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Observations in Fashion

Reimagining Fashion Without The Fleeting Trends

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By spending our days in more or less a state of isolation our priorities have shifted. At this time last year, we were planning our summer vacations and picking up a few new pieces to take with us on on our journeys.  Contrary to current fashion magazine reportage, my guess is that we are not focused on what is trending for spring or summer.  I am sure most of you are satisfied with your wardrobes because, for the time being, the latest fashion trends are no longer on our radar. 

Now our priorities are our health, economic situation, the safety of our families, and making sure the kids are okay.  Wait—I forgot about groceries and booze. Having enough to eat and drink weighs heavily on our minds as well. These are the concerns that pretty much predominate our thoughts, not whether cropped pants remain au courant.   

I have always loved fashion because it is a pathway to reimagining ourselves.  But, like a lot of consumerism, we went overboard because there was so much.  We bought something new merely because we read that Kate Middleton had one just like it. Or we bought something new because it was trending.  Or even worse, we made a new purchase simply because it was cheap. 

Never before has there been so much inventory to choose from. In fact, there is so much clothing produced that fashion houses routinely burn their overstock in order to dispose of it. 

Clothing is not the only consumer product that has become so disposable. Furniture and housewares are also problematic. For years we wanted newness for the sake of newness, whether it was a new pair of shoes or a new blender or new patio furniture and the cheaper the better.

It’s time for a reset. 

We can still plan a summer vacation but maybe this year we will travel by car to somewhere with expansive views and no tourists. When we pack we will take our most beloved summer pieces—the ones we’ve always gravitated toward because the fabric and fit are perfection. Before we take off we will make sure that our families are safe, the kids are okay, and that we’ve taken enough wine to enjoy once we have arrived at our destination.

Eat well, wash your hands a lot, and stay safe!

The Future of Fashion After Covid-19

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Much like hand sanitizer and clorox wipes, it appears that yoga pants and sweats are in high demand. That is the landscape today, definitely tomorrow, and most likely for some time to come. But what happens next? In terms of groceries, no doubt shopping for them will no longer be the fraught experience it is today. Hoarding will cease as well, while toilet paper and paper towels will once again fill the shelves of stores. 

But what about the clothing we wear? When it comes time to leave our homes, do we continue on the path of elastic waistbands and fleece? 

There are any number of articles that suggest that the Covid-19 epidemic will change the way we dress in the future. Many of these articles suggest that after months of wearing nothing but gym clothes and oversized loungewear we will refuse to wear anything else. I am not convinced of that. 

Even before Covid-19,  fashion trends had moved to clothing that was not just comfortable but also unrealistically cheap.  Impulse purchases to keep up with ever changing trends, poor workmanship, and low quality fabrics and materials were a part of the zeitgeist.  Fast fashion ruled.

After  Covid-19, the direction of fashion will most probably shift to something more sustainable.  Disruptions in supply chains will see to that.  And the inevitable downturn will result in a demand for less, not more clothing.  It is likely that the post Covid-19 fashion world brings a change in direction to clothing that can be worn for many occasions and many years, and clothing that is made well.    

I also see a world where instead of owning separate wardrobes for work and for everyday, the two will become more aligned because more of us will be working remotely from our homes.  The work wardrobe we accumulated through the years will be relegated to the back of our closets only to be worn when we need to make an appearance in the workplace.  The styles we wear will reflect our new reality.  A knit top made in a thick, supple cotton with a satin finish paired with fluid trousers might become our go-to outfit because it’s just as comfortable as workout gear but definitely more modern. Coats and jackets will be the stand-out pieces of our outfits because they add something more and cover up something less. 

Yes, there will be a shift in how we dress that will reflect our new lifestyles. We will wear clothing that exemplifies our new modern sensibility. But when the time comes for us to meet again for dinner and drinks we will surely have a reason to dress up. 

Be well, wash your hands a lot, and stay safe! 

What The Flappers From The 20s Can Tell Us About Life After A Pandemic

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There is a lot of talk regarding what our lives will look like after the COVID-19 threat is corralled and vanquished, and we are free to move about the world again.  I imagine most of us are planning our breakout moment by getting a much needed haircut and color along with a pedicure after months of DIY hair maintenance and salon-in-a-box treatments.  (Who knew that repurposed scissors from the wrapping paper drawer could be so useful?)

It’s hard to imagine what our post-pandemic daily life will look like but it will most certainly be different than it was just a few months ago. 

If the past is really prologue, we could be in for some radical changes. 

After the influenza pandemic of 1918, there were major, transformational improvements in healthcare and women’s rights.  In 1920, governments began to embrace the concept of socialized medicine, and in August of that year the 19th Amendment was ratified.  Finally, women had won the right to vote, own property, and claim the money they earned as their own instead of their husbands or male family members. 

There were other changes that freed women in the 20s, and one of those changes was expressed in fashion. There was a radical shift from the corseted, puritanical Edwardian look to the free-spirited style of the Flapper.  While the rules of Edwardian dress were less constricting than their Victorian counterparts, there were still up-tight dresses, skirts, and coats.  Women’s apparel was never shorter than ankle length, and wearing pants was considered absolutely heretical. 

The Flapper was liberated from the constraints of heavy clothing and fabrics, long lengths, and preposterous headdresses.  Huge, opulent hats were out. Fluid and unstructured dresses that fell just below the knee were in. Trousers also became popular. While pants were worn as early as 1890 when bicycling became fashionable, it wasn’t until WWI that women embraced them for their ease of movement.  And it wasn’t until the 20s that trousers became tres chic and were worn as leisure wear.  

Flappers also rebelled against the heavy, elaborate coifs of the Gibson Girl by cutting their hair short and wearing it in a bob.  Because women’s hair salons balked at such “dangerous” modernism, undeterred Flappers stepped into their local barbershops for short haircuts until women’s hairdressers yielded to their stressed accounts receivables. 

Like the trouser, the bob expressed the defiant tone of the era and a more inclusive society which we know as the Jazz Age. 

We don’t know what the world will look like when we emerge from our homes but let’s hope it’s a better place than the one we left. 

Be well, wash your hands a lot, and stay safe!