Is there anything scarier than a woman dressed head-to-toe in clothing with a disregard for the male gaze?
This was the original premise for the fashion website Man Repeller, which embraced the "style trends women love and men hate." Founded in 2010 by Leandra Medine Cohen, it exhibited how freeing it was to reach into one's closet and piece together a "sartorially offensive" outfit that men would furrow their brow at, repelled by its defiance of fashion rules. Who said that women couldn't wear pants bigger than cumulus clouds, utilitarian jumpsuits, extravagant furry coats, ripped boyfriend jeans, and fancy sweatpants?
Man Repeller had its run for ten years, but has officially shut down due to financial issues. This predated Cohen's backdown from the site in June after criticisms about the media company's lack of diversity came to light. After rebranding to Repeller, the company didn't last long and closed its doors. Although its devout followers are left wondering about the truth behind Man Repeller's shutdown–was it another unfortunate reminder of the negative economic impact many companies are facing due to COVID-19, or was it that the quintessential man-repelling aesthetic wasn't a "one size fits all" model and racial reckoning was its final straw?
I remain hopeful that current and future fashion publications will push for inclusivity. I mean, shouldn't anyone regardless of race, gender, sex, socioeconomic status or body type have the power to repel the status quo?
Thinking through this series of events, I took this Halloween as an opportunity to pay an ode to Man Repeller and mourn their decade of inspiring women to push fashion boundaries. I'll miss reading their posts about twists on fashion trends, pieces about not taking oneself too seriously, and of course, longform stories about culture and society with humor and an uncanniness that was one of a kind. I encouraged my sisters to take up my offer and dress up as #RIPManRepeller, wearing their best man-repelling outfit as tribute to the brand's ethos and as a reminder that we will continue repelling.
Anna's #RIPManRepeller: Sparkle-licious
A typical man-repelling outfit has to drop the opposite sex's jaw out of disbelief at how brazen a woman's choice of clothing is. But more importantly, it's about breaking fashion rules. When Anna perused through her closet to piece together her best man-repelling look, she stumbled upon an issue that only a real man-repeller would squeal in delight at. In fact, her issue was the solution.
The problem was that her sparkly cardigan couldn't fit over her dress's ginormous puffy sleeves...After putting on her man-repelling thinking cap, she got her answer.
"Well, I can tie it around my waist," she said.
Tying one's cardigan around the waist is already repelling enough, but Anna took this even further by choosing a sparkly cardigan over anything that matched her cheetah dress. Typically, sparkles are worn for a special occasion–maybe a holiday party, but Anna said sparkles don't have a season and that's exactly what a man-repeller would say.
Ika's #RIPManRepeller: Sporty and Fun
Ahhh, an outfit that includes as many clothing items as possible is strictly man-repelling. Man-repellers won't stop piling on clothes until they are covered in their best statement pieces–I mean, look at those two watches AND bracelet!
Man-repellers embrace maximalism and Ika did this perfectly by wearing a dress with sporty touches, like sneakers and a cap. Heads would turn in perplexity, wondering what kind of fancy sporty gig she's heading off to. The whole look is unconventional and for Ika, the most man-repelling part of her outfit were her bright red tights, which she wore underneath her sheer floral dress. The Nikes keep the look seemingly casual, but still captivating, while the white poplin button-down seems out of place...and you're right. It is because man-repellers like to experiment with clothing. They like to wear typical professional-looking clothing with something colorful or sparkly to elevate the overall look from three to five billion notches because #whynot.
Ika completed the look with a pink Patagonia cap, matching her tote bag and ultimately fulfilling every maximalist criteria there is!
My #RIPManRepeller: I Just Can-Knot get Enough of You
Here's the last outfit in this series that is not limited to disorienting combinations of color, texture, and shape! Yay! Man-repelling!
I've recently developed an obsession with the brand Tibi and according to their styling director, Dione Davis, when you can't decide between two shirts, why not wear both? A man-repeller loves breaking the rules to an extreme, so I combined two identical billowy shirts together and called it a day.
Man-repellers aren't afraid to add color, so I wore my pink custom-made pants, which added substance to the look's disorienting silhouette. The knotted shirts give the illusion of accentuating the waist, but in reality, the knots are there to keep the outfit functional and help the shirts stay put. The pant color keeps the outfit interesting and paired with fuzzy Ugg slippers, it definitely will raise some eyebrows because they seem random and out of place, which is #manrepelling.
I hope you all enjoyed this post! We had a lot of fun coming up with our most #manrepelling outfits and I hope this inspired you to play around with some of your clothes.
It's important to remember that being a man-repeller doesn't mean adhering to a type of style...It's all about experimenting with how your clothes make you feel. That's what Man Repeller taught me. It's all about wearing whatever the fuck you want.
Like Anna said, "Do you, if you love it, wear it. Don't overthink it and don't dress for anybody but yourself."
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