As we hurtle towards Monday and ‘Freedom Day’ in NSW, as our nearly four-month lockdown comes to an end, many people have turned their minds to fashion. In terms of, do we even need it?
We have coped with everything that was thrown at us throughout the pandemic, including a new Premier who is chomping at the bit for us to open up, before we’ve had time to even plan our wardrobes.
We’ve been wearing casual clothes 24/7 for months, almost years, occasionally dressing our top halves more formally for a Zoom meeting. High fashion and designer clothes and accessories and shoes have largely taken a back seat.
The big questions: will we be making a beeline for the boutiques and indulging ourselves with beautiful new pieces, or are we now permanently wedded to our leggings and hoodies and a lack of formality?
I think the answer is both. The ease of stretch clothing is not going anywhere, and what we think of as corporate dressing has essentially changed forever, as employees become more empowered to decide if they want to work from office or home.
The latest ready-to-wear shows just wrapped up in Paris, and there was a lot of chat about a return to sexy, exposed, body-conscious dressing, which is something the fashion world does to us just to make us stay on our toes. And/or hurl ourselves into the sea because we’ve actually put on six kilos during COVID and aren’t even remotely thinking about wearing a belt as a miniskirt (Miu Miu) or a skin-tight cut-out unitard (Saint Laurent).
Maybe there are some pesky influencers who stuck with the exercise program, but practically everyone I know has put on a bit of weight this time around.
Going into lockdown in 2019 felt very new and odd and we possessed a naïve enthusiasm that impelled us to exercise every day.
Fast forward to 2020, and text conversations with my previous exercise buddies go along the lines of:
“Shall we go for a walk?”
“I guess.”
“Is it a bit windy?”
“I hate walking. Sick to death of it.”
“So do I. Let’s skip it.”
“Are you eating crisps?”
Under normal circumstances I do not advise keeping clothes in the wardrobe that you cannot fit into, but these are unusual times.
Think of your post-COVID shape like post-pregnancy – rest assured, those kilos will drop off once we can all move around freely again and get one hundred things done in a day, just like we used to.
This has been tough on all of us, so cut yourself some slack and ease into your post-lockdown style. The leggings and T-shirts can endure, just pop an oversized blazer over the top, a neat trench coat or a designer parka.
Drawstring pants and elastic waist skirts are also on trend, often worn with matching shirts – the idea of set dressing is very big, stemming no doubt from all the comfy pyjamas and tracksuits we’ve been wearing.
I love the look of drawstring linen shorts with a matching shirt for spring, worn with sandals and some fake tan. It’s a lovely, forgiving outfit for lunches and picnics as we start to open up.
There’s a lot to look forward to.
Just not unitards.
The post Kirstie Clements: As we hurtle towards Freedom Day, passion for fashion is rekindled appeared first on The New Daily.
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