Real talk: I discovered the best thing on the internet last week. The site, Man Repeller, details writer Leandra Medine’s hilariously honest affinity for adorning herself in attire that befuddles hetero male counterparts. (See: harem pants, shoulder pads, onesies and my personal favorite offender, birth control eye wear.)

Women have long dressed solely for other women and over a recent 9 hour brunch, a good friend and I discussed our own Man Repelling greatest hits. Her vision of laid-back cool in a slouchy sweatshirt paired with a maxi skirt evoked an “are you wearing pajamas?” from her gentleman friend. My own predilection for “casual” fur coats and ‘pants optional’ mantra have more than once garnered the dreaded “where exactly do you think we are?”

Man Repeller makes no excuses; she’s painfully aware her devotion to feathers, fringe and drop-crotch send potential suitors running, but as with any kindred fashion devotee, she struggles with the all too familiar dilemma of dressing for yourself (shapeless and frumpy, check!) versus dressing for straight men (uhh…I actually can’t give any examples because I obviously haven’t a clue when it comes to what men find attractive.)

Sigh. Seeing as how I’ve never purposefully dressed like sex on a stick, it seems my man repelling ways are here to stay. But don’t go crying into your pillow about my plethora of white girl problems just yet. I’m still holding out hope that somewhere, somehow there’s an entire sub-section of men who favor ankle socks over conventional sexiness. Right? RIGHT?!

Perhaps I’m setting myself up for disaster (sooooo out of character), searching for a mythical creature, like a unicorn or a monogamous bartender, but in the meantime, at least I’m in good company.

Image via The Man Repeller

What else is there to say?

Check out our beloved Kiki’s newest feature.

Photo by Larry Chua, Madison Magazine

Few things do it for me like a crushing nail color. Okay, exception: guys with perfect scruff holding a pack of American spirits…but that’s neither here nor there.

Atticus gleefully welcomed RGB to our fully-functional family and I can’t get my greedy little paws wrapped around the beautifully minimalist bottles fast enough.

For those of you who don’t spend your days converting cmyk to rgb (print is dead, yo! you heard it here first), RGB refers to primary colors: red, green and blue. Created as an “extension of one’s wardrobe,” with the concept that color is an accessory; we stocked up on RGB’s glossy sheens in oxblood, deep, slate, steel, mink and plum.

At $14 a pop, with all shades boastfully chemical and cruelty free (if you’re into that kind of thing…coughcough, Shari!) you should probably stop what you’re doing and run to Atticus immediately. For reals.

More mesmerizing photos after the jump.

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We took an unintended hiatus from In the Bag. (Ummm…It was a busy summer?) But who better to start us back up than our favorite vegan social worker?! Shari 2010, as we like to call her, emerged, phoenix-like, this summer from grad school, domesticity and a lifestyle sorely lacking in lemongrass infused vodka and model behaviors. Even though she can level me to the ground with one sharp shove, we wouldn’t have her any other way.

Bag: Matt and Nat
In her bag: Marc sunglasses, The Social Network movie stub, Octopus Car Wash coupon, Emergen-Cs, Rosebud Salve lip gloss, kombucha bottle cap, i-phone, alexander wang condoms (gifted from the editor) and Matt and Nat wallet (she doesn’t eff around with leather).
Favorite place on earth: Favorite place she’s been to is Coffee Bay, South Africa. Favorite place she’s yet to visit is Tsavo National Park in Kenya.
Favorite place to shop: Atticus, shopbop.com and Century House for Scandinavian home goods.
Favorite designers: Matt and Nat for Handbags, TOMS for shoes, J. Brand for denim, Monrow for basics, Alexander Wang, Marc Jacobs and Rag and Bone for everything else.
Song currently stuck on repeat: The entire new Black Keys album and anything Neil Young.
Can’t live without: Vegan cupcakes from Daisy Café & Cupcakery

Model off duty style is a rare glimpse of perfection. You get to witness the world’s most beautiful clothing on the size it was actually crafted for, and get a voyeurish peek at the model’s own unique interpretation. Plus, leather jackets. What is it about models and leather jackets?

Atticus’s own beloved model and brand new member of the official adult club, Raquel, let us check out what she rocks on the rare days she’s not slaving away for us.

We’ve always wanted an Amelia Earhart leather jacket too.

Started as a way to save her hard drive from the right click addiction many of us share, Sea of Shoes extraordinaire, Jane Aldridge created a new tumblr.

I suffer the same affliction. (A-click-tion?! Heh.) Nearly every day, I drag images to my desktop because I can’t stand the thought of losing them forever. Half the time, they remain buried in a folder never to be seen again, but I’ve been forcing myself to peruse back and I’m always reminded of that first feeling of inspiration, creativity, beauty, whatever it was that made me save it in the first place.

And as a wannabe writer, I’m shooting myself, Chris Burden style, in the arm when saying this, but sometimes writing is overrated. I just want to look at pretty pictures all day, is that too much to ask?! Here’s a mashup (stolen almost exclusively from Garance and the Sartorialist) of what I can’t get enough of at this very second.

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In an act of sweeping self-importance I’m co-opting today’s post because it’s my birthday. Today, more so than any other, I indulge my compulsive introspection and need to assign meaning where there is none, to bestow gems of knowledge I’ve accumulated over the past three decades. Some are lessons I’ve learned, like a big girl, on my own, some I’ve stolen from other sources and some I’ve copped from and attributed to my brilliant friends.

Clichés are Underrated: 29 lessons for 29 years

1. You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write.
2. If a conversation bores you or you don’t like who you’re hanging out with, it doesn’t mean you should have another drink to make it tolerable. It means you should go home.
3. Families are not just biological. As you get older, and if you’re lucky enough, you get to create your own.
4. Five cocktails at brunch are probably plenty.

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