People often ask me if my parents helped me. My mother did lend me $10 to register the domain name.
— Leandra Medine
Initially what defined me as a 'man repeller' was my conscious effort to wear clothing that was attractive in my opinion but not necessarily in a man's opinion.
I always grew up with the idea that in order to be a successful writer, I should have a book published.
If I were going to prom again, I would wear a huge skirt and plain cotton tank. A big, poofy, flotation-device-sized skirt. I wish I had done that.
I'm probably most inspired by good street style that features items I already own; it's always great to see how another person wears something you have, which sort of reinvents it for you.
I never borrowed money from Mom. I lived at home, but my parents never helped me. I worked hard and moved out. I treated my blog like a business; hard work is important.
I have always had a fleeting relationship with clothing.
I want Man Repeller to feel like you're waking up in the morning, you're calling your girlfriend, you don't know what she is going to say, you don't really care what she has to say, but you know you're going to like it, and you're going to laugh and hang up the phone and feel ready to take on the day with all this new knowledge.
What good is a wall without framed art? It is like the equivalent of the accessories that you choose to wear to decorate a black dress - precisely the stuff that makes the wall/dress you.
I do not wear a lot of makeup. On social media, this seems to work both in my favor and against me.
No matter the candidate, every detail in a campaign is carefully and strategically framed for our consumption. The devil is in them.
Sometimes I wear red lipstick - it makes me feel sophisticated.
I'm not comfortable leaving the apartment if the bed isn't made or a chair isn't tucked into the table.
I think the thing about New York City real estate is that you kind of just take what you can get when you're renting.
I don't say in the morning, 'Look, Leandra, here are a bunch of women. Put that bronzer down.' It's more that I'm busy and whatever helps you get out the door and go to sleep easier.
I gained this new sense of control over my love life because when I called myself a 'man repeller,' you assumed that being single is my choice. I'm man-repelling because that's how I want to dress. I'm not single because no men like me. I'm single because I choose fashion over a relationship.
I realized that if I were a 23-year-old girl getting married, and I wasn't struggling with it, that would likely mean that something was either massively wrong with me or that my brain is made up of delicately wrapped almonds that serve perfectly as party favors.
People always ask me how I muster the strength to be so open about things, and I explain to them that I took the Myers-Briggs test, like, four times, and every single time, I ranked an 87 percent extrovert, so it would probably take more strength for me to shut up.
When you're writing a blog post, you can take solace in knowing that you will immediately know how people will respond to it, and if the criticism is bad, then that's fine because you can work on that and fix it, and if it's good, then that's great because you know what to do in the future. It gets pushed down so quickly.
I am loving visible bras with shirts, high-waisted pants and oversize blazers.
Man Repeller is intended to chronicle all the fashion trends that women love and men hate. I started it because I am woman with a deep appreciation for harem pants. And sometimes blaming clothing on a sad love life is easier than blaming oneself!
I never thought I'd wear Birkenstocks, but here I am! Having said that, I'm pretty sure I'd never wear Crocs.
I have a degree in journalism, which is something that I make very clear very frequently just so people are aware of it. I went to school to write... Editorial integrity is very important to me.
I started my blog when I was a senior in college, and I knew that all the people in my program were probably going to be applying for very similar jobs, so I needed something to separate my resume.
One thing I didn't think upon getting married: that my style would - or could - change.
Fashion is used as a tool to convey a point about who we are or potentially want to be. Whether or not a civilian curates his or her own aesthetic is up that person, but it is an integral part of one's public image.
Next time you look in the mirror, close your eyes and ask yourself when you feel like the best version of you. When you open them, act on that.
Making the decision to embrace or to shun makeup is one that should be contingent on nothing more, nothing less, than doing what makes you feel like the best version of yourself.
I do know that I would never - though you should never say never - work with a decorator, because I don't want to see the touch of someone else in my own space.
The men who really get repelled by what you're wearing are a little shallow, and you probably don't want to date them anyway.
I don't necessarily see my not wearing makeup as a social comment or that it's because I work in a female-dominated industry.
As someone who has been known for the way they've been dressed, it's almost OK for me to wear New Balances and sweat pants. I'm not necessarily moulding trends, but it's OK if I'm not adhering to them.
I think men like things tight and simple.
Sloane Crosley and David Sedaris are two of my favorite writers; they're the kind of writers who make you feel like, 'I can do this. I want to do this.'
I wore some stupid brocade dress to my prom.
Nothing's worse than oily skin.
I wanted to be my own editor, and by 'editor,' I mean unedited-or.
You have to keep a feeling of goodness in your exteriors.
I always wanted to make sure that I was honest to myself and that people wanted to hear an opinion that was authentic... I wanted Man Repeller to be a voice for women who felt like they didn't have a voice or for women who didn't know how to express their voice.
There's charm, in some capacity, to every trend. I just think practicality should die. Crocs - blech.
Don't get me wrong - I'm not against makeup. If I could manage looking like 'me' in a way that also read as tastefully, invisibly airbrushed, I'd sign up for that faster than you could choose a filter to do it for me.
It seems inevitable, if unfair, that when a woman is vying for a prominent position in office, her outfit choices will be analyzed to a degree considerably higher than those of her male counterpart by simple existence of gender stereotypes.
What a woman does or does not do to her face is personal. And as with most other things, makeup or a lack thereof can serve as either a prison or a fortress commanded by the mind: you can become a slave to it, or it can set you free.
I got a C in art when I was in 11th grade. That it is even possible to come out of a high school art class with a C is wondrous, especially considering the creative license we were encouraged to use to, for lack of a better axiom, color outside the lines.
You don't usually find an island in a New York kitchen.
I'm really happy that people understand that man-repelling is a good thing. I was afraid people would think I was mocking fashion, and it's like, 'No, I swear, I'm wearing feathered sleeves as I write this!'
I haven't worn make-up since my wedding, and my husband loves me a lot.
I feel like alternative piercings in the ear is this untapped way to festoon yourself. Not many people understand this, but it hurts so good. It's like getting dental work done. It hurts in the right way.
