I Miss Man Repeller
7 lessons from the now-defunct HQ for fashion oddballs and home to life-altering personal essays
This is not a commentary on Man Repeller’s founder, the working environment, or the state of the fashion industry from from 2010-2020. It’s a nostalgic list from someone who read the site religiously before moving to NY, as an intern at FIT, and in those squiggly post-grad years where a single story had the potential to change my life, even if for a few days.
Let’s set the scene. It’s 2014. Everyone wants to be a French girl and we’re all recovering from the shared trauma of matte nude lipstick. You can’t walk three blocks in Chelsea without running into a Celine luggage bag or a vegan cupcake shop. The Highline is a destination. You have a crush on Eddie Redmayne and listen to acoustic covers of 1989 unironically.
And every morning before waiting on line at the FIT campus Starbucks, you read Man Repeller. And then your boss at your unpaid internship offers to set you up with Amelia Diamond to talk about an internship. You try on dozens at outfits at J.Crew, landing on this midi skirt, paying with your student discount, and calling in the advice of at least six separate friends. “The way you’re tucking your shirt in is soooo Man Repeller,” one muses. “The sleeve roll is very Jenna Lyons.” You say a prayer in the elevator and black out for a twenty minute chat.
Trust me, we won’t dwell on the fade filter I insisted on putting on EVERY photo in the years 2014-2015. Instead, we’ll get into the seven stickiest memories I have of Man Repeller, a website that felt like the first place I could see myself from my basement bedroom in Des Moines, Iowa as a very misunderstood girl in a pussy bow blouse.
Money Diaries
This series, a week of spending taken down conversationally on a notes app, is the inspiration for my new series on what I spent on secondhand fashion every month. And it reminds me of what
built at R29 and now writes on at The Purse. It felt so intimate to get a look into what people were spending—in New York and otherwise. Talking about our own money, less interesting. Talking about how strangers on the internet spent their money on Man Repeller? Divine.Rain accessories
One thing I hate about not being able to access the site any more is that my memory of these pieces does not contain hyperlinks. I think it was Haley who wrote a story about rain accessories and ever since then, I’ve had the slightest appreciation for the way getting dressed for inclimate weather can be a bit of a sartorial exercise. I usually keep it simple with a swingy rain jacket and Hunter boots, but there’s a whole world of rain accessories to explore!
Try searching vintage J.Crew for great rain jackets. I’ve had mine for almost 10 years and still get compliments every time. This one’s $75.
It’s Duckhead umbrella or bust for me.
Rain loafers! So fun, right? These are Tory Burch and under $100.
Rain hat! For those of us who can’t seem to justify a hooded jacket. This one’s from Madewell.
Stick of butter
God bless
and the outfit combination heard round the world. A mirror outfit pic in 2018 and a fashion star of a phrase was born.
This look was executed with varying degrees of success by me and my peers. I thought my attempts mostly looked like a cult member without easy access to bleach and a functioning washing machine. But it’s one I still think about and channel all the dang time.
Here are some fun picks to recreate the vibe at home.
A delicious knit by La Ligne for $395. Imagine it layered over a dress!
$22 on eBay for a little silky texture play. I’d wear this buttoned up with jeans.
Buttery, cozy, and ready to work! These corduroy overalls are so cute and $30 on eBay.
Turtleneck under button down
I made a note about this last week, but it’s a fundamental truth that came from Man Repeller days. Cool girls wear turtlenecks under their button downs! It’s a great trick for when it’s cold but not sweater cold. And the layering feels fresh, even a decade later.
If I recall, the Man Repeller team opted for this J. Crew option. My preference is to scour secondhand sites for the Wolford Colorado bodysuit for optimal tucking. Plus, the material washes really well and never pills. The only trick here is to try on a turtleneck under every top/dress/jacket you own. You never know what might stick!
Here’s a great option in a grey blue and one in a navy blue and black—all in Large and under $100.
Am I The Only One Who Doesn’t Want To Look Like Glass?
This essay by the brilliant
was one of the last to go live on Man Repeller. It inspired this essay I wrote for The Cut a few years later, and is something I think about almost every day. I loved that Man Repeller created space for conversations like these without obvious affiliate link outs or click-baity titles. And now, I use jojoba oil most nights, like Jessica recommends, and never miss the $200 moisturizer I was using before.The timelessness of a great graphic tee
It’s funny to think about how all the great Man Repeller collabs came out when my disposable income was a sliver of what it is now. $90 for a tshirt was a total non starter for me in 2014, and ten years later, kind of same? (Unless it’s this one and you can use code ERIKA15 for 15% off).
But the quirky prints inspired me to dig through racks at the Salvation Army in Des Moines and scour eBay for brightly colored vintage tees I could pair with jeans or in the case of one great outfit I never took a photo in, this giant ball gown skirt and sneakers.
If you’re less into the vintage route, never fear. This option from Etsy is great and Clare V. always has an incredible assortment. All of the below are under $25, which is kind of the most I think anyone should spend on a vintage graphic tshirt—sorry to NY upsellers!
There have to be some Barbra Streisand fans who read Long Live.
Into the idea of a prayer walk but mostly the colors
Track shorts all day everyday
Another very
school of thought lesson: track shorts with everything! It sees we’ve caught up culturally with this trend and it’s way more commonplace than it was at one time, but to this day, athletic shorts are almost the only short I’ll wear come summertime. My go-to is paired with a big striped button down and boat shoes.
Not cheap! But these Tory shorts are my fav this summer.
How fun are these? $45 on eBay.
Track shorts are really best sourced on eBay. There are SO many in all sorts of sizes and for less than $50. These are around $30.
There’s a bright side. A bunch of people who were involved now write Substacks. Subscribe to
, , ,, and . Listen to Ruby Redstone’s Covered for a fix. Wander M&J Trimming! Hang out on Long Live :)Thank you for reading Long Live. It means so much to me. You can shop my favs here, follow along on Instagram + Tiktok, shop my Notion template, and as always, respond to this dispatch for my direct line x
Read man repeller every day from my desk on the trading floor at jpm. An escape with the girls, when I couldn't handle any of the boys next to me. Was so sad when it was over.
The crush on Eddie Redmayne hit so close to home my jaw dropped