The Pants We Wore
Is this thing on? Did you miss me? Is the plague over yet?
While it’s unclear if the pandemic is fading due to new variants with vaccines available, people going back to work, and calendars filling with plans- it has felt like everyone is trying to get on the highway at the same time. A happy traffic jam of life, if you will.
In my last newsletter I wrote about finding equilibrium in the absence of “normal life” and as requests, invites, and re-openings began in volume somewhere near the end of March, it was the first opportunity to see if I had learned anything during quarantine. Never before had healthy eating, proper rest, and regular exercise been so high on my list of things to do in a day. But for most of 2020 those were some of the only things on the list! I realized if I wanted to continue this lifestyle I would have to better prioritize. Which is why this newsletter didn’t arrive in June. 😉 Lately, things seem to be leveling off to a more reasonable pace and as the dust settles, I’m beginning to think the side-effects of pandemic-living have changed me for the better.
Did it change you? What about the way you dress?
Many rely on external cues and visuals for their identity. Style by way of clothing, tattoos, hair, or piercings is a wildly effective communication tool. But during quarantine people weren’t being seen and most got into a daily groove of wearing the same few things. Without the visuals for yourself and others, the pants we wore mattered less and it made getting dressed like asking in a vacuum, who am I?
In The Secret of Taste: Why we like what we like, Tom Vanderbilt writes, “we say, with condescension, ‘I can’t believe people actually dressed like that,’ without realizing we ourselves are currently wearing what will be considered bad taste in the future.” Vanderbilt also highlights economist Joseph Schumpeter, “who argued that capitalism’s role was in teaching people to want (and buy) new things.”
Put another way, capitalism’s goal in essence is to transcend taste – to sell the idea that new is always better. Yet, more accurately – new is only always novel and only infrequently better. In regards to fashion, novelty practically defines it. Oscar Wilde once quipped that fashion is “a field of ugliness so absolutely unbearable, that we have to alter it every six months.” Harsh. But not wrong in regards to trends.
Recently at a party (so nice to be able to say that again), someone found out I am a stylist and immediately asked, “so what are the trends right now?” To which I replied, “Oh I don’t follow them. But tell me who you are and I’ll tell you what you should buy.”
Though I’m sure we will look back on the collective quarantine trends of Zoom shirts, tie dye, slippers, sweatpants, and as some reported – no bras – with wide-eyed disdain, it was all very understandable. It was a time of function over form as we did our best to survive with some sanity; dignity took a backseat. But what I’ve seen as people re-emerge is a newfound desire to be seen and to share ourselves with others. Here in NYC the post-pandemic energy is palpable and form returns to the forefront of people’s minds as they decide what to wear and consider how they want to show up. However, with daily routines shaken up and many changes permanent – I’ve noticed a healthy balance of form and function that I haven’t seen before in my 12 years of working as a stylist. People have a sharper focus on who they are, their needs, and their taste. It’s beautiful.
We may not know if the pandemic is nearing the end, but this jury of one sees at least one silver lining.
PS. For inquiring minds – I recommend the Spanx stretch twill cropped wide-leg pant ($128) in soft sage to transition from summer to fall (and from quarantine back to reality)!
