If you spot fashion enthusiasts rocking toe rings next season, you can trace that trend straight back to Leandra Medine Cohen. This past June, the influential Substack creator and keen fashion observer started showcasing her feet, complete with dazzling three-carat diamond rings, in her bi-weekly newsletter. These bold, unconventional styling choices are precisely what make Ms. Cohen one of the most captivatingly dressed women in America.
Just a few months later, toe rings made a prominent appearance on the runways of major fashion houses like Celine and Balenciaga during Paris Fashion Week.
While it’s improbable these high-fashion brands would acknowledge Ms. Medine Cohen, 36, for inspiring their foot-centric accessories, those keenly observing the industry couldn’t miss her clear influence.
Regardless of public acknowledgment, Ms. Medine Cohen holds substantial sway in the fashion world. Her unique talent for crafting unconventional ensembles emerged in 2010 when, at just 21 and a junior at the New School, she launched her groundbreaking blog, Man Repeller.
The concept of a prominent diamond toe ring arose from a playful discussion between Ms. Medine Cohen and her friend Yael Aflalo, the visionary behind Reformation, who debuted her own Aflalo line last year.
“We were brainstorming the most unconventional yet luxurious spots to adorn with a diamond,” Ms. Aflalo recounted. “It sparked from a casual, silly chat between friends.” This $2,300 ring, part of Ms. Medine Cohen’s 10-piece collection of lab-grown diamond jewelry with Aflalo, is among numerous ventures she’s pursued since Man Repeller closed its doors in 2020.
A New Chapter: Beyond Man Repeller
For our interview in late August, Ms. Medine Cohen suggested Butterfield Market, a chic Upper East Side grocery. It’s a familiar spot for her, as she often writes her Substack newsletter, The Cereal Aisle, on an outdoor bench there. Far from breakfast foods or grocery lists, her newsletter delves into Ms. Medine Cohen’s passionate devotion to clothing.
The name “The Cereal Aisle” was chosen to reflect the diverse offerings on Substack, signaling to readers that her content would be singularly focused – much like finding only one type of product in a supermarket aisle.
“You wouldn’t enter the cereal aisle expecting to find yogurt, even if both are breakfast items,” she explained.
In her unique analogy, “cereal” represents “fashion and life reflections intertwined with clothing.” This distinct perspective resonates deeply with her 165,000 dedicated subscribers, who effortlessly interpret her individualistic prose and visual narratives. They grasp concepts like “outfit breakthrough points”—a recent newsletter topic she famously demonstrated by layering Kat Zarra 14-karat-gold-plated magnetic nipples over a simple knit tank.
Above: A selection of Leandra Medine Cohen’s distinctive style from The Cereal Aisle, featuring her now-iconic diamond toe ring and gold-plated magnetic nipples.
For half a decade, Ms. Medine Cohen has consistently published personal essays, outfit photos, and styling insights on The Cereal Aisle, releasing content at least six times a month. Her topics are broad, spanning from the intense experience of childbirth to the nuances of selecting the perfect loafer. Each entry is rich with photographs of her — some taken with a selfie timer at home, others by street photographers — showcasing her creative sartorial combinations, often accompanied by shoppable affiliate links. She diligently engages with her paid subscribers, responding to their comments and questions.
“This is what truly excites me,” she concluded one post about loafers.
“My contribution is to share my personal style, and in doing so, empower others to discover their own,” Ms. Medine Cohen stated. On this particular day, her attire leaned towards her more understated looks: an olive green button-down from LMND, coordinating micro shorts from the Frankie Shop, brown sandals by the French brand Soeur (with whom she has collaborated), and, of course, a diamond toe ring.
Despite her penchant for provocative accessories, Ms. Medine Cohen exhibits a surprisingly composed and sincere demeanor, infused with a lively energy. Her conversation is often punctuated by self-help terminology, and Martha Beck’s book, “The Way of Integrity: Finding the Path to Your True Self,” clearly serves as a guiding influence.
“Finding joy in your work is pure euphoria,” Ms. Medine Cohen shared, clarifying that while she doesn’t attend regular therapy, she does seek professional guidance occasionally.
The Cereal Aisle functions as both a modern magazine and a form of conceptual art, with Ms. Medine Cohen serving as the central figure, exploring how clothes convey emotions and messages. She proudly described it as “a creative project I’ve successfully and authentically monetized.”
The Art of Repelling and Attracting Fashion
Her approach isn’t universally embraced, but as Ruth Chapman, co-founder of the former e-commerce platform Matchesfashion.com, noted, “She has no fear when it comes to fashion.” Chapman, who first met Ms. Medine Cohen during a Harper’s Bazaar shoot at the peak of Man Repeller’s popularity, developed a friendship and collaborated on several Matches projects.
“Every item she showcased would instantly sell out,” Ms. Chapman recalled. “Her audience feels inspired and empowered to experiment with new styles after seeing her wear them.”
Despite being a devoted fashionista, Ms. Medine Cohen is far from a snob. Her wardrobe boasts a mix of high-end luxury brands like The Row, Khaite, and Chanel, along with an abundance of fine jewelry. Yet, she also embraces more accessible labels such as Banana Republic, Gap, and Old Navy. She frequently hunts for treasures on The RealReal and Etsy, and is a strong advocate for emerging, lesser-known designers. For instance, during Milan Fashion Week in September, amidst the buzz surrounding Gucci and Versace, her top picks were Boss and Etro. She estimates that about a third of her clothing is gifted by brands, while she personally buys the remaining majority, seldom borrowing items.
“I don’t believe I need external trends to guide my work,” she asserted, adding, “In fact, I find it can obscure my unique perspective.” Instead, she draws inspiration from everyday people she observes on city streets, instinctively forging new aesthetic paths that diverge from algorithm-driven trends.
Flashback to 2013: Ms. Medine Cohen signing copies of her debut book at a Barneys cocktail event in Los Angeles.
Ms. Medine Cohen’s vanity, if it exists, is unconventional. She doesn’t shy away from unflattering angles, showcasing everything from an open mouth and double chin to hairy arms and visible moles. Her preference is to be photographed in motion, believing it best captures the dynamic essence and texture of her clothing.
With 1.2 million Instagram followers, Ms. Medine Cohen’s audience is well-versed in her distinctive, emotionally charged style of writing and dressing, a sensibility cultivated during her Man Repeller era. The term “man-repelling” itself originated from her blog, describing the fashion choices women loved that often puzzled or displeased the average man.
A charismatic, quirky individual with a sharp wit and immense drive, she transformed her blog into a thriving media company. It served as a joyful online community and cultural hub for millennial women passionate about personal style. Neither Ms. Medine Cohen nor her team took themselves too seriously; in a fictional history of ruffles published on Man Repeller, she famously characterized the embellishment as “labial foldage on cotton.”
“I desperately wanted to intern there,” recalled Jeanne Malle, an editor at Air Mail, who first stumbled upon Man Repeller as a young teenager, introduced by her older sister.
During its initial five years, Man Repeller was a source of empowerment and liberation for Ms. Medine Cohen. Raised in Manhattan by Turkish and Iranian immigrant parents, she attended Ramaz, an Orthodox Jewish day school with a strict modest dress code. She vividly recalls turning 18 and heading to college, thinking, “I’m finally free to experiment with every look imaginable!”
The blog quickly became a phenomenon in the fashion industry, simultaneously baffling and captivating traditional media outlets. Man Repeller successfully tapped into a desirable, highly engaged young demographic, and soon, luxury brands were extending invitations for her to grace the front rows of their fashion shows.
In 2013, the year following her marriage to Abraham Cohen, she released her first book, “Man Repeller: Seeking Love. Finding Overalls.” Her business expanded into a NoHo office, where she eventually managed a team of 18. Man Repeller spawned pop-up shops, a podcast, and lucrative collaborations with major brands such as J. Crew, Chanel, and PayPal. A 2014 New York Magazine profile captured Ms. Medine Cohen’s aspirations to elevate Man Repeller beyond her individual persona.
“I am capable of this,” she declared then. “I’m determined to make this happen. I can build a media empire.”
“It’s Just Clothes”: Embracing a Simpler Truth
Ultimately, this grand vision didn’t materialize. In the summer of 2020, amidst widespread Covid-19 layoffs, revenue losses, and the Black Lives Matter movement, she resigned from Man Repeller, caught in a wave of “girl boss” scrutiny within fashion and media. By October 2020, Ms. Medine Cohen announced the blog’s complete closure due to financial pressures.
“The way it unfolded wasn’t ideal,” she admitted, “but I was genuinely prepared for a new direction.”
For several years leading up to this, Ms. Medine Cohen had grappled with her position at the helm of her own company. She felt burdened by responsibilities to the business, its staff, and her audience, all while sensing that Man Repeller was perpetually “not quite right.” At this point, she was also raising twin toddlers, and a third daughter arrived last year.
“I struggled to acknowledge that I no longer wished to manage a media company,” she confessed. “It was hard to reconcile the idea that I could maintain self-respect while simply enjoying fashion and discussing how I experience the world through my clothing choices.”
Above: Post-Man Repeller, Ms. Medine Cohen embraces a renewed voice in the fashion landscape.
Ms. Medine Cohen labels the period between leaving Man Repeller and launching The Cereal Aisle as “the bridge” – a time marked by deep personal disorientation, sadness, and confusion. “My husband would return from work to find me crying on the kitchen floor, questioning, ‘How did my life come to this?’” she recounted. Grappling with whether to continue writing about fashion, to write at all, or to focus solely on her children, she eventually heeded a friend’s counsel: “Seek comfort where you find it.”
This guidance led her directly to her closet. Initially, Ms. Medine Cohen approached it with cynicism. “I’d think, ‘It’s just clothes. Why am I treating this as something more profound?’” But the act of assembling an outfit proved unexpectedly uplifting. “It might look silly, but it feels right,” she realized. “I’m enjoying myself.” This simple joy signaled progress, prompting her to pick up writing again.
Her husband introduced Ms. Medine Cohen to Substack, where her first post in September 2020, “Moving Home,” was a personal essay exploring themes of fortune, privilege, and self-awareness – a reflection that now feels like a snapshot of a particular cultural moment. Back then, Substack hadn’t yet become a prominent platform for fashion writers.
“She was, in fact, the pioneer,” stated Sophia Efthimiatou, Substack’s head of writer relations and events. In January 2021, Ms. Medine Cohen formally launched The Cereal Aisle, outlining her vision to share style tips, detailed clothing analyses, and parenting insights. She craved interaction and the engagement she missed with her audience.
“Initially, it felt like uncharted territory,” she confessed. “It was a quiet space, and I often wondered, ‘Is anyone even reading this?’”
Today, Substack boasts over 50,000 publishers generating income, and while specific category breakdowns aren’t public, Ms. Efthimiatou confirmed that “Leandra essentially pioneered the fashion community on Substack.” Her newsletter consistently ranks among the top five in Substack’s fashion and beauty category by subscriber revenue.
Regarding her future, Ms. Medine Cohen admitted, “There’s no fixed strategy.” She contemplates writing another book, having another child, or launching her own brand. Her Aflalo jewelry line is produced by Mark Henry, her family’s jewelry business. Her website, Café Leandra, serves as a hub for her writing, affiliate-linked merchandise, and collaborations, such as a recent collection of colorful tights designed with Swedish Stockings.
“My website hasn’t fully evolved yet,” she noted, “but it holds potential.”
Ms. Medine Cohen approaches all her endeavors with the same philosophy she applied to The Cereal Aisle. “When I began it,” she recounted, “I thought, ‘Here I am, 35 years old, I just tried on 35 outfits, spent two hours taking photos of myself in my living room, and then cooked dinner for my kids.’ What sustained me was the realization that it was enjoyable, and I had the freedom to stop anytime.”