QUARANTINE FASHION

By Emily Magallon

In March 2020, we all went into quarantine. Schools and Workplaces shutdown. We were all scared and hopeful that it would be all over soon but it wasn’t. After a while we all became less productive, staying in bed all day and probably wearing the same clothes for days. Our work clothes became home clothes. There was no boundary. There was no reason to try. Noticing your style could help you get out of that slump. Being happy with yourself will make you feel motivated, last year was the year of realization. This year is the time to finally do something. 

Home and School Life

During Quarantine people shopped for more home appropriate clothes. We wanted something comfy since we were going to stay home all the time. McKinsey & Company said shoppers of Amazon have been buying more indoor things “such as pajamas and activewear”. Fox 17 News in their article “Covid Impact: How the pandemic changed the fashion industry” stated “there was a major spike in online sales and a demand for comfortable “work from home” clothes.” That boundary that existed between Home and School was no longer there. Style is more important than you think; to how it benefits the fashion industry to how it affects you. Wearing home-wear to important things makes you feel unproductive therefore becoming a slacker. Elle interviewed a woman called Vashtie Kola and she said “It really takes a certain energy within yourself to put on a certain outfit”. Productivity and creativity was needed to persuade us to put a little more effort into dressing ourselves therefore making us have the boundary between home and work.

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Trends

Even if you don’t notice or participate in trends, you can’t deny they aren’t important. Quarantine reflected on our style and trends last year really show it. A peer said “Since I rarely went out last year, I would wear the same clothes days in a row, and if I went outside I would wear the clothes I’ve been wearing all day.” Being home made us want to dress less formal or try as hard. The trends I saw pop up during my research into 2020 trends were sweatpants, crocs, leggings and tie dye. Trends in 2021 have been inspired by the 2000s style with baggy pants and platforms. Thrifting cool vintage has been trending as well. Style has really changed since 2020. There is more creativity with experimenting with an old style, no more sweats and crocs. But what we need to take from this is how our mental state really can be reflected through our style.

Reflection

The people that wake up in the morning and don’t have the motivation to pick an outfit and come to school with pajamas probably reflect their productivity. Imagine you wake up in the morning and you're tired and you're a little cold so you put on some sweats and a jacket. You're cozy and comfy, maybe something happened the previous day that made you so tired and this day happened to be cold. Weather, events, and emotions are involved in our everyday outfits. It’s what people see, it might not be important and why should you care about what others think? But it should matter to you, working on yourself, noticing the things you like helps you improve on your self esteem and that helps with productivity. Getting up in the morning, picking an outfit, looking in the mirror, feeling happy will get you ready for the day and improve your motivation.

Fashion Industry

Many fashion businesses have been struggling this year and the last. They had to change the way they did some things. Buying things online became really popular. I mean how could it not? People were quarantined and shopping online was easy and safe. But that was not the only thing that changed. Fox 17 said “The industry faced challenges like the rest of the world, as people lost interest in buying clothes”. People had more important things to think about then what they were going to wear. Of course the Fashion industry has to follow trends, it’s a business strategy to make more money but what’s hard is these trends are more about home clothing, it lacks creativity. 

Boundaries & Style

Quarantine impacted people in many ways and clothing is the least of your problems, but it’s good to realize how the clothes you wear have an impact on you. Focus on yourself and make sure you have that boundary between work and home. Make sure you feel motivated to be productive.