2020: A Year in Review

Well, what a year this has been. Safe to say it ended up the way NONE of us would have expected when we turned the calendar to January 2020. I can hardly believe that the entire world can literally turn upside down in such a short timespan. Never before has a year moved so glacially slow and at warp speed at the same time…

Although much of this year was a molten hot mess, I think it’s always important to step back and reflect on the good, the bad, and the vintage. So, I wanted to honor my annual tradition of taking a look back at the year. As one of my best friends always says:

If it’s not a good time,
it’s a good story…

January

Ahhh January. Where everything seemed fresh and new and we were not yet the wiser as to what was on the horizon (I mean, there were hints of COVID-19, but I was admittedly in that blissful bubble where it felt like it was happening in a galaxy far far away). 

I had started the year off as you would expect, finishing up mission-impossible sewing projects, getting into my teaching groove, and running some memorable outreach events at our local aquarium (you really haven’t lived until you’ve dissected a shark with a roomful of 12 year olds to teach them about anatomy).

Although there were quite a few memorable outfits in January, the winner was definitely this beautiful trompe l’oeil printed stunner from Nikki Redcliffe. The kindness in the gesture, the fact that she simply surprised me with it, will forever remind me of all of the good in the world. And to pay it forward.

February

The dawn of February was accompanied by normal madness. We’d somehow found ourselves trying to fill five faculty positions in our Department, and every week was a flurry of interviews, receptions, and research seminars. Mr. Dressed was in Italy and France for “work” (if you can call skiing work, though it was filed under Team Bonding Activities), but we did manage to squeeze in a showing of Waitress at the Wilson Center. Ahhhh the days of being able to travel and go to the theatre without a second thought…

February also marked the month where I managed to snag one of my lifelong ISOs – a stunning Koret of California set that had my heart a flutter and my Visa card at the ready for years. Luckily, a quick trigger finger when she appeared at Old Friends Vintage made her mine!

March

March is always one of my favorite months, because it’s my Birthday! It was chock full of all kinds of birthday goodness, including a weekend trip with some of my closest friends in the Outer Banks, the shock of a lifetime when my best friend from home turned up on my doorstep, and a delicious dinner out.

I was also very happily working on a few sewing projects here and there, including making the perfect belt to go with my hydrangea-speckled dress from Coutura Vintage. It was just about this time I remember thinking…wouldn’t it be so lovely if I had a bit of extra time to work on my long list of sewing and tailoring projects? Be careful what you wish for….

However, one birthday gift I was not expecting was the COVID-19 Smackdown. Right when Mr. D flew back from Italy, reports started coming in of shutdowns worldwide. Only a day or so after my birthday, our University went into lockdown. Suddenly everyone was in Crisis Mode. We all scrambled to get our classes online, grabbed what we needed from the lab to keep research moving forward for the next few months, and wondered what the future would hold. 

(I think we alllll know what the future holds…)

April

April marked the month where things really started to sink in that a global pandemic wasn’t going to be something that would be sorted any time soon. Everything from administrative mismanagement, to lack of community compliance with even the most basic of CDC guidelines meant we were unfortunately in this for the long haul.

I did, however, use this time to practically earn a PhD in all things Zoom. My month of April is pretty much a blur of recording lectures, learning new software, and scrambling to write emails to mitigate student panic. It was definitely an insanely stressful month, with no information on when I might be able to get back into the lab. I crossed my fingers that the brains could chill without me for awhile… 

We did decide to channel our stress productively and created an art installation in our house that we affectionately coined The Fish Wall. I also wanted to try to maintain as much of a normal routine as possible, despite the fact that my commute to work now involved a walk from the bedroom to our dining-room-turned-makeshift-office. So, vintage continued to abound, including this rose border print beauty I acquired from Butch Watch Vintage awhile back. She needed a nip and a tuck…but I was suddenly finding myself with some nip and tucking time…

May

The blessed Semester of the Pivot had come to a close and after about a week of grading finals, I was able to step back and take a breath. I am definitely the kind of person that can get tunnel vision once I shift into Crisis Mode. And my body nearly collapses when I’m finally able to lift my head and see the chaos around me…

There were certainly bright spots to the month – especially getting to write a few ‘books’ with my niece for her class assignments (which meant weekly Zooms that were definitely more chatting than writing) and attacking my sewing projects with gusto. I also added this most perfect hand painted novelty skirt from Trunk of Dresses to the collection. Safe to say I was in need of a bit of garden twirling….

June

June carried in an impending dread of the fall semester, which we had to start to plan for asap. Everyone would pretty much teaching online again. But, at least this time we had some lead up to it. So, I spent the month in online classes in eLearning…trying to master techniques I had zero experience in.

I also was channeling a whole lot of nervous energy into my sewing projects – including this Apple Orchard design that brought me back to my childhood. I guess it’s no surprise that my stressed-out brain went immediately to a happy childhood memory and clung to it like a life raft.

Most importantly, May and June marked the senseless murder of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arberry, Breonna Taylor and countless others, which ignited a community to ban together and declare in one voice that Black Lives Matter. I spend a lot of June listening and acknowledging all of the ways I could be better…and needed to be better. This is not a fight that is anywhere near over. The scientist in me hates that I don’t have all of the answers. But, the human being in me knows that the cause needs imperfect allies now and forever.

July

I was really feeling the monotony of my house in July. We were taking social distancing incredibly seriously, and I hadn’t left the house save for a number of times I could count on one hand. But, with important milestones on the horizon, I had little time for complaining. I was going up for tenure this year, which meant my 500+ page tenure packet had to be put together to submit in August. Yeah…me and my dining room were about to get even closer….

I also brought a new love into my life this month: My Cricut. If you’ve never heard about it before, it’s an automated cutting machine that was going to make my appliqué circle skirt dreams come true. This little machine and I were going to make absolute magic together….

So, my sewing pile both grew with new projects and continued to shrink, including finally tailoring this amazing border print skirt I got from one of my favorite gals Miss Hero Holliday – which served to remind me that even in a pandemic, there was beautiful vintage still to find. 

August

And just like that, the summer was over (if you could even really call it summer). I got my tenure packet submitted (all 677 pages of it – woot woot!) and started to prep for the big research seminar I would need to give in September. The semester started with a bang – well, an online bang – and I finally got to put all of those new distance education skills to work.

It was particularly noteworthy that Mr. Dressed and I were celebrating our 10-year wedding anniversary in August. It didn’t look anything like what we expected. No trip to Italy. No big celebration. But, this perfect dress from Mr. Lucero certainly helped to soften the blow…and reminded me I had everything I needed right here at home.

September

September marked a huge milestone – my tenure decision! I gave my big research seminar, which unfortunately had to be over Zoom. It was definitely a bit sad to be crossing such a huge threshold in my dining room, but it was a pretty amazing experience regardless. And, had it not been on Zoom, I wouldn’t have been able to have my friends and family tune in. Let’s be honest: I would never be where I am today without them.

So, I gave the talk and waited for the call…and bumbumbum…Tenure Achievement unlocked! It was a huge, 20-years-in-the-making kind of achievement for me. I still pinch myself everyday that I get to do what I love and get paid for it.

I also was still a sewing fiend and finished quite possibly one of my favorite designs ever: my rainshower pinafore (complete with rhinestone raindrops). If nothing else, the pandemic was certainly doing a great job of expanding my wardrobe with original Kara-creations…

October

October was an even crazier month than usual, because I served on a major grant review panel (Intimidation Factor: 10). I lost about 2 weeks reading pages and pages of grants and working on my reviews. As much work as it was, it was a hugely educational experience. But, before I knew it, October was over and I wondered where the time had gone.

I did still manage to squeeze in some killer vintage – this butterfly themed skirt from Pickled Vintage being the clear highlight. While I’m not someone who is generally into anything spooky, a sequined spiderweb is something even I can get behind….

November

In November I finished my first Cricut-enabled sewing project – a Carousel skirt! It was official: I was completely in love. The Cricut is an absolute game changer and if you’ve been following my Instagram, you know my circle skirt making mania has only increased with renewed vigor since it entered my life.

Fall classed also came to a blessed finish this month. I’m not sure how it’s even possible, but somehow teaching a course online takes about 4x longer to prep for than teaching the exact same class in person. Sigh. But, I served up my final exam at the end of the month and then tucked into a few days off for Thanksgiving.

Of course, the major happening in November was the election. Quite possibly one of the most stressful political races of my life and I’ve never hit refresh on my phone more than I did that week. But, somehow, as the week wore on and the clouds began to part…I started to see real possibility for change. I can only hope we start to move towards unifying this country after January 20th.

December

And just like that, another year had come to a close. My list of accomplishments was definitely far shorter than I expected it to be when the year began. But, I consider it a MAJOR achievement if any of us managed to survive the year and still crack a smile at the end. We had a quiet Christmas (Zoomsmas?) at home and ate, drank, and tried to be as merry as humanly possible.

I also finished 2021 with a spectacular circle skirt from Mill Street Vintage. I can definitely spot a theme this year: Where absolutely everything and anything that will encourage twirling. We can all use a bit of extra twirling…

I feel just about as exhausted coming to the end of this post as I did coming to the end of the year! This one definitely took a lot out of all of us. But, I am endlessly inspired by all of you. Those who pushed through the difficulties 2020 brought and came out the other end with still more fight left in them.

I also want to extend my gratitude for all of those who have stuck with us here at The Dressed Aesthetic. Some days my corner of the web is what keeps me going, and I am so grateful for a forum to share my thoughts, my worries, and the joy I get from the fullest of full skirts.

May 2021 bring a LOT more twirling….

xoxo

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Any items marked with a “c/o” (courtesy of) a retailer mean I was provided with an item for free in exchange for a review on my blog. I always provide my honest opinion of any item I’m reviewing, regardless of whether it was sent to me as a courtesy item or if I purchased it myself. In addition, this post may contain affiliate links. This means that if you click and/or make a purchase through certain links or ads on this site, I may make a commission from that click and/or purchase at no cost to you, which helps with the day-to-day running costs of my blog.

1950, 2020, best of, dresses, fashion, favorite, outfit recap, vintage