Social Distance in Style By: Jijung Lim
Fashion, while being mostly at home, is a little more challenging to navigate. For those who are scared to take risks, it’s a blessing in disguise. If you’re like me and eat, breathe, sleep fashion— you’re stuck in a funk. I don’t know about you, but I don’t know how much more I can take of my sweatpants and hoodies. From virtual fashion shows, to at-home photo shoots... Fashion is always changing. However, social distancing doesn’t mean you can’t stay stylish. In fact, this is the perfect opportunity to work on cultivating your style for when we go back to the “new normal.”
Source: Pinterest (@WhoWhatWear)
Get Dressed
It’s time to get out of your PJs and get off that damn couch! Getting dressed doesn’t mean that you have to put on an extravagant outfit. If you prefer comfort, casual attire is perfectly fine. Loungewear sets have pushed their way into the spotlight throughout the pandemic for a reason. Since we won’t be seeing too many people, this is the perfect time to experiment with your taste. Even if you are staying home, trying on different outfit combinations will surprise you and provide more options for the next time you go out. As they say, shopping in your current closet is the best type of shopping. Trust me on this, getting dressed for at least one part of the day will ease your daily fashion cravings.
Source: ThredUp
Retail Therapy
With the lack of in person shopping nowadays due to the pandemic, online browsing has been a common source to those at home still wanting to make fashionable purchases. To save money in times of crisis, I have discovered that looking on secondhand websites and applications such as ThredUp, Depop, and Poshmark can help you find any clothing, shoes, and accessories you desire for a reasonable price. Most of these secondhand websites also offer vintage, upcycled clothing which is a current trend nowadays. Another great technique to shopping that I typically use, is the services of the browser extension, Shoptagr, where you can look at stores and save certain items. It also allows you to make lists, and notifies you of any price changes or coupons on the website you saved the clothing from. There are a lot of ways to save money especially when it comes to fashion. Pro Tip: If you want to make extra cash for spending, try cleaning out your closet and sell some of your old clothes!
Source: Pinterest
Look for Inspiration
Since there’s a lot of time on our hands, looking towards social media is a great way to ramp up your looks. Watching influencers share haul content or outfit ideas on a video-viewing platform, known as YouTube, introduces you to new stores and potential trends. If you want to simply just view accounts full of pictures and short videos, Instagram is the perfect place to scope out multitudes of different styles. Whether it’s looking at pictures of models, influencers, fashion accounts, or shopping stores’ accounts and what they have to offer, Instagram has it all. TikTok is also a popular platform that many Gen Z’ers have had access to during quarantine. The “For You” page offers short videos that are gathered based on your interests and search history. Therefore, if you were to search some fashion trends, tons of fashion content will appear on your “For You” page to browse. Pinterest is another platform that allows users to “pin” or in other words, “save” ideas that other users have posted. For instance, one may find inspiration from a particular all white outfit on their feed page. You can then save it and put it in a folder that can be categorized to your liking (ie. “Fashion” or “Shoes”). In times of unexpected hardship, such as quarantining for months, we are in a time period where technology is right at the tips of our fingers. Exploring these social media platforms and other online publications of fashion magazines and fashion blogs opens our eyes to the broad world of fashion trends.
Source: Pinterest (@Western & Nashville Market Place)
Stay Connected Virtually
Grab your fellow fashion-loving friends and host themed Zoom nights! This gives you an excuse to dress up and show off your latest looks. Not only will you be at a safe distance from others, but you will all inspire one another with new outfits. Going on LinkedIn and networking with professionals in the fashion industry is also another source to exploring the fashion world. What’s a better way to remain stylish than making connections and talking about fashion with industry experts?
The possibilities for personal styling are endless. Just because we are at home doesn’t mean we can’t find new ways to stay connected to fashion. Remember, nothing ever gets in the way of fashion, not even a pandemic.