A Reader Question for the Community:
How are your daily outfit choices going with the isolation of the pandemic? I find myself living in ACK red shorts (today's are green with bluefish), a Surcingle belt, and not ironed, old, soft, well worn OCBDs. Dressing up is putting on Maliseets or Smathers & Branson flip flops with embroidered American flags and donning a T3 to go, top down of course, to the grocer. Dressing down is an old, soft Tee shirt. I feel cheated by not being able to wear a seersucker suit or a Madras odd jacket to church.
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Old friends are the most comforting during uncertain times: well worn khakis - polo shirts or OCBD's and broken in Sperry's.
ReplyDeleteI'm wearing all my oldest stuff on a constant wear, wash, wear, wash... Really don't care what I look like. I only leave the house in the week to walk the dog and potter in the garden. So far I've worn through 3 old shirts. One is on my scarecrow, the other 2 will go to recycling. I've got a pair of old chinos which are also starting to wear through. It's been a good time to kill off old clothes!
ReplyDeleteI am with you 100%, but my wife and I have different perspectives. When I think a pair of Madras shorts or khakis has reached perfection, she thinks it is time to retire them.
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Don't get me wrong. I like the well-worn look with a bit of fading. But I draw the line at the sleeve stitching falling apart and the collar wearing through!
DeleteWith respect, I suggest that everyone replaces their worn-out clothes. American brands and manufacturers (such as Mercer, J Press, Andover Shop and O'Connell's) will need your support to survive this Covid economic crisis. It's bad enough losing the Brooks Brothers and Southwick factories already!
DeleteI haven't gotten a pandemic wardrobe yet! I just wear my regular clothes. I do wear my Birkenstocks to the office, though, because literally no one cares - lol!
ReplyDeleteI'm working from home now, but I'm still dressing up each morning as though I were going to the office. Some days, I even put on a bit of fragrance. I no longer need to put sunscreen on my face or pomade in my hair unless I am stepping out during the day.
ReplyDeleteI usually remain in work clothes until after dinner or before I start getting ready for bed. Luckily, my work clothes have that worn-in feel and are tailored to fit me so I don't feel uncomfortable in them all day long.
I hope Muffy is near a fainting couch. I'm wearing hoodie sweatshirts in bright colors (I have a stack of them) with sweats. My latest addition: house dresses! I'm dressing the same as always for church which for me is outside in the summer.
ReplyDeleteA great source for house dresses is The Vermont Country Store!
DeleteI'm a year into retirement so no longer have to dress up for work anyway.
ReplyDeleteWhen it was cold, I rotated a few pairs of J. Jill drawstring knit pants (so comfy but still look respectable) with Orvis and Sahalie zip fleeces over turtlenecks. Colorful cushy socks with Merrell Jungle Mocs.
Weather warming up ... well-broken-in chinos with oversized age-softened OCBDs. For gardening, Muck Boot Co. green rubber shoes with white socks to spot ticks.
We had a heat wave last week, which was loose sundress time with my fave old Olukai gold flip-flops.
Sadly, I’ve lowered my standards to wearing loungewear or gym clothes around the house. I’m not concerned with how I look when at home. Of course I’ll wear my usual polo/chino shorts summer uniform when in public.
ReplyDeleteI get it. I put on my old heathered grey sweats when I wake up. I stay in them until around ten. They are so comforting. Fortunately after two or three pots of coffee a shave and a hot shower sounds good enough to get me moving.
DeleteYou aren't alone. I'm basically living in home tie-dyed t-shirts (an early pandemic craft project) and basketball shorts. I'm only leaving the apartment to walk the dog, when I change into... another t-shirt and a different pair of basketball shorts.
DeleteGolf shorts, solid color v-neck tee, topsiders or Jack Rogers sandals (Jacks). Sometimes jeans (the plainer the better)with topsiders or wedged espadrilles (yes you can still find them!) and will NOT wear sweats. I like chinos but have not found a fit I liked in years. Open to suggestions.
ReplyDeleteSince it's now summer and quite warm here in Mid-Michigan, the usual well-worn leather dock-siders (Sebago), chino/madras/bermuda shorts, and madreas/twill/seersucker/knit polo short-sleeved shirts with surcingle belts. For the fall, I'll be teaching my courses as asynchronous courses, but do plan to dress well (odd pants and jacket with tie or suit and tie) for recording my weekly Prezi videos and office hours via Zoom.
ReplyDeleteBest Regards,
Heinz-Ulrich
The same as always.
ReplyDeleteDressing well is the best revenge.
I've seen that expression before. Can you explain the revenge part, please.
DeleteBlue Train,
DeleteI interpret the "revenge" part as meaning not surrendering.
April, May and June were much hotter than usual so I've been wearing my lightweight holiday gear - pima cotton polos and t-shirts, chinos and shorts, deck shoes and linen flat caps.
ReplyDeleteThe old, and worn classics, seem to feel even better now, than they ever have before.
ReplyDeleteI am always dressed up -- Lily Pulitzer everything because their clothes are bright and cheerful. I have gotten to the point were I have a re-usable washable mask to go with almost everything I have. Also I am tan so wearing Lily colors looks appropriate. If I were my usual shade of pale, I'd wear pastels. Never know who you'll run into so might as well try and look nice!
ReplyDeleteI prefer to dress like the better class of tourists in Hawaii in 1966.
ReplyDeleteI dress for work despite working from home the past four months because I regularly 'meet' with people by video. That means business casual most of the time. I have compromised by wearing shorts and sandals at times. The pandemic has significantly lowered my dry cleaning bill.
ReplyDeleteI still wear a suit and tie a few times per month and miss wearing them more often. After 25+ years of wearing them a lot, suits have become an easy, comfortable option, and I sometimes regret how casual work life has become.
Easter Egg Battle Dress Uniform. Linen or pastel bermudas. Seersucker, madras , or old Polo/LaCoste, old Brooks Bros Model 346 short sleeve shirts. Frayed cuff khakis.Hand washed, bit of starch, & hand ironed. When I suit up, Ancient Haspel khaki or olive. Shoes..polished Bass Weejuns or those Eyetie loafers. It's hot down here in the South.
ReplyDeleteGoing in everyday to UPS.
ReplyDeleteBusiness as usual.
I'm retired so my wardrobe of shorts and v-neck tees are my staple here in Atlanta. We are still self-isolating so no one ever sees me except at a distance. For Zooming, I make sure I wear solid color v-necks so they won't clash with whatever background I put up. I have a closet full of cloths I need to get rid of. It's been hard to transition to not needing clothes for the office.
ReplyDeleteBest of all, my Kamakura blue oxford cloth reusable surgical masks finally arrived via DHL today. Is it wrong that I'm kind of excited? Or is that merely an indicator that I don't get out very much under current circumstances?
ReplyDeleteBest Regards,
H-U
Polo Lauren boxer briefs and pastel color Crew tees with Rip Curl Boardwalk shorts and New Balance 990's, pretty darn comfortable.
ReplyDeleteMadras skirts and skorts, khaki shorts, chambray work shirts,"seasoned" deck shoes, Birk Arizonas = keeping cool as it heats up here in Colorado.
ReplyDeleteStay safe and healthy, everyone!
Suzanne
LLB or Polo Khakis, Polo or BB polo shirt, LLB butchers.. same as every summer in recent memory.
ReplyDeleteI rotate between old boxers paired with old OCBDs and two OCBD nightgowns while working from home.
ReplyDeleteFor gardening, mowing, painting, etc, it's old t-shirts and one or the other of old khaki works shorts.
ReplyDeleteFor working from home--13 years now--it's better khaki shorts and polo or linen shirts.
Various driving mocs are my around the house or casual shoes. For shopping etc., it's loafers.
Winter – Shetland sweater, button-down shirt, khakis
ReplyDeleteEarly spring – remove sweater
Late spring – roll up shirt sleeves
Summer – replace khakis with khaki shorts
Fall – roll shirt sleeves back down, put on long khakis, and pull the Shetland sweaters back out of the cedar closet
Rinse and repeat
I love this! My new role model!
DeleteSuzanne
A perfect preppy response. Clever, sassy, and never saying too much. Thank you.
DeleteI'm living in shorts (LLBean patchwork madras or embroidered or linen-blend bermudas) and some sort of short-sleeve top such as LLBean waffle-knit polo or Eileen Fisher linen jersey tees or a JCrew linen shirt.
ReplyDeleteKhaki shorts, t-shirt, and Sperry topsiders.
ReplyDeleteBlue OCBD, khakis, needlepoint belt,, camp mocs, and most importantly a paisley neck gaitor to answer the door.
ReplyDeleteSame clothes as I always wear.
ReplyDeleteAround the house: bare feet, khakis and an old PENN tee shirt. Outside: put on well worn topsiders.
ReplyDeleteLoungewear from TOAST in the UK (well-made, no nonsense and attractive tunic dresses from either the UK or India), my really old madras shift dress from Orvis, my now-faded hand-embroidered Indian kurtas worn with equally old jeans and chinos. If I have to go out, I have my trusty Belgian shoes, or espadrilles, or sneakers. My vanity ensures that I look clean and appropriately dressed, but these unstable times call for much more informality than I am used to. Oh, and if I have to go online for work meetings, I just pop on my little emerald and diamond stud earrings or my gold creoles.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I have been working from home for years, but with the added isolation of not having been able to go anywhere, we've been in pretty much anything light, loose, and cotton. Taking the dog out into the yard and gardening is much easier done when not roasting in this horrendous heat wave we've been having here in PA! --Holly in PA
ReplyDeleteAlabama summer at home = wideleg linen pants, birkenstocks, tops that let the breeze through.
ReplyDelete