 40 … or more.”

Yet the “hat” exemplifies Marks’ healthy approach to living. “During menopause, I lost about 60 percent of my hair. It’s genetic, but it wasn’t pretty. And so, I began wearing hats.” It’s a practical fashion statement that other women emulate and love.

Of course, for the “high-energy” approach to living that has busied Marks her whole life, there is a physical component—well, maybe more than one. An early devotee of the Body Electric movement, Marks began learning dance moves by watching TV. Later, she became a salsa adherent, and for the last 13 years, she has led energetic group exercise at Forest Meadows as a certified Zumba instructor. 

Though a longtime admirer of women with “impeccable taste” like Jackie Kennedy and Amal Clooney, Marks nevertheless revels in doing the unexpected and breaking a few rules. “Stay healthy [and] celebrate who you are,” she says. “Fashion is just one way of doing it—living life to the fullest is even better.”