Leandra Medine's Blog, page 35

Dance Breaks That Count As Workouts, Apartment Tours, and 29 Other Fun Things to Fill Your Empty Calendar

Last night, I zipped around Yosemite National Park. On Wednesday afternoon, I watched one of my favorite bands, Grouplove, live. Right now, in a tab next to the one I’m currently writing in, I’m checking on some koala joeys, who are currently munching on eucalyptus leaves inside an Australian sanctuary. Tonight, I might watch Diplo DJ. (I consider this a research project to determine whether I think he looks like The Tiger King!)

We’ve previously talked about the delight of having a culture calendar on MR—and that remains true even with activities in the outside world currently on pause. In fact, it may be even more important right now? Whether you’re in the mood for something high brow, like touring The Met, or something that might make you (read: me) cry, like Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard performing live on Facebook, may you find something delightful to enjoy right now, or look forward to, below.

Note, all the times listed below are in EDT, so adjust according to your local time zone.

If You’re Looking for Something to Entertain You TODAY

1 p.m. Sofi Tukker is performing a live DJ set on their Instagram. If you’d prefer something un peu plus ‘je ne sais quoi, Christine and the Queens will also be streaming on Instagram at this time.

1.30 p.m. Leandra is doing a definitely-not-to-be-missed apartment tour over on the Man Repeller Instagram account.

2 p.m. Jane Fonda is launching her Fire Drill Friday event on Zoom. She’ll be talking to Senator Ed Markey about climate activism in the time of a global pandemic. ILY, Jane. Over on Instagram, Lingua Franca founder Rachelle Hruska MacPherson is doing live face mask-making tutorials.

2.30 p.m. Miley Cyrus will be going live on Instagram with surprise! Guests! Should be weird?

3.30 p.m. London dance house Salder Wells will be streaming the BalletBoyz live from their website. Worth watching for the name “BalletBoyz” alone if you ask me!

5 p.m. New York-based jewelry and bag brand, EDAS is hosting fashion bingo on their Instagram. It’s $10 to play (some proceeds will be going to small businesses affected by the pandemic) and there will be PRIZES.

8 p.m. The writers behind Big Mouth—including Jenny Slate, John Mulaney, Nick Kroll, and Maya Rudolph—will be doing a live table read on YouTube.

11 p.m. Diplo will be streaming “Corona Sabbath” (yes, really) on his Instagram, Twitch, and YouTube.

If You Want to Make Some Weekend Plans

Saturday:

MoMA PS1 is throwing an all-day streaming festival, Come Together (Apart), starting at noon. It will include DJ sets, workshops, filmmaker talks, and a documentary screening.
The International Center of Photography is hosting their March Community Day online. RSVP on their website and you can access the tour along with workshops and audio guides.
Ok, wow, hello again, Diplo. The DJ is going live at 11 p.m. again, this time with a set called… Coronight Fever.
Brooklyn’s House of Yes hosted a Zoom party last Saturday night and are planning to do it again this weekend. Check out their Facebook page for more details.
If you prefer to dance a little earlier in the day, Ryan Heffington will be posting dance workouts on his Instagram at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Sunday:

John Mayer was streaming his Instagram talk show “Current Mood” most Sunday nights at 10 p.m. long before this pandemic, and he’s continuing to do so now.

If You’re After Something to Bookmark for an (Emotionally) Rainy Day

Paintbox have been posting manicure tutorials on their Instagram Stories and saving them all to their #outsidethebox highlight, if you feel like doing some finger painting.
Cat Cohen will be taking her weekly Club Cummings show, Cabernet Cabaret, onto Instagram live every Wednesday night at 8pm.
I mentioned Yosemite National Park’s virtual tour above, but once you’re done exploring there you can also check out Georgia Aquarium and Yellowstone National Park to at least feel like you’re getting some fresh air.
Along with The Met, the Guggenheim, Paris’s Musée d’Orsay, and Florence’s Uffizi Gallery all have virtual tours you can take. Once you’re done with those, stop by the National Gallery of Art and National Portrait Gallery to make up for that weekend in Washington DC you’ve been meaning to plan. (For an extra cherry on top of your fake DC trip, check out these photos from past National Cherry Blossom Festivals.)
If you’re itching for something a little less traditional, you can see all the Banksy murals on Google street view or take a video tour of Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrors. Free! Art!

Is there anything you’ve been loving and recommending to your friends (from a distance) that we’ve missed? If so, leave it in the comments below! Otherwise, happy brain-massaging, and don’t forget to check back on this post for updates!

Graphics by Lorenza Centi.

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Open Thread: How, If At All, Do You Celebrate While in Quarantine?

I went for a short walk this morning. It was the first time I’d been outside in three days and ambling along the barren streets of Soho—from Grand and Lafayette to Prince and Elizabeth—was as surreal as they’ve said it is. Every block seems to be re-painted as an empty mirage depicting the erstwhile routine of my life before Corona. Mallory is right, New York is nothing without New Yorkers. It’s nothing without New Yorkers—and the formerly minute, now seeming extraordinary details of our habitual activities. I never should have taken them for granted.

Actually, that’s too harsh—appreciating what you don’t know you don’t have before you no longer have it is basically the definition of empathy, but it takes time to get there. Often the time is freckled with adversity. This adversity is subjective, but I want to reiterate, if only for myself, that we’re all going through something. The grass of your neighbor might look greener, or the act of acknowledging that theirs has turned to weeds might paralyze you with guilt. But you’re someone’s neighbor too, and they’re observing your grass. It’s a cycle, no question, and it can get impede on a primal desire to connect, but I’m beginning to think it can also be interrupted by the conceptual act of sharing your grass in whatever small way you know to. Instagram Lives! Recipe Recommendations! Mask DIYs! A donation. Lots of us can do this, but in addition to it, for me, I think it’s asking questions. So per the titular inquiry:

How the hell do you celebrate an occasion—or mark any important event that is usually social—from quarantine? Maybe the better question to ask is how to make time feel more alive? Or to demarcate it. How do you create the gratifyingly clear breaks of time that the natural rhythms of daily life, even if that only entails going outside for a short stroll, seem to do? Further, how do you acknowledge whatever festivities were planned for now from the soup of uniform time we’re floating in?

Last week in an editorial meeting, Gyan mentioned that her boyfriend’s birthday is coming up and she’s trying to figure out how to make it memorable within the confines of their living space. My friend Nadia was supposed to have an engagement party on Friday night. I’ve been fielding questions from texters through Man Repeller’s Thoughtline on the topic of how to make the people they love feel special. Most broadly, there is no longer a real difference between a weeknight and a weekend night because, at least for me, all the rituals which typically demarcate time—the material specifics of what I wear, where I go, what I eat and where I eat it—have blended into themselves, so…?

One thing I did last week—even though we weren’t commemorating or acknowledging any particular occasion, save for the purgatory we’re in right now between apartments given a scheduled move that has been put off who-knows-how-long — was send Abie a calendar invitation for a Saturday night date. The location was our living room, the activity was conversation and the fare was arranged on an aperitivo tray. I made myself a martini (quarantini), poured him a glass of sparkling water with a dash of bitters (he doesn’t like to drink, but has other good qualities) and enforced a dress code of “shoes mandatory.”

A silver lining, I guess, of a lockdown is that we’re no longer prisoners to the weather. It was cold and raining, but I wore a striped shirt—no pants—with shiny heels. Why not? Then after drinks and snacks and convo, we went home (to our room) and recapped the night. Fine, I recapped the night—he washed his face and brushed his teeth and got in bed. But it felt good. I didn’t realize how good it felt until a few days later (I think it was Wednesday though who the hell knows anymore) when I experienced the familiar desire to race through time in order to get somewhere I want to be again. Remember anticipation?

It’s funny that as a generation, we’ve been trying to combat this craving to speed time up, not slow it down. Now it’s what keeps me buoyed.

All of this is to say that creating a ritual around a thing you love to do then savoring every second of it and sharing it with someone you love, either in physical space, cyber-ly or by pinpointing yourself as the chosen loved one seems like a worthwhile pursuit right now. It creates a fleeting feeling that makes me think, or lets me pretend, that life is normal. I choose to experience this as a reminder that life will be normal again. It has to be. And if nothing else, today was a good day because we’re one day closer than we were yesterday. So, what are you planning for the weekend?

Animation by Lorenza Centi.

The post Open Thread: How, If At All, Do You Celebrate While in Quarantine? appeared first on Man Repeller.

5 Breads to Bake Today! (From Someone Who Doesn’t Know Sh*t)

I’m certain at least 20 more people than usual baked some type of bread this past week—and those are just the people I know. While aimlessly scrolling on Instagram from my couch this past weekend, I ran into Story after Instagram Story of sourdough, banana bread, Alison Roman’s The Cookies, braided challah, focaccia, BAGUETTES. New York City has collectively turned into one giant Saraghina.

Turns out when society collapses, every single person has the exact same instinct and it is to bake bread

— Dana Schwartz (@DanaSchwartzzz) March 24, 2020

I get it! There’s something healing, and almost primitive, about baking. Humanity has been baking bread for tens of thousands of years (according to Wikipedia lol—my guess was “centuries”). We’ve tenderly raised loaves into maturity in pits and ovens and stuff for forever. And bread tastes like home, like comfort. To teach oneself how to bake bread feels like, at the very worst point of the very worst day, you can at least let yeast rise and knead a ball of dough and bake it and slice it and feel the warmth of it on your hands and know that you did that. You provided yourself with some comfort.

Even I–a notoriously garbage baker–had the audacity to dip my toe back into baking this past weekend. I once did the classic thing with a cake recipe where I accidentally added too much salt and baking soda and it was completely inedible. (In the words of Bart Simpson, “I wasn’t good at it right away so I quit.”) And yet, watching everyone with their lush loaves, perfectly golden, sliced to release a warm steam so palpable I could almost smell the yeast from my phone… I was determined to try again.

I baked gluten-free banana bread. (I’m mostly gluten-free because of hormonal stuff.) I had four browning bananas on my countertop, and I was excited to waste not, want not. I followed the instructions to a T and attempted to flip my mediocre-looking loaf upside down onto a wire rack. She splooj-ed everywhere. The consistency of the bread–which I still ate in entirety with a spoon–was that of gruel.

My roommate, meanwhile, baked perfect mint Oreos the day after. That pissed me off.

Tl;dr: We’re all baking. I’m baking, you’re baking, or you should bake. It will be raining all weekend here in New York, and I didn’t get that baking powder and baking soda for nothing!!! So in the spirit of trying new things, here are some amateur baking projects, ranked from most attainable to least, from someone who truly knows absolutely nothing at all about baking. Other than the stuff Claire Saffitz tells her. Do not trust me. Let’s bop.

1. Banana Bread

Listen: just because I tanked it doesn’t mean you have to! And the good news is, like I mentioned above, you can feel like a good citizen of the world baking banana bread. Use up your food! Play the long game! Buy a bunch of bananas you think you’re going to eat at the beginning of the week (looking at you, too, bag of arugula), and wait until the day when you, like me, realize they are no longer edible and you must do something with them. Add chocolate chips because you enjoy life. If you’re masochistic, don’t! And for the love of Georgia O’Keeffe do not turn your loaf over five minutes after it has come out of the oven.

2. Focaccia

Hey, this looks doable! I mean, I think I even have all those ingredients. Except yeast. Is yeast alive? Creepy. My roommate just told me I can find it at a grocery store, though, so that’s cool. And look, there’s no kneading! Is this my next project? Look how satisfying this recipe is, with overhead videos accompanying each step. This is like Baking for Dummies. Made for me. Made for someone like me. Not made for my roommate, Emmy. She can chill out and wait for #5 on this list smh.

3. Irish Soda Bread

Emmy, my roommate, who is clearly steering this ship (and to be clear I love her dearly–we’ve been friends for nine years), just told me this should probably be number three on the list. There’s no yeast in soda bread (woot!) and I know from experience that it is a delightful vehicle for ungodly amounts of sweet butter. I’m dropping Ina Garten’s recipe here because she is my Hamptons Queen, my Kitchen Mother, my Duchesse des Dinner Parties, my Contessa, but Barefoot. BRB listening to her say “This is One. Sticky. Dough. But that makes it delicious” on repeat from the clip in the link.

4. Challah

I just told you I don’t know shit and I’m not to be trusted, but I saw one Nora Taylor made a gorgeous three-braid challah bread this weekend, and I’m dying to replicate it. Kneading bread is one thing. BRAIDING bread is another. She sent me her recipe, linked above, and as always I did that thing where I scrolled for three minutes past 200 pages of the author’s memoir and, once I got there, I read through the recipe and got lost at shaggy dough. Shaggy dough? Shaggy dough? I think I’d need a phone-a-friend for this one, but you guys should make it and definitely tag me in your videos. Begging.

5. Sourdough

I am never attempting this. Never ever. I’ve watched the above linked Bon Appétit “It’s Alive” video with Claire and Brad three times, and it’s still terrifying. Claire Saffitz also elaborated on how to do it at home in her Instagram Stories this past weekend (surprise!), and I got lost after, like, step two—she was kneading so vigorously my head was spinning. There is just no way in hell that I get to the point where this will seem attainable. BUT, hey, Emmy, would love for you to give this a shot, and I will watch with admiration and awe like the world is your test kitchen and I’m just living in it. If you feel ambitious, I’d love to see your loaves. I’d love to see them rise satisfyingly in an oven.

Feature photo by 

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I’m Pretty Sure Venmo Is the Internet’s Truth Serum During a Crisis

I think of Venmo as the social network that drank truth serum: It reveals who actually hangs out, who eats together, and who lives together—and who exchanges money in the process. If aspirational Instagram is a sort of creative nonfiction, then Venmo is a cold splash of logistical facts.

From the voyeuristic viewpoint of my Venmo avatar, I can see whose plans were dashed, which futures nearly materialized, which siblings are back under the same roofs, who seems to be socializing outside of their immediate households, who’s renting and watching movies together (Contagion, but also Little Women and Last Days of Disco), who’s collecting donations for a cause, who’s paying fitness instructors for streaming classes, who’s getting their groceries via FreshDirect, whose mom sends a little cash in trying times, who commissioned a designer for assorted bachelorette party paraphernalia, which couples divvy up their grocery and dinner expenses, who was still having sushi with friends while others were already referring to their groceries as “COVID-19 stuff.”

Looking back now, the line of demarcation between our old lives and these strange new ones is clear: On March 10th, people still think they’re going to a college reunion weekend in June or a wine tasting next weekend (having gone to karaoke the night before). On March 13th, the cancellations start, and the vernacular shifts—to refunds, to changes of plans, to grocery shopping in the face of the unknown, and the inevitability of the utility bill. I can’t imagine a better tagline for Venmo than “a penny for your thoughts.”

Graphics by Lorenza Centi.

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(Out of) Office Apropos: 7 Ensembles We Wore While WFH This Week

Spring is finally here, and in New York, you can feel it in the air—even if only when you’re poking your head out your apartment window. Blossoms are dotting tree branches that were bare all winter, each day lasts a little longer than the previous one: bright spots during a strange and difficult time.

One constant? A new season means a new installment of Office Apropos. Of course, we’re not in the office right now—so, below, six Team MR members share what they wore while working from home on Monday. (Next week, we’ll discuss what the rest of the team have been wearing while OOO, so keep your peepers peeled for that.)

Leandra

A couple summers ago, I wrote about the outfits I wear to go out and get my morning coffee, knighting them among the best things I wear. It occurred to me sometime this weekend that stay-home-but-take-selfies-and-publish-them fashion basically calls for the same style cues—they’re fleeting and inconvenient and relatively impractical to the extent that they don’t hold up if you’re spending too much time outdoors. On the flip side, they’re very comfortable—the essence of getting half-dressed. So as I continue to ease into finding myself through my style in the washing machine of my jumbled feelings, I’m landing on this how-to-dress formula that might even trump the old way. That’s a silver lining, right? Here’s looking for more.

Eliz

I went on a walk at 6:25 a.m. this morning in my pajamas. I saw one person, about twenty-feet away from me, which I was thankful about for reasons beyond the fact I was in my pajamas. The difference between pajamas and day clothes is beginning to blur so much that when I do get dressed, it feels like a small win. Getting dressed, even just to take a selfie or have a video call (which I don’t always do, sorry coworkers) simply keeps the muscles moving in the shit I own. And in my creative brain! Today I had two video calls and did floor exercises in front of my mirror, so I saw myself and I wanted to see ME, not a shell of me wearing mismatched pajamas to avoid my building’s communal laundry room. When I put on something as simple as a headscarf or necklace, I’m legitimately happier all day. And right now, seasons don’t matter as much, so I can wear items like I did here (shorts and a sweater) with added said headscarf and necklace as if it’s a perfect 72-degree day of Office Apropos when I didn’t even realize the value of a sidewalk photo.

Jasmin

This is the first time I’ve worn jeans in over a week, and you know what, it feels really good! Like I’m strapped in and ready for Monday morning. Some rigidness to whip me into shape for the week. The good thing about staying in, though, is that I’ve only had to do up one button on this shirt. I’ve also thrown on some different earrings today, which feels like a nice change. And these socks, you ask? These I tie-dyed with my own two hands at a Man Repeller event last summer. What initially looked like a right mess has now manifested into some mood-lifting footwear.

Amalie

I’m tired of dressing in sweats (for today). I’ve been the one on every Google Hangout with her hair splayed in a knotted bun, no bra, and a ratty T-shirt from my PJ drawer, stained with lunch. It was time to give the work week the dignity it deserves. I opted for the softest denim in my closet (scored this pair from Poshmark) and wore it with a tank top and STILL NO BRA! (My mom is mad. “Keep the girls up,” she always said.) Anyway, I’ve really been feeling spring on all my long walks, seeing the cherry blossoms open early for us and the snow-white Callery pear trees lining the streets in Park Slope. I’ve had this floral quilted blazer in my closet for months and finally felt inclined to wear it. I put blush on my cheeks and washed and combed my hair. Added a clashing sock. I’m comfy all day, and somewhat professional. A win-win-win during a series of days that never feel like wins.

Tiffany

Today I’m doing a version of what Harling dubbed “google hangouts couture”: properly dressed up top, sweats on the bottom. The shirt is from Kwaidan Editions, a London-based brand I have an unhealthy obsession with. In my very humble opinion, the husband-and-wife duo are helping to fill the “interesting clothes for adult women” void left by Phoebe Philo.

After months lusting after this collection, I pulled the trigger when this shirt went on sale on Net-A-Porter. (I was missing smart, work-appropriate tops.) The shirt arrived as we were all heading out to WFH, so it’s been lifting my mood while it awaits its debut in the MR office.

Lorenza

I’ve been trying to keep things simple—the less I wear, the less I have to wash. After lounging in pajamas for a whole week, I decided I needed to properly get dressed to feel like a human again. I’m also itching for spring—so I felt my outfit should reflect that eagerness. Bright on top of bright! These are one of my favorite pairs of jeans because they’re so stretchy and never lose their shape, even when I’m sitting cross-legged on the couch, hunched over my computer. As for the top—another favorite—I’ve recently become obsessed with long-sleeve T-shirts and insist on wearing them for every occasion. In fact, I’ve worn almost this exact outfit out dancing—true duality in a time of crisis.

Marisa

When selecting today’s WFH outfit for quarantine day ~infinity, two guiding principles came to mind: cheery colors and comfort up the wazoo. I began by fashioning my own tie-dye unitard, complete with a vintage long-sleeve tee and coordinated bike shorts from Etsy. I then layered a vintage sleeveless sweater tunic for good measure (i.e. suitable pelvic coverage). To finish, I threw on my prized vintage Fair Isle reversible vest to combat the late-March draftiness and double-wrapped a favorite Roxanne Assoulin necklace as an anklet for extra pizzazz. Foot jewelry = the ultimate sartorial savior when going absolutely nowhere. Ta-da!

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A List of Things I Miss, Don’t Miss, Won’t Miss, and Won’t Forget

What I Already Miss

Going to movie theaters with squeaky seats (Angelika, BAM, Spectacle)

Going to movie theaters with non-squeaky seats (Film Forum, Quad, Regal Battery Park)

The assumed drink-and-recap after the movie

Rushing to play tennis with Paul on Friday mornings

The grumpy bartender at Spain on 13th Street

Any dinner conversation that keeps going after the check is paid. (Also, signing the check, for some reason?)

Sending someone in the office a dumb Slack message and then seeing the look on their face as they read it

Planning trips (especially ones that include swimming off the coast of somewhere with Ryan and the possibility of getting a tan)

Therapy on Thursdays + Gray’s Papaya on 72nd afterward “as a treat”

(One hot dog with ketchup, mustard, and sauerkraut and a regular Coke)

Wandering around somebody else’s neighborhood

What I Don’t Miss

Feeling guilty for deciding not to go out, ever

When TSA agents yell about what to do with your laptop and shoes

Buying things from companies I don’t respect when I’m being lazy

Saturday spirals

The L train during the morning rush

Although I guess it does have its charms

What I Won’t Miss

Cooking every. single. meal.

(Cooking three times a week = reasonable. Three times a day? Excessive)

Missing my friends while simultaneously feeling burned out on texting/FaceTiming/Zooming with them

Not knowing if my chest pain is anxiety or a Covid-19 symptom

Avoiding natural physical contact

Bang-trim purgatory

The phrase “panic buying”

The infinite loop of people feeling pressure to be productive and people telling people not to feel pressure to be productive

Being indecisive about anything happening more than a day in the future

Worrying about whether I’m adequately worried

What I Won’t Forget

Who was supportive without reservations, to me and to others

That I joined the DSA last Thursday not as an overreaction, but out of meant-to-and-should-have-done-this-earlier moral clarity

Related: Anyone deemed “essential” during this crisis deserves to be treated that way every day and my role in this is not a passive one

That “culinary improvisation” is actually not one of my skill sets

To figure out why so many male leaders start wearing baseball hats when shit gets real (exhibit A, B, and who could forget C)

To be grateful for the kind of stability that sometimes bores me

That New York is New Yorkers and nothing else

Graphic by Lorenza Centi.

The post A List of Things I Miss, Don’t Miss, Won’t Miss, and Won’t Forget appeared first on Man Repeller.

All the Questions That Ran Through My Head Yesterday

Are we going to miss the best season in New York—spring—altogether?

Everything is cancelled. Which events will be rescheduled and which ones will never happen again or at all?

Are people going to get TV deals out of this outburst of Instagram Live content? Is Cat Cohen’s live show better on Instagram or in real life? (I haven’t seen it IRL yet.)

Everyone is going to feel like they need a vacation after this (especially if one they had planned was cancelled), but we’re also going to have an economic recession so no one’s going on vacation anytime soon. Even though this is a statement, it felt like a question?

Did they already shoot Succession season three or is production paused?

Is everyone going to be an extrovert for a year?

Is everyone going to forget how to behave around other people?

If we take before/after photos, how much older will we look by the end (fingers crossed) of this?

It’s been more than a week, so how come I can still only do five pushups?

Is my dentist still in the office? What if someone had a dental emergency? It must be so weird to be in a profession where you put your hands in people’s mouths right now?

What are Jack Handey’s deep thoughts at the moment?

Are music festivals a thing of the past? Are commencements a thing of the past?

Should I trim my hair or just take advantage of this opportunity to let it grow out, even if the ends are driving me a little nuts?

What is this doing for Facebook’s stock? Slack’s?

Is Cuomo going to run for president in 2024?

* muffled, indistinct existential questions too bleak to spell out here *

Is it masochistic to listen to one song on repeat?

What is my password to WordPress?

How many people who listen to Spotify in a “public session” listen to music performatively?

How much can we learn from history to help us? Where is even the best place to start?

Is this the… pivot to video?

Do I even dare to so much as look in the direction of Reddit right now?

Is it better if I divvy up the money I donate in a piecemeal way to different organizations and causes, or just send one significant sum to one cause? Where can I make the most impact?

What should I do with my 30-day unlimited MetroCard that I used once? (The answer is to send it here.)

How much “digital connection” is fulfilling and how much of it is a marketing tactic?

Is this person not responding to me because they’re trying not to look at their phone or because they’re sick?

Will we wish we never posted anything on social media during this time?

Should I reread The Argonauts or start a new book? Should I rewatch Ghost World or watch a new movie? Why do I have an unquenchable desire to read what I’ve already read?

How much will this experience factor into our process of decision-making in the future? Will we always weigh this when we consider how far we move away from our families, who we choose as roommates, where we decide to live? Building a lifestyle that operates on a walking distance, dating someone in your own borough?

Should I stop texting my friends and just start writing them e-mails?

If something makes me laugh hysterically, is it because it’s actually funny or I’m just very fried?

What’s the shelf life on a pair of pajama pants that you wear every day?

Can you hand-wash a towel? A bedsheet?

How much should I read to have a realistic sense of what’s going on? How little should I read to prevent myself from completely wigging out?

If and when (I wrote this down and then lost my train of thought but I actually think this is an entirely valid question on its own)?

If this pandemic “ends,” is it going to resurface again in a few months?

Will anything ever be the same? On a global level, a national level, a city-wide level, a neighborhood level, a personal level?

Is the first week the worst or is the eighth week the worst?

Are we just going to get used to it?

Graphics by Lorenza Centi.

The post All the Questions That Ran Through My Head Yesterday appeared first on Man Repeller.

Open Thread: Why Does Moderation Feel Impossible Right Now?

In a third-grade art class, I learned about one-point perspective drawing–wherein a single vanishing point is used to create the illusion of depth. Delighted by this newfound ability to depict infinity, I sketched what must have been hundreds of vanishing points, each one drawing the eye toward something it couldn’t see. I hadn’t thought about this in years–not until last week when it occurred to me that the experience of social-distancing strangely feels a lot like a series of vanishing points. Without the interruptive necessity of having to go out into the world, each day is free to stretch out infinitely, bleeding into the next, no obstacles or guardrails.

All my pre-programmed reflexes pertaining to moderation seem to have short-circuited as a result: I can’t stop doing things to excess. I have taken it upon myself to “test” the 12 different face moisturizers I’ve been saving away in my sample drawer without waiting even 24 hours between them to see what actually works. I’ve been eating an entire bag of Lesser Evil popcorn a day, and I know that probably sounds like an exaggeration—or at the very least a stomachache—but I assure you only the latter is accurate.

I’m frantically ticking off every outstanding item on my house chore to-do list. I constantly refresh the New York Times homepage. I keep working long past when I should or need to because I no longer have an impending commute to tell me to stop. I binge-watched all 16 episodes of Sex Education on Netflix in a matter of days. I scroll and scroll and scroll through Instagram and then I scroll some more. I ask myself “What else can I be doing?” on an endless loop and when the answer eludes me I eat more popcorn. I purchased the five-book boxed set of George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series because I figure if not now, when? Speaking of books, I decided last weekend would be a great time to try and start writing one myself. Why not!

I’ve been trying to unpack the subconscious logic underlying these impulses, but it’s challenging to pinpoint. Perhaps it’s because even though this time feels infinite, I understand intuitively that at some point, things will inch back toward a semblance of “normal,” whenever our old routines are deemed safe again. Perhaps it’s because I’m so accustomed to being busy to the point of imminent burnout that I’m clinging to a version of that out of habit. Perhaps I’m trying to distract myself from the eerie quiet of my apartment–or my own thoughts. Perhaps doing something–anything!–feels better than sitting still in the midst of so much uncertainty. Or perhaps it’s a combination of all of these things, ultimately laddering up to a primal desire to feel a sense of purpose–to feel like my hands have something to do and my feet have somewhere to go.

Is anyone else grappling with moderation right now? What are you making of it?

Graphics by Lorenza Centi.

The post Open Thread: Why Does Moderation Feel Impossible Right Now? appeared first on Man Repeller.

Socks Are the New Shoes and Other Style Truths From the Guts of Quarantine

If this platform is based upon a single principle, it is that you should dress for yourself. Doing that gives you permission to openly express by putting on what you really want to wear—free from the shackles of expectation, implication, anticipation and so forth. The hope is that in consequence, you earn the agency to be who you are without explanation or apology. Why did we ever accept another way?

When we look good, we feel good, and therefore we are good. I heard myself saying this all the time when I was pregnant. In quarantine, I’ve been thinking about it a lot again because it’s so easy to keep your closet doors closed. To retreat to the same stained t-shirt and sweatpants day in and out. But doing that contradicts the basic principle of dressing for yourself. It undermines what happens when you close the closet doors and lock in the well of unlimited possibility and opportunity to invent yourself. It might sound dramatic, but maybe it behooves all of us to appraise our respective circumstances and deploy self-rescue plans accordingly.

To be clear, sometimes in order to feel good, you do have to let yourself go—butt cheeks unclenched, raw cookie dough stowed between molars, and limbs hanging listlessly from the corners of your couch—but I’ve reserved such behavior for weekends, it helps me demarcate time. On most weekdays, I’ve already assumed responsibility for the challenge of figuring out how to look good, feel good, be good, and continue to dress by the rules of Who I Am. Several truths have been so far uncovered. These are their stories, dun dun.

Sweatshirts are the new sweaters

Though to be clear, this declaration is reflective of feedback I’ve gleaned from the style queries that populate my Instagram inbox. It’s true that I have been sticking rather adamantly to one navy blue Entireworld sweatshirt (actual knits make an apartment feel even more stuffy) but lately, I have been thinking: should I have just gotten that Hanes crew neck sweatshirt in November when I put it in my Amazon cart? I think if I’d done it, I also would have ordered some iron-on patches from around the internet and affixed them to the sweatshirt. Maybe I’ll still do it.













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To pair with…

A damn good fidgeting tool

Back to the fidgeting tool: I’ve long held the belief that jewelry maintains a transformative quality—the way a string of beads can pull together an outfit the way a punctuation mark changes an assembly of words to give them meaning by mere virtue of their presence. Is this metaphor too far reaching? Here are simpler terms: I hate my navy blue sweatshirt when I forget to put on a necklace. But when I remember to, the sweatshirt is the best thing I own. You know how they say behind every great man is an even greater woman? Jewelry = the greater woman. Put on your best necklace. How does it feel?

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Socks (and house slippers) are the new shoes

I used to have a habit of taking hotel slippers from wherever I traveled as a sort of memento, but after filling up too much closet space with non-shoes, only one pair from a fancy hotel in France remains. They’ve now become a highlight of getting dressed. I’m not sure if it’s because they’re fluffy and thus add a little bit of weight to my bottom half (anything to feel grounded, I guess), but I pair them with fun socks, most of which hit about mid-calf (my preferred length, particularly when coupled with shorts), and think about all the compasses of judgment I questioned for getting those Balenciaga “shoes.”

When whatever the new normal is to restore, I will think long and hard about how to approximate this equation for the public domain.

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Beach shorts are gym shorts are pajama shorts are office pants full stop

The only way I’ve ever been able to successfully justify buying beach shorts because of the fleeting nature of the season for which they are made is by running every pair I consider through the filter of two questions: 1. Could I wear them around Manhattan or 2. To hang out at home? If the answer to both of these questions is yes, I typically get them. A couple of summers ago, when I was emerging from the foxhole of maternity leave and thus probably in a similar mindset for dressing, I discovered that I love getting dressed to get coffee. I think it’s because I’d wear beach shorts to the cafe every morning. Now I pretend my kitchen is the coffee shop and dress accordingly. I invite you to try it.

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Though if you prefer a robe, now’s as good a time as any to take a belt you’ve had for years or one of the fanny packs you bought when we all decided we would commit to hands-free travel and wrap them around that shit as if bathleisure was not a flash in the pan.

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Actually, not full stop, to that point…

You might remember a style theory that Larry David dropped on the world at the beginning of 2020 and in terms far less succinct or fluid as those of one Haley Nahman, the tl;dr is: your top half should only be as decorative as your bottom half is not. I’m currently observing my husband—who has relocated the desk that once lived in our great room to sit against the wall by my side of the bed and is now in my direct line of eyesight for nearly 16 hours every day—dressed in a button-down shirt tucked into boxer shorts. And upon looking down at my own concoction—off-white sweatpants dressing down a white poplin renaissance-core blouse, I’m starting to think half-dressing has never been so applicable.

In sum: do with this what you will—be that nothing, something, or the balls to the walls co-opting of our new but no doubt greatest hashtag contribution to the social internet. None of us are going anywhere, but fuck it, let’s get dressed. Eventually, we’ll need our clothes again. I’d rather not forget that.

The post Socks Are the New Shoes and Other Style Truths From the Guts of Quarantine appeared first on Man Repeller.

From the Depths of Our Beauty Cabinets, 4 Face Masks Tried and Tested

In the back of my bathroom cabinet, behind two almost-empty cans of dry shampoo and the curling tong I use once every couple of months, there’s a bundle of sheet masks that I’ve been “saving” for “something special.” These are the masks I’ve been holding onto for long flights, the morning of friends’ weddings, and the rare Sunday night when I feel the need to lean into a particular aesthetic of “self-care.” However, staying home for the indefinite future has made me realize that the time to use the things I’ve been saving for the right time is actually right now. I may not be prepping my skin for a special occasion, but I am feeling a need to find little things to look forward to each day and, yes, I’m finding that face masks totally count.

In the name of finding tiny things that make you feel good, Team MR tested four face masks we had on hand, so you know which are the very best. Whether you’re looking for a mask you can wear during a Zoom happy hour or one that might scare your roommates (while also calming red and generally stressed-out skin), we’ve got it, tried it, and reviewed it below.

The One That Will Make You Look Like You’ve Actually Seen the Sun (in a Good Way)

Tested by: Tiffany

The mask: Dr. Jart+ Rubber Mask “Bright Lover”

Where did you find your mask? Inspired by Harling’s love of Dr. Jart+’s Ceramidin Cream, I hopped aboard the Dr. Jart+ train just over a month ago. After purchasing this mask, it languished in a bathroom drawer between an eye shadow palette I’ve never used and three TP rolls, waiting for a worthy moment.

How did your skin feel before the mask? A bit gray and fatigued—like the rest of me after my first week of full social distancing! So, it felt good to smother my face with this serum and then cover up with a two-part rubber mask, which feels like luxe Saran Wrap. Sadly, the rubber part of the mask was not the canary yellow promised on the package—more of a soft, buttermilk color. This made my selfie slightly less funny but did not inhibit the humectant properties. 

How did your skin feel after? The rubber mask stays on for 20 minutes, during which I experienced some reassuring tingling. After that, you massage in the remaining serum and leave that on for another 20 minutes. After washing off the serum, the texture of my skin felt smoother and a little plumped. The previous gray-ness had gone. The difference was not HUGE (my boyfriend was still able to recognize me), but my skin was “brighter” looking. 

Who should use it? Humans in need of a self-care moment, the WFH-er looking to lift the gray veil of too much time indoors, sci-fi fans, rubber fetishists, and anyone looking to fully conceal their face during a conference call. 

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The One That Will Vacuum Out Your Pores While You Do a Crossword Puzzle

Tested by: Jasmin

The mask: Fresh Umbrian Clay Purifying Mask  

Where did you find your mask? I’m trying to do one key task a day. Yesterday I embarked on cleaning out my bathroom cupboards, and my God I have a lot of crap. Tons of cotton pads, individual tampons scattered around, and many a half-used bottle of shampoo (I bore easily). I also stumbled across this face mask I’ve used before, but had been saving. 

How did your skin feel before the mask? Due to wearing barely any makeup while also lathering on the CeraVe, my skin is currently in pretty decent shape. However, it is Monday morning, I just woke up, and my combination skin is pretty oily in the T-zone area. 

How did your skin feel after? I washed it off in the shower and definitely had some remnants in my hair, but it feels super refreshed. Like I’ve had a mildly deep pore clean-out. It started to feel a bit tight, too, so I made sure to moisturize quite soon after drying my face. 

Who should use it? It starts to get a bit tight, so not ideal if you’re looking to both mask and chat. If you lean more on the oily side and like to do a NYT crossword puzzle on your phone in silence, then this is for you. 

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The One That Will Balance Out Your Redness With a Heavy Dose of Bright Green

Tested by: Sabrina

The mask: Tata Harper Clarifying Mask 

Where did you find your mask? It was hidden behind my more affordable face mask options. This is definitely the most expensive mask I’ve ever bought.

How did your skin feel before the mask? Honestly, pretty good. I usually have some breakouts, but do not at the moment. I’ve been doubling down on my vitamins for obvious reasons, and I haven’t been wearing makeup much. My skin feels a bit tired, as do I, which is another reason for breaking out this mask. 

How did your skin feel after? Soothed by the green slime and the mask’s very earthy smell. Some of the redness I had before has definitely calmed down.

Who should use it? People who are prone to acne and anyone who’s looking to work on their skin texture. Also great for those looking to scare their partners/roommates while being home, even if for only a brief moment.  

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The One That Will Hydrate Your Skin and Get Through a Video Call (Almost) Undetected

Tested by: Lorenza

The mask: Glossier Moisturizing Moon Mask

Where did you find your mask? This is my go-to mask, so it sits among my bathroom essentials on an overcrowded bathroom shelf. That said, I try not to use it often because I really want it to last. I originally came across it stalking the Glossier website in an attempt to try every product (because they’re alway that good).

How did your skin feel before the mask? Although my skin has felt extremely clean due to lack of makeup and an immense skin care regimen in this time of quarantine, it still felt compromised, with irritation from me picking at my face and a little more congestion than usual.

How did your skin feel after? I love this mask because it calms down my skin, and also truly cleans out stubborn pores—all while leaving my cheeks and other sensitive areas of my face feeling soft and hydrated. 

Who should use it? I would recommend this mask for any skin type, especially if you are in need of an “exfoliator”-type that isn’t harsh. I usually only put exfoliating masks on my T-zone because they tend to dry out my cheeks, but this mask is so gentle I slather it all over. Would also recommend to anyone who has clogged pores—it loosens up any impurities, which I then pull out with a pore extraction tool*, easy peasy.   

*pore extraction tool similar to this

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The post From the Depths of Our Beauty Cabinets, 4 Face Masks Tried and Tested appeared first on Man Repeller.