Leandra Medine's Blog, page 603

Is Kim Kardashian The New Jeff Koons?

Image by Sarah Silberg via Vulture

The post Is Kim Kardashian The New Jeff Koons? appeared first on Man Repeller.

MR’s Guide to the Best Sweaters for Fall

Change the word “waiting” in Ellie Goulding’s song “Love Me Like You Do” to “looking,” then let us ask you that exact chorus question when it comes to your idea of the “perfect” fall sweater. Ready?

Us/Ellie: “What are you looking forrrrr?”

You: “I’m so glad you asked!”

Us/Ellie: Great! Us too. Welcome to our Sweater Store.

I’m looking for something sexy, but not, you know?

We sure do! Krista here would like to suggest this Jacquemus ribbed knit with wrist holes.

It’s sexy because it shows off your figure, but it’s also not because it gives the allusion that your hands are fake hands and your real hands are in the dangly bits.

If extra appendages aren’t your vibe, might she tempt you with this sleeveless Topshop thin-knit number? Sans bra, it’s a fun way to free the nipple while keeping it warm.

My whole life is an ugly sweater party. I’m looking for novelty.

That’s just great, Jingle Ball. Speaking of balls, Leandra here would love to direct you toward this Bella Freud “Lion” cashmere sweater which is perfect for she who treats knits like tees, has a sense of humor and dislikes dentists.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth champions this Topman sweater vest. It says, “You’re a star.” It also says, “You get hot in the office a lot, don’t you? Delete the sleeves.”

Finally, what do you get when you combine Band of Outsiders with leaping equines? Band of Horses, The Knit Album. If you get that joke then Krista will wrap this up for you. Would you like your receipt in the bag?

My grandma doesn’t know how to knit so I need to make up for her inadequacies.

Oh! Well perfect. This Paul by Paul Smith cardigan that Elizabeth has selected for you not only looks knit by Nonna, Nonna would probably wear it, too.

If you have a slight lilt like Amelia and want to pretend you have a gran in Australia, go for the g-ma gold and really brag: this I Love Mr. Mittens hand knitted diamond cable knit sweater is so beautiful it could make a New Zealand sheep cry.

My grandma situation is just fine, thanks. In fact, I’d like to look like my grandpa. Who lives in Maine. 

Easy! Amelia has suggested this L.L. Bean Norwegian crewneck for your next whaling adventure (then says to turn it inside out for a non-nautical Proenza effect). Leandra prefers you stay on land with this Uniqlo men lambswool crewneck — ideal for sitting on the porch and shaking your fist at hooligans.

I’m one of those people who is honestly just going to wear the same sweater all fall and winter. And Metropolitan is my favorite movie.

Got it. Let this Trademark textured wool sweater be your grab-in-the-dark-works-with-everything thing. Prepare for multiple comments on your perpetual ability to look put together despite the truth. Amelia swears by it.

In the same vein: this AYR mixed-stitch sweater — but maybe get white and navy. Fall into winter extends into March, you know.

I don’t think you understand: I am a sweater professional. I own all of these. I just sold my own mom on the black market to afford my Big Buy of the Season.

Ok…(psychopath) what! Hm? Nothing! Just pressing the security button while I show you these final options. Leandra loves this sparkly Miu Miu knit for its festivity and this Jonathan Saunders square jacquard turtleneck knit because it’s wearable Sudoku. Elizabeth supports robbing a bank in the name of this actual piece of art by Yakshi Malhotra hand-knitted jumper, and we all support her in this choice of Chloé striped silk-blend striped sweater. From one sweater psychopath to another, her way to justify all of the above? “You gotta invest in love.”

Illustrated by Max Dower of Unfortunate Portrait — check out his Instagram here.

The post MR’s Guide to the Best Sweaters for Fall appeared first on Man Repeller.

New York Closets: Kate Foley

Stylist Kate Foley is a true fashion nerd. What does that even mean? It means she reminisces about design houses under their former visionaries with reverent nostalgia, doesn’t care what her fiancé thinks about her less than sexy sandals and has a full on Marni obsession. It means that not once, but twice (and probably more, undocumented) she has hunted for a pair of shoes with the same dedication the CIA might a deadly fugitive. Intense? Yes. But for us fellow nerds, it’s like Foley says below, “Oh, for the love of fashion.”

Monday:

Monday morning meetings in the office. This is my favorite Marni skirt, which I have to try and stop myself from wearing every day. It’s my version of jeans! These Prada shoes are from the Fall 2014 runway. I have them in red and gold but was never able to find these ones until recently when I spied them on Vestiaire Collective.

Stella McCartney top, Marni skirt, Prada shoes, Marni earrings

Tuesday:

Dressing for a day spent on set can be a bit of a challenge; you want to be comfortable as you’ll be on your feet the whole time, but it’s kinda important to try and look nice if you’re the stylist. These Céline sandals are a bit crazy — my fiancé certainly seems to think they’re a bit too “fashion-y,” but they’re so comfy I fell in love with them!

Marni earrings, Zara dress, Céline sandals

Wednesday:

You might have guessed by now that I have a BIT of a Marni obsession. I love this dress. It’s so simple in its shape but the long sleeves and mock neck really make it. I was delighted to find out it comes in green, and I also bought the top version in a floral print. Wearing another pair of Marni earrings here, super heavy but worth it!

Marni dress, Marni earrings, Céline sandals

Thursday:

Off to dinner in my beloved Suno dress that I’ve been wearing all summer. I launched a hunt that spanned all corners of the earth to get my hands on these pink Louis Vuitton heels. I tried them on in NY and stupidly didn’t buy them then and there. A week after I decided I had to have them but of course, they were nowhere to be found. I eventually managed to locate a pair after calling a million stores and sending emails out to everyone and anyone I knew that could help. Oh, for the love of fashion.

Suno dress, Louis Vuitton shoes

Friday:

In LA for a cocktail event to celebrate Vestiaire Collective. I ran past the Marni store and bought this floral top before stopping by my FAVORITE store in LA, Irene Neuwirth, to pick up some insanely beautiful jewelry. I had brought my Isa Arfen black shantung silk pants with me and they worked perfectly with the top (not pictured: my new white Céline wedges that I just discovered on the Vestiaire Collective site after years of searching!)

Marni top, Irene Neuwirth earrings, Isa Arfen pants

Saturday:

Heading to an event tonight after the shoot. This Miu Miu dress is incredible. I am totally and utterly obsessed.

Miu Miu dress, Jimmy Choo heels

Sunday:

Finally made it to vacation! Sitting here in Modica, Sicily in the early evening before heading down a million steps into the town to have dinner. I found this Saint Laurent dress on Vestiaire Collective and was surprised as it feels more vintage, more Yves Saint Laurent than Saint Laurent; it’s much more me than the rest of the current collections.

Saint Laurent dress, Isabel Marant sandals

Follow Kate Foley on Instagram, @real_kate_foley

The post New York Closets: Kate Foley appeared first on Man Repeller.

‘My Best Friend’s Wedding’ Should Have Ended Like This

As Kimmy — the (at the time) little known Cameron Diaz — and Michael are not speaking to each other, Jules — the lovely Julia Roberts — uses this opportunity to her advantage, acting as a go-between while further manipulating the two into breaking up for good. Or so she thinks. Because as we know, Michael and Kimmy do eventually marry each other.

However, Jules may have gotten a different outcome had her conversation with Kimmy gone a bit more like this…

JULES: You’re Michael. You’re in a fancy French restaurant. You order crème brûlée for dessert. It’s beautiful. It’s sweet. It’s irritatingly perfect. Suddenly Michael realizes he doesn’t want crème brûlée. He wants something else.

KIMMY: What does he want?

JULES: Jell-O. I mean, shouldn’t Jell-O be allowed to marry her best friend should she choose to do so?

KIMMY: Wait, what? I’m confused.

JULES: I’m Jell-O, Kimmy. I’m the Jell-O in this not-so-subtle metaphor. Look at me. I look like Julia freaking Roberts, and I can’t even get the guy. If America’s sweetheart doesn’t get her happy ending by the time this whole thing is over, what’s left for the actual Jell-Os of the world? It’s not even really that I’m in love with Michael or I’m sure he’s the one. I’m doing this for Jell-O people of the world, because why else do you watch a movie like this other than to boost your own dangerously low self-esteem?

KIMMY: But what about crème brûlée?

JULES: What about it? You’re twenty years old. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you. You’ll find your Michael, that best friend you can’t imagine yourself without. Let me break it down for you. You know those women who are always saying, “I’m so lucky I married my best friend.” That’s the little shred of hope I hold onto that I’m not going to be miserably alone for the rest of my life.

KIMMY: I’m sure you’ve got other male friends you could marry, right?

JULES: Wrong. I have George. And while he’s insanely handsome and has a knack for making Dionne Warwick sound fresh in 1997, he’s definitely gay. So Michael is kind of my only shot.

And another thing: if you go through with your wedding despite all I’ve told you today, I will not be your maid of honor. I’m not going to stand there and pretend I’m happy for the two of you when I know it should be me at that table.

KIMMY: I hate to say this, but I think you’re right. I don’t care how sweet or lovable my character is; I cannot outmatch the Julia Roberts of this situation. Marry him. Don’t marry him. I’ve got years of romantic comedies ahead of me, and I’ll have my chance at the happy ending, too.

JULES: Thanks. Now walk away so I can get the denouement I deserve.

Film Still via Cosmopolitan

The post ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding’ Should Have Ended Like This appeared first on Man Repeller.

This Is All You Need to Look Pretty

I MEAN. Listen. You look beautiful no matter what — you, me, your mom and Oprah all know that. But commiserate with me for a moment here as I take you back to the other day when I was…

Running late

For a date

And I hated:

My outfit

My hair

And my face.

Which is not a nice thing to say I hate, but you guys have to have those days too, right?

So there I was, sitting on the floor doing my makeup. Trying to go from this:

To this:

And nothing was working.

Then I remember my friend Nadia gave me this Chanel eyeshadow stick-thing after I saw her one morning and was like whoa hey hi, why do you look so pretty?

“Because I’m French!” I thought she was going to say. But nope. It was this eyeshadow stick-thing.

So I held it before my lids like a sword, cried out, “En guarde,” scribbled two fat lines then smudged.

And oh my god Becky, stop looking at my butt. I’m up here.

A woman transformed. I looked pretty. Something about the stick’s bronze-y tones making my eyeballs pop and just-enough-shimmer to look special. It was like a smokey eye, but not. Mega “Why do you look different?” effect.

So in the name of good karma, I pass the baton to you:

[image error]
Turn on your JavaScript to view content

Use it when you need to feel pretty. “Feel” is a better word. You already look pretty.

(I know because I can see you through the screen.)

The post This Is All You Need to Look Pretty appeared first on Man Repeller.

Creepy Habits: We Spent a Week Style Stalking Lucy Chadwick

There is no experience so profound as identifying a new face on the street style circuit and subsequently pledging allegiance to his or her mode of dress.

An element of very welcome discomfort washes over you as you observe this new face wear a double breasted poplin dress — neither branded nor too-dressy — that is striped in red, white and blue and looks not at all like a walking promotion for the vaguely imminent presidential elections so much as she does the most compelling case for using toothpaste as a style icon to aspire toward.

Then there is also the question of how long you must wait for your eyesight to depreciate in order to approximate both the thick rimmed eye glasses and wire frame aviators so endemic to her style, which perfectly compliment a pair of brocade Dries Van Noten boots that you thought were a myth and prompted a goose hunt across New York City once you realized they were not so that you too could call them your own.

And those varying tonal shades of barely-worth-mentioning white! Or is it earth? What must I do in order to wear a sand-colored linen blouse with a dove gray trench coat and white culottes without looking like a millennial cross between Morticia Addams (as in, dead) and this one gym teacher, a failed artist, that I had in high school?

Speaking of culottes, there’s another pair that’s striped! And it’s cleverly paired with alternatively striped slides. WHERE DO YOU BUY YOUR STUFF?

I could be that girl.

Can’t I be that girl?

But see, nothing feels as satisfying as realizing, once you’ve finally addressed with her the vaguely creepy circumstance at hand (you’ve had your photographer style-stalking her all week), that she maintains an English accent, does not work in fashion (she’s a gallery director, of course!) and agrees with you, absolutely, that toothpaste-chic trumps designer anything.

By a landslide.

The post Creepy Habits: We Spent a Week Style Stalking Lucy Chadwick appeared first on Man Repeller.

Writers Prompt: A “Caption This” of Street Style Sorts

The woman in the above picture could be saying anything. She could be talking about astrophysics, trends, whether “GIF” is pronounced with a hard or soft G. But that sentence caught frozen in time — mid-word, mid-syllable, really — doesn’t say nearly as much as what’s going on around it.

Consider the fact that the person interviewing her was clearly just inside the Tibi show. Or was she? Then there’s that woman to the right of the interviewee. Is she…waiting for her friend to finish talking? Or is she in disguise (sunglasses!) because she’s actually in the CIA and has been asked to follow around Miss Black T-Shirt. Look even closer: what is going on with that guy in the background? He’s wearing a bucket hat! There’s no way he’s not involved in the crime now unraveling in my head. John Grisham, not to be cocky or anything, but watch out: this smells like like another best-seller.

Oops! Except JG isn’t going to write it. I’m not either because our Saturday time slot is reserved for you. SO: for this week’s writers prompt, we want you to find a street style picture — any street style picture, from any website (100% does not have to be this one, promise, though I am linking to our own street style posts each time I say the word just because you should go and have a look for fun). Then write a story about it. Make something up. Keep it under 500 words, submit it by Thursday, October 1, attach the picture (please include photo credit and link to original source!) and then have a beer so long as you are of legal drinking age.

Photographed by Krista Anna Lewis

The post Writers Prompt: A “Caption This” of Street Style Sorts appeared first on Man Repeller.

The Myth of the Modern Sidekick

Also from this author: The Only 10 Things You Need to Know Post-Graduation

As a child of the nineties, I absorbed everything there was to know about friendship from TV.

Cory Matthews & Shawn Hunter, Lane Kim & Rory Gilmore, Dawson Leery & Pacey Witter. The teachers varied by channel but the syllabus remained consistent, and underlying each lesson — a single, prerequisite dishonesty: the archetypal best friend. Singular.

As if you’re prescribed a loyal wingman at the opening moment of your social existence; as if your reality isn’t a whirling, chaotic mess of half-baked Facebook friends; as if it were that easy.

It hasn’t been for me. Like so many of us right-swiping our way through the Digital Age, I’ve never had that ONE best friend; no Robin to my Batman. Instead of a single, designated counterpart — or even a sole, cohesive squad — my social geography is made up of islands. With a new set of hypnotizing screens to contend with, what was once a fish bowl is now an app-filled ocean.

Sometimes we come together as a single land-mass, a friend-of-a-friend Pangea; more often we remain distinct. I exist within carefully mapped concentric circles, tenderly curated silos of friendship.

On top of those inlaid divisions — friends from the neighborhood cul-de-sac versus those from the small-town college bar — there are subsectors of friends with whom we share particular sides of ourselves. We fall into familiar rhythms of wry political debate with some and surf the cresting swells of emotional retellings with others. We allow several to tug out our playful side; we entrust one or two with our confessions of rabid professional ambition; we permission a gilded few to the somber duty of guarding our secret shames.

To further complicate matters are the various levels of accountability by which we are bound today. You think Lane ever got mad at Rory for posting a Snapchat before responding to her text? You think the cast of Friends had to brave the great unwritten chasm of social rules regarding Instagram birthday collages? (On everyone’s birthday? On no one’s birthday? Or the minefield method: on some and not others?) Heck no. They had it easy; they just orbited around each other’s living room couches and that was that.

With these new social technologies, you see, we don’t just select a bigger cast for the internal production of My Life, Currently which opens nightly inside our heads. We give them more lines and bigger parts, we expect them to perform right beside us at every curtain call. So at its worst — when our hordes of casted actors go rogue and disappear into cyberspace — modern friendship sends us retreating into the darker corners of our own minds: do I fit somewhere? Am I sure? How do I know? On which app can I find the evidence?

But we do fit—no longer into the other half of a gold-plated “best friend” necklace, or a two-seater Batmobile. Instead, we fit incrementally – a piece tucked here, another snuggly secured there – into the myriad of relationships we create and build. We loan a slice of our personalities to each of a thousand trustees. In return, we receive the same, our lives enriched.

I may not (ever) have a Dawson to my Pacey. But I could fill his whole damn creek with rowboats and kayaks worth of friends, and friends-of-friends, and familiar faces that may someday become friends. I’ll take that preposterous, joyful disaster of a flotilla any day. I’ll even watch the re-runs. Every single one.

Film still via 20th Century Fox

The post The Myth of the Modern Sidekick appeared first on Man Repeller.

What to Buy This Month

I’ve said this before, but I do think it’s worth reiterating: nothing revives the quality of your closet so well as a trip overseas for a 5-day period with only a carry-on suitcase in tow.

Because of the limitations that, abroad, your run-of-the-mill black shirt and white jeans and red brogues provide (they were great on day 1, still good on day 2 but by day 3, you missed nothing so much as you did the variety that is presented by the closet — no matter how big or small — that you left stateside), suddenly, the burgundy knits and light wash jeans, green polos and weird, metallic single-strap sandals that you thought about selling on The Real Real seem like the best bets any closet has ever known.

Only no other closets have known them — they belong to you.

So you get home, you look into that familiar cube (What? Your closet isn’t shaped like a cube?) with fresh eyes and there it is: the world’s best department store replete with already-paid-for clothes rendered only in your size. What a dream!

When I got home from London, this is what I wanted to wear: a striped poplin bathrobe (I walked by an English shop called Budd and they were selling pretty cool ones for like 374852 GBP), which, if you don’t already have, you can get from Sleepy Jones, to wear with a horizontally striped turtleneck underneath (mine is from Topshop, if you’re interested) and a pair of baggy but straight leg brocade pants (Marques’Almeida for the win unless you’ve got funds set aside for Dries — it should be noted that neither are actually cheap, but don’t forget we’re slow fashion partisans now) and the official Gucci loafer of the season. They are sleek and will look tremendous with your pants falling all effortless surfer meets French gallerist over them.

Oh! And although I don’t own it yet, I did think a great deal about trading in my beach bag for a wicker basket proper, which as the Internet would have it, was available in excess via the good folks at Amazon. Imagine that.  Now all in a favor of a photo contest (you wear your version of this, I wear mine), say: Dbuiwetfgbajdbhafyqgbn! Or, you know, follow us on Snapchat.

Hey, PS: Want to shop without spending money? Nope, it’s not called stealing, sneaky mom! Glossier and Totokaelo want to give you a $1000 shopping spree. You’re welcome.

The post What to Buy This Month appeared first on Man Repeller.

A Week of Dislike: Facebook’s New Thumbs-Down Feature

Last week, while all of New York was assessing the spring trends of September Fashion Week, Mark Zuckerberg was quietly developing his pièce de résistance of this season: the Facebook dislike button. “We are working on it and are very close to shipping a test of it,” Zuckerberg said in his announcement regarding the new thumbs down. “Not every moment is a good moment.”

Could not agree more, so in a week-long, completely imaginary trial, I tested it out.

Facebook Dislike Trials, Day 1. Target: Overtly Successful High School Friends

Girl I Cheated off of in Bio September 18 at 5:34 PM: First test of Ivy League Medical School ACED! Gotta say, this wild ride is off to an amazing start and I just have to hold on tight and thank my parents, my personal trainer, my sweet boyfriend of 10 years, my study buddies — lol u know who you are!!! — and of course, myself. #blessed

Margaret Boykin Dislikes This

Test Notes to Self: Mild guilt upon clicking. Comforted by the fact that honesty is a virtue.

Facebook Dislike Trials, Day 2. Target: Those Who Dislike Spelling Things Correctly

Ex Boyfriend September 19 at 3:32 PM: U kno its the worst when cabbies drive us bikerz off the road. Come on dood, its not you’re road, duche bag. Your crazy.

Margaret Boykin Dislikes This

Test Notes to Self: Need to talk to Zuck about a LOL button. Need to talk to therapist about why I haven’t followed through with blocking ex-boyfriend.

Facebook Dislike Trials, Day 3. Target: Offensive Trend Pieces

Superior Women’s-Bible September 20 at 9:00 AM: Relationship Hack! Six Reasons He’s Probably Cheating on You, and How to Make Him Stay (Hint: Get dirty…but also cry!)

Margaret Boykin Dislikes This

Test Notes to Self: Read this later, though.

Facebook Dislike Trials, Day 4. Target: Mom’s Online Quiz

My Mother September 21 at 11:02 PM: Congratulations! The Sorting Hat Says You’re a GRYFFINDOR! Not surprised about this one!!!!

Margaret Boykin Dislikes This

Test Notes to Self: No way. Ravenclaw.

Facebook Dislike Trials, Day 5. Target: Sponsored Ads

Handsome Farmers Who Like Bagels September 22 at 8:43 AM: The dating app EVERYONE is talking about and that YOU Definitely Really Need!

Margaret Boykin Dislikes This

Test Notes to Self: Talk sternly to Zuckerberg about the protection of my personal data.

Facebook Dislike Trials, Day 6. Target: The Solicitor

My College Roommate September 23, 2005 at 1:07 AM: YO guys I know it’s been a few years since I’ve been on this old thing – who even uses Facebook, amiright? But I have a REALLY sick cause I need you guys to help me out with: my spiritual awakening. In the 5 years since graduation while living with my parents, I’ve decided that the heritage of my soul lies in India and my true purpose is to practice meditation in Pune, Maharashtra. However, flights are mad expensive so if you kind, gentle friends find it in your hearts to donate to my crowdfund page, FlyHariettHome, I’d send a million gentle blessings your way. #lifeisajourney

Margaret Boykin Dislikes This

Test Notes to Self: No.

Facebook Dislike Trials, Day 7. Target: My Past

Margaret Boykin September 1, 2005 at 1:07 AM: is We’re going down, down in an earlier round / And Sugar, we’re going down swinging / I’ll be your number one with a bullet /A loaded god complex, cock it and pull it

Margaret Boykin Dislikes This

Test Notes to Self: Everybody makes mistakes.

The post A Week of Dislike: Facebook’s New Thumbs-Down Feature appeared first on Man Repeller.