Leandra Medine
I have always, always loved words.
Nothing feels better than constructing a beautiful sentence.
Women totally dress for women. If we were dressed for men, we'd be prancing around in tight, tight, tight bodycon skirts and tops all day or really simple jeans and T-shirts.
Our sartorial choices aren't that different from our psyches.
I'm not dressing with men in mind at all. I'm just going to wear what I want to wear. It makes things easier, too.
When I wake up, I put on what I'm in the mood to wear.
Part of what dressing for yourself means requires your understanding that the scrutiny of others is frankly irrelevant.
I have never done anything to my brows, though sometimes I tweeze the intersection of the left and right brow, which is either a really good thing or a really bad thing.
When I'm wearing red lipstick, I'll never do anything with my eyes. And it's so easy - you just put on red lipstick, and your whole face just seems done.
I understand that it's the thought that counts, but receiving money is so great, so if you're in a position to give an employee a bonus, just do that.
The holidays are only overwhelming because it's crunch time. It's like everyone trying to get last-minute things in before the New Year starts.
When push comes to shove, no one really cares what you're wearing except you.
If I have to give up good fashion for a relationship, I don't want a relationship.
My blog is not about repelling men, it's about good fashion.
Being a man repeller becomes a process of elimination. If a guy is only really into your outfit and won't date you because of what you're wearing, they are too driven by the female exterior and don't care about your intellect.
I knew I wanted to be a fashion writer but didn't want to contribute to the over-saturated market unless I could contribute in a meaningful way.
My goal is never to push anyone to do anything other than think.
I didn't actually even really know my grandmother; I must have been 3 or 4 when she died.
Without getting too spiritual, God has done so much for me; the least I can do is drink Kiddush wine on a Friday night.
Could Yosef be considered a Man Repeller even though he's a man? I'd love to get my hands on that techni-colored dream coat! Feels very Matthew Williamson to me.
Fashion Week is a great opportunity to make unimportant people feel like they own the world.
I don't hate what I see when I look in the mirror. Even if legions of others don't agree. I have accepted the reflection that reliably bounces back at me for its perks and its flaws.
I am comfortable with how I look.
I understand that there are thick, dark circles under my eyes. I have grown to appreciate them. I have noticed that my nose grows a little hookier on a near-monthly basis. That's fine. I know there are wrinkles ready to stake their claim as full time residents on my forehead any moment now. My dad has those, too, and I find that endearing.
My eyes will never be blue; my bone structure will never allow for you to mistake me for a Scandinavian model.
I didn't launch the website with any goals in mind, to be honest. I didn't know that it would have been anything other than a digital portfolio once I graduated college.
I think Man Repeller is more about self-confidence than it is about a woman's relationship with a man.
Most people don't know this, but I never wanted Man Repeller to be about me. It was titled that to identify a genre of women.
I really love the category on the site called Brain Massage.
I have such a simple process - it takes me, like, ten minutes to get ready.
I don't take such good care of my skin; my mom kills me about it... I sit in the sun so much. I love a tan.
I love manicures - I'm really into colorful nails.
I buy all my perfumes duty free - I think people are fools not to.
By the time I graduated college, I was sick of what was out there. I wanted to bring something new to the Internet.
You're not stupid because you're interested in fashion, period.
I have a pretty decent understanding of which posts will perform better than others. Specifically on Instagram, when it's a style picture, those ones always get way more likes.
That's what I always wanted Man Repeller to do - to change the way people actually think. Showing young girls that there are no rules.
I think that when I started Man Repeller, the Internet was still hungry for authentic content from girls that weren't actresses or supermodels and were just relatable girls who had opinions and outfit ideas, and they weren't always good, but at least they were original.
Especially with Instagram, I feel reluctant to make all the photos beautiful because I don't necessarily want to send this message that life is perfect and your avocado toast is always going to be beautifully lit. I want readers to feel like the Man Repeller page is real and kind of dirty. Messy.
Your doubts are generated by fear, and fear is a series of distorted thoughts.
I can't imagine catering to an audience that doesn't also interest me.
I think, fundamentally, Man Repeller is a voice for women to connect with; they can come and try it on for size and be a part of it, and if it works for them, they take it with them.
As long as you are promoting something that you really believe in - yes, it's incredible to see that designer earn the esteem they deserve - but there's something to be said about the fact that if you're convicted about an opinion, and you really believe something's great, you're not going to credit yourself for their success.
Most people assume that my style is so outlandish and out there, but the reality is I like very classic pieces just rendered unusually.
The number one thing I would say to someone who wants to start a business is if you really can't sleep at night and smack the passion out of yourself, then go for it, but if you can live a happy life working for someone else, do that.
Running a business is incredibly hard, especially as a creative person, because you're extricated from the creative very quickly, and that is really hard. Obviously, I have experienced that first hand.
Nighttime dressing is not very different from daytime dressing for me. I feel like night clothes don't get a chance to live the way day clothes do, so I prefer to think of night clothes as day clothes.
Diane von Furstenberg actually gave me a very good piece of advice. She said, 'When you doubt your power, you give power to your doubt,' so that's something I'm going with. I think that's a really good answer: Just don't listen to the doubts. Your doubts are generated by fear, and fear is a series of distorted thoughts."Collection: Thinking
Advice for young people who want to channel their personality into creative work - be authentic.Collection: People