Covid Killed Fashion…
Covid has ruined fashion. Hear me out. I have been in media sales my entire adult life. When I have a great suit on, and I feel good about myself, I CAN SELL. If I have on an ill-fitting suit, or I am just not wearing my favorite outfit, I am not so self-assured. So when the pandemic happened, and we were relegated to officing from home, had no social interaction with office mates, and had to be self-starters...it didn’t work for me at all. About 2-3 months in, when I realized we weren’t "opening back up in a week or so," I had to change something. My gym was closed, my office was closed, and restaurants were closed. Life changed for everyone. I finally realized I had to fall back into a routine. I needed to start waking up at a scheduled time and get dressed like I was going to the office, even though the office was at home. With my new perspective, things changed for me. I started to become more motivated and more productive, and I had a more positive attitude...that is what it took for me to keep going, to be successful, and to survive the pandemic. So while my everyday life had drastically changed, I tried to keep my routine as "normal" as I could.
Now, post-pandemic, I am SO weary of seeing people out and about wearing yoga pants and tennies, no makeup, and hair in a pony. No fashion, no beautiful Jimmy Choos, Manolo Blahniks, Christian Louboutins...PLEASE everyone, can we get back to normal? I am so tired of the "lazy dressing" or "Covid outfits." Can we please put this behind us? Can we move into 2024 where life goes on, and we thrive wearing beautiful outfits and shoes, carrying that gorgeous Prada? Self-love has been a great headline, but are we really doing it? Are we really taking care of ourselves, making our mark on the world, or are we getting up and just putting on sweatpants and heading out for errands? Fashion isn’t about WHO you are wearing, fashion is about who you are, who you want to be, how you feel, and projecting that out into the world. Can we still be motivated while wearing yoga pants? I don’t care if it’s the latest Lululemon, it is what it is. YOGA PANTS. Those should be for yoga, not all day, not every day (unless you happen to teach yoga). Brunello Cuccinelli, Stella McCartney, Tom Ford, and Virgil Abloh all struggled to survive the ramifications of the Covid outbreak. Anna Wintour established a fund to subsidize struggling designers during the Covid pandemic, and they survived. They survived. Let’s not do a disservice to them by throwing on those Athleta joggers once again. Give them the respect they deserve and get up, put your makeup on, and slip on that special outfit, the one that makes you glow. Even if you are just going to the pharmacy, make that pharmacist take notice. Ladies, we are beautiful, no matter our race, our size, or our nationality. We are beautiful. Get back to yourself. Dress for you. When you look in the mirror, don’t make excuses, high-five the mirror. Be beautiful, wear that outfit, wear heels (they do always make you look thinner), and GET BACK OUT THERE! I have always believed in the saying, "What doesn’t kill us, will make us stronger," and isn’t that really the point? We survived a pandemic. We beat Covid. These designers all hung in there....for us! DO NOT DISAPPOINT THEM.
SIDENOTE: To all of my retired friends, keep wearing those yoga pants every day, YOU EARNED THEM.... BUT...and please pay attention here...GO OUT AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK ON A "DATE NIGHT." Date night, in this context, does not have to be a real "date night." It just means going out with friends, with your dad, with a co-worker. Whoever you go out with, just GO OUT. Get all made up, dressed up, and ready to make a mark on the world. BE YOU. BE BEAUTIFUL. INSTEAD OF TAKING A SELFIE, GIVE YOURSELF A HIGH-FREAKING-FIVE!
Fashionably,
Kristen
