The Man Repeller, Our Fashion Blogger Girl-Crush, Comes to Miami2012-2013

​I'm not sure when I first started dressing for myself, but I do remember instances that, like puzzle pieces, all seem to make sense when you put them together.

Here's one: I was in 7th grade. The seventies were spontaneously (albeit briefly) brought back to 1997. Those white, chunky Flower Child platforms I purchased at Bakers were all I would wear. The fact that I was always the shortest person in my class may have had something to do with the infatuation I had with those clunkers, but man did I get glared at and sized at school. The funny thing is...I didn't want to take them off. Even if our class's Jake Ryan look-alike would never bat an eye at me. Ever.

Today, I'm glad to admit I still dress for myself. 

I'm even more glad we have style bloggers like Leandra Medine, leading the pack of the fashion fearless. Author of the blog The Man Repeller, Leandra is a girl to whom proud, shoulder-pad wearing girls out there can all relate.

I've never been one for fashion blogs. With the exception of a few, they're a yawn fest, and they all seem to have narcissistic motives. But The Man Repeller is a different story. Her hilarious musings coupled with her unpretentious charm make for an addicting addition to your bookmarks list.

In a world where Kim Kardashian clad in the latest Herve Ledger bandage dress sets the standard for sexy, it's hard for girls to wear what they really want rather than what is atheistically pleasing to the boys.

This is what led 22-year-old Leandra to break the rules and start a blog coining the latest verb in fashion, man-repelling. What's man-repelling, you ask? Well, for starters, it has nothing to do with a type of repellent a girl sprays on in order to enjoy a night out on the town without getting hit on. No, no, no. In her words, man-repelling is defined as "outfitting oneself in a sartorially offensive way that will result in repelling members of the opposite sex."