Man Repeller’s Mail Guy Is So Cool We Can’t Even Think of a Headline

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 have often said that I am at my most creative when forced to work within a set of boundaries. This, however, is not at all true when it comes to dressing myself. Give me a dress code and I will come up with the most boring, by-the-book outfit I can find. As such, I’ve always admired people who can put a signature spin on a prescribed outfit: servers who manage to add flare to the required striped shirts and black pants, hip teens who make their high-school uniforms unique, and Man Repeller’s mail carrier, Aubrey Dowridge.

Aubrey is hard to miss. From the handlebar mustache he occasionally sports to his choice in glasses, he not only looks cooler than the average postman, he looks cooler than most men, generally. Since he started working for the USPS in 2004, Aubrey has found ways to make his uniform his own.

“The only thing we can get away with wearing that’s not technically the uniform are T-shirts,” he says. “And that’s only sometimes, because we are supposed to always be in uniform. So my options are limited to trousers, polo tees, or the oversized button shirts, and then the cardigans and jackets for the guys.”

So how did he get from point A to a very fashionable point B? “I started thinking about how I could change the look without violating any rules,” he explains. “I started by cropping the pants as well as narrowing the legs a bit. This inspiration came from Thom Browne as well as Christian Boyd—this really cool brotha who worked on my route at the time. A little ankle is sexy, so why not show ‘em?”

It will probably come as no surprise that Aubrey has developed a bit of a cult following around the office—to the extent that it started to feel wrong not to feature him on the site. So last week, I asked him to kindly break down how he put together a few of his choice looks and share the thought process behind creating a wholly memorable and individual style identity out of a uniform. He was an absolute joy to talk to and also wanted to make sure to credit the USPS uniforms themselves: “I’ve been told by customers that we have the best-looking uniforms of the couriers and I agree. They’re incredibly versatile.”

Read on and take notes!

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