Fashion in the Time of Covid

At this time of the year I like to look at the fashions for the coming season and so I am doing it now, especially curious how designers make their creations relevant for the time of Covid, when many people spend days at home in their pajamas. Other increasingly common clothing items have been running shoes, training pants, hoodies, fleece jackets and puffers. Even the usually elegant French women seem to have let themselves go a little bit under the circumstances. Designers must be perfectly aware of the mood because they seem to be offering more elaborate variations of the clothes people are already wearing.

Paris street fashion, 2021

Passing by a few clothing stores in Washington's trendy Georgetown on a Sunday in December, my friend and I came across a small boutique with a display of long evening dresses in its windows. We looked at each other with the question in our eyes: is there any place where you can wear something like this, even on a New Year's Eve? The shop looked like a relic from a bygone era. And maybe it was not even open. It was hard to tell on that Sunday.

Boutique Lovely, Georgetown, Washington DC

The Washington area clothing stores have not quite adjusted to the Covid era. The racks are still full of dresses, high-heeled shoes and fancy jewelry as well as formal suits and ties for men. There are also tons of sports and casual items, of course, but no more than before the pandemic.  Some stores have closed permanently - Camper Shoes among them - and some still have their fronts boarded up since the BLM and election riots. But inside the stores, nothing has changed.

Designers, on the other hand, exhibit more awareness of the world around them than most US clothing merchants.  The new apparel focuses on the comfortable to the degree of frumpy and ill-fitted. Wardrobe basics include oversized "boyfriend" shirts, thick sweaters, big jackets, baggy pants and huge overcoats, intended to accommodate all the bulky items underneath when you run out to grab a bottle of milk from the corner store. In a pinch, women can borrow men's clothes for any occasion. 

Balenciaga, Spring 2021  

                                             

I have been a great fan of Scandinavian fashions for years. But the Nordic favorite this year - a sleeveless sweater I have always hated - takes it down a notch or two on my top list.  The reincarnation of my grandmother's knitwear looks to be crocheted from the yarn leftover from a cottage blanket she made all those winters ago.  When I was the age of the model in the photo below, you would not see me dead in the concoction she is showing off. But knitting has seen revival during Covid and designers are letting you know they approve.

Copenhagen, 2021

Now the shoes: they must be super comfy, with solid wide bottoms and tight ankles to ensure that you don't wobble during the five-mile daily exercise walks, or cause even a hint of a blister.

Platform boots, 2021

Spring Fashion 2021

While the winter apparel leans toward comfy and cosy, designers show optimism that the pandemic might subside by the summer and turn to light, airy and cheerful items. We see a plethora of fluffy concoctions for women and colorful creations for men.

 Summer fashion, 2021

Men's fashion, spring 2021

Much to look forward to, even though we are not quite sure if there will be occasion to show off our new wardrobe. Will anyone still have desire to dress up if you cannot join a crowd that might admire your latest look?

Let's see: D.C. restaurants are currently able to serve indoors at 25% capacity. Valentine's Day is coming up, and though large gatherings are discouraged, couples are acceptable. With love and engagements in the air, people will surely want to don something other than training pants. I'll go check the evening spots this weekend and make that five-mile walk on the asphalt. I may wear comfortable shoes, but I promise to put on a skirt. Even if it snows!

Winter Blues Dispelled Or Justice in Fashion

When winter gets really dreary and dull, usually between mid-January and the end of February, and especially when the outdoor movements are limited to narrow tunnels between dirty mounds of snow and melting ice, nothing cheers me up as the anticipation of spring: getting out of heavy boots, thick coats and hair-flattening hats. The long wait for that first warm day can be tedious, even as it provides ample time to get ready for stepping out in the latest sartorial fineries. This year, I find the spring fashion especially lovely. Gone are the skimpy cheap-looking mini affairs and in come the classy elongated silhouettes, with hems below the knees - clothes that make a woman look good as opposed to women making the clothes look good, as has been the case for quite a while.

Dries van Note

Dries van Noten

As usual, there is going to be struggle with arranging photos because the Blogger is soooooo inflexible.  In any case, left and right is my favorite Belgian designer Dries van Noten.  His style is immediately recognizable for its combinations of rich colors, playful patterns and luxurious fabrics, this year hinting at Morocco.  Van Noten's fabric designs extend to   his models' arms and legs in the form of Moroccan henna tattoos.  I will never own any of it and would have nowhere to wear it, but it is pure pleasure just to look at the photos.

 

Then there is the more conservative Chanel with its trademark black-toed sandals (above left) and  more sculpted outfits by the Swedish brand Acne, (above right)  known for simple geometrical lines, and the name which is bound to put off many an adolescent. Of course, there is H & M with its still affordable upscale line (below left), not to be sniffed at, as well as the always minimalist Zara (below right).

And girls, if you are not enthralled yet, here's more of the lovely........oops!  Sorry, guys this is for you - from Damir Doma of Milan:

I am pleased to note that the designers follow lifestyle trends as well as setting them.  Since walking is becoming an important part of daily fitness regime, many leading names in fashion now offer comfortable shoes.  Would you believe that the comfy pair below left is by Chanel?   Unfortunately there are still the ubiquitous platforms (below right), which is fine for the women who want to add inches to their stature, but prohibitive for me.  Something tells me I'll have another year of long searches for suitable shoes.

Some designers go to the extreme in their effort to adhere to life's realities.  As the rich-poor gap widens around the world, it is no longer kosher to display one's wealth.  Clochard-style items from the latest collection of New York's Thom Browne look like costumes for a movie about Oliver Twist. The clothes that only the wealthiest can afford look much like something most homeless would reject. There is justice in fashion.