Role Playing: Clad in Plaid

There is typically some sexual connotation associated with role playing and while that's all fine and well, this is The Man Repeller, so try and rid those thoughts from your head and look to this with clear eyes...Monday eyes, if you will. In the first of several homemade Halloween costume idea suggestions I may or may not throw at you between now and capital T, then, I offer one piece of continuous advice: as Man Repellers, we should have a fairly good handle on the mere fact that many--if not most--of the items in our closets can serve to function as costume details. Especially if you're prone to attend fashion weeks, that shit is practically the style equivalent to halloween.

In any case, today we look to plaid. To Liv Tyler, Empire Records, the 90s, to mohair, to chunky shoes with hearty soles that warm our souls.

sweater: Etoile Isabel Marant, skirt: Opening Ceremony, socks: Hue, loafers: Marni. Dog: not mine. 

Speaking of dog, not mine, when these photos were being taken, a man strode by walking this little nugget of love. He asked if we needed him (the pup, though it was slightly unclear) to complete the "school project," and it was then that I realized: he thought I was a school girl. I got self conscious and pondered how many fantasies I may have been acting out for him, but then I fairly aggressively picked a wedgie that I did not have and all those fantasies were shot to shit. You see boys and girls, there's more to man repelling than just a sartorial conquest. Clothes can only take you so far. This is good and bad. Good because: high fashion does not mean you're going to be single forever. Bad because: You may have to pick something not suitable for picking in public when things get awkward.

But moving forward let's talk costumes. All separate items that conjure up the outfit are practically wardrobe staples. I wear this sweater with nearly everything from plain old denim to high waist midi skirts that flare real far. It's also the closest thing to thing to Corey's infamous pale blue mohair sweater I own. The shoes are fairly new, still looking for the penny to their loafer, but a brown and black chunky combo shoe by Marni stole my heart faster than the aforementioned little dude. This is also a Halloween plus because you've just successfully dodged wearing heels that make you look like a stork when you walk, lady of the night when you stand.

As for the skirt, I'd seen it over the summer and it was then I rendered it perfect, but I have a rule about fall shopping: don't buy it until you can actually wear it. Unless it's Thakoon, you have no time to waste with Thakoon. So I waited, then bought it and now that I have it and halloweens around the corner, I see how many costumes can be born. An Scottish kilted man, Britney Spears (though I don't recommend this one) and duh, one of an Empire Record six. I'm still not sure where the thigh-high socks came in but...you know, more important than any step here is making the look your own, right? Right?

 all photos by Naomi Shon

That's why I added a smile and some questionable arm formation.