Leandra Medine's Blog, page 82

6 London Fashion Week Instagrams That Stopped Me in My Tracks

As emotionally transformative as it can be to sit, fully present, at a runway presentation and take in the physical impact of a new collection first-hand, there’s something very entertaining inherent in observing it from afar on social media. By virtue of the fact that the content posted on Instagram is cherry-picked to have the most mass appeal, it’s literally a highlight reel of everything that is transpiring–all of the front row dazzle and none of the IRL glimpses of armpit sweat.

At this season of London Fashion Week, there was much dazzle to be had. I was stopped dead in my Instagram scrolling tracks multiple times over the course of the last seven days, arrested by the need to gaze excitedly at the image beneath my fingertips for considerably longer than the nanosecond it took to “like” it. Below are six dispatches from across the pond that I can’t stop thinking about.

1. The One That Reminded Me That Fashion Runways Are a State of Mind

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Billy Porter (@theebillyporter) on Sep 16, 2019 at 12:47am PDT

I dare you to watch this video and not experience a rush of pure, unadulterated joy. A perfect use of slow motion video, truly, and another spectacular outfit courtesy of Billy Porter’s stylist Sammy Ratelle, who is responsible for the star’s most iconic looks. It makes me want to wear big earrings and bigger sunglasses together posthaste.

2. The One That Shook Me With the Reality That Life Is Full of Surprises

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Victoria Beckham (@victoriabeckham) on Sep 15, 2019 at 7:37am PDT

Let’s take in this Instagram caption together with deep breaths: “#HarperSeven #AnnaWintour #VBSS20 x VB.” Imagine the rarefied thrill that must come with typing out hashtags for the names of your eight-year-old daughter and the Editor-in-Chief of Vogue, neither of whom have Instagram accounts but both of whom are instantly recognizable on the app. Imagine, also, that you were once a Spice Girl with a penchant for skin-tight mini dresses and now you are an established high-fashion designer with a knack for impeccable suiting and elegant draping. “Surreal” doesn’t even begin to describe it.

3. The One That Made Me Want to Wear My Bra Over My Shirt

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by eletrikhman (@eletrikhman_new) on Sep 16, 2019 at 5:37am PDT

I searched through J.W. Anderson’s tags on Instagram with gusto to consume as many real-time glimpses of their bra-cum-harness accessories as I could in one sitting, such was my enthusiasm regarding what I predict will be a ubiquitous styling piece in street style outfits and fashion editorials alike. If we can’t #freethenipple yet on Instagram, at least we can encircle them with stylishly respectful aplomb.

4. The One That Felt Even More Magical Than a Letter From Hogwarts

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Stefania

The Only Thing That Holds Up About ‘The Notebook’ Is the Accessories

I don’t think I’m going out on a limb when I say that The Notebook has aged like a bag of Franzia. My middle-school self may have sobbed through the whole film and categorized Noah and Allie’s relationship as a can’t-eat-can’t-sleep-reach-for-the-stars-over-the-fence-world-series kind of romance, but today I recognize their dynamic for what it is: deeply, emotionally manipulative. And yet, despite my updated realization that the relationship norms of The Notebook don’t exactly hold up, I remain besotted as ever with one particular aspect of the film: the accessories.

If you’re a bird I’m a bird and if you want to wear a flower-accented headpiece in the ocean I’m here to support that.

I realize that might sound hyperspecific, but hear me out. While Allie’s overall 1940s-era wardrobe has received its fair share of praise and approximation, her ability to accessorize an outfit as sharp as the tips of her father’s mustache deserves far more credit. It is, in my opinion, the under-the-radar reason her style is so compelling to this day–proof of the timeless triumph that occurs whenever accessories really do “make” an outfit. As someone with a keen interest in vintage fashion, I was thrilled to discover that Etsy is a hotbed of Allie accessory equivalents. If you, like me, want to follow in her well-decorated footsteps, scroll below for some shopping ideas.

1. The hat to wear when fetching the paper from your local bodega

The paperboy hat that Allie and Noah seem to share is just the quickfix I need for mornings when my desire to pick up a chai tea outweighs my desire to shampoo my hair before work. Its forest green tweed fabric perfectly complements the mustard collared dress Allie wears while riding precariously atop Noah’s handlebars, so be forewarned that purchasing one in 2019 might be the gateway drug to similar items, i.e. a shopping cart full of horned-rim tortoise shell glasses plaid overcoats. I’m not complaining. And like I said, Etsy is chock-full of tweed cap starter pack materials, like this one that’s made to order (so it can fit your specific head size!), and this bucket hat version for a more modern twist.

[image error]
Turn on your JavaScript to view content


2. The gloves that will protect you from subway pole germs

When Allie clacks into the office of kindhearted Lon (#TeamLon) to tell him she’s skipping town for a bit, her Pepto Bismol suit is a loud look made louder by the color coordination of her accoutrement: a red hat, red buttons, red pockets, red earrings, red shoes, red lipstick, and red gloves (she also changes into a brown version of this get-up later). I identify with the fact that “effortless” is not a concept Allie seems to be familiar with and look forward to saving money on Purell while wearing gloves of my own on public transit this autumn because I CAN’T GET THIS LOOK OUT OF MY HEAD. Apologies for shouting. Allow me to soothe you with these $32 soft leather gloves, which I would absofriutly would wear with a pink suit. Oooh, and these are only $24 and lined with cozy fabric!

[image error]
Turn on your JavaScript to view content


3. The going-out accessory you never knew you needed
Unfortunately I couldn’t find any shoppable links for Rachael McAdams’ dimple.

Allie’s white floral hair apparatus in the scene when Lon pops the question–a mere ten feet away from her swing dancing parents–is the cherry on the vanilla sundae. After my teenage tendency to Lana-Del-Rey my adolescent moodiness by wearing gauche flower crowns to school dances, I thought I was finished with sticking greenery on my head, but Allie has convinced me that flowers aren’t just for music festivals and weddings. In moderation, they might actually be the going-out accessory I never knew I needed. I’m eyeing this orchid hairpin, which sells for $3.25, but this one is the closest replica of Allie’s.

[image error]
Turn on your JavaScript to view content


4. The in-between seasons hat

After rediscovering photos of my staple seventh grade outfit (a silver-buckled pink fedora worn with my school uniform), I swore I would never return to my “statement hat” phase. However, lately my saved Instagram folder has been populated with head toppers of this precise variety—so I must be backsliding, and I’m pretty sure Allie’s aforementioned wide-brim red felt hat can take credit for that. This one is semi-tempting me to relocate to a ranch, while this one is conjuring fantasies about tweed blazers and apple picking.

[image error]
Turn on your JavaScript to view content


5. The outer layer you can fit in your commuter bag

I’m convinced that Hillary Clinton has taken style cues from Allie’s twilight years. (I submit Allie’s classy, red wool suit and shining curled lob as evidence.) I’m also convinced that, with reading glasses perched atop her head, Noah on her arm, and a timeless pashmina shawl tied gently around her shoulders, Allie has really hit her accessorizing stride by the time this season of her life rolls around. The pashmina in particular hits all the marks of a stellar accessory: it’s essentially a blanket, it fits in a purse, and it will absorb your tears as you sob through The Notebook’s “I’ll Be Seeing You” closing credits. This one has some fun fringe, and this one is $15 and reversible. Oh and this one is elegant enough for an overly air-conditioned ballet venue.

[image error]
Turn on your JavaScript to view content

Drop your favorite style moments and/or contentions with The Notebook below. I’ll be there to laugh and commiserate.

Images via Everett Collection.

The post The Only Thing That Holds Up About ‘The Notebook’ Is the Accessories appeared first on Man Repeller.

12 People on the Advice That Changed Their Life

Therapy is about a lot more than brilliant one-liners, but they do have a way of sticking out. When you hear the right words in the right order, they can nestle into your brain and somehow, unbelievably, make it to your long-term memory and continue to serve you forever. Below, in a story originally published in April of 2018, 12 people share the small bits of advice from therapy they never forgot. Just in case you need it today.

My housemate has a panic attack every time she’s on the tube—there’s something about the never-ending tunnels and the lack of exits that does it, I think. After a few years of shaking and crying every day, panic had sadly become a regular part of her commute. The multiple therapists she’d seen about it were no help, and she was resigned to thinking it would be her life forever. And then, last week, she had an appointment with a therapist who was different, who told her exactly what she needed to hear: “You’re underestimating your ability to cope.”

My friend’s face when she told me about it later made it clear: This was her breakthrough moment, the moment she finally got some advice that cut through the crap and put her on the path she needed to be on to help herself. For her, it took someone else to say, “You can do this.” My moment came when I received this piece of advice from my therapist for managing my panic attacks: “Find five things you can see, four you can hear, three you can touch, two you can smell and one you can taste [this could be your morning coffee, or food between your teeth].”

It’s simple, I know, but it was a huge for me. Now, every time I feel a panic attack coming on, I am able to stop it in its tracks, simply by taking a second to calmly and methodically get in touch with my surroundings. When I heard the relief in my friend’s voice (and remembered my own), I decided to ask 12 other women to share the advice that gave them clarity, that served as some kind of unforgettable changing of the tides. Turns out, breakthrough advice is something most people feel compelled to share. Some of the examples below are from therapists; others came from wise moms, sisters and friends. If you have some to share, pop it in the comments— you never know, it could be all the therapy one of us needs.

“My therapist told me to treat myself as softly and kindly as I would treat my former child self. It really resonated with me.”

Jessica

“Thanking your fear and doubt for its concern really helps me. I find realizing that anxiety can come from a good place, like love, really reassuring.”

Chelsea

“I was having a panic attack in a session and my therapist told me to stand up and do some jumping jacks. It made me focus on something else and help regulate my breathing.”

Bec

“I think the best thing I got in therapy was the praise and reminder for how well I’m doing, despite all the hardships. Tender encouragement and chocolate — it’s a good mix.”

Renée

“That if you’re acting stressed (fast-breathing, foot-tapping, chain-smoking, etc.) your body is sending stressed-out signals to your brain, which means it makes adrenaline and works you up even more. I’m a super tense person so that reminded me to stay mindful and relax my body when I need to.”

Holly

“My therapist validated the fuck out of all of my traumatic experiences that had been downplayed my entire life. That was the most healing for me.”

Caitie

“When you’re panicking about something that could happen, think about how actually likely it is to happen. Like, if your boss wants to have a meeting with you, how likely is it really that you’re going to be fired? If you’re on a plane, there’s almost no chance it’s going to crash.”

Steph

“The shark cage metaphor for trauma and PTSD is one of my favorites: People aren’t born with strong boundaries, it’s the people around us that help us to build them when we’re young. If something traumatic happens in our lives, it knocks a bar away from our cage, and it’s okay to ask for help to build it back up.”

Rebecca

“Whenever I see someone who triggers panic and trauma for me, I list all the differences between them and myself.”

Momo

“When I feel anxious or fearful I try to thank that thought for trying to protect me from what it thought was danger. I also like to focus on all my senses, and name things as I see them.”

Bronte

“That you’re not crazy for thinking you can’t concentrate — the stress of depression and anxiety can make it hard for your mind to focus. My therapist taught me some productivity strategies designed for people with attention-deficit-disorder and they were so helpful when I was having a bad day at work.”

Rachel

“That we cannot control what happens, only the way we react to it. Also that every negative pathway of thinking is a learned behavior that we can only change with time, practice and patience.”

Georgia

Kelly Pigram is a writer based in London. You can follow her on Twitter @kellypgram

Graphics by Coco Lashar.

The post 12 People on the Advice That Changed Their Life appeared first on Man Repeller.

56 of the Best Street Style Looks From London Fashion Week

London Fashion Week street style, in my mind, is like the infamous mystery flavor Oreo—you truly never know what it’s going to taste like (or look like) until you unwrap it and take a bite. Based on Samin Nosrat’s metric for the four elements of cooking, this season’s snapshots boast the unmistakable tang of acid: a multicolor maxi dress reminiscent of a bag of Sweet Tarts, a purple tie-dye sweatshirt garnished with a squeeze of lime lettering, a yellow puff sleeve moonlighting as the sartorial equivalent of lemonade, a suit stained-on-purpose with tomato red scribbles. It’s powerful enough to prompt you to reach for a glass of milk, something to set your tongue back to neutral so you can open up the slideshow and take it all in again—the zest of self-expression intoxicating throughout.

London street style is the opposite of a palate cleanser. It leaves an imprint that’s hard to shake, a lingering desire to mix four patterns together instead of just two, or to stick a stuffed-animal mouse in your blazer pocket just because. It’s the wacky, rule-breaking cousin to New York street style‘s smoothly packaged caffeine drip, a manifestation not just of personality but of personality taken to its very edge. None of it feels “me,” and that’s precisely the point—to push you to the brink of your own reinvention, regardless of what someone else’s looks like.

Which outfit inspired you the most?

56 PHOTOS
click for more

Photos by Matthew Sperzel.

The post 56 of the Best Street Style Looks From London Fashion Week appeared first on Man Repeller.

A Short (But Essential!) Shopping Guide for Tall Women

As with most bodies, the specifics of how mine is put together can render finding clothes that fit difficult. Being tall (six-footer here!) presents its own very specific challenges. Challenges that, if you were born tall, as I and executive editor Mallory Rice were, will cause you to spend a lot of time amassing bits of information that making shopping for clothes that fit a little bit easier. At this point in our lives, you could say we’ve become somewhat begrudging experts on the matter.

So, together, with the help of market strategist Elizabeth Tamkin (who is 5’3″ but long on empathy), we’ve put together a guide featuring the best brands and some clever styling tricks to help out our fellow talls.

Both Mallory and myself are wearing jackets with pre-cropped sleeves, totally eliminating an “Oops my wrists are shooting too far out of this jacket moment.” We’re also both in Rodebjer pants, which run super long.  Mallory is wearing Rodebjer pants, Jodi kimono jacket, Adieu shoes, Everlane shirt; Nora is wearing Rodebjer pants, sweatshirt and blazer, G.H. Bass & Co. Weejuns loafers and SEE Eyewear glasses

I’m old enough to remember the dark days when tall sections were few and far between and you had to go to the mall to find them. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, god bless online shopping! Being able to buy good basics that I know will fit me from dedicated tall sections has freed up my energy to take more fashion risks. I can buy shirts or sweaters or blazers I like that may be a little short and figure out how to make them work when I know I can pair them with pants that fit. I can wear crops now, because they feel like a choice and not just what I’m stuck with. Amazing how a $40 pair of jeans can come with a shift in perspective, isn’t it?

Brands With Good Tall Sections:

ASOS

Topshop

Gap

Old Navy

J.Crew

Loft

Eloquii

Ann Taylor

Long Tall Sally

Levi’s

[image error]
Turn on your JavaScript to view content


If you have found yourself with an oversized blazer that is a bit too oversized and want to create a little more shape, these dress clips help create a waist in a cinch (get it).Mallory is wearing Rodebjer pants, Jodi kimono jacket, Adieu shoes, Everlane shirt; Nora is wearing Rodebjer pants, sweatshirt and blazer, G.H. Bass & Co. Weejuns loafers and SEE Eyewear glasses

If you desire to venture outside of the tall section, another good strategy is to spend time trying on lots of different brands you like, then put together a list of the ones that speak to your style and tend to run long. These could be more affordable brands (i.e., & Other Stories sleeves tend to run long, we don’t know why, but the why doesn’t really matter, does it?) or more expensive labels that you can either choose to invest in full-price or, do like Mallory, and stake them out in thrift stores and online resale sites like The RealReal.

On Nora: A quick and extremely comfortable fix for finding everyday pants for the leggy is to sub long length (and sturdy) athletic leggings for pants. Layering a blazer over a blazer and scrunching the sleeves helps disguise any short arm situations.
On Mallory: Wearing bracelets make a pushed up sleeve look more eye-catching and stylish rather than utilitarian. Wearing heels with the crop draw attention to the ankles and make the proportions appear more intentional. Nora is wearing Tibi windowpane blazer over Tibi striped blazer, Lululemon leggings, Aerosoles clogs, Boden men's shirt, SEE Eyewear glasses; Mallory is wearing L.F. Markey jumpsuit, Maryam Nassir Zadeh shoes, Roxanne Assoulin bracelets to cuff sleeves

Brands That Run Long:

Stella McCartney

Ganni

Theory

Blk Dnm

AG

Rachel Comey

Victoria Beckham

Tibi

Rodebjer

[image error]
Turn on your JavaScript to view content

And now the necessary but often forgotten portion of shopping while tall: athleticwear! Full disclosure neither Mallory nor myself played any of the tall people sports, but we are still passionate about finding clothes that fit when we exercise. (Mallory is on a personal tennis clothes journey and I like to wear athleticwear to the airport, so it’s not *just* about yoga class.) Something nice about tall-specific leggings is that they tend to be cut a little higher on your hips, so you can downward dog in comfort.

Athleticwear That Will. Fit. You.

Athleta leggings

Lululemon

DKNY Athletics

Old Navy

[image error]
Turn on your JavaScript to view content

A few other tips before we go:

– If you love a pair of jeans that aren’t long enough, no sweat! Wear tallish boots to hide the flood or add fun socks.

– Opt for a skinny roll rather than a cuff on your jeans to create the illusion that you’ve got fabric to spare.

– Pants with a slit at the bottom are your friend.

So there you have it! A few of our favorite brands, tips and tricks for dressing while altitude-ly blessed. Please, please, please share your favorite tall-friendly brands and styling secrets in the comments. See you blocking other people’s views at concerts!

Styled by Elizabeth Tamkin; Photos by Sabrina Santiago.

The post A Short (But Essential!) Shopping Guide for Tall Women appeared first on Man Repeller.

Why Doesn’t Anybody Feel Like an Adult Anymore?

I have this theory that you come of age the moment you start eating broccoli on purpose. Every now and then I’ll be standing at the supermarket checkout, admiring the various vegetables I’ve chosen to purchase, and I’ll look around for my congratulations. What is it about these insignificant moments that make them feel like landmarks?

There’s an old, widely shared meme which says something like: “the horrifying moment when you’re looking for an adult, then realize you’re an adult. So you look for an older adult, someone successfully adulting… an adultier adult.” There’s a reason this sentiment has been circulated to the point of essentially being a proverb: It speaks to the way grown-up life never feels quite like we expected it to as kids, and especially the way that creates a gulf between how we view ourselves and how the rest of the world views us. Maybe buying broccoli sticks out because it’s one of those rare times both perspectives line up.

Most of the time, though, they don’t. Consider my job: While I still think of myself as a plucky young upstart, I’ve noticed more and more junior-level people seeking me out for career advice. And every time it happens, it creates one hell of a case of cognitive dissonance. Me? In those moments, I have to remind myself that I’m a professional writer (my dream job since I was a child); that I live by myself, in an apartment that I can (mostly) afford; that while I work in my pajamas most days, I also meet deadlines. I may not think of myself as a “grown-up,” but I’m 32 years old. If not now, when?

Referring to the completion of basic tasks as ‘adulting’ sets a pretty low bar.

The word “adulting” gets thrown around a lot, and can be applied to anything from doing laundry to paying your bills on time. Referring to the completion of basic tasks as “adulting” sets a pretty low bar for what it means to be grown up, but our relationship with daily life is changing. We’re in a time of socioeconomic and political turmoil, the daily influx of bad news exacerbates anxiety levels that are already through the roof, and our late-capitalist-inspired compulsion to be professional and personal productivity machines is causing greater and greater numbers of young people to burnout. Is it any wonder that the simple domestic tasks of yore feel increasingly difficult, or that finding the time and energy for them is a growing challenge?

UC Berkeley recently started offering a class in “adulting” for this very reason. The course covers a variety of practical skills, life admin, and general common sense that, curiously, doesn’t get taught in high school. “We realized the things we don’t learn in school are topics like taxes and just how to take care of yourself,” says Belle Lau, a 20-year-old student who co-created the class. “We don’t really know that much, so we’re all learning together.”

It’s a compelling (and long overdue) idea, but its framing begs the question: Is this what being an adult is all about? Cooking, budgeting, changing a tire? Or is there more to being a grownup than simply aging out of your teens and knowing where the fuse box is?

Back in the 17th Century you’d be married off at thirteen and expected to conceive and raise children before many of us even get married today. Now that we live in an aging society, where the average global lifespan is 79, we have more time to put off the previously established milestones of growing up, like marriage, home ownership, and parenthood. Many people in their twenties and thirties today live in what older generations might consider a state of permanent adolescence.

Maybe we need to be similarly flexible in our definitions of what it means to grow up.

But there are other reasons to delay these goals beyond simply arrested development. According to Amy Blackstone, sociology professor at the University of Maine, and author of Childfree by Choice, the sheer expense of having a baby is an increasing deterrent to starting a family: “We know that’s a particularly difficult issue for millennials who are facing all kinds of college debt,” she says. “Certainly, having a child has an impact on the environment… other top reasons include the desire for autonomy, spontaneity, freedom and the ability to travel.”

The media might like to say we’re the generation squandering our mortgage money on “avocado oat milk latte toast” or whatever, but it would be more accurate to say that we simply don’t all see home ownership as the aspirational milestone it was for our parents, when such a prospect wasn’t so expensive (and owning property wasn’t so publicly tied to social issues like gentrification and the wealth divide). The cost of living is at an all-time high, and having savings is something that only the most privileged can afford, forcing us to carve out our own, newer ideas about what it means to be mature and successful.

Still, the old markers of adulthood persist in the cultural consciousness—leading many of us to feel immature even with plenty of evidence to the contrary. But I’ve written before about the ways in which I’ve evolved my thinking regarding adult relationships, to think of friendships as being equally important as romantic connections, and to see the value in short-lived flings as much as long-term commitments. Maybe we need to be similarly flexible in our definitions of what it means to grow up.

Maybe the secret is that nobody knows what they’re doing, and they never have.

Not everybody is going to follow the same life path, because we don’t all share the same priorities, socioeconomic backgrounds, sexual identities. What leads one person to greater self-knowledge and self-actualization, be that through work, marriage, or starting a family, may leave another feeling entirely unfulfilled. The traditional rites of passage our parents and grandparents went through may still hold an appeal for many, but heteronormative domestic bliss, with all of its inherent responsibilities, is not the only way to mature. Of course, changing a tire or buying broccoli voluntarily isn’t either.

Maybe the secret to being a grownup is that nobody knows what they’re doing, and they never have. As a child I always thought my parents had the answers to everything, that they were reading from a handbook passed down through generations of wise adults. Of course, there’s no such thing—“adulting” classes notwithstanding. And while that can feel scary, it’s also oddly liberating. Because we get to write it ourselves.

Graphics by Coco Lashar.

The post Why Doesn’t Anybody Feel Like an Adult Anymore? appeared first on Man Repeller.

7 Unexpected Ways to Wear a Shoelace

Back in May, I wrote a story about unconventional belts, one of which was a shoe lace. Such a seemingly mundane object, the shoe lace. It’s just a piece of string designed to be woven through the grommets of a shoe—it was never intended to be the main event. But, like a baby who chooses to play with a cardboard box instead of the toy that came inside it, I have become transfixed by them. And what I’ve discovered is that shoe laces actually have so much styling potential, well beyond serving as a belt. Below, I’ll show you seven! new! ways! to make very good use of them.

1. DIY Wrap Shirt

Exhibited here with my co-model, photo editor Sabrina Santiago, this is the perfect way to cinch the waist of an oversized blazer or shirt in a feminine fashion. Not only that, but the additional pop of color makes our straightforward ensembles a lot more fun, too.

2. Ponytail Decor

The best shoe laces for this trick is either a coated style or a leather shoe lace because it stays in your hair all day without slippage. Sabrina and I lacked a hairbrush on this overcast afternoon, but you could also do a really slick look with a metallic shoe lace like Sabrina’s and wear this hairstyle to make a formal look a bit more unexpected. Try leaving out the bow of the shoe lace to make a long tail (I did this during Fashion Week!).

3. Shirt Harness

This look may be my favorite of the tricks. To make it, I tied two 51 inch shoe laces together and wrapped them around my body over a white shirt from Everlane. I like this style of shirt for this look because its boxy fit makes it flare out between the strands of the shoe lace and at the hem nicely. (Try wrapping two different colored shoe laces if you want even more fun.)

4. Pant Jewelry

This idea came to me during the styling of the Repeller look book. I used a Repeller shoe lace here because it has these awesome little grommets built in, from which you can hang earrings or charms of your choice. These here, of course, are Repeller earrings. Measure the waist of your pants and add 5 inches if just fastening in a knot, and 10 inches if you’d like a fancy little bow.

5. Double-Banded Headband

Like the hair bows, I used the coated/leather shoe laces to prevent any slippage. This shoe lace is also 51 inches so I could wrap it around my head twice. You could also use a shorter one and simply tie it in a bow at the top, side, or at your neck (that’d be so pretty for those of you with very short hair!).

6. Neck Garnish

Leandra occasionally adds charms to her chain necklaces, so here I just used a simple shoe lace to achieve a similar look. You can do one earring, two earrings, a bunch of earrings and you’ve got yourself a new piece of jewelry.

7. Ankle Cinch

Were you worried I was only going to focus on the hips up? (If not, perhaps you should have been??) Here I am cinching pant legs with shoe laces to help elongate my leg and create what I like to call a hoof. Might I suggest de-lacing your sneakers and using the laces as the ankle ties? That would definitely get you some double-takes from passersby.

See All 3

In conclusion… shoelaces: You can tie them in a knot, you can tie them in a bow, you can… wrap them around your body in various ways and completely transform your outfit. Do you have any other ideas for clever ways to use them? I’m listening.

Photographed  by 

The post 7 Unexpected Ways to Wear a Shoelace appeared first on Man Repeller.

Signs You’re *Actually* Growing Up, According to the Zodiac

It’s hard to know when you’ve arrived at the altar of adulthood. Most people I know say they are grown-ups in name only, as they forget to schedule dentist’s appointments, order pizza past 10 p.m., and feel like impostors in big kids clothes at work. But viewing ourselves this way renders the concept of adulthood= more important than its constituents. We’re real; the stereotype isn’t. If we’re all falling short of the bar, maybe we’re not using the right measuring tools.

In the spirit of adjusting expectations to fit reality, I’ve established some tiny measures of progress that indicate maturity by *human* standards, according to your astrological sign. These are the little habits and behaviors that mark the incremental steps on the road to adulthood—which has, of course, no real destination at all.

Aries: Cutting the tags off your new clothes instead of ripping them off.

Your exuberance is legendary, Aries, but it can be destructive. Specifically to a delicate silk top that now has a hole in it, or a bag of chips now exploded on the floor, or a love note you may have excitedly ripped from your lover’s still-trembling hands, and so forth. Your enthusiasm is your superpower (I don’t say this lightly; you are the sign of superheroes) and the tempering influence of adulthood shall not tame your fire. But it’s the mature ram who patiently walks to their drawer, pulls out the scissors, and cuts off the tags before getting into their new outfit, in which you’ll save a cat and stand up to a bully and sweat through your new shirt by noon. Just a typical day for your friendly neighborhood Aries.

Taurus: You volunteer the full details in a text.

Getting information out of a Taurus is hard enough in person, but over text the silence takes on the visual shape of a one-sided helix. It’s your nature, bulls, to withhold all but the most important information. Under your graceful surface, you’re a hot spring of emotion and complex desires. You prefer to take your time sorting through all that, which is a healthy luxury people rarely grant themselves. That patience makes you one of the wisest in all the zodiac, and your counsel is in high demand. But if a friend makes plans to seek your advice in person, it can feel all too natural to provide a paucity of details. What corner exactly? Is there parking? Did you mean 9 a.m. or p.m.? Making sure others have the who-what-where-when is not an overshare, Taurus. And you’ve arrived at adulthood when you can quickly part with the negative space you’ve curated in your phone to provide all the details.

Gemini: You’re not a spoiler monster anymore.

Here are some facts: Geminis old and young are always going to want to acquire information and share it with someone else. We can’t get down on you for that, little messengers that you are. Plus we love gossip. But most people don’t love spoilers, and it’s a classic Geminian habit to want to break the news of a juicy plot development to… anyone. Actually, everyone. The sooner the facts enter common domain, the sooner you can share your nuanced analysis, and then the really good conversation can begin. But no canary can sing all the time (and still be welcomed into canary society), and a grown-up Gemini knows they’ll need to honor a healthy quiet period after a movie premieres or a new episode airs. (The precise length of that quiet period, however, being entirely up for debate…)

Cancer: Stating your news instead of coyly trying to get someone to ask you.

Cancers have their pride. You give a lot, and you need a lot, and that’s absolutely fine. But as an emotional, intuitive water sign, you crabs would prefer to sidestep the direct negotiations. It’d be so much easier, wouldn’t you agree, if everyone picked up on the intense emotional vibes you’re clearly giving off, ran them through their limbic systems, and understood that you had a big weekend and you want to talk about it? If only, Cancer, if only. Your taste for the subtle approach is not to be discounted—it makes you both effective and sensitive, a rare combination of qualities. But an evolved Cancer knows there’s no shame in asking for a little attention now and then. The shortest distance between you and what you want is a little vulnerability. That’s way more mature than seething with resentment because no one else can read your (very loud!) mind.

Leo: You can apologize without making it a whole production.

Leos love a production because what is life but drama. That sounds much more sinister than it is. Leos are simply attuned to the crests and valleys of human relationships, and they love it. They love people, and all people move through cycles of want, exploration, indulgence, disappointment, and acceptance. So when a Leo is in the wrong, they often overdo it with the apologies. They want to give you a big bear hug, they want to cry in front of you, they want you to hear the full-on toast they’ve been writing in their heads ever since you became friends. But while that impulse comes from a benevolent place, it doesn’t always consider the needs of the actual person they love. And the ability to shelve the theatrics and save the toast for a wedding or birthday is how you know you’re not a lion cub anymore.

Virgo: Opening a box of cereal when you aren’t done with the first.

Maybe it’s not cereal. Maybe it’s a new striped sweater or a novel or a Netflix show (I know, I know: “It’s in the queue!”). But no matter how much you want to experience y, you won’t allow it if you haven’t yet consumed x. You have a system after all, and I would never suggest that you abandon it. Your way of doing things has kept you safe and clean and maybe even happy over the course of your life, and it deserves your respect and appreciation. But as you grow, you may come to relax your laws into something more akin to guidelines or principles. In other words, let your preferred order of operations dictate what should happen but not what must happen. A little flexibility will not introduce chaos into your pristine world. Mature Virgos can—once in a while—read two books at once or abandon a show to watch whatever your Gemini friends are trying not to spoil for you.

Libra: Not asking for reassurance for your quirks.

It’s not just a Libra thing to want to be liked; most of us crave acceptance in some form from external audiences. But it’s a common Libra refrain to pose their insecurities as requests for approval: “Is it weird if I do this?” “Would you still be friends with me if I did that?” No and yes, Libra! You all come from a place of wanting balance—you don’t want to emphasize your own opinion over the input of the people you love and respect most. But an older and wiser Libra knows when feedback is important and when to own the final decision, and when it comes to your little personality quirks, those are yours alone to express and celebrate. It doesn’t mean it won’t sting if you come across someone who does actually think you’re too weird to be friends with, but truly that person is not for you and doesn’t belong in your delightfully curated world.

Scorpio: When you finally nail your haircut.

This is a milestone for anyone, Scorpio, but you are especially built for a signature look. This isn’t just about aesthetics—maybe it’s not a haircut, but a uniform or a morning ritual or a go-to cocktail—Scorpios are all about the slow and steady accumulation of self. You’re building a masterpiece, as Betty Draper’s mother once instructed her to think about her beauty, and, if you’ll indulge the slight metaphysics, each moment we’re alive, we add a little bit to one identity we build over time. Your strength is to know yourself and dig into what that means. You won’t betray it for something as tawdry as a fad or for the sake of change. You think (famous Scorpio) Anna Wintour is ever going to switch up her bob? When a Scorpio has figured out their hair (or their look, or whatnot), they don’t go back.

Sagittarius: Opting not to send the explosive email.

As the jovial provocateurs of the zodiac, Sagittarians can get away with extended adolescence without much of a struggle. They have all the markings of maturity—intellectual rigor, grand ambitions, worldliness, etc. But all those skills can provide legitimate cover for pettiness when you really want to piss someone off. What makes you so great, Sagittarius, is that you’re genuinely fun and playful while being so clever. But not everything is a game, and not everyone will agree to your rules. It’s too often that a Sagittarius will respond to a slight with a devastating comment designed to hit them where they’re soft while affording you plausible deniability. But the difference between an immature Sagittarius and a grown-up centaur is this: Before you type out your veiled venom, can you pause long enough to allow your better angel to advise you against it. It takes a lot of maturity to swallow a good dig, especially one as well written as yours would have been.

Capricorn: When you look up details instead of asking your friends to do it for you.

The truth is, the goats are already grown up. Capricorn is the sign of maturity, responsibility, and stability. The reason you’re so often cast in a CEO-type role is that you actually embody the qualities that make for good leadership. In other words, you inspire trust because you’re actually trustworthy. But the next level of maturity is knowing when you’re actually the boss and when you’re one of the people. And when you’re one of the people, you can’t really delegate in the same way. Sure, you can do people favors and vice versa, but repeatedly asking someone to forward you a message that’s already in your inbox or text you directions when you could just look it up can make people feel like they are your assistant. Some people are your assistant, and then that’s fine! But when Googling something yourself before putting someone else on the case becomes reflexive, that’s when you know you’re all grown up.

Aquarius: You stop cursing at the computer when it takes a while to load.

Aquarians have no time for slow technology. As the sign of innovation and cutting edge systems, it can be harder on them than others when a device takes a full freaking minute to start up. The water bearers are fundamentally interested in progress, which means a world that is better today than it was yesterday. So how are you supposed to keep it together when your phone is glitching like it’s 2003? It’s never going to be fun to wait for machines when the computer in your head is humming at a rapid pace. But the process of growing up means accepting life the way it is now, not as you would reform it. And if your goddamn internet would just work, you could actually begin drafting all your grand plans for revolution (or at least your funny tweet)…

Pisces: You take an umbrella with you when it’s raining out.

You are a dreamy sort, Pisces, who doesn’t like to be weighed down by material objects when the intangible world you inhabit is already so heavy. A lightness of being is what you crave, and you may barely perceive the gentle pitter-patter of raindrops upon your forehead when you walk outside without the protection of an umbrella or even a baseball cap. Pisces energy is about the dissolution of borders, about connecting to the oneness that unites all things in the universe. But as emotionally true as that is, it is also true that you are a physical body out in the world. And deep down, you don’t want to be wet. It takes real maturity for an astrological fish to admit when they want to be out of water, and a grown up Pisces will, with a tinge of melancholy, grab an umbrella when they know a downpour is coming. (And, in a way, a downpour is always coming.)

Graphic by Madeline Montoya.

The post Signs You’re *Actually* Growing Up, According to the Zodiac appeared first on Man Repeller.

Might I Suggest: How to Dress for Confidence

As a team, we’re often fielding fashion-centric quandaries via Twitter, text, and Instagram DM, so we figured, why not make it dot-com official? Welcome to Might I Suggest, the style advice column that solves your most elusive market searches and enduring style challenges.  This week, Leandra answers a question related to our theme of the month, by community member, Jen:

What should I wear when I want to feel grown-up?

Hi Jen. I love your name—one syllable, straightforward, pretty hard to botch on a Starbucks cup.

At the risk of going against the metaphoric one syllable, straightforward, hard-to-botch-ness of your name, I’m going to reinterpret your question because “feeling grown-up” is so subjective and what might make me feel like a grown-up is probably going to be different from what makes you feel like one and based on this alone, I know I’m not qualified to prescribe any form of specific medication but would go so far as to say that no one is. What I can do, however, is try to understand what you mean when you ask this question. And what you mean, I think, is to ask: what should I wear when I want to feel confident?

I assume this is what you mean because of a recent definition I have landed upon for grown-up, the noun. And to be a grown-up, I really believe, is to be yourself. I don’t mean yeah girl, all the things, work it, you do you, I mean really, yourself. Like the person, you wake up with every morning and go to sleep with every night and hang out with when the high from a caffeine kick has worn off and the hangover hangs over. So few of us endeavor to do this wholeheartedly because it takes courage — there is shit under that rug! Once you’ve unearthed it, there’s no putting it back, just dealing with it. And that courage is both a provocateur and principle of confidence.

The real kind, anyway, but I digress — what should you wear when you want to feel confident, the artist most recently known as grown-up?

Same logic on the interpretation of your question applies. The answer is highly subjective and I’m not a pharmacist, so I can’t dole our prescriptions, but I am decent with formulas, so I do recommend unearthing your confidence equation, a combination of variables multipled, or added, or divided to equate to the same, solid outcome over and over.

But first, you’re going to want to ask yourself:

What garments do I turn to when I want to feel the most like myself?

You might now be asking: How do you know you feel like yourself? It’s when you look in the mirror and a feeling of power reverberates through your body. You’re looking back at you! The real you. You like her. It’s power dressing for nuanced people who don’t wear pencil skirts or care much for shoulder pads.

The answer to this question will make up what becomes the first part of the equation.

My style lives within the tension of a supposed high-low (think denim and satin or pearls and houndstooth or linen and like, jacquard) and ripped jeans have historically accommodated the beginning of hitting the intended pressure point but the garments are more amorphous than just jeans, so for arguments sake, let’s call my answer: the tension garments.

Silk trousers and a linen shirt, for example.

Photo by Christian Vierig/Getty Images

 

See All 4

Western suede with impossibly clean, stark white pants.

Photo by Neil Rasmus/BFA.com












See All 3

Double-duty denim.

Photo by Benjamin Lozovsky/BFA.com

 

See All 2

Now divide the tension garments by a leap of faith. This requires that you muster the courage to not give up. That you make part one work in a way that works. If you feel great, but real talk is telling you that the sum of the outfit isn’t right, you don’t have to burn the house down—troubleshoot what would make it more plausible to wear. Could layering a basic cardigan over, say, your sheer dress, as styled with distinctly unsexy high waist underwear and a bra (the tension garments) make it more palatable? Presentable? Now what if you added loafers to offset the bed-li-ness?

Photo by Jojo Korsh/BFA.com









See All 2

Finally, the wild card. I define a wild card as one thing you wouldn’t assume to be true about the rules of what makes an outfit, but which you feel the urgency to try. Silk trousers and a linen shirt paired with sock shoes. Exercise clothes with regular shoes and a pair of crystal earrings. Menswear and a full face-o-makeup. The double duty denim with an evening clutch. Western suede and gala heels. The black sheer slip dress, point-blank.

See All 2



So that’s:

Best Me Clothing divided by a Leap of Faith times The Wild Card

And that becomes your confidence equation. My, how grown-up you look!

 

Graphics by Dasha Faires.

The post Might I Suggest: How to Dress for Confidence appeared first on Man Repeller.

Special Social Media Report: Last Week’s Startling Disappearance of @Round.Boys

On September 10th, all hell broke loose for 462,000 Instagram users when @round.boys vanished from the internet. The account—the preeminent purveyor of alluring footage featuring pudgy animals getting brushed, fed, and gently poked—disappeared without so much as a satisfied grunt. Gone, too, was @round.boys’ popular Twitter feed: suspended. No longer could the average browser retrieve a photo of a generously proportioned kitten, arranged as if surfing the web, at a moment’s notice. Into the abyss went easily accessed video footage of a hamster shimmying out of a tunnel, ass-first. Sibling accounts posted #freeroundboys pleas. Concerned followers took to their stories.

Where had our husky brethren, our chubby potats, our sweet, sweet smols wandered?

“This is just random deactivation and suspension. No warning, no reason. Makes no sense,” Noah Periord, emperor of the RB franchise, told me over direct message following the blackout.

View this post on Instagram

Online plastic-free shopping you say? *Adds to cart*