I’ve always considered myself an introverted extrovert. I’m someone who feels pretty comfortable in social settings – I love meeting up with friends for a drink and have a blast at parties. But, I’m just as comfortable at home – I absolutely need my alone time and relish tinkering away at sewing tasks for hours in silence. Given what’s happening in the world at the moment, I’ve definitely been embracing the introverted half of myself a lot lately.
In the span of two weeks, suffice to say most of our lives have been turned upside down. With the spread of the pandemic, it’s a terrifying state of affairs we’ve found ourselves in. Uncertainties flash across every social media forum we dare to click on. Shelves emptied, Universities shut down. All we can do is breathe….and stay in.
With my new work-from-home type of lifestyle, days have started to blend into the next. As has my wardrobe. Mr. Dressed, accustomed to working from home for years, wakes up, showers, gets dressed, and heads to his office. Seriously, it’s impressive. With my normal routine in tatters, I’ve definitely been rocking the loungewear and pajamas with aplomb. Hair up in a messy bun, comfy sweats, and fuzzy slippers are all the rage on my end of the dining room table….
If you’ve been following this blog for awhile, you will know how much joy I get from my clothing. My favorite part of every day is the 10 minutes I spend in my closet, greeting my dresses and shoes like old friends. “Which friend will I take with my on today’s adventure?” I always wonder, before selecting my companion and zipping myself into the confidence and sass I need to get through the day.
But as I type this, resplendent in purple plaid fleece, I realize that I’ve lost a bit of myself in this chaos. I’ve folded into the comfort and seclusion of loungewear, shrouded by worry. During a recent gathering of close friends (via Google Chat – it’s like drinks, Pandemic Edition), we all commented on our rotation through the same 5 items of clothing. And it made me realize that so much about getting through this pandemic is holding on to what makes us happy. Whether it’s drinks with friends or FaceTime with my niece or indulging in decadent wine on a Monday because what does Monday even mean right now? It took only a second to realize the best thing I can do – and the best thing a lot of us can do – is that which helps to maintain a sense of normalcy. To embrace our social distancing in style. For me, this means getting up, tossing the stretchy pants to the side, and putting on a dress that nips me at the waist and makes me smile (cause I have resting concerned face at the moment).
And as I pulled this zipper up from this beauty from Siglo Vintage, I said a hello to the somewhat forgotten dresses in my closet. Even though it’s only been a week and a half, it felt like a lifetime since I saw them last. Since things were normal. But they greeted me like old friends – offering words of comfort and reassuring me they weren’t going anywhere. And as I secured the hook and eye on this striped beauty and stood a bit straighter, a modicum of relief flooded through me. It was like finding my power again after days and days of not knowing I had lost it.
We’ve got this.
As a scientist, I understand exponential growth and see what happened in Italy as a clear vision into our potential future. Mr. Dressed and I have been taking all of the precautions in staying home and embracing social isolation. We have a few house projects to keep us busy, and I’ve been bouncing between sewing face masks for a local clinic and keeping myself sane with some of my other fun creations. It’s scary times, but we need to find the balance between feeling productive, and taking time to look after our mental and emotional health.
Our University has been shut down and re-booted in teleworking and tele-teaching mode. I feel very fortunate that I have the capacity to work from home. Although I am definitely a fish out of water (pun intended) when it comes to teaching online, I know I’m so so lucky that I have that option. Isolation is so important right now, but I hope our local small businesses are going to get some sort of governmental support to weather this storm. At least we can help where we can. Please try to support small businesses – gift cards, online orders, even likes & tags on IG – these things can go a long way to keeping the heart of our cities alive.
I will be sharing some of my favorite small business on my Instagram over the next few days – and if you need to battle the helplessness, message me and I’d be happy to send an easy tutorial for making masks to help our local health workers, who are rapidly running out of supplies.
But truthfully, the best thing we can do is stay inside. Stop the spread. Flatten the curve. If you are someone who’s been going out and didn’t think this was a big deal – please reconsider. This is bigger than any of us realize. And if the worst that happens is that all of this is an “overreaction”, I will gladly take that outcome.
Stay safe, friends. #alonetogether
xoxo
Outfit Details:
Dress: Siglo Vintage (similar modern or vintage here, here & here)
Belt: ASOS (similar)
Bracelet: Vintage (similar)
Handbag: boutique in Melbourne (similar here & here)
Shoes: Shoes: gift, Betsey Johnson
Lip Color: Dior Rouge 634
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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 and/or feature 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.