Leandra Medine's Blog, page 586

Colored Me Thrilled to Get Dressed Again

An interesting new phenomenon has infected my dressing behavior and in my head, it sounds a little like this: So, what should I wear today? How about white jeans and an ivory sweater, then I could balance the light with a heavy pair of black boots. But where is the color? Where’s the life? Do I have an orange sweater? Oh! Here’s an idea, how about a yellow turtleneck, under an orange sweater, with a red mini skirt? Yeah. That sounds good. I’ll wear black tights and black brogues. Oh what the hell, do I have green shoes?

I have green shoes.

Okay! I’m off.

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For a long time, I rejected color, instead retreating to navy sweaters and black jeans or shades of white worn together. Typically, when a shift like this occurs, it’s a cohort of designers who are to blame. They have the power to present beauty to us however they please and as a result of this power, new taste cues are planted within the soil of our predilections. We’re often manipulated to believe that we’ve arrived at these ideas on our own but that is very rarely true. But where do the designers pull their proclivities from?

At the Fashion Group International awards last month, Alber Elbaz (now famously) delivered a sort of sermon on the way in which being a designer has changed. He said, “We became ‘creative directors,’ so we have to create, but mostly direct. And now we have to become image-makers, creating a buzz, making sure that it looks good in the pictures. The screen has to scream, baby.”

This presents the startling question of whether all the colorful clothes being spun out by designers are a response to social media. They certainly do photograph better, and make images impactful. A black turtleneck, no matter how stunning and beautifully crafted, just doesn’t translate the way that, say, an orange sweater — both cheap and not — does.

So maybe the way we collectively think about getting dressed is changing. By the rules of the following philosophical thought experience, if a tree falls in the woods, nobody hears it. Does that mean that if an outfit exists in the wild but is never documented, it’s ultimately never worn? The “image” may very well be eclipsing the facts of existence: the experience of actually wearing something — of connecting with it and to it. If you get the good picture, you got it — all of it — period.

This is a strange conundrum because you really have to wonder whether what appears in the image can actually trump the quality of what exists in real life. And perhaps further, what is real life? How can we define concrete reality as one thing in 2015 when social (or is it mainstream?) media — virtual reality — has become the most vital ingredient of our lives? Today I’ll stick to charcoal gray.

Feature Image Shot by Emma Summerton for W Magazine

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The Thought Process of Writing an Instagram Caption

Alright, this is a decent picture. I look like I have acupuncture needles in my back and I’m trying to balance on one foot as a result but you know, whatever, that’s me. So let me try that out as the caption: “Welcome to balancing acupuncture on one foo…” No, that doesn’t sound right. Trying too hard.

“Why does love always feel like a battlefield?” Jordin Sparks, for the thousandth time: Not now.

How am I going to communicate that there is more to me than just an outfit? Is there more to me than just an outfit? Of course there is: there’s the desire to quell my narcissism with a charmingly witty caption about why I’m posting this, which is, of course, much deeper than just the picture of the outfit itself. Oh! There it is.

“Is this witty? Am I charming?” You sound like an idiot.

“Graffiti mania!” What the fuck? When have you ever used the word “mania”?

I just need to focus. Review the facts. Let reality inspire me. Write what you know. Here’s what I know: I really like the outfit. I am impressed I put it together in 8 minutes flat this morning at 6:35 and stuffed it into a tote on my way to a workout class. If someone else posted this outfit, I’d feel pretty happy that they did it, primarily because they unwittingly moonlit as a stylist for me, building a good idea I could apply to my own wardrobe. So can’t this just be considered a service?

“PSA: It’s 50 degrees. The perfect temperature for winter white.” Yikes.

“Nantucket or fuck it.” Who am I, Amelia?

I should really stop being so shitty to her on Man Repeller, huh?

Nah!

“Got my period so figured all white was the way to go.”

This one works. Only it would be LYING.

Moving on!

Credits? “Welcome to my Tibi sweater, Rochas blouse, Sonia Rykiel jeans, shoes by Céline.

Who are you? Migos?

“I got these Céline boots for $250 in Orange County!” You may as well know what separates you from an ad.

And right now, nothing. Except that you’re not getting paid.

What’s my motivation here?

“Say it loud, wear it proud, baby.” Why am I talking in cheap dictums? I sound like a newsletter for “millennial ladies” who “have no shame in their game” and who “lean in” to buzzwords with the conviction of an American president in an oil painting.

Is that a caption? Too long to type. I give up.

Oh! Actually! I know. This is the one. Yes, it will dazzle everyone with my very clear respect for the English language and perfect prose and deeply profound knowledge of the history of articulation. Yes, I’ve got it.

No one needs to know this took me half an hour.

No one needs to know this took any thought at all.

It’s between you and me, brain.

“Sup.”

I should have just gone with “Got Acupuncture?”

Feature collage by Krista Anna Lewis

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A Beauty Expert on the 5 Best Foundations for Darker Skin Tones

Felicia Walker Benson is Bergdorf Goodman’s social media beauty editor and the founder of ThisThatBeauty. Have a makeup question for her? Post it below.

Picking the perfect foundation is no easy task. Seriously, it requires work! And it’s kind of annoying. There’s a lot to take into consideration: formulation (will the ingredients make me break out?), coverage (will this cover my blemishes?), texture (will my foundation look SUPER obvious?), cost (can I afford this?). The list goes on and on.

For women of color, one more layer gets added: Will they have my shade?

All ethnicities struggle with the “shade” issue. However, because beauty brands haven’t always offered a wide range of shades for darker complexions, there are less options. As a woman of color, I know all too well how hard it is to find that perfect match. But part of my job means trying just about everything makeup-related, and while there’s still work to be done, I can proudly say that brands are making HUGE strides. I can also proudly help to make this process less stressful.

So, below: my 5 favorite foundations for deeper skin tones as found on the beauty floor of Bergdorf Goodman, broken down into 5 different activities.

Walk the Dog Foundation

It’s time for Fido’s morning walk. Normally you’d go braless and barefaced but you’ve developed a neighborhood crush. (Convenient, until it’s not.) You want a tiny bit of coverage, but in the most natural and radiant way possible….you don’t want to be Captain Obvious.

Try: Eve Lom Sheer Radiance Oil Free Foundation SPF 20. The lightweight foundation comes in 12 shades (I wear shades 10 Amber and 11 Almond) and can be applied in a jiffy with your fingertips.

Bra: Still optional.

Sunday Brunch Foundation

You’re meeting the girls for brunch after a late night but you want to look so flawless that your friends are all, What the whattt? BUT, you don’t want them to know that your glow is from a foundation because then they’ll give you crap for “getting ready” to eat eggs.

Try: Bobbi Brown Intensive Skin Serum Foundation SPF 40.

Liar’s loophole: The glow is part foundation, part treatment serum that’s infused into the formula, so if anyone asks, you’re perfectly within your right to say, “Oh, it’s just this new serum I’m trying out.”

The 9-to-5 Foundation

A girl’s gotta earn her keep, eh? You need a foundation you can apply in the morning on the subway that lasts until the end of the day. Theoretically, it should stay until you plop down on the couch and Netflix the night away.

Try: Estée Lauder Double Wear Makeup To Go Liquid Compact. The spill-proof foundation is available in 20 amazing shades and lasts 8 whole hours. You’re good.

Going Out and All-Out Foundation

It’s Karaoke night, which means you’re in the spotlight. You’ve got a cat eye, a Mariah song and a mic…all you need now is pitch-perfect skin.

Try: Dior Beauty Diorskin STAR Fluid Foundation.

American Idol: It has “STAR” right there in the name — the finish and coverage is nothing short of stunning. Available in 15-skin-mimicking shades, Dior Beauty Diorskin Star Fluid Foundation evens skin tone and delivers unprecedented glow. My shade is 050 Dark Beige.

Sleepover Foundation

This is the tricky one. Nobody needs her sleeping companion all up in the foundation situation.

Try: Lancôme Miracle Cushion Liquid Cushion Compact Foundation. This discrete, fits-in-the-palm-of-your-hand foundation is perfect for your purse-turned-overnight bag.

If you do feel like sharing: It comes in 11 different shades. Mine is 450 Suede N.

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Follow beauty guru Felicia on Bergdorf Goodman’s beauty blog, Instagram and Twitter. You can also follow Felicia’s blog, ThisThatBeauty, on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Photographed by Krista Anna Lewis

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Netflix & Chill Is the End of Romance

Romance has never been our generation’s forte. Second dates are typically followed up with long blocks of confusion-filled silence, broken only by the brave (or bored) party’s “Hey!”-of-a-Hail-Mary text — whose recipient likely “won’t see it” until 2 am when the only appropriate response back is, “Hi, u out?”

We’re great at this.

“Netflix and Chill,” the millennial code for sex, has only further convoluted the modern dating process. Come over and hang, or come over and bang? What’s the difference and who cares if popcorn is involved?

We aren’t the first to invent sweatpanted-panting, of course. Before the Internet, one was courted via cordless with the classic pick up (land) line, “Dinner and a movie?”

Prior to that, it was drive-in theaters a la Danny Zucko.

The difference between then and now is that our parents’ “park-and-chill” didn’t replace pivotal steps in the wooing process, it merely facilitated the necessary rounding of bases. Going to the movies was still a proper date. At the very least, you were out of the house.

For those recalling high school make out sessions to the din of DVDs (and Blu-ray!) and wondering if that was the beginning of the end, give your younger selves a little more credit. Back then, your “date” had an excuse: a curfew. Watching a movie with your crush meant more literal face time than a date-date (considering that physical separation is typically required in public and for travel). It was efficient; two birds, one bone.

And yet here we are now, twenty-something adults, “20 minutes in to Netflix and Chill.” Those “relatable posts” make it look like recipients of the lazy invite are surprised at their hosts’ true intentions — and maybe we were, at first. (How are you supposed to know that Downton Abbey is an innuendo? That buffering is a cue for…buffering?) But we’re well-aware of what it means (shout out to the memes) and we’re a bit too smart to be doing this: complaining that romance is dead while calling an Uber and pulling on leggings to appear both casual and cute.

So why go?

Because Netflix and Chill is the ultimate companion test.

Do we have the same taste in television? What about movies? How is your binge-watching endurance? *Fast forward through hook up* Will you laugh at the same parts that I laughed? Are you a mid-show talker? A plot ruiner? One of those people who asks questions even though I haven’t seen this movie either? Can I have your Seamless password?

Maybe it is better to find this out at once rather over the draining course of multiple courses, fourth dates, bad stoop kisses and missed signals.

But if romance is, in fact, dead, then to hell with grandma’s rules. Be the Netflix and Chill initiator, invite him over, control the remote, and enjoy your third date from the comfort of your couch.

Illustrated by Maria Sainte. Follow her on Instagram!

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Watch the ‘Zoolander 2’ Trailer, Listen to the New Adele Song

Welcome to the Man Repeller Center for Ants, not to be confused with the Anna Wintour Costume Center and definitely not to be confused with the Summer Heights Hight Center of Performing Arts, of which Mr. G is its tenured director.

We have a great program lined up for you today in this humble post, all with the dedicated goal of returning your brain back to maximum hydration after two days in the office where you wracked it dry.

Why hydration? Because in the famous words of Derek Zoolander, water is the essence of wetness, and wetness is the essence of beauty.

If you have exactly two minutes and thirty five seconds, then ask yourself: Why male models?

It’s the cinematic return of Zoolander, Hansel and Mugatu.

Missed their comeback on Valentino’s Fall 2015 runway? Check it here, or derelict your own balls.

If you’re the kind of person who wouldn’t be mad about Man Repeller turning into Adele Propeller…

The Internet did that funny thing again last night where it pretended it was in middle school and passed around a bunch of confusing whispers that eventually lead back to nowhere. It went like this:

“Adele’s anticipated new album 25 has been leaked!”

“Adele’s anticipated new leak has been fixed by a plumber so now you can’t actually hear it any more!”

“Why doesn’t the plumber ever come that quickly when I call him!”

“Because you don’t have a billion dollars and aren’t threatening to sue!”

And so on and so forth.

Here’s what you can listen, to, though! Her newest-new song. It will ease all your pain.

This new version of her old-new song is better, though:

Last thing about Adele for today — T or F: Her outfit in “Hello” was inspired by Home Alone.

If you are dedicated to doing absolutely zero work today but want to look busy and may also be a bit of a dad with technology…

First, open Excel. Everyone looks busy with Excel open, even if you, like me, don’t use it despite being instructed to.

Second, click this link. It is not a virus! It’s going to take you to iTunes DO NOT PANIC. See all this fun Oh Boy stuff? Click the button that says “Subscribe” DO NOT PANIC. It is free. But now you won’t miss any episodes, like our most recent one with Mamie Gummer who is her own person but if you don’t know, is also Meryl Streep’s daughter.

Click here if you’d like Meryl Streep’s cheek bones.

Repeat the above process here for Leandra’s Monocycle.

Now fast question: how many tabs do you have open?

Deep Breath. That was a lot. Now, if you’ve ever wondered who the man is behind the Oh Boy voice or what it’s like to have a beard and cast spells…

And you only have like, 2 minutes left to fart around, meet Jay.

Still with me? Wanna shop supes quick? Same. Here. Let’s get:

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Cool. Glad we did this. Love you. Bye.

Feature collage by Elizabeth Tamkin

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Gucci Is Changing How We Fashion…Fashion

The British Fashion Council has announced that Alessandro Michele will take home the 2015 International Designer Award at this year’s British Fashion Awards ceremony in London. It’s a testament to the rich work he’s done in just three seasons as Gucci’s creative director. Though the designer had been quietly working at the brand since 2002, Michele’s recent presence at the forefront of Gucci has provoked the kind of dressing renaissance that most designers wish to achieve but few are capable of accomplishing.

When you look at the work of Nicolas Ghesquière, for example — first at Balenciaga and now at Louis Vuitton — the influence is palpable. No trend, as a matter of fact, has swept in so loudly as the resuscitation of 70s dressing; that’s in large part due to the first collection Ghesquière showed for the house of Vuitton. Those collars were neat, the a-line skirts and dresses tasteful. The turtlenecks looked pristine and the first inkling of a knee-high boot regeneration echoed down his runway. How much of that stuff do you see appropriated now, three fall/winter seasons later? How much of it are you wearing?

The same can be said of Phoebe Philo’s work at Céline, which came in softly but reverberates loudly through each body it touches. If you thought normcore was the result of a meme, you were missing a key element of the fashion piece: Without Philo we wouldn’t give a damn about Birkenstocks, or white sneakers, or track pants. Clean lines set in eggshell and white and black and navy may not have become the neutrals that defined a very distinct juncture within the fashion narrative.

And without Hedi Slimane at Saint Laurent, we may have never squinted so tightly in trying to reckon Courtney Love as the ultimate style icon.

These are the particular ilk of groundbreakers — those who don’t differentiate culture (both pop and not), and fashion — who change how we interact with clothes. The most recent designer to join this group is Alessandro Michele. With his indulgent take-no-prisoners approach to the philosophy of more is more, he has generated the breath of joie de vivre, a suspension of reality, that was growing more and more absent from fashion in recent years. Would we be contemplating brightly colored sweaters and fuzzy trim and gold lamé skirts and turtlenecks and coats and socks with the same rigor otherwise?

You see the trickle-down effect most saliently when you consider the cues of high street brands like Zara or Topshop who are especially clever about their reinterpretations on trends they deem worth approximating. Casting aside the environmental implications, and perhaps the ruthlessness of stealing the creative mental objects of another individual, the copies almost become like a badge of honor for the brands being emulated — an early step in the series of events that change what we deem beautiful and how we interact with our clothes.

News of this award comes following a particularly tumultuous moment in fashion whereby two more of the most prolific visionaries of our industry (Raf Simons for Dior, and Alber Elbaz for Lanvin) — celebrities in their own rights — have stepped down (one electively and one by command) from their posts. Beyond applauding the impressive reinvention of a wheel we’re consistently taught doesn’t need to be remade, the delegation of this design award award presents an interesting question about the future of creative directors. Prior to taking this post at Gucci, only true fashion fans and “insiders” even knew Michele’s name. That will not be the case for very long — but how important is a brand name person to the success of an even bigger brand-name house?

Runway images via Vogue Runway; feature collage by Krista Anna Lewis

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Oh Boy Podcast Episode 13: Mamie Gummer

Mamie Gummer was voted most likely to cheat in a marathon.

She took her middle school yearbook superlative as a compliment, even though how she’d cheat still feels up in the air. (“A Metro card?” was her suggestion to Jay. )

Gummer also considers herself a “country mouse,” “too matchy-matchy” for Williamsburg unlike her (self-described) more fashion-savvy sisters and knows that one’s acting career all hangs in the nose — prosthetic or otherwise. She plots the demise of email with Jay and at one point sneaks in a quote from Hook. It’s these throwaway lines as delivered with her quiet humor that allows ye “Oh Boy” listeners to get to know Mamie Gummer the person, not just the actress, or Meryl Streep’s daughter.

But we learn about the acting side of things, too. She’s currently starring in an Off Broadway play called “Ugly Lies the Bone,” (in which the New York Times described Gummer as “superb”) and says the experience feels like it did back when she performed in college: “I think it’s that egalitarian spirit where everybody is on the same plane and we’re just trying to do good work.” As for what’s next…well…earbuds in, my friends. Enjoy.

Follow Mamie on Twitter here, and  Jay Buim on Instagram here — or visit his website; l ogo and feature illustration by Kelly  Shami.

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Oxford Dictionary Word of the Year: The Cry-Laughing Emoji Face

Oxford Dictionary just announced its word of the year as the cry-laughing emoji face. This comes two years following selfie’s anointment of the same title, but this one makes history because it’s the first time a symbol has won word of the year, which really begs the question: what in the good name of vowels and conjunctions and portmanteaus et al is happening to us? Are emojis ruining us? The following round table discussion dissects.

Leandra Medine: I want to round table emojis because it has been occurring to me more and more while trying to articulate myself that I’m having a difficult time saying what I want to say, and I think it might be the fault of my use of emojis and umbrella words — those that have become so ubiquitous and all-encompassing (e.g. “everything,” “major”) that don’t actually mean what I’m trying to say. So many misrepresented and falsely articulated emotions.

So I’m wondering: what are these shorthand forms of communication doing, number 1, to our ability to self-express and number 2, to our ability to communicate?

Amelia Diamond: Emojis are an interesting factor when it comes to communicating in the world of dating. I have a guy friend who has showed me entire pick up conversations on Tinder that solely involve emojis. It’s alarming that it’s possible to communicate without words. Of course there are languages where instead of letters, characters encompass whole words. But as far as communicating with straight up pictures, that’s what cavemen did.

The line of communication gets even more blurred because you’re not just wondering, What does his “hey,” or the fact that he didn’t call mean, but instead, What does the face with the stupid tears coming out of its eyes mean when he sends that and nothing else? Does an emoji equal a response? Is it less than a response?

Charlotte Fassler: That’s something I think about too because it can fill an awkward pause. But I’m a visual person, so I prefer emojis to when people were really into abbreviating words. I think those really bothered me and I’d rather see a picture.

AD: Like, “totes?”

CF: Yes, I would prefer for someone to send a thumbs up. I think that expresses more to me. Or instead of someone writing, “OMG,” I would prefer them to send those hand emojis.

LM: But even on Instagram I notice that instead of commenting on pictures, I’ll just put out hearts or little monkeys or the hands — which I cannot even think of the word to describe — those two hands with the glow above them.

CF: Praise hands.

LM: See! Word loss. Also, it bothers me that I am not connecting with this photo because I love it for X, Y and Z reasons. Instead I have to be like, “Praise!” and am in turn not forced to understand why I like the photo and it never comes up again. I didn’t actually draw a relationship or a connection to something. What if that becomes how I feel about everything? I find it upsetting.

AD: There was this article about how women — I think it was specifically about women —  perceive professional e-mails as “blunt.” So an e-mail without an exclamation point, or punctuated with a period as opposed to a dramatic “Thaaaaaanksssss!!” is more polarizing. Now the addition of an emoji to two words can be your exclamation point or extra A.

LM: But do you really want to be communicating that way?

CF: I don’t understand why people are so averse to blunt communication on e-mail. I think if you’re someone who receives a ton of e-mail and there’s all this fluff surrounding the question that needs to be asked, you’d prefer if it was quick. Just, “Hey, does this day work for you?” Rather than “Heyyyyyy, it’s so nice to [emoji] [emoji]. We should really get together.” You’re reading through all of this crap just trying to get to the message. I don’t think it’s offensive, I think it’s how it should be: a blunt form of communication.

Esther Levy: E-mail in general has become much more casual. It’s almost like texting. I e-mail my friends more often than I text them. The language has changed. But with emojis, I don’t think it’s so much that they’re replacing our vocabulary as they’ve become a vocabulary in their own right. So that “praise hand” emoji is expressing something that you can’t necessarily say in words. It’s best communicated with that graphic.

LM: Have you guys had similar difficulties expressing yourselves?

AD: Yeah. Recently I’m like, “What’s that word for that thing that you walk on?” And someone’s like, “Your feet?” And I’m like, “Yeah. Thanks for that word!” I always thought that was by nature of the fact that we’re writing all day so our brains sort of fry out on the easiest words. I’m even having trouble speaking right now. I always thought that losing words was sort of an occupational hazard/a part of life and I think it’s going to happen regardless of emojis. I think texting and the shorthand vocabulary that follows cannot be stimulating our minds. It’s not like we’re playing Luminosity games.

EL: It’s scary because — not to sound like the premise for a really bad horror movie — before e-mail or typewriters existed people used to hand-write letters, and they really had to think about what they were going to say. They weren’t going to fuck up that letter because they’d have to get new parchment paper, they’d have to dip that quill in the ink or whatever. We’ve come so far past that point. Again, not to sound apocalyptic, but are emojis soon going to be the primary form of communication? Will we not have to think about what we’re saying and how we’re saying it?

LM: Do you all use emojis?

ALL: Yes.

LM: I think Esther touched on something interesting in that it’s becoming a language unto itself. Of course, with every cultural trend always comes the sense that there are going to be different classes and groups. There is going to be an elite class who highly intellectualizes whatever the trend is; there’s going to be the common denominator who probably popularized the trend to begin with and there will be the stragglers, who kind of fall in-between those two levels. So do emojis become this intellectual nod to communication without words? Do words become obsolete? Is that what the future looks like?

AD: Words will not become obsolete. People still play Scrabble and I think the New York Times crossword puzzle is more popular than it’s ever been. People will always have a love of words. I don’t think emojis are a replacement of words for real — just in digital communication, maybe.

When people used to hand-write letters to communicate, there were proper and improper ways to write a letter. I think it was Jackie Onassis who said that you’re never supposed to begin a Thank You letter with, “Thank you.” You should begin it with something like, “What an evening!” Whereas, if you get a letter now, whether it’s written in chicken scratch or in perfect cursive, you’d be like, “Oh my god! A letter! There’s a natural ebb and flow in that what was popular will fade, and each generation kind of freaks out and wonders what is wrong with the younger generation. I think emojis are just fun.

CF: I do think that they create this easy out to not express what you’re actually feeling. To tie it back to what you were saying about emojis in the world of dating, I think that people already have such a difficult time in the modern age of dating, trying to express themselves or trying to decode what someone says, and I think it’s a really shortchange way to communicate with someone you’re into. Or someone you’re not into! Emojis can definitely be used as a tool for avoidance.

We use emojis to communicate things that are difficult to communicate. It’s like, “I don’t know how to respond to this. I don’t actually want to think about this. I’ll send back an alien and a peace sign!”

It’s a way of commenting on something you don’t actually want to comment on.

AD: I think emojis can also connote a sense of closeness. It’s an added element that says you’re on a different level. I think texting puts you on a different level: okay you have my cellphone number, we’re on a personal level, we’re not just e-mailing, you can literally contact me at 4 am. And then with emojis, it’s like, we’re not just texting about a plan to meet for a business drink. We’re one step closer to friendship. And nobody uses emojis to communicate feelings of anger. Nobody that was truly furious would send the red-faced emoji to communicate that.

LM: Maybe that’s why you think it’ll continue to be “just fun,” because people aren’t offended by emojis. I can send you a knife emoji and the assumption is not that I am attempting your murder.

It’s equivalent to sending someone a grating e-mail and then signing it off with a smiley face.

CF: If anything, emojis are useful in indicating sarcasm because that’s something that’s difficult to detect in text messages. You know, people will put a lot of one letter in a word to show exaggeration (“heyyyyyy”), but sometimes it’s difficult when you’re looking at straight words with no affectation to them — it’s difficult to decipher what people mean. They can sound short or angry when they’re not at all. Putting in an emoji can aid someone’s personal style when you’re using something as cut and dry as texting.

AD: Everyone says that the kiss of death is a single “K,” but if you text a “K” with a red balloon, you’re like, “Well that ‘K’ wasn’t so bad!”

LM: How long does that last though, right, as it continues to function as a language that we use? Much the same way that e-mail used to feel official but has now become a more informal way of communicating with each other.

AD: It’s similar to when hash-tagging took on a life of its own and left the Twitter-sphere and became sort of this wink wink. They almost functioned as a cover up (#sorryforselfying); they were ironic. But now you can just put two glitter signs on each side of your comment and know that the person is being completely ridiculous.

Do emojis bother you as a writer, Leandra?

LM: I certainly wouldn’t use an emoji in a story. I think that completely detracts from any sort of gravitas you’re trying to convey.

CF: I’m kind of a fan, though, in text messaging — I guess they now seem a little bit creepy — of sending the semicolon and parenthesis old school smiley face.

LM: To who?

CF: A lot of people.

EL: Those do seem more genuine.

AD: It’s a vintage wink.

LM: Do you think emojis are really flirty?

CF: I think they’re kind of gendered.

AD: They are gendered. The connotation when a girl uses one versus when a guy uses one is a total double standard. But to go back to your first point, I don’t think they’re effecting our ability to articulate ourselves any more than slang has throughout language. Slang is important because it dictates what is happening in the culture at that time; what are the trends, the cultural themes? So emojis are clearly reflective of this age.

LM: Ah, digital slang.

AD: Right, which is universal. I don’t think it’s hindering anything and I don’t think it’s blocking our ability to communicate any more than slang has.

EL: But I feel like slang is a response to what’s going on culturally. I just don’t see that with emojis.

LM: But what Esther’s saying is that they don’t hold any weight or real significance in the way that slang has. But maybe emojis do speak to the larger cultural narrative, which we can’t see because we’re so deep in it.

AD: When I think about emojis I think about the online age, and about quick, instant communication and gratification. I think that our culture is hyper-PC right now and although the joke is that emojis are in no way PC, they can be used as tools to avoid offending someone.

Maybe they’re indicative of the fact that we are becoming culturally enmeshed because of the Internet. My cousins play some soccer game on an app with kids across the world because of the Internet. Maybe they don’t speak the same language, but they can send emojis.

EL: It’s definitely a universal language in a time when everybody is so connected via the Internet.

CF: As a technological feat, emojis are pretty exciting because we did have these pretty janky smilies for so long, and once there was this whole arsenal of images and cartoons that you could use to express yourself, it was fun and exciting. The novelty hasn’t worn off yet. I don’t know what the next thing is but I definitely think it’s still fun.

EL: Talking emojis!

AD: Yeah, emojis that say words. Leandra, I remember you saying that stickers were the original emojis. The 90s are back across the board, in music and in fashion. We’re seeing a lean towards 90s pop culture; people are rollerblading again. Maybe emojis are literally indicative of our (sticker) obsession with the 90s. It’s possible.

CF: To go back to what Leandra was saying about commenting on a picture and not being able to articulate why you like or connected with it, I almost think that’s true in one regard, but I also think that emojis give me a universal method of commenting on something I otherwise wouldn’t have commented on. I maybe would engage in something that I otherwise wouldn’t.

LM: I guess I don’t understand why it’s a universal language.

AD: Emojis are universal because you don’t need to speak or read the same language to understand an emoji. A kissy-face is a kissy-face. The beer emoji means “drinks” or “cheers.”

Unrelated, I’m curious to know if emojis are something you can get bored of. A lot of slang gets annoying pretty quickly.

EL: I feel like I am getting bored of them. There are certain emojis — like the red dress fiesta girl — that pisses me off. When someone sends that one, it feels like a cop out.

LM: It is a cop out. You’re sending it for everything. You’re sending it if you like something, if you just bought a red dress, if you want to dance, if you want to drink, if you’re trying to force yourself into a better mood. Emojis are becoming new forms of umbrella terms.

AD: I don’t disagree but I don’t think it’s so different from what slang did.

EL: But at least slang required you use words. You had to implement them in sentences.

AD: I consider myself such a visual person that there’s some element that’s really satisfying in a good emoji. A bad emoji can — like I said — make me not want to go on a date with someone.

CF: Using emojis in text messages as a diffuser makes things feel less harsh. I prefer sending GIFs in moments of awkwardness or trying to diffuse a conversation.

AD: Esther and I often talk about GIFs when we talk about tweets. We question whether or not we’ve uploaded too many of them on a given day. I always say no, GIFs are great, they’re interactive and people engage with them. But they are almost like an extension of the emoji.

EL: I started using emojis a year or two ago and my friends and I would send them to each other — they were too cutesy to not be taken ironically. Now I use them appropriately and they have become a part of my vocabulary.

CF: What do you feel like their function is when being used appropriately?

LM: Probably just as a point of punctuation, right?

EL: Right, I’m not using them on their own.

LM: My mother-in-law just texted me asking if I felt better and all I’m thinking about doing is sending her the green-faced emoji. I don’t want to say “no” but I don’t want to say “yes,” either. It’s a good way of skirting the issue, of not having to answer — which actually further intellectualizes your earlier point, Charlotte, because you’re not giving an actual answer. It’s like, “I’m going to throw something out and you choose where you want it to stick.”

CF: And that’s why I think it convolutes so much with dating.

LM: I very much feel like I’m no longer a part of Generation Y — or a member of the quotient of millennial life that the world is still being built for.

AD: In terms of dating?

LM: I have zero experience with dating apps and zero experience with the way emojis can potentially ruin a relationship. I just can’t be part of that conversation.

AD: So put it in friend context: What if you were in a fight with a friend and they sent you an emoji in the middle of it, wouldn’t that frustrate you?

LM: No, because I’m such an easygoing person that I feel like all I would want is for someone to send me an emoji in the middle of a conversation. I’m confrontational, certainly, but I don’t like to fight. I just like nipping issues in the bud.

AD: So if someone sent you an emoji would you take that as a white flag?

LM: Absolutely. I think that goes back to the point we were making earlier; emojis cannot be taken seriously. Maybe that’s why they can’t become their own language and when they do it’s going to really conflate our perceptions of safe places and unsafe places.

AD: I’m thinking about the conversation we had with The Cut’s Stella Bugbee about anonymous commenters, and about people who are so brave behind their avatars — it’s almost the same way here. You can be brave behind your emoji because you don’t have to say it. Nobody can actually misquote you with an emoji, you can retort, “Oh, that’s not what I meant.”

LM: Right. You can’t be misquoted yet. I guess we just have to wait and see.

Emojis may be ruining you, but for your own amusement try to recap your weekend in them – sexts included (peaches and eggplants and tiny snakes, oh my!). 

Want more tech talk?  We do too.

The post Oxford Dictionary Word of the Year: The Cry-Laughing Emoji Face appeared first on Man Repeller.

Get to Know Our Podcast Host, Jay Buim

You may (or may not!) be familiar with the inaugural Man Repeller podcast series, “Oh Boy.” In the event that you are not, I ask that you please divert attention to your iTunes app and download episodes 1-12.

Now listen to them.

I’m still waiting.

Okay, caught up? Good! Great! Grand. Excellent! Sorry to the initiated party for having to watch that. But now that we’re back, I ask this: while you’re listening to the episodes as hosted by filmmaker Jay Buim — a man who is profoundly passionate about talking to interesting women to discover what makes them interesting, how frequently do you wonder what he looks like? What he eats? How he got his voice to sound like that? Whether he’s ever dressed up as the yellow Power Ranger for Halloween?

Incidentally, today is your lucky day because a handful of answers are documented below in what we like to call a sad update on the Proust Questionnaire.

What do you do for fun? I make pasta from scratch and then I eat that pasta.

Who’s your female hero? Joan Rivers.

What quality do you most admire in others? Warmth and a sense of humor.

In yourself? A strong work ethic.

Are you actually a beard wizard, and assuming that you are, what is your favorite spell? When I summon the demon known as Seamless and make a pizza appear out of nowhere.

Super power you wish you possessed? The ability to create free time.

Super power you do possess? I have the ability to get hungry whenever I want.

What emo lyric lived the longest in your AIM profile? “I’ve got it now, a thorn in my side the size of a Cadillac.” It’s from the song “97” by Alkaline Trio.

How did you develop your awesome radio voice? I find interviewing people and having a great conversation very relaxing, so it probably has something to do with that.

If you could eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be and why? Simple carbohydrates because complex carbs just don’t cut it.

Would you rather have elbows that couldn’t bend so that you sort of looked like a toy soldier, or, would you rather have ice skates as your real feet? Ice skates as real feet because then I could nail my audition for the Mighty Ducks remake.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is flossing to you? 12, we all need to floss more.

Who would play you in the movie version of your life? When the Hangover movies came out, people used to come up to me on street and ask me if I was Zach Galifianakis, which was cool with me because he has been my favorite comedian since his Comedy Central Presents stand-up special from 2001.

Favorite song? “Future Islands” by Beach Foam, although my iTunes says my most played song is “Stay” by Rihanna.

Favorite book? Everything written by Iceberg Slim.

Favorite thing of all time? A real solid nap.

Your favorite podcast? When “Serial” was on I probably listened to each episode four times but my favorite podcast is “WTF.”

Why did you want to host Oh Boy? I wasn’t hearing enough interviews with awesome and inspiring women.

What do you hope the audience gets from it? I hope the audience is entertained and informed but most importantly that they feel that it’s ok to make your own path in life.

Favorite interview for Oh Boy? Sloane Crosley or Nicolette Mason or Rebecca Harrington or Amelia but definitely not Leandra.

Dream interview for Oh Boy? Laurie Anderson, Trina, Kathryn Bigelow!!!!

Follow host Jay Buim on Instagram or visit his website here. Oh! And here’s one more shameless plug — we launched a new Podcast called “Monocycle” last week. It will be coming out on Fridays and is hosted by me, Leandra. Do with that as you please.

Photographed by Krista Anna Lewis

The post Get to Know Our Podcast Host, Jay Buim appeared first on Man Repeller.

The Boots That Are Moonwalking Back into Your Life

You never forget your first.

It’s exhilarating and a little painful, the consequence of a lot of careful deliberation and considerable imagination.

Your first designer purchase is also a lot like neglecting to pick up your dog’s poop. You’ve got to ghost quickly before your neighbor Marfa sees and chastises you for poor judgment and reckless behavior.

For a young Jewish girl beholden to the Orthodox uniform of her high school, the best way to wield individuality was through a jazzy pair of designer shoes. This is how I came to need the Marc by Marc Jacobs Galaxy Boot of yore.

The Marc by Marc Jacobs Galaxy Boot was bold. The Marc by Marc Jacobs Galaxy Boot could withstand the stormiest of storms, the craggiest of Brooklyn sidewalks and the sharpest of stilettos. But even this was difficult to communicate to my mother, who had a hard time justifying a $300 purchase for a 15-year-old.

After much maneuvering and babysitting, I did eventually acquire the moon boots and man, would I be lying if I said I didn’t feel like the baddest-ass mofo at my elementary school. Moon boots represented sovereignty. If their shouts could be heard through the Michelin-man exterior they might say, “We found water on Mars and we’re going to take it!”

They were also, I suppose, ugly as hell.

But therein lay the irony that made them so appealing! Until they weren’t. I ditched them one year later. So long, first loves.

Cut to just a few months ago, when I felt what could only be described as a celestial pull toward a small shop’s window. Displayed in the storefront was an embellished pair of emerald moon-cum-Ugg boots.

Since then, I’ve seen similar styles pop up on e-commerce platforms and in brick and mortar establishments (possibly confirming Amelia’s apocalyptic theory on the return of 00’s fashion).

They’re perhaps best described as a cross between a mukluk and an astronaut’s shoe of choice. They have the weightlessness of the former and the boldness of the latter. They may not have the Michelin Man feel of the Marc Jacob boot of yore, nor do they take me to Mars, but I’d say they’re one small step for a woman; one giant leap in the fight against frostbitten toes.

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