Last updated on October 1st, 2023 at 04:20 pm
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has affected the way that many of us live our lives, reaching areas of our being that can sometimes be very unexpected indeed. One such area is how we dress. Here, we’re going to look at some of the ways that COVID if affecting not just what we’re wearing, but how we’re thinking about fashion, and how we’re buying the clothes that make our wardrobe.
Fashion as therapy
Fashion therapy is an effective way to deal with stress. Most people who are into their clothes can tell you that. Now, however, people are using their wardrobe as a means to stay positive when the days are becoming a lot more stressful on all of us. Taking the time to plan your wardrobe, to find inspiration for new outfits, to discover new accessories, and to create looks for yourself can have a profound effect on your mental health. The shrinking realm of accessible hobbies and interests means that a lot more women, especially, are looking more closely at fashion as a means of taking their minds off of the world outside.
The unavoidable with Covid
Speaking of accessories, there is one that has become significantly more popular as time goes on. We are, of course, talking about face masks. Since the vast majority of us have been wearing them for months now, people have started to look at them as more than just a practical tool. While their effectiveness should always be the number one priority, a lot of people are looking at their fashion potential, too. There are masks of all kinds of colours and patterns being released and, since we’re likely to be wearing them for months to come, yet, there are people who are buying multiple masks of different kinds so that they can match them to their outfits, while more people opt for reusable as opposed to the disposable kind.
Empowering the eyes
Another way that masks are affecting the way that we dress is that there’s bringing a lot more attention to the top half of our face, rather than the bottom half. For one, this means that we’re seeing a lot more women wearing accessories such as hats and scarves to make sure they have something of a uniform look going on. What’s more, it also means that a lot of women are paying extra attention to how they do their eye makeup. Given that it’s now one of the only parts of the face that’s completely visible at all times, it only makes sense that making your eyes pop can help you still maintain the same level of expressiveness even if half of your face is covered up most of the time.
A fashion revolution
The ways that COVID affects how we dress might go a lot further than the immediate changes we have to make as a practical consideration. Big cultural changes have always played a huge role in fostering changes in fashion. The ongoing empowerment of women throughout the 60s, 70s, and 80s have seen hemlines grow higher and fashion become a lot less restrictive. The growing acceptance of women in the office has seen general fashion adopting a lot of the shapes of business wear. It could be that the ongoing pandemic and lockdown will see fashion making similar adaptations, as well. The outfits that we choose to match our masks may end up staying even longer than the masks do. For instance, what fashion tips fork for video conferencing may end up sticking around long after we’re no longer having our weekly Zoom calls (if remote working doesn’t also stick around).
The push for online fashion
It’s a point of concern for a lot of people who love their little boutiques and local stores, but the way that we buy fashion may be changing more rapidly than we thought. The rise of fashion eCommerce is nothing new, of course. The industry has been trending online for a very long time, now. However, there’s no denying that the coronavirus pandemic has significantly sped things up. More and more businesses are moving to online-only since there are fewer people out and about to visit their physical stores.
There’s a good chance that COVID is going to change how we look at outfits, not to mention the landscape of the fashion industry once it’s all said and done. A lot of people anticipate that this will be the new normal, so we might not yet see where fashion is going but it’s certain to change.
*collaboration
