Meet The Girl Behind The Man Repeller

StyleCaster

Our new favorite Twitterer-slash-blogger has made a name for herself promoting the art of dressing to repel the opposite sex.

Photo: Leandra Medine, the face behind @ManRepeller.

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When one decides to start a blog and accompanying Twitter account entitled "The Man Repeller," strange things are inevitably bound to happen. In Leandra Medine's case, these strange things include but are not limited to random Twitter users offering her lap dances, angry complaints from feminists, and personal emails from Hanneli Mustaparta requesting she not be used as the blog's logo i.e. - as a prime example of a man repeller.

But along with the bad comes the good - like say, Rumi Neely of Fashion Toast sending personal emails that she adores her blog, not to mention racking up 1,000 plus Twitter followers in just five months (we are beyond jealous). Such is the life of Leandra, the snarky writer behind our guilty pleasure blog of the moment, The Man Repeller. She's the chick who equates Anna Wintour to Dora the Explorer, compares vintage clasp clutches to female body parts and pokes fun at fashion with hilarious, crass commentary while still proving her devotion to getting dressed. Just in time for fall's new crop of fashions, this witty Twitterer took the time to answer some of our most burning questions about the art of man repelling. Check out @manrepeller's answers below.

You must have this explanation memorized by now, but how exactly would you define a man repeller?
Man repelling is defined by a female's choice to outfit herself in a way that offends members of the opposite sex while simultaneously wielding lady boners from the...ladies. Such garments include but are not limited to: harem pants, shoulder pads, jumpsuits, overalls (see: human repelling), jewelry that resembles violent weaponry and clogs.


A classic man repelling ensemble.

What inspired you to create the blog? Tired of repelling men in silence?
A close friend and I were perusing the racks at Topshop one afternoon early last May. We went back and forth for a while picking up garments and saying things like "this is a great alternative to conventional contraceptives." She and I are both fashion obsessed and somewhat immersed in the industry so we thought starting an endearing - not hating - blog that would market man repelling fashion as cool and trendy seemed like a fresh idea. I will admit I am a bit (read: a lot) crass at times, though.

When you're not tweeting, blogging and man repelling, what could we most likely find you doing?
Well, when I'm not teaching elementary math to children in third world countries, ending world hunger or helping to find a cure for terminal illness, I pretty much just hang out at Barney's, play ping pong and eat lots of fish tacos.


Meet @Manrepeller

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Have you always been a man repeller? We're trying to picture a six year old in harems...
I haven't thought about this before, but now that I do, I did make my mother slick my hair back in REALLY tight ponytails when I was younger. I rocked onesies hard as an infant. Floral and strawberry-printed babydoll dresses ruled my wardrobe from ages 6 to 10 and then I refused to wear anything but my brother's clothing until I was about 13. So yes, I'd say I've been repelling through the ages.

You're a master at witty Twitter banter. Who else do you follow on twitter for a good laugh?
@Standarde - I fell in love with him after his Twitter Bird feature with you. He's witty and charming, (Stan, if you're reading this, tweet me!). God, I love social media.
@FashionIntel - I don't know her and even though she's on the West Coast, we're lovers in the night. She's super funny.
@BryceGruber gives new meaning to the abbreviation NSFW. If you think I'm vulgar, you ain't seen nu'in.
@CourtneyLoveUK calls Lagerfeld's camp and the front row fashion week ladies "the kooks." If anyone understands the art of man repelling, it's Court.
@WSJ because the New York Stock Exchange is more unstable than a newly heartbroken woman!
@kanyewest because he says things like "classical music is tight, yo."

Any other people we should add to our follow list?
@lindsayinjail ...I wish I had thought of it.
@KCSCOUGAR - His YouTube video spoofs of all the Real Housewives have me in stitches. I'm a Bravo TV junkie. (And evidently, committed to my alias).

What's one of the strangest things someone has tweeted at you?
A couple weeks ago I tweeted about giving a baby pony a lap dance (he won it in a "who wore it best" contest against my shoes on the blog) and @hornystrippers tweeted back about giving me a lap dance.

The shoes that lost out to a pony and incited a lap dance offer.

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You're not afraid to tell it like it is - have you gotten any backlash from readers or people who find your humor offensive?
I'm not very popular among feminists, and that's all I'm going to say about that.

Okay, top five man repellers of all time (excluding yourself) - go!
1. Annie Hall
2. Chloe Sevigny
3. MC Hammer - without him, our poor thighs would probably be sausaged into skinny jeans.
4. Sarah Jessica Parker - she's almost broken up with men over uncomfortable plant-like headgear...and it took her 45 years to officially obtain Mr. Big. You may think he was a commitment-phobe, but it was the turbans, Chanel jumpsuits, jingling Manolos and boyfriend panties that kept him running off to Paris and Napa.
5. The buyer for Opening Ceremony - if you're reading this, I don't know you, but I love you.

What are your man repelling closet staples?
White t-shirts injected with heavy shoulder pads, drop crotch utility pants and trousers (I buy most of these from the budget conscious Mecca of Man Repelling: Zara), a black silk full-length jumpsuit, Levi's vintage high waisted denim cutoffs (paired with chambray, duh!), the vintage Galliano velvet bolero my grandmother wore to my parents' wedding (it could have belonged to the Pope in another life). And nude brogues...I may have been Frank Sinatra in my last life.

Shoulder pads are a man repeller's best friend.

You've convinced us to get into the man repelling spirit for fall. Where should we look to first? Any specific designers or stores we should scope out?
For beginners: The 5th floor at Bergdorf Goodman is a nice way to get acquainted with Alexander Wang digs, Rag + (no) Bone(r), and Gryphon's sequin overload. For the sartorially challenged celibates: the wide world of Opening Ceremony, Oak and Kirna Zabete should be your cathedral.

And lastly, since you are our favorite Twitter Bird of the moment, can you let us in on your secret for gaining twitter followers?
Threatening people, usually using the bullet on an Assad Mounser necklace. How else would I get things done?

Don't forget to follow us and The Man Repeller on Twitter! @StyleCaster @Manrepeller

All photos courtesy of The Man Repeller.

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