Leandra Medine's Blog, page 42

3 MR Team Members on the Joy of Finally Filling a Hole in Their Wardrobes

In partnership with The OUTNET.

You’re likely familiar with the concept of FOMO, or “Fear of Missing Out,” and you might even be acquainted with its sister acronym JOMO, or “Joy of Missing Out,” but I’d be willing to bet you haven’t heard of their second-cousin-once-removed acronym JOFTO, or “Joy of Finding The One”–because I literally made it up a couple weeks ago and this is the first time I’m talking about it publicly. But just because it’s a new acronym doesn’t mean it’s a new concept! On the contrary, the joy of finding the one–otherwise known as the undulating ecstasy of finally plugging a hole that has been gaping in your wardrobe for an extended period of time–is an ancient and primal emotion, dating back to when cave-people started shopping for clothes. Probably.

I may be a bit fuzzy on the exact origin timeline, but I’m crystal clear about one thing: The OUTNET is basically a factory for JOFTO. There have been many occasions in which I searched high and low for a particular thing–the perfect blazer for work, the ideal pair of high-waist denim shorts–and finally happened upon it while scrolling through The OUTNET’s hallowed digital coffers. Ergo, to celebrate not only the coining of a new (and soon-to-be-viral, if I have anything to do with it) phrase, but also a reliable wellspring for experiencing it, I recruited two of my Man Repeller teammates to join me in searching for The One on The OUTNET. Below, read about our respective quests.

Harling, Brand Director

A quest for the perfect pair of non-denim pants.

I reached the point of being over wearing jeans on repeat in early January, and yet found myself wearing my fallback pair the very next day. Though I had other pants I could turn to in this time of sartorial turmoil, none seemed quite right. My khakis made all my sweaters look too dad-ish. My leggings didn’t feel crisp enough for most work days. My one pair of corduroys reminded me too much of what I wore to school every day when I was 17 (a lot of corduroys).

I began fantasizing about the perfect pants that would conceivably illuminate an egress out from the winter style rut I was very clearly experiencing. Ideally, they would be equally suitable for a day of work or a Saturday night festivity. They would be polished but still extremely comfortable. They would be punchy, but not at the expense of versatility. I realized as these criteria entered my head that I might be describing something that doesn’t exist, but what can I say? I’m an optimist.

I knew I’d found The Ones when I stumbled across this pair from Marni on The OUTNET and realized they catalogued an additional criterion that hadn’t initially occurred to me: leg openings conducive to winter boots! A seemingly simple characteristic, but surprisingly hard to find. In addition to their superlative leg openings, they also were printed with a pattern that was both work—and fun—appropriate, not to mention punchy but still versatile. Perhaps most importantly of all, despite their put-together appearance, they have a sneaky elastic waistband, which I can confirm is extremely comfortable around the ‘ol digestion storage facility.

The JOY (see what I did there?) of finding them was solidified when I put on the rest of this outfit and then squatted down to lace up my shoes. Have you ever squatted in jeans? A nightmare. Squatting in these Marni pants, however? Dream come true.

Marni


Goen.J


Helmut Lang


ATP Atelier


Kenneth Jay Lane


Victoria Beckham


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Allison, VP of Operations

A quest for the perfect going-out top.

For months, I hunted for the perfect, graceful top that would be suitable for drinks with my girlfriends or a date with my husband, but it proved difficult to find one that didn’t make me look like I was too dressed up, or that I tried too hard. On top of that, I needed this mythical top to be versatile enough to go with any type of pants, as I’ve gone through several pant phases (current phase is high-waisted) but still love and wear them all.

I don’t like the way I look in black, which limits the options even further since there seems to be a high concentration of black going-out tops. I think that’s why this pink one immediately caught my eye. Not only is it the kind of color that makes me feel extra bold, but it’s also a statement in and of itself, thus making the remaining components of outfits easier to style. No fussing is necessary–I can just put it on and go. I also love that it can be worn tucked in or out of pants.

I styled it here with a high-waisted red pair because I think the two colors look elegant together, and let’s face it, they attract attention (I might like a wee bit of that every now and then). I added a white boot to give the outfit a little retro ’60s vibe as the cherry on top.  The overall result made me feel happy and in-charge. I secretly enjoy not looking like everyone else, and this top basically guarantees me that I won’t.

Prabal Gurung


Rosetta Getty


Jimmy Choo


3.1 Phillip Lim


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Sabrina, Photographer and Photo Editor

A quest for the perfect work-to-drinks transition dress.

I’ve been looking for a dress that I can wear to work and then out afterward–maybe to dinner with friends, or some other casual weeknight occasion. For me, an ideal work-to-something-else transition dress is comfortable and easy to layer with. I prefer silhouettes with a clean shape, more on the side of structured than not. I love a shorter hemline and dresses that cinch in at the waist.

I don’t wear a lot of patterns or a lot of dresses (my uniform is very jeans-centric), so the trick was finding a dress that fits into the color scheme of my wardrobe while still making me feel like myself. Though this dress falls a bit outside my typical comfort zone, I was drawn to the subtle maroon color. It almost looks brown in certain lighting, which gives it even more versatility. The other interesting thing about it is the fabric–not only does it thoroughly check the “structured” box, but it also has an interesting croc-effect texture.

My first instinct was to style it with black knee-high boots because it’s winter and I don’t like wearing tights. I’m one of those people who actually finds shoes with a heel easier to move around in, and I appreciate how a slight lift can make me feel more confident. If I wore this dress again, I’d probably style it with my favorite pair of chunky vintage boots and a short-sleeved turtleneck layered underneath–the perfect ensemble for migrating from photo shoot to bar to a solo walk home on the Williamsburg bridge.

Beaufille


Stuart Weitzman


Simon Miller


Ben-Amun


See All 4

Do you have any JOFTO tales up your sleeve? Share them in the comments below.

6 PHOTOS
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Photos by Mary Kang.

The post 3 MR Team Members on the Joy of Finally Filling a Hole in Their Wardrobes appeared first on Man Repeller.

5 Influencers I’d Like to Thank for the Giant Collar Trend

Some might credit the recent preponderance of giant collars, often seen bursting forth from the confines of a jaunty knit, to a winterized manifestation of white blouse mania. Others might attribute it to the vestiges of “prairiecore,” an aesthetic movement that has been known to favor its fair share of neck froth. Keen observers of Instagram “it” item cycles might nod in the direction of this top that Ganni has produced for multiple seasons now, perhaps thanks to the domino effect of this outfit worn by Pandora Sykes. And anyone who’s been paying attention to the latest fashion week runways will no doubt ascribe the uptick in large, layered collar momentum to noteworthy spottings at Chanel, Burberry, Erdem, Victoria Beckham, and Gucci.

I recognize the logic of all these possible origin stories, but at the same time, I wonder if we’re overlooking a number of venerated trendsetters who may or may not be responsible for this particular micro-explosion on the fashion scene. Below, please find a list of influencers I beg you to consider in your examination of the giant collar trend, along with a handful of collar + cardigan cocktail pairings to sip while you scroll.

1. Lions

Credit must be duly given to the rulers of the animal kingdom for not only wearing robust hair necklaces (see: manes) 24/7 but also for making them look extremely cool. Not every living creature could successfully pull off the aesthetic of what is essentially a permanent giant collar, but lions do so with enough aplomb that fashion has finally taken notice.

2. Clowns

It doesn’t take more than a brief jaunt through Google images to understand why clowns have a reputation for being… creepy. However, the same jaunt also confirms they have undeniably influenced the trajectory of large ruffled collars into the stratosphere of fame they currently maintain. And look–not all clowns are creepy. This one, in addition to repping a truly incredible collar, seems trustworthy enough.

3. Individual chocolate truffles in paper cups

Few animals, minerals, or vegetables wear a collar more gallantly than a chocolate truffle dusted with cocoa powder, ensconced in a small, delicately crimped paper cup. When arranged inside a heart-shaped box, they maintain a certain degree of collective sweetness (literal and figurative), like a pew full of old-timey choir boys about to break into song.

4. Shakespeare

If you told me this rendering of William Shakespeare was actually an outtake from a recent Gucci campaign, I wouldn’t bat an eyelash. The giant lace collar looks straight out of 2020. I know it remains popular opinion that Shakespeare’s greatest gift to society are his contributions to literature, but let’s keep an open mind. His contributions to collar mania may, in fact, have an even more stunning impact.

5. Madeline

I challenge you to gaze upon illustrations of the iconic children’s book character Madeleine and not concede that she almost definitely had a hand in shaping the giant collar trend. Oh, I’m sorry, did you think the bolded text above was referring to Madeline Cohen, not an iconic children’s book character but iconic nonetheless? When it comes to ruffled statement collar influence, we’ll have to call a truce.

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And there you have it: official accreditation for the most esteemed collar trendsetters throughout history–finally, their moment is nigh! If I missed any important patrons, please add them in the comments, where you can also feel free to sound off on this trend in general. Are you wearing it? Loving it? Already ready for something new? Can’t wait to chat.

Stylist: Harling Ross

Art Direction: Tiffany Wilkinson

Production: Maggie Hoyle

Model: Mnatalla at Jag Models.

Market: Elizabeth Tamkin

Hair and Makeup Artist: Tara Lauren.

The post 5 Influencers I’d Like to Thank for the Giant Collar Trend appeared first on Man Repeller.

The Rules of Communicating With Friends, From Missed Texts to Unplanned FaceTimes

It’s scary when the phone rings. What if it’s Miranda Priestly? What if it’s the guy from Scream and he has Patrick on the line? Back when I was 13, if the phone rang while I was babysitting, I would karate-kick the phone console off the wall, wake the kids from their slumber, strap them to my chest, and hightail it down the block to my mom’s. Back when I was 31, if the phone rang for a work call, I’d get so anxious about mispronouncing “hello?” that I’d pick up, then remain silent in hopes that the caller would go first or go away. However, even though that happened yesterday as I am still 31, I do very much enjoy talking on the phone sometimes—it’s just that the “sometimes” is crucial.

I prefer to do the calling unless I know a call is coming, but I can’t know a call is coming too ahead of time, or else I will begin to dread it. The best kinds of phone calls are those with family and friends that I make while I’m walking somewhere, or when I’m doing chores, or while I’m using the bathroom (with the phone on mute or not, depending on friendship category).

There are, of course, far superior ways to communicate with loved ones, like direct-messaging memes. DMing a meme says, “I love you, I’m thinking of you, and while I am indeed ignoring your text, I’m only ignoring it because I’m in a general state of responsibility avoidance, not because I’m mad at you.”

Carrier pigeons are cool if you’re the analog type.

Telepathy is also a nice option.

I love FaceTiming friends because you can call at least five times in a row if the recipient does not pick up. You could never do this with a regular phone call; they’d assume the worst had happened; with a FaceTime, it’s always for a good time.

It’s always a GoodTime for a FaceTime, I should say, which I would if I were part of Apple’s Marketing team. (Cha-ching.)

I particularly enjoy FaceTiming friends during inconvenient windows for them to answer. It makes an ordinary, otherwise boring conversation feel clandestine. It’s also an easy way to get quick answers from people who may be otherwise arbitrarily text-averse, such as myself.

It’s also-also an entertaining way to annoy friends with whom you have a sibling-esque relationship. And while I wouldn’t suggest FaceTiming your friends on repeat during their busiest hours for the sole purpose of testing their loyalty (lest you brand yourself the “Friend Who Facetimed ‘Wolf’”), friends who answer FaceTimes from the depths of public settings and/or in the middle of something important—all whispery and hunched over like you’re a dog in a backpack that they snuck into a restaurant—are real ones.

Gifs are okay so long as they don’t cause me undue stress while searching for the perfect way to self-express.

I’m very into the idea of—though not necessarily the execution of—cards, postcards, and handwritten letters. (I never have stamps, and when I do, I’m scared to use them up.)

Voice notes are an underrepresented (although not underrated) communication category. They’re admittedly tricky. It would be an administrative nightmare if everyone switched from texts to voice notes: you’d lose addresses, restaurant recommendations, meeting times, the birth dates of friends whose birthdays you always forget so each year you ask the mutual friend who remembers everyone’s birthday. Not to mention: imagine the stress of having 10+ voice notes to listen to.

Where voice notes come in handy is on the solid delivery of inside joke punchlines, when you’re walking but refuse to use Siri because you suspect she’s stealing your identity (and your jokes), and when you’re working on your comedic tight five but know that no respective friend checks her voicemails unless they’re from unknown numbers.

Note that not every friend is a voice note friend, but it’s worth trying a few out.

Emails. I actually quite like writing emails to my friends, although you wouldn’t know it by looking at my sent folder. Most of my emails to friends are doomed to sit half-complete in Drafts forever, sentenced to an eternity of purgatory all because I got distracted before actually finishing. As with the hand-written letter, I love receiving friend emails—so long as they aren’t planning/logistics-related, and so long as they don’t require me to Venmo anyone money. The problem is that while it takes just six minutes of focus to write an email, I have less focusing-bandwidth than I have stamps.

Of all my preferred forms of (non-face-to-face) communication, I enjoy texting the least. It would be boring to explain why but it does involve carpal tunnel. I appreciate the humor of texting someone in the same room as you, but it’s to my earlier point, it’s way funnier to DM a meme. Texting friends in the same room because you need to talk about someone else in the same room is dangerous. You know what’s not boring or dangerous? Sending texts with confetti.

Sending texts with confetti is, when ranked among this entire list, a superior way to converse. It takes your “okays” from just okay to Extremely Happy to Be Here. Finally texting a belated-birthday greeting to that friend who’s birthday you couldn’t find because it was saved in a voice note? Confetti! All’s forgiven. Want to convey irony but in a fun way? Confetti. There’s a satisfying haptic “pop” for both the sender and the recipient, which is 80% the reason I employ it. You don’t really have to say anything so long as you say it with confetti. Best part of all? No clean-up required.

Although I will say that sweeping confetti is an excellent time to call a friend.

Graphic by Lorenza Centi.

The post The Rules of Communicating With Friends, From Missed Texts to Unplanned FaceTimes appeared first on Man Repeller.

The Most Concise Milan Fashion Week Reviews on the Internet

Let’s cut to the chase: Unable to master the art of the rispetto over the weekend, I took to reviewing the shows from Milan Fashion Week in another poetic form (the humble haiku). If you’re looking for me, I’ll be the one in upside-down glasses, emerging from my syllabic detox faster than you say Guccio Gucci.

Max Mara

Harling slacked me:

“A good toggle,” slide sixteen.

For N. Pelosi?

Prada 

What comes after ath-

leisure? Ribbed tights, shoulders wide

as neckties are long.

Gucci

Boat shoes by Gucci!

Golly. And a dress as long

as my to-do list.

Emilio Pucci

Here is a diptych

of Pete Davidson and me

on a date. Sorry.

Fendi

Rethink Princess Peach

pink? Or salivate over

yellow satin shoes.

Moschino

Marie Antoinette’s

hips did not lie, even when

she most certainly—

La DoubleJ

How I hope I look

crossing the street, to check if

Levain opened yet.

Tod’s

Thought I saw you from

across the room, ogling my

woodshop goggles. Wink.

Etro

I’d wear this to lie

down in the model bed at

the Ralph Lauren store.

Marni

Ooh, patchwork persists

And I must say I’m pleased.

Look at Anna smile.

Versace

Please note the flare of

these pants and the impending

rain boot renaissance.

Salvatore Ferragamo

Is Ferragamo

leaning into leggings? I

wondered. Maybe so.

MSGM

I think I like the

horror movie genre now.

Ghastly! Persuasive!

Bottega Veneta

The grey area

between fringe and tendrils:

A butter-squid coat.

Missoni

Tuck your pants into

your knee-high boots? Anna Gray

said, “Sure! Fine! Ok!”

Jil Sander

Please excuse me for

the declaration: This show

was my favorite.

Photos via Getty Images and Vogue Runway.

The post The Most Concise Milan Fashion Week Reviews on the Internet appeared first on Man Repeller.

‘Emma’ Is Here and So Is Your Spring Color Palette

Your local period piece-obsessed fruit cake (moi) is back.

Why am I emerging so soon after the release of Little Women? Am I not still marinating in March sisterhood and their neutral-colored waistcoats? Could I forget Beth and her rosy cheeks so soon? (Dark. Also, Beth, I could never.)

I have to admit, though, that a new film has just emerged to completely consume my heart, body, and soul with it’s fanciful language and pastel-washed frou-frou finery: Emma. And with it, my official spring color palette.

A little context: From the ages of 9 to 13, I would come home every day after school and put on the 1995 Miramax version of Emma starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, and Toni Collette. I know almost every line in the movie, and learned the score on piano even though I couldn’t read bass clef. Ninety perfect of my sexual awakening occurred whilst watching Emma and Mr. Knightley quarrel during a particularly charged game of archery. And when it wasn’t Emma, it was the BBC Pride & Prejudice miniseries, but I can’t get into that (you can read about that in chapters 1-10 of my memoir).

All this is to say: I f*cking love Jane Austen, and especially Jane Austen adaptations. So when I went to see director Autumn De Wilde’s interpretation of Emma in theaters on Saturday night, I was suffocated with anxiety. How could it ever live up to the 1995 version? Will they do Mr. Knightley’s jocular tone justice? Who could ever be a more perfect Harriet Smith than Toni Collette?! (See: Not a single person.)

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Handsome, clever, and rich. A brand new vision of Jane Austen’s beloved comedy. EMMA. In cinemas February 2020.⠀ ⠀ @autumndewilde @anyataylorjoy⠀ ⠀ #emma #emmamovie #janeausten #autumndewilde #anyataylorjoy #billnighy #miagoth #joshoconnor #mirandahart

A post shared by Working Title (@workingtitlefilms) on Nov 21, 2019 at 10:43am PST

But reader: I ADORED IT. If not for its near-perfect adherence to the novel and the welcome injection of comedy, then for the perfect Georgian-era set design, costumes, and cinematography. Every still could be a masterwork, every set could be in a museum, every landscape could be a painting, all awash in pale blue, egg-yolk marigold, and petal pink. (Pantone, please @ me?) Needless to say: I fell in love.

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Here's a first look at EMMA. We'll have the trailer for you tomorrow! #EMMA

A post shared by Working Title (@workingtitlefilms) on Nov 20, 2019 at 11:59am PST

The color palette particularly stuck with me after the credits rolled. It made me want to powder my face, pop whole raspberries into my mouth, and throw on a romantic pale pink blouse. It made me want to look–and ideally feel–like a freshly hatched chick this spring, with a baby blue bow smack in the middle of my forehead. I made me want to wear white nightgowns with long spring-green silk overcoats, or pair periwinkle opera gloves and a seafoam cashmere wrap. It made me want a damn straw hat with a pale yellow gingham ribbon to tie around my chin. (Alt: Maybe I just want to be Harling Ross?)

When I woke up the next day, I unconsciously color-blocked a mint green crewneck, navy blue leggings, teal socks, and a quilted army-green jacket with an orange scarf. They weren’t colors that I would have ordinarily thought looked good together, having been raised by a woman who taught me to logically color-coordinate, but the colorful juxtapositions of costume and scenery in the film were so breathtaking that they challenged me.

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Which is why I’m here to make but one humble statement: I’m ready to throw caution to the wind and look like a damn Easter egg this spring. Who knows, maybe I’ll sleep with tiny rags knotted in my hair to produce a fountain of mini ringlets to scare all my coworkers into thinking I’ve Kate & Leopold’ed them.

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Just two days until EMMA is in UK cinemas! Starring @anyataylorjoy as Emma and #MiaGoth as Harriet. Directed by @autumndewilde #emmafilm #emmamovie #janeausten #anyataylorjoy #autumndewilde

A post shared by Working Title (@workingtitlefilms) on Feb 12, 2020 at 3:22am PST

Have you seen Emma yet? Jane Austen stans: Are you in or out? Meet me in the comments to discuss with #nospoilers even though the book was literally published in 1815.

Photos via Focus Features.

The post ‘Emma’ Is Here and So Is Your Spring Color Palette appeared first on Man Repeller.

I Reinterpreted 5 Simone Rocha Runway Looks With My Own Wardrobe

When I was little, I was obsessed with Martha Stewart. Really, truly obsessed. Every night I slept with a stack of her now-defunct publication Martha Stewart Kids towering beside me, and my parents were concerned by how genuinely distraught I was when she went to prison in 2004. I was concerned, too, mostly about Martha’s access to craft supplies, but also because I felt that my love for Martha and all that she stood for (baking, sewing, redecorating your entire house just for Valentine’s day) was at odds with the person I imagined myself to be, someone who wore shoes with fire flames on them and was definitely good at skateboarding. It was, in the most basic, black-and-white way, my early introduction to the fact that I contain multitudes. We all do, of course, and it takes decades to figure out how to express them through personal style. There are seasons of life that skew too tomboyish, too frilly, too fussy, until we find a balance that suits us. Every so often, however, a designer comes along and nails the balance we’ve been looking for all along in one shot–a designer like Simone Rocha.

Simone Rocha treads the same path as greats like Phoebe Philo and Rei Kawakubo; a woman who designs for women. Rocha’s style could easily skew girly-girl saccharine with its swaths of tulle and buckets of pearls, but there’s always something–a furry pair of mules or a studded sock–to bring it back to earth, or at least to a place where you might need to fend off a feral animal with your socks while still looking lovely. It’s worth noting that the majority of the pieces that have become Rocha’s signature are free-waisted and infinitely layerable, i.e. clothes that are actually easy to wear while going about your day.

Rocha is also one of the rarest types of designers who, in the tradition of visionaries like Alexander McQueen, is able to transform bits of her personal heritage into collections that resonate universally with their striking beauty. Take, for example, Rocha’s S/S 2020 show in which she drew inspiration from Irish wren boys–a Celtic folkloric tradition with a tinge of general mischief-making–and translated said inspiration into a 46-look collection that is resplendent and inspiring, regardless of whether or not you’ve ever seen an actual wren boy in the flesh.

Anyway, I could continue to wax lyrical about Rocha for pages and pages, but instead I’ve taken the mental materials I’ve gathered from hours of gazing at her home and listening to her speak about her studio (in a normal, so normal, very not-creepy way, I promise) and turned them into a reimagining of my five favorite Simone Rocha runway looks.

#1: Big Babydoll, F/W 2019

I think it’s pretty clear by now that I can’t resist anything doll-like or pink, but this look is especially good when weighted down with black socks and shoes. Contrast! First it’s sweet, then it’s sour, like an inverse Sour Patch Kid. The overall effect of this look (tulle, headband, puff sleeves) is very dressy, but the silhouette feels breathable rather than buttoned-up.

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#2: Everyday Bridal, F/W 2018

I had every intention of wearing this exact Simone Rocha look to my wedding, but the non-runway version produced for stores was made in a fabric far too heavy for a summer day. All’s well that ends well, though, because if you’re dramatic and love wearing white, any day can be your wedding day (regardless of your marital status)! I did, however, wear the barrette and earrings to my wedding, and they’ve hardly left my head since–proof again that there’s never a bad time to be fancy for no reason.

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#3: Duvet Day, S/S 2018

I spent many hours searching for a patchwork coat similar to the Simone Rocha one shown here, until I was lucky enough to stumble upon the Instagram storefront of Psychic Outlaw where vintage quilts are repurposed into coats! I sent her a quilt sewn by my great-great grandmother, and she transformed it into this beautiful number. I loved the pattern (and, of course, the sentimental value) of the original quilt, but it had been sitting unused at the foot of my bed for months. Now it’s become a genuinely useful part of my life again which is, in my humble opinion, the best way to celebrate any kind of material thing.

I love that both my coat and Rocha’s utilize the traditionally feminine crafts of quilting and embroidery, but, by the same token, turn said crafts into a garment meant for venturing far beyond the confines of the home–a microcosmic celebration of modern femininity.

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#4: The Dress, F/W 2017

This dress, which I purchased at a steep discount from The OUTNET, is still the most expensive piece of clothing I’ve ever gotten my paws on, save for my wedding dress. It’s one of very few items in my closet that makes me feel precisely like the best version of myself, and, after all the preaching I did above about wearing fancy stuff for the everyday, I must admit that it’s probably the only item in my closet that I save for special occasions. I don’t believe you can have too much of a good thing, but I just want to make sure this dress only sees me at my finest, you know? I’ll be honest, I want to impress her. She deserves it.

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#5: 99% Angel, S/S 2017

Here Rocha tempers the sweetness of eyelet lace by transforming it into a utilitarian dress that’s part tea party, part naval uniform. I’d be evading the truth if I didn’t admit that I impulse-bought my dress here on Etsy because of its uncanny resemblance to Rocha’s design. Now all I need are the matching eyelet boots–I stumbled across a pair worn with a dress available on Depop recently, but the seller was quick to mention that the boots were not for sale, as she wanted to be buried in them. A testament to the designer’s greatness if ever there was one…

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I believe a certain yin-yang tension exists at the heart of most good design, a pairing of forces that are not diametrically opposed but work in tandem to reveal both sides of a concept. It’s the ladylike-whimsical effect that happens with Prada or the clash of history and future that Gucci fosters. For Simone Rocha, it’s the tension that exists between the traditionally masculine and the traditionally feminine.

There’s a reason that Rocha’s work is followed with a frenzied eye by women across the globe: she gets it. She knows what we want to wear and how we want to feel when we wear it. And when a designer gets something that big, it’s about more than just clothes, it’s about understanding the spirit of an age. It’s having your cake and eating it, existing between binaries and celebrating traditions, running buck wild and still wearing pearls, too.

Photos via Vogue Runway. 

The post I Reinterpreted 5 Simone Rocha Runway Looks With My Own Wardrobe appeared first on Man Repeller.

5 Couples With Unromantic Love Stories (…Or Are They?)

I love a “how we met” story. Maybe it’s the idealist in me, or my world-weariness vis-à-vis our current swipe-happy dating landscape, or my childhood obsession with watching Pride and Prejudice on repeat. Whatever the cause, I’m always the first to lean across the table at a dinner party, wide-eyed as I address a couple that I’ve only just met, and ask: “So, how did you meet?”

Sometimes the resulting story sounds like a Hallmark commercial. A fortuitous combination of chance, spark, and timing, like Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack reaching for the same glove, or Zooey Deschanel singing The Smiths to an immediately lovestruck Joseph Gordon-Levitt. But more often they’re nothing like a romcom. They’re a bad one-night-stand that blossoms into a full-blown relationship. A string of weird dates and ghost attempts that somehow turn around. A friendship that had no chemistry until one day, for some reason, it does. These happen to be my favorites.

There’s something appealing about the idea that an extraordinary love can be born out of the plain ordinary, or even downright unromantic. In fact, when I put a call out on Twitter for couples with these kinds of introductions, I learned that some of the least romantic “how we met” tales have spawned some of the best love stories I’ve ever heard. So in case you need reminding that love can come from unexpected places, here were some of my favorites.

“A traumatic event bought us together.”

Dolly, 34, met her husband Matthew, 35, when she was his occupational therapist.

“Matt was involved in a terrible car accident in 2014. He had suffered internal-organ damage, various fractures, and a spinal cord injury. The accident left him paralyzed from the waist down, and he also lost a friend who was in the car with him at the time.

I was working at a rehab hospital as an occupational therapist, and Matt was transferred to my unit to begin his rehabilitation process. He needed to learn how to move again without the use of his legs. I was the first person to transfer him out of a hospital bed and into a wheelchair.

My first impression of Matt was that he was incredibly strong. I admired his work ethic and his attitude toward recovery. When we first met, our relationship was strictly professional. But when Matt was transferred to a different rehab program after spending two and a half weeks at my facility, I told him to keep in touch with me to let me know how his recovery progressed. We stayed in contact, texted each other regularly, and he eventually invited me to a birthday party his friends were holding for him at the hospital. When he asked, I was conflicted. I remember looking in the mirror and asking myself, Dolly, what are you doing? It was in that moment that I realized I had feelings for him.

I think that right from the start of our romantic relationship we both knew that we had something very special. My mother had told me to carefully reflect on what my life would be like with a man in a wheelchair, to know that things will be different, and to understand how life might be just a little bit harder than a typical life. None of that mattered to me. We belonged together.

A recurring theme in our relationship has always been happy accidents. We always just go with the flow and embrace whatever life dishes out for us. It’s been five years and we now have a home of our own and a beautiful little girl. So even though things may be a little bit harder for us, we wouldn’t change a thing.”

“We had the worst first date I’ve ever had.”

Konrad, 32, met his husband Robert, 34 on Grindr.

“We met a few days after connecting online. Although Robert had been incredibly expressive over Grindr, this was totally absent when we met in real life. I thought he was completely uninterested. When he texted me after the date saying we should meet up again, I thought, Why?, but thought I’d give it one more chance. On the second date, he was marginally more expressive, and by the third his exterior shell of nervousness had cracked!

Whilst our first meeting in person didn’t particularly go as planned, it worked out in the long run. We met up for our first date in late-August, and I asked Robert to be official in early-October of that year. He actually initially turned me down as he had recently come out of a long-term relationship, but later changed his mind.

We don’t have a romantic ‘how we met’ story but our relationship is solid, loving, trusting, and supportive. I really couldn’t ask for a better husband!”

“He was on a date with someone else!”

Ellie*, 27 first caught her partner’s eye whilst he was on a Tinder date with another woman.

“My boyfriend first saw me in person whilst I was on another date. I don’t recall seeing him at the time but we matched on Tinder the next day, and after a few messages he built the courage to ask: ‘Were you out the other night wearing a leopard dress?’

We went to play crazy golf on our first date, which was so fun. Throughout the game we chatted and found we had a lot in common. We met up again two days later for a drink after work and then began to see each other more regularly. Things fell naturally for us and we made things exclusive pretty early on as neither of us were interested in dating anyone else.

I’ve never met someone so understanding and loving before. He’s very patient and motivates me to work harder. He’s also a great travel partner!”

“We met at a Twilight convention”

Lauren, 29, is now married to Paul, 43, whom she bonded with over a love of Twilight.

“It was October 2010 and I had ended a long-term relationship just two weeks prior, so needless to say I wasn’t looking for anyone. I had two tickets to a Twilight convention and took my little sister along. That’s where I met Paul. There weren’t many guys attending, other than those already with partners. My friend group decided to ask him to join our table at lunch. We had a masquerade-themed party that evening, so we were all wearing masks and fancy ball gowns. We had our photos taken together, and I really didn’t think much of it until a few days after the convention had ended, and we got to chatting.

We spent the next month spending hours on the phone, discussing every topic imaginable and finding out that we were actually very similar. We made it official just before Christmas that year, and got married in 2016. We now have a daughter we named Alice, after one of the characters in Twilight.”

“His friend sent me a dick pic!”

Annabel*, 28, first met her partner Rob*, 29, in college after being sent an unwanted image.

“When I started college I was keen to make friends. So when I sat next to a couple of really friendly guys named Alex* and Rob in one of my first classes, I was happy to chat. They lived in the same hall, and one of them suggested that I add them both on Facebook so we could hang out.

Over the next couple of weeks, Alex messaged me pretty frequently. We went for a coffee on campus, but I really just saw him as a potential friend in a strange new environment. That’s why I was horrified when one day, out of the blue, he sent me a dick pic.

I now know how serious sending unwanted pictures can be, and I think that had it happened when I was a bit older and wiser I might have confronted him about it. But at the time me and my new roommates mostly just thought it was funny, if inappropriate. Still, I didn’t want him doing the same again, so I blocked his number and decided to drop his friend Rob a message to ask him to speak to Alex and tell him how weird the gesture had been. He was really outraged and sympathetic, even offering to come with me to speak to a college welfare team member if I wanted him to.

From there we ended up speaking more frequently, and became friends. We actually didn’t get together until a couple of years later, but we always joke that we never would have started talking if it wasn’t for that picture! When people ask how we got together now we just tell them that we met at college—they don’t need to know the details!”

Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.

*Names have been changed.

Graphic by Lorenza Centi.

The post 5 Couples With Unromantic Love Stories (…Or Are They?) appeared first on Man Repeller.

Yes, You Can Totally Fix a Hole Yourself. Here’s How

Whether a band of rogue moths have done damage in your sweater drawer or you ripped your best jeans in some kind of teen-movie-style fence-jumping adventure, chances are something you used to love to wear has a hole in it. And not in a cool way. In my experience, these items tend to fester, taking up precious real estate in my closet while also being unwearable, something I usually don’t remember until I’ve already put on the garment in question, and become surprised anew by a circle of skin that is exposed where it should not be.

That’s why, as part of our series on taking care of your clothes so that they last forever (or close to it), we’re moving on to — Read the steps below, and if you have tips of your own, let us know in the comments! —Mallory

How to Fix a Hole

1. Thread the needle

2. Tie a knot at the end of the thread by wrapping the thread around your index finger and rolling the thread off your finger. Pull the thread tight.

3. Turn your garment inside out.4. Push the needle through fabric near the hole until it stops at your knot. You only want to capture the top fibers of the fabric, so do not push the needle all the way through to the other side of the garment. The needle will end up on the same side of the garment as you started.

5. Cross your thread over the hole and push the needle through fabric near the hole. As in step four, you only want to capture the top fibers of the fabric, so do not push the needle all the way through to the other side of the garment.

6. Pull the thread so that the hole begins to close slightly, though do not pull too tight to where your fabric begins to overlap. You want to make sure that the fabric stays very flat throughout the whole process.

7. Continue crossing your thread back and forth over the hole in a straight line, pulling tight enough to close the hole but not overlap the fabric.

8. Turn your garment over to ensure that you have patched the entire hole.

9. Continue step seven until the entire hole is patched.

10. To tie the knot, create a loop with your thread and stick the needle through the loop. Pull tight to secure. Repeat to create one more knot.

While You’re Here…

Need a sewing kit? Try these.

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Do you see holes as an opportunity to accessorize? So does Eliz.

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And finally, should you suddenly feel ready to go to town on all of your out-of-commission clothing, we’ve got a few more stories for you.

How to Sew a Button

How to Hand-Wash a Sweater

How to Shave a Sweater

How to Clean Your Sneakers Just the Right Amount

Photos by Alistair Matthews. Prop Styling by Max Rappaport. Image featuring Miu Miu shoes.

The post Yes, You Can Totally Fix a Hole Yourself. Here’s How appeared first on Man Repeller.

Express Lane Style Tips: How to Cuff Your Shirt Sleeves

Sleeve cuffing: we all do it, but do we all !do! it? You can roll them up meticulously and get them out of the way, or you can scrunch them up haphazardly, forcing you to have to fuss every time they fall down because, uh, you scrunched them up haphazardly. The latter looks more, how you say, fashion, but the former actually works, so what’s a conscious citizen of style with sleeves to roll up but selfies to take to do? I guess the first thing is to not call themselves a citizen of style but that’s on me.

[image error]Many moons ago, Jenna Lyons showed me how she rolls her sleeves up in the inaugural video for the now-defunct series, The Chatroom. I never forgot that tip (chiefly because I was party to the haphazard scrunching brigade) but have since expanded upon it so consider the below a refresher on how to cuff your sleeves when you want to look cool and show off your hip wrists. If you stick around, you’ll also be able to enjoy bonus content on how to get your sleeve cuffs the hell out of the way when you’re wearing a sweater. That’s not a bribe or anything though.

Let’s begin!

Step 0: Pick your shirt

Slim sleeves are harder to cuff ambitiously, and the following steps work best on rigid forms of cotton and poplin, though denim and flannel are fair game too. I just can’t help you if you’re trying to cuff like, a silk sleeve. Not today at least.

Step 1: Defy the odds

Instead of literally cuffing your sleeve, I’m going to ask you to take the cuff between your index finger and thumb and ride it up to above your elbow. Once it’s there—positioned as a single, very wide fold…

Step 2: Cuff the fold

I’m going to tell you to roll your wide cuff over itself, creating a meta-cuff just above your elbow with the actual cuff of your sleeve kind of flailing around the circumference of your bicep.

Step 3: Now actually flap the cuff over the fold

Someone help me make sense of the truly drunk description I just wrote for what the corresponding image presents. I’m basically asking you to take the actual cuff of your sleeve now, which has been flirting with your biceps and fold it ever-so-slightly over the folded cuff you made. Does that make sense? Is this why they say a photo is worth a thousand words? Anyway, that’s it. That’s the whole thing. Vwala: straight out of a catalog. I hope you have a job interview for which the description included, “Must be willing to roll up their sleeves.”

And as for that bonus content?

Here’s a one-step trick to adding a little bit of personality to the marriage of sweater and button-down shirt: After putting on your button-down, hold the sleeves in the palms of your hands with the tips of your fingers. Now put your sweater on over the shirt but make sure the cuffs of your button-down are coming out of your sweater. Now: scrunch up your sweater sleeves to that point by your elbow where you’re confident they’ll remain stationary and one more time: Vwala! Put on a cool bracelet. Your wrist deserves it.

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Photos by Beth Sacca.

The post Express Lane Style Tips: How to Cuff Your Shirt Sleeves appeared first on Man Repeller.

The App That Made It Possible to Actually Read Everything I Want To

The product: Pocket, a mobile app

The price: The reasonable price of $0 dollars and ¢0 cents

The reason: During every editorial meeting at Man Repeller, at least one computer starts wheezing like it’s running a marathon. “Sorry, I have 700 tabs open,” someone will say, usually Amalie, “and my computer’s furious at me.” She is then immediately forgiven, because having a score of tabs open is the standard operating procedure if you work in media, or work on a computer at all, probably. But that doesn’t mean it’s not generally a bad and stressful component of tech-dependent jobs. In fact, I’m convinced the number of tabs you have open functions as a multiplier on your burnout rate, which is why, *activate QVC voice*, I’m an avid user of Pocket, a mobile app that organizes all the stuff I want to read online.

Currently on my list: I’m a sucker for big splashy headlines like “The Age of Decadence”—they always go straight to my pocket. (Ditto Atlantic’s—but I can’t vouch for either yet.) Of these five, I’m probably most looking forward to reading Naomi Fry’s New Yorker dispatch from the Weinstein trial. The headline alone got me thinking. The Siba and Dunkin‘ stories are admittedly wildcards—pretty sure their respective authors (R. Eric Thomas, Leah Carroll) tweeted them with enough gusto to pique my curiosity. We’ll see if I get to them.

Here’s how it works and why my life hasn’t been the same since I installed it: You go to the App Store and download Pocket. Following the app’s instructions, you add the Pocket plugin to your phone and computer, which takes one minute even though it sounds like homework, and makes a little red envelope (Pocket’s logo) appear at the top of your browser window on your computer (or on your phone, within the “share” options). Then everyone on Twitter, Slack, text, and email sends you articles all day long until you’re absolutely drowning in content and tempted to look at upstate farms on Zillow. But instead, you decide which articles you actually want to read, click the little Pocket symbol, thus sending them to the app on your phone for safe keeping, then close everything, including the Google results for “how to build your own chicken coop.” Later, when you’re bored on the train or waiting for your laundry or sitting in reception at the doctor’s office, you open your Pocket app and find all the articles you’ve been meaning to read—available offline!—loaded into one clean, consumable list.

From my Pocket archive: I highly recommend N+1’s “My Instagram” by Dayna Tortorici—it’s a long (38-minute!) read that you’ll be happy to finish once you start. The Renoir piece is interesting; I read it after falling into Peter Schjeldahl’s byline after I finished (and loved) his recent piece, “The Art of Dying.” (I pocketed a bunch more and am saving them for a lazy sunday.) Anne Helen Peterson’s analysis of Knives Out crystallized a point I’d been circling around for a while. And finally, all due respect to the important two-minute read that is “British Children Are Haunted” by Brandy Jensen (I’m very devoted to The Outline).

Apps like Pocket, which are essentially shiny RSS readers, have been around for a while (you might love a different one). But based on the number of people that ask me what it is when I mention it, there’s still a substantial knowledge gap. And I want to close it! Because even though it’s such a small change—reading articles from an app rather than from a tab—it’s far more impactful than its basic use case might imply. Saving my articles for later not only cleans up my workspace, a.k.a. my web browser, and enables me to table internet content for when I’m in the right headspace to consume it, but it forces me to consider what I actually think is worth reading. Not just in the moment, but later, too: Often the grace period between my thinking something is urgently worth reading and opening up my Pocket reveals that I no longer care about reading it at all. This is an important hack for fighting the event horizon of attention that is the internet. Things aren’t always as urgent as they seem.

Since I convinced the whole editorial team at MR to get Pocket, we now have a symbol on Slack that means “Tysm I’ve just pocketed this and will read it later, but now I’m getting back to work” (it’s just “