Overalls? Shoulder Pads? Everything Is Fair Game in ‘Man Repeller’ Fashion

April 17, 2014— -- When it comes to over-the-top fashion, overalls and shoulder pads wouldn't usually come to mind, but one fashion blogger is encouraging women to throw inhibition to the wind and wear anything and everything –- even if it means that bold new look leaves men scratching their heads.

Leandra Medine, a 25-year-old fashion blogger who created ManRepeller.com, is daring women to wear audacious clothing loud and proud. Overalls, spiky jewelry, baggy boyfriend jeans are her sartorial go-to’s, and she says, ladies, don’t let your boyfriend tell you fuchsia and red plaid don’t mix.

Medine calls her fashion philosophy “man-repelling” -- flaunting styles that men hate.

“'Man Repeller' is the sort of name that I've given this social condition,” she said. “It is really much more about dressing in a way that you would find very beautiful even knowing, maybe hoping, a man might not.”

But Medine said her aim is not to intentionally wear outfits that repel men, but about women expressing how they feel through clothes.

“It’s just about caring or not caring,” she said, adding that she started wearing “man repeller fashion” because “it was a way to please me.”

Medine’s looks have gotten noticed in a big way. She had a front row seat at New York Fashion Week and has landed lucrative design collaborations, from a sneaker line to spring dresses at Neiman Marcus.

When she puts together an outfit, it seems totally random -- for example, she paired a red evening gown with white sneakers –- but maybe that’s the point.

“Style is about creating a disconnect,” Medine said.

Medine regularly shows off her wild looks on her blog, and she admits that every once in a while someone will comment that they think the looks are ugly, but she isn't fazed.

“I really try to approach the outfit from the approach of a bartender, you know, where a bartender is putting together all of these unlikely concoctions and you’re tasting them and you’re like, ‘this is phenomenal,’” she said. “I sort of want to be doing the same thing, where I’m pulling from all of these random places and saying, ‘I know it seems like it’s not going to work but I promise it will.’”