How Has The Global Pandemic Changed Your Personal Style?

[fashionista-ta]

From what I read, the pandemic has changed a lot of people's style, and I know it's changed mine. One example is footwear. I've loved shoes my whole life, but since the pandemic I've started wearing a lot of Birkenstocks and other comfortable shoes I can get on and off easily, like ballet flats. I was mostly leaving the house to run errands or walk around the neighborhood. I was WFH full time already, but I see less need for formal clothes. Before, I think I was often overdressed, and that was my preference. I think that has changed ... I could go on

What about you?

 

[softgrey]

sneakers...
lots of sneakers...

hard to wear earrings because of mask...

i don't like bags- i want my hands free...

i only carry-
credit/bank card, cigs, phone, keys, sanitizer

 

[fashionista-ta]

Ah, earrings! I do have pandemic earrings that I bought specifically to wear with masks. Previously, I wore a lot of hook style earrings--and I still wear these when I'm working but not going out. When I found an earring in the washing machine hooked onto my mask, I knew I had to change something!

I bought two pairs, and I also have a pair of black pearls with a lever back I can wear. One pair are baby hoops that snap shut, and the other pair have a level back that closes completely. Most of my earrings are definitely not suited to wearing with masks ...

I also have some small antique hoops with seed pearls, but they're a little difficult to get on, so most of the time I don't feel like messing with them.

 

[MulletProof]

Honestly, I thought it had changed something forever. When covid hit, I had moved out of LA and 1/5 of the reasons was the typhus outbreak and being chased by crazy people throwing scabs at random pedestrians. Add the pandemic into the equation and you could not have found me with a lipstick on or without a hand sanitizer, wipes, disinfectant spray, disposable gloves, all inside a gross tote bag which would come with the worst clothes I could find, why? because I barely ventured out of the house and everything and everyone would gross me out so first thing I would do upon return was dumping bag and clothes in the washing machine with some ruthless cycle lol, followed by taking a shower with some equally aggressive cheap shampoo that would damage my scalp but at least made sure the virus was off my hair.

Two years, 3 shots and 2 infections later, I don't wear a mask unless it's an extreme situation like someone coughing like a dog next to me or being at the opera where they're stuck in 2020 and it's strictly enforced. I wear lipstick, and I landed in a different field (fine art) where everyone dresses dresses to the nines. So simplicity? hell no, pride first, I'm at the most impractical stage, style-wise, that I've ever been.

I did spend nearly all of 2020 and 2021 without shoes on, so... wearing shoes has been a... George of the Jungle adjustment .. I still get foot cramps every other week but it's been getting better. Life in society is hard!

I also absolutely hate and will avoid at all costs WFH. Some co-workers love it (because they worked like this during the pandemic- I didn't) and honestly it horrifies me to see them in their leggings and filthy, 'I was in the middle of scrubbing the oven before I joined this meeting' clothes when they look straight out of a Vogue editorial when they're in the office. I don't want them to be glamorous but.. we're.. working?.. and not doing laundry together on a Sunday afternoon?

 

[vetements]

I recently did some Marie Kondo-ing and threw out a lot of clothes that I thought I will never ever wear again. Mostly complicated, avant garde, fussy clothings, some I even wonder why did I even buy them in the first place, and they are from all brands big and small, some with tags on. Mind you, this is a 16 year worth of clothes, so I had to go 3 times to a second hand shop, each time 5-10 big bags full.

The brands, if any indication I realised I kept eventually, were most Margiela (the original designer) - it is amazing how after 10 plus years, the designs were still simple, but with a twist, and relevant.

Hermes, Loro Piana, Jil Sander, Prada and an assortment of select shop brands here in Japan. All these were from yester years but stood the test of time. I even threw out a lot of Gucci, since those were, as we all know, trendy and fashion conscious.

One other obsession is fuss free sportswear like Lululemon...

So, I guess the pandemic taught me to live simpler, less fussy, and only buy clothes in future that can last longer both in terms of quality, and design. This is of course just my personal opinion, I still admire the people who carry themselves nicely in Ann Dem, Yohji and CDG etc.

 

[fashionista-ta]

I'm also noticing that the price point where I'm willing to spend has come down quite a bit during the pandemic. I've definitely bought clothes--it was one of the ways I entertained myself--but I'm not sure I see the point of buying at the designer level much anymore.

 

[Drusilla_]

yes and no? The things I like haven't really changed (fabrics with a nice feel, good jackets, vintage and often influenced by favourite tv shows/movies), but my willingness to wear certain things "because it's expected" in a particular setting, or to compromise, has gone right out the window. e.g. I'm really not about to wear black trousers to my job anymore, but I still basically live in a long dark pull-on CDG skirt with an elasticated waist, that I bought during the 2020 lockdowns. It's comfortable, fuss-free and doesn't present fit issues no matter how much my weight fluctuated.

I also don't wear heels anymore, I never was a big heel person anyway but in the early lockdown days I switched over to sneakers/trainers (but nice suede ones) full time instead of the oxfords/loafers/occasional heel (for "smart" days) I wore to work before, and they weren't even interesting ones, just plain black ones. Now the only purpose heels serve in my house is to act as bookends, and if I'm going to have bookends they should at least be interesting!

But since early 2022, I've eased back into loafers and ballet flats instead of my trainers, and now I carry a smal crossbody bag (my pre-pandy bag of choice) instead of fabric totes. And I also still wear a mask, but that's more because I would like to not show my face than because I'm scared of infection. I wear lipstick, just under the mask is all.

 

[helmutnotdead]

These days I couldn’t care less about the clothes I’m wearing.
The whole quarantine situation killed my enthusiasm for getting dressed.

 

[softgrey]

Ah, earrings! I do have pandemic earrings that I bought specifically to wear with masks. Previously, I wore a lot of hook style earrings--and I still wear these when I'm working but not going out. When I found an earring in the washing machine hooked onto my mask, I knew I had to change something!

I bought two pairs, and I also have a pair of black pearls with a lever back I can wear. One pair are baby hoops that snap shut, and the other pair have a level back that closes completely. Most of my earrings are definitely not suited to wearing with masks ...

I also have some small antique hoops with seed pearls, but they're a little difficult to get on, so most of the time I don't feel like messing with them.

i've gone the "baby hoops that lock shut" route as well...
i put a long silver chain in my second hole when i want to be "fancy"...

LOL...

 

[softgrey]

i'm guessing that a lot of people are getting rid of their "complicated" designer things because the secondhand market is really good right now...
either that or a lot of older folks with fantastic wardrobes have succumbed to covid...
...

unfortunately, my guess is that it's a bit of both...



i also think almost everyone has gained weight and doesn't fit into their stuff anymore...

...

i gained a bunch and then lost a bunch and now i;m somewhere in the middle...
a bunch of my stuff is just too small... ...

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ I am at an all-time high ... just not feeling motivated to do anything about it!

 

[Jennifersm]

I have traded in slacks for sweatpants during the worst of the pandemic and now figuring out what to wear back to the office

 

[tigerrouge]

Working from home from the start of the pandemic, I continued to wear the clothes that I would have worn if going into the office, I also did my hair and make-up every day as usual.

About ten years ago, I had a stint of working from home, and back then, I learned a lot about how I function best in those circumstances - and that was to maintain routines which were still oriented towards the outside world.

It might seem like an empty gesture if the only person that sees you during the day is your partner, but the psychological stance of remembering there's an outside world and dressing for it... the ritual of dressing as 'facing outwards' helped keep a connection to other people alive in my mind, and staved off that strange depression that can settle on you, without you noticing, which comes from being disconnected from others, day after day, which can happen even if you 'hate people'.

But I find I don't use bags anymore. No need for them. I have all the time in the world to watch everyone's unboxings of their latest finds, but I don't need any more of them myself, because the ones I have are just taking up space, at this point.

I bought perfume during the pandemic. I bought more perfume. If there's no office and no-one to offend, then I'll take full advantage of filling my own space with all sorts of experimental layering.

 

[fashionista-ta]

tigerrouge, I am betting you're in the minority I would love to believe I wear perfume for myself, but I find it distracting (especially if I'm trying to sleep, and some fragrances--like Tom Ford--definitely last that long). I don't think I've bought any fragrance since the pandemic, since I'm rarely wearing what I have. I do still wear it when I'm going out.

As far as mindset, if I have no meetings, I'll often start working before taking a shower. But certain challenging tasks require me to get up and get ready ... even if there's no makeup, hairstyling, or fancy clothes involved.

The pandemic has affected me strangely when it comes to bags. I have always had some back & shoulder issues, so I use handbags, and tried to keep them as light as possible in the past, so I would carry a medium size bag for everyday that exactly fit my stuff (including a cosmetic bag with my entire lipstick collection--not relevant when wearing masks in my book). Now, since I'm not carrying a bag for long periods of time unless I'm out shopping, I like a bigger bag. Now I keep my entire mask collection in there, often a water bottle if I'm going out for awhile, and I like it to be big enough to use for travel--lunch and reading material for the plane. Now my pre-pandemic bags seem ridiculously small to me.

 

[EvaH]

Such an interesting thread! To me, the pandemic didn't mean any changes to my daily life in a way. I continued going to work, school, and travelling for work too. If anything I bought more as I needed more things (outfits for business trips, outfits for clinics & meetings). I hit the big 3-0 and became more conscious of my image and wanted to look the part in front of my colleagues.

I used to loathe pointy toes shoes and now I own 3 pairs of Manolo and 2 pairs of Gianvito Rossi. I used to be very very careful with the actual number/amount of clothes I had while now I need more diversity and have basically 3 different wardrobes (hospital/business trip for another organisation/students). In terms of bags, I have always loved large bags and those serve me well on business trips but in my daily life, I gravitated more towards crossbody/smaller handbags that I can bring with me at the hospitals (with a tote bag for a change of clothes/food) and while running errands.

My income also grew massively during the pandemic and beyond yet during that time, I finally learned all the good tricks to buy cheaper (tax refund, hunting for online discount codes, waiting for birthday vouchers from stores etc). Before I would go to a store and buy the bag/shoe, but now I go to the store to try it on and take pictures and buy online/at the airport/abroad and that saved me so much money...!

 

[Drusilla_]

^same, barring a few months of absolute lockdown/illness and wfh I was required to keep going into a physical office so my daily routine didn't change that much.

But even during WFH, I had to change into some kind of 'proper' clothes to be able to work properly, what I learnt about myself is that I'm not a person who can be productive in pyjamas. It doesn't mean I want to put on heels or makeup or wear uncomfortable things, but the psychological effect of 'getting ready' is a real one so I'm with @tigerrouge there.

Shoe-wise, as I mentioned in my earlier comment my shoes are all flat but non-sneakers/trainers now. Clothing-wise, I think I experiment a bit more thanks to many ebay purchases during the pandemic and after and also being in a more out-of-the-way working location - it sometimes looks a little chaotic but it's just a reflection of my feelings right now, I suppose. I actually wear a spot of (more toned-down, think skirts with braces) Comme to the office when i would never have dared before!