Food for Thought - A Fashion Reflection
Have you ever noticed how sometimes the way we dress literally reflects how we are feeling? Sometimes we do this without noticing and other times it's intentional. The way we dress is an indicator of how we are feeling day to day. If we’re lazy or tired we might wear sweats and an oversized t-shirt or if we’re energetic and joyful we may opt for bright colors and patterns. Whatever the vibe, mood or energy it's bound to show up in the way we don our apparel. So what about you? What about today? Better yet, what about this last year? It seems like everyone is anticipating the arrival of the month of March. March marks the year anniversary of when all of this craziness began, it's almost become the new, “new year.” If we had to look back and see what our clothing said about our mental state, what would it say?
In order to break down the essence of 2020 we can examine the fundamental trends that came along with it. We can also look at the innovative ways that we entertained ourselves as well as ways that helped us cope with the unknown chaos that came with this last year. From a fashion perspective, we saw a rise in athleisure wear and cozy clothing as well as Zoom tops and relaxed bottoms (if any at all). We also noticed that since we have been in a shelter-in-place state for so long, we found the courage to try new things because we had the confidence that if it didn’t work out or we didn't like it, no one would see it. So, we tried that new nail shape and we attempted new makeup looks and broke style rules because we had nothing better to do. We can only hope that this sense of daring and curiosity, that this brave approach to fashion will sustain itself long after things go back to “normal.”
1.- Val Multicolor Stripe Wrap Blouse / 2. Handwoven Calypso Straw Bag Brown (sold out)/ 3. Suiting Crop Flare Pants
The pandemic, political campaigns, the Black Lives Matter movement and so many other monumental events have marked this year, making us all think, did the universe f*ckup and put a decade’s worth of tragedy into one year? There was a lot of mourning, from the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ruth Bader Ginsberg it seems our faith in humanity was being tested every month and our uniform matched the tone. We don’t know about you, but we noticed our reaction expressed itself through our apparel; dark ominous grays and blacks and oversized tees, house dresses and robes took over. It seems we gave up, but we hadn’t and we haven’t still. Which brings us to the inevitable TikTok. TikTok made us show up and get dressed. Everyone, all ages and genders and identities found solace in the app where you can utilize endless filters, effects and songs. Mothers, fathers, grandparents and babies, the list goes on and on of folks who found an escape and a community on this free platform. It occupied the hours we could have spent crying of fear, it brought us laughter and closer to our loved ones by proposing dancing and singing challenges to quarantine’s greatest hits. Sending our favorite TikTok videos to loved ones kept us humorous even laughing at our own pain and we noticed our wardrobe change again; we were brushing our hair, wearing makeup and actually putting on clothes - only the very best for our loyal audiences on TikTok!
How can we list and categorize everything that has happened this year? There’s so much that we’ve been through and where it has left many of us divided, many of us have also united. We’ve untied through our belief in justice for everyone and the equal treatment of all. We’ve united in our fear that we’ve used to fuel our strength. We’ve united through TikTok dances and quarantine fashion trends. Nothing lasts forever, the good or the bad. So when life gave us the “good” we enjoyed it to the fullest and when it dealt us the “bad” we already knew it had to end someday because it does every time. 2020 fueled our creativity; we had to conjure up new fashion and beauty trends, ways to learn and work from home and how to keep us entertained without leaving the comfort of our home. Our wardrobe is a timeline of the ups and downs we experienced along the way but one thing it really showed us was that we are adaptable. Yes, us humans are adaptable and capable. Now let’s keep this in mind as we open ourselves up to 2021 and the adventure it will bring.
xo
SS