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FASHION OR WHATEVER: _Seemingly repulsive articles of fashion turn heads for all kinds of reasons_

Model Abbey Lee Kershaw presents an outfit from the Chanel Fall 2010 Ready-to-Wear Collection. (Courtesy of Monica Feudi)

By Teresa Jue

Feb. 22, 2011 11:00 p.m.

Fashion can seem frivolous when a T-shirt costs upward of $1,000 a pop, but it can also make a meaningful feminist statement.

This idea stems from Leandra Medine’s fashion blog “the Man Repeller.” Medine said the blog is about outfitting oneself in a sartorially offensive way that will repel members of the opposite sex.
From drop crotch pants to shoulder pads, and animal hats to rompers, there is an austere desexualization in fashion. Like warding off the preying eyes of a hypersexual man, this concept of “man-repelling” seems to aim toward wearing something so sexually off-putting that it’s like a surefire chastity belt.

There’s a sort of weapon that man-repelling fashion has against the perverse and the “hit it and quit it” generation. Women who dress for themselves in the vein of runway trends aren’t trying to impress the male population’s junks and trunks. Wandering eyes won’t glance over at you when you look like a yeti in that fur jacket. However, who knows, there may be men who are into that stuff.

I get it, fashion is not all about the unsexual. There’s also the sexual part of fashion, as seen in the diaphanous gowns of Versace, the lubed-up Italian excess of Roberto Cavalli and just about every leopard print bandage dress you’ve ever seen. It’s easy to pull on a tight Herve Leger dress and try to pretend to be Kim Kardashian for a day, and I guess you could call that fashion. Man-repellent fashion is about sanitizing clothes to remove them of their sexuality, like adding hand sanitizer to the wash. It’s about removing the tightness of the dress and adding maybe a crazy fringe or pants made out of fur to the mix.

For instance, during New York Fashion Week, the fall and winter collections for 2011 showcased more than its share of furry vests and jackets that have vulvic resemblances. And while it’s true that not everything on the runway is ripe for the general population and that a lot of the fur pieces on the runways look like they are built for the tundra, it’s the designer’s concept and vision that matter, male gaze notwithstanding.

And while I think that fashion can have its man-repelling qualities, the downside is that it can end up having people-repelling qualities; that is, fashions that would turn off people in general.
Take Lady Gaga at the recent Grammys, where she wore an egg and then emerged out of it in a condom-like sheath. It’s true that Gaga’s embryonic fashions are more attention-based than most, but more often than not, the general public is just weirded out by it.

But I also understand those people who just don’t “get” fashion. It’s so easy to point out that something is unsexy or ugly, like running through the photos of your worst enemy while Facebook-stalking him or her. But there’s often a workmanship and a specific vision to fashion that some people might just consider ugly at first glance.

While “Man Repeller’s” Medine wrily comments how prudish the latest runway looks can be, there is also a strong sentiment of appreciation in her message, even if a dress does look like something the pilgrims may have worn.

It takes a type of assertiveness to wear something that typically is not meant to attract encounters of the humping kind. It is not everyday that you want a veritable stranger grinding his junk up on your behind on the dance floor when it’s girls’ night out. And if someone doesn’t want to have sexual relations with someone just because the crotch of their pants are too low, well, whatever.

If you think drop crotch pants are the way to stop awkward grinding situations, e-mail Jue at
[email protected].

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Teresa Jue
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