It’s a whole new world opening up before us—are you dressed for it?
Having moved to my new place here at McKinley Hill, I’ve noticed more and more people are dressing up. When I spend a part of my afternoon at our building’s cafe downstairs, these people don’t just simply pass by anymore—they stay in my mind.
Yesterday, I was on my way to get my laundry when I saw this woman wearing a beautiful printed skirt, a form-fitting top, strappy heels, and a Chanel 2.55 handbag. She looked fabulous, while I looked jealous. What was I wearing? Oh, don’t even bother.
I’m not going to lie. I miss dressing up. I miss spending time to put an outfit together. I miss pretending that I’m on a runway when I walk in public.
For the most part, my life in the past two years, both personal and professional, has only been existing in the virtual world. I connect with my family and friends online on a daily basis. I’m grateful that I get to continue working from home. Really, I don’t feel the need to dress up.
Of course, there have been instances when I have to turn on my video for personal calls and work meetings, hence my virtual style, whatever shirt I’m wearing. If I’m wearing a tank top, I just throw on a scarf I always keep within reach.
There’s no denying that the pandemic has changed the way we approach dressing up. Style is—and will always be—personal, but one thing we can all agree on is that comfort has now become the priority when it comes to what we wear.
Speaking of comfort, one thing I always tell people is that style and comfort are not mutually exclusive. It doesn’t have to be one or the other. Now that the world is opening up again, I can already hear my clothes calling my name, wanting to be worn again.
Over the past two years, we’ve been comfortable in our house clothes. I guess a different type of comfort is needed now—comfort to go out and face the world again.
Come on, don’t leave me alone in this. I’m sure you have clothes in your closet that you miss wearing. I won’t be surprised if you have clothes that still have their tags on. Well, it always helps to find reasons to do things and clothes make a really good reason.
I guess a different type of comfort is needed now—comfort to go out and face the world again. Just think of it this way: Instead of seeing it as the world, look at it as your world. Wouldn’t you want to expand your world again and do it in style?
I know, I know. It can be quite intimidating to start dressing up again. Luckily, there are so many sources of inspiration. For starters, our fingertips can lead us to Instagram and TikTok, where style photos and videos are aplenty. If you want to take it up a notch, follow runway collections and take inspiration from trends.
Regardless of where you draw inspiration from, the key is to start with clothes you’re comfortable with and go from there—try something new from summer 2022’s color palette like Kelly green or saturated yellow or hot pink, add an accessory like those oversized flat aviator-style glasses at Gucci, or experiment with a print or two like those 1970s diagonals at Fendi.
Or forget the trends. And forget the brands. Style is eternal, as Yves Saint-Laurent once said, and—may I stress, as I have pointed out earlier—style is personal, more personal now than ever. Obviously, I say this with caution and awareness that there are more pressing matters facing us now. We all need something to keep us sane, however, and for some of us, it’s dressing up.
I say it’s the time to rediscover our style because after being on lockdown for two years, it feels like we’re starting all over again. It feels like falling in love with dressing up for the first time. Suddenly, we are reminded of how fleeting life is. Thus, we have to make the most of it, whether it’s from what we wear or where we want to go.
If you ask me, I’m already planning outfits in my head. Granted, I need to lose weight to fit in all of them, but that makes it even more exciting for me. After all, I don’t want to be just a passerby in the eye of others.