The Man Repeller

This week I received my first Harper’s Bazaar in 3 years. I took a break from all the magazines since Vogue and Harper’s share some of the same ideas; and my life had too many magazines. A most peculiar article was written. It was called the “Man Repeller”- which was referring to the many fashionistas who concentrate more on looking fashionable, and possibly ignoring the fact that men would never find them desirable.

I found this to be a very liberating article. After a three year hiatus, way to go Harper’s! I have always wondered the affects my fashion choices have had on my love life….. from the saddle shoes I wore in 2nd grade, to the ruby red lipstick and purple nerd glasses (I looked like Velma from Scooby Doo) I rocked for my entire High school Junior Year. Hmmm. When it came to my first boyfriend, two months before I graduated from high school, my fashion was taking a good turn. I realized that although dressing like a fashion misfit is the best feeling in the world, perhaps I ought to tone it down for a man. I know, I just died a little inside for saying such a thing, but that was the reason. But it was not a bad turn in my style. I was transitioning. I felt like a woman; a woman who wanted to dress for her man. Mind you, my style was always pronounced but it was not what you would call outrageous, like it once was ;)

When I think of ladies who are just out and out fashionable man repellers, I think of the Olsen Twins. Yes, some of the ways they dress have me admiring them. Other times, more often than not, they just look like kids dressed in mommy’s clothes. They ought to pay attention to their body types, but whatever. They are bona fide Man Repellers. So we come to the question: In order to get a man, do fashionistas have to tone it down? I say yes, but many ladies might disagree with me. Unless you want to be Rachel Zoe, with her obviously gay husband, you had better take it down a notch. But I don’t see it as not getting to dress like a fashion misfit; you have to find a way to combine what your man likes + your style. This is what I have done, and it works for me. Men are visual creatures, you have to please the eye.