While I don’t want to discuss Covid-19 at all times (who does?), it has certainly impacted our lives. No matter where you are, you’ve probably gone into a lockdown this year. Possibly more than once. We pay attention to daily counts and news briefings, we search for sold out yeast. And for nearly all of us, our wardrobes have changed. For anyone goes to work, you may need more clothing so that you can wear it once and watch. And for the work from home people, we have entirely different needs now. So, how can we thoughtfully curate a Covid wardrobe?
Curating Your Wardrobe?
I’ve always wondered if the phrase “curate your wardrobe” was pretentious. My closet isn’t the V&A or anything. However, after spending 2020 evaluating and then re-evaluating my wardrobe, I think that curate is the correct choice. To curate is to “select, organize, and look after the items in… a collection”. We select nearly all of the clothing in our wardrobe, save for gifts. The rise of Marie Kondo and various organisational shows and books mean that more people than ever are organising their wardrobes. And we have nothing but time to look after our clothing. (You can find my top clothing care tips here!)
…Buy ALL the Clothing
I think for many of us, 2020 has been a year of buying things. Stockpiling whatever food and household items that are predicted to disappear. Home exercise equipment, to make an attempt at a new exercise routine. And clothing, all of the clothing. I’ve seen sprees of Ugg slippers, velour lounge suits, nap dresses (I’m not sold on them….), and more. Our more formal workwear wardrobes seem a bit odd when we are working from a desk in our living room. And across the globe, we keep hearing messages of how we have to keep purchasing things to keep the economy going. It’s so easy to pop it in your virtual cart and click “purchase”- suddenly you have four more blouses, two nap dresses, and another pair of slippers on their way.
What Do We Actually Need in Our Covid Wardrobe?
I’m not going to delve into the psychology of online shopping for comfort, but it’s happening for a LOT of us. (No judgement- I bought a pair of purple Adidas Superstars, that I was able to wear out exactly three times this summer…) However, I’ve had enough time to think on my covid wardrobe, and what I actually need.
I need to get changed for work. I can’t “go to work” at my desk in my pyjamas and hope that I’m in the right frame of mind. And I don’t have to be in a suit, but my business casual clothing is needed. I don’t wear my skirts and dresses at home like I would at work, because the house is a little cool for that. So I needed a couple of pairs of dress pants, preferably a jogger style like the pairs I already own. I also found that my workout wear preferences have changed being at home, so I grabbed a few different shirts. At the end of the day, I would say I truly needed 7 items. And I bought 15. Which led me to realise that I need to start looking at my purchasing very differently.
How to Curate a Sustainable (Covid) Wardrobe
It took me several months to realise, but I was definitely using shopping as an outlet. Most of my purchases were secondhand; Canada finally has Poshmark, yay! The hunt of finding exactly what I was looking for kept me busy and occupied. However, I bought several items that I didn’t need. At all. I wanted them, but I didn’t need them. Thus I had to think on how to curate a Covid wardrobe, one that works for me and for sustainability. So, I now ask myself several questions before purchasing a new item.
1) Do I already own an item that fulfills the same purpose?
Not “do I have a navy, a-line skirt” but “do I have a skirt that I would wear for this same occasion”? And when asking this, I physically go to my closest and look through all of my clothing.
2) Will I actually wear this in a work from home world?
I bought myself two Cath Kidston dresses and one Liberty dress that I absolutely love, and will keep. However, as I said above, I’m not really wearing dresses or skirts at home. If I realistically will not wear it in the current state of the world, I don’t need to buy it. Missing a piece isn’t the end of the world, and I don’t need to get attached to an item that I don’t own.
3) Do I need to add this package to the mail system?
The global mail system is bursting at the seams right now. So many of us cannot go out or get to stores, and ordering online is our only option. Do I need to order this item/s and put more strain on that system, or can it wait?
♠
Covid-19 has created a rather disposable world. Masks are left strewn about, and many people can’t or won’t reusable masks. (For a number of reasons- I know that economically not everyone can afford to buy several masks.) Reusable cups aren’t accepted at most coffee/tea shops now. Depending on the store and when you are there, reusable bags aren’t accepted. Long before Covid-19 hit, collectively we were buying more clothing than we could ever hope to wear. And throwing out many of them. Now isn’t the time to double down on buying clothing.
Have you thought about how to curate a Covid wardrobe? Have your purchasing habits changed?
Cheers,
The Historian
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Bloglovin’
