What is Fashion’s New Normal?

As Virginia gets ready to start phase one of reopening, those of us in the retail business can’t help but wonder what this means. We’ve all had sleepless nights thinking about every aspect of our families' and friends' health, their well-being and their lives moving forward. This includes all of our businesses, relationships with other businesses, and our clients. Everyone’s foremost thought is the care and well-being of others and practicing safety when in public. On the positive side, the accompanying resurgence in community caring is a welcome relief.We also have a bit of anxiety as to what the future holds. What we haven’t addressed yet is how this looks for the fashion business moving forward. I’ve posed this question to many friends over Zoom and text recently and here is some of the feedback I’ve received.

• “I can’t wait to put on my stilettos and get dressed to the nines with my favorite clothes and feel that I’m back!”
• “My favorite clothes are now lounge suits and I’m not sure if I can get out of that comfort zone now that I’ve found creative ways to make my style.”
• “I might choose to work from home from here on out, so my wardrobe needs have completely changed. I like to be pulled together but it’s much more casual.”
• “I’m not going to wear anything sleeveless just in case I need to cough into my sleeve.”
• “I’m pulling out all of my scarves to wear with every outfit so that I can pull together a chic look while covering my need for a basic mask.”
• “I’m wearing my Vince platform sneakers with everything from casual to dressy.”
• “I go running every day and then slick my hair back with Aquaphor so that no one on Zoom can see my gray.”

One friend said she is trying to wear her more form fitting clothing so that she doesn’t frequent the fridge quite so often. Another said she is purposely wearing flowing dresses so that she is calm and relaxed and can frequent the fridge as often as she likes.All of these comments show that we are all working through this time and our anticipations of the future (of fashion) in our own fabulous, unique ways. Clearly there are much greater pressing concerns than fashion, but that’s not what this post is about.Anna Wintour of Vogue believes the entire fashion world will be taking a shift. Perhaps instead of the excessive fashion luggage or belt purchase, one will focus on reinventing one’s wardrobe with what makes them happy in a different way. I know that for myself, I’m going to incorporate more feel-good colors into my regime and pare down my number of black tops, bottoms, and dresses.I also am planning on spending more time and perhaps money on self-care. San Diego therapist Jennifer Chappel Marsh recently told Huffington Post, “During crisis, self-care is often the first to go and the last to integrate back into our lives." She continued, "Focusing on personal needs isn’t selfish, it actually increases our capacity to care for others.”All of us in the Alexandria Stylebook community are here for you to help you with self-care. That could be a new outfit, a new pair of shoes, that great lip-liner that only you can see (but love!) because it’s behind a mask, those online fitness classes, that CBD oil, the haircare that you pick up curbside. We are a community and we are here for you.What is your new norm? It’s different for all of us and there is no wrong or right at this moment. [nemus_slider id="73814"]