As the past year unfolded, we all felt a little different. For the first time in our lives, we experienced a global pandemic and extreme changes to our everyday lives, which no one could have predicted.

The everlasting lockdowns, weeks and months separated from our family, friends and loved ones. And of course - the dreaded closure of retail and leisure.

Memories of the past year and a half are often shrouded by feelings of anxiety, fear, and loneliness - which many of us are still struggling to shake off. However, I personally have warmed to some of the changes necessitated by Coronavirus, of which there are some positive ones!

Embracing the effortless style

As a society, we have always been, to some extent, fashion-conscious - from buying hair and beauty products to getting a haircut, to buying new wardrobe additions.

As a woman, I have always felt the societal pressure to wear makeup and have fixed hair to feel fully dressed, or “put together”. But now... my standards have completely changed. Wearing less makeup and comfortable joggers every day throughout the pandemic has given me a feeling of relief.

It’s been both liberating and refreshing to define my own beauty standards throughout the pandemic, freed of society’s gaze. But as normality resumes, what happens now?

As normal life creeps back, I once again feel the pressure to look and dress a certain way. I can feel the negative aspects of beauty standards and the pressure to remodel myself accordingly, returning.

Do my jeans still fit? Is my skin clear enough? Are my clothes outdated? Does my hair need restyling? But then I ask myself the most important question: can I even be bothered?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited to squeeze into my favorite red dress, dust off my heels and pull out that long-lost lipstick - but now comfort will play a bigger role in how I dress.

Re-evaluating the need for quantity and sustainable fashion

As we were confined behind closed doors over the course of the pandemic, we yearned for things to comfort us. Pre-pandemic, we could enjoy the luxury of a self-fulfilling clothes binge, going from shop to shop collecting beautiful garments to make us feel stylish, sexy and secure.

However, the closure of retail shops and delayed online dispatch times limited the ways we could indulge, treat and refresh ourselves throughout the pandemic.

A Mintel report found that just one in twenty women didn’t buy new clothes throughout 2017. British women love to shop, often purchasing to align their wardrobe with fashion trends or seasonal changes.

However this sadly can lead to unsustainable, disposable fashion habits. How often do we buy something for an occasion, wear it once and forget about it? Fortunately, over lockdown we’ve had the chance to burrow deep to the back of our wardrobes and rediscover our garments.

As a country we have become sustainability aware, moving away from fast fashion and purchasing higher quality, durable and seasonless items. But disposable fashion is still a concern. With any luck, reviewing our wardrobes over lockdown has reminded us that we don’t need to indulge in every purchase, but be more aware of what we already have.

Utilising and Crafting

Over lockdown crafty, sustainable and creative social media trends boomed. As we were confined to our homes, we had to find new means of expressing our frustration and displaying our creativity. Collectively, we began to utilise and customize what we already owned.

We all seemed to discover our inner sustainable creatives, be it throwing away the t-shirt we’ve kept for ten years, or finally tie-dying a stained white dress, or crocheting a new jumper.

A virtual fashion trend swept the world, bringing us new ideas and unexpected changes that we didn’t know we needed. In a digital era, we were able to share tips and confide with one another, supporting individuality, craftsmanship and artistry. Hopefully, this is more than just a fad - and is a trend we will carry into our future.

Looking to the future

As the pandemic lasted months longer than we had expected, 2020 blurred into one long month and we lost track of time, and at points, our strength. The lengthy periods of time away from bustling society pushed us to a more season-less style, we became more versatile with clothes and embraced athleisure and loungewear.

Over time, it’s inevitable that there will be new trends and styles that dictate what we wear. Yet every decade has that pivotal moment of fashion, that item, image or outfit which perfectly captures everyday life and represents society at the time - for 2020, is that joggers?

The need for comfort now feels central to our understanding of fashion, and beyond that, our lifestyle and habits. So, here it is, the final moment and decision - as we move out of lockdown, will you continue to embrace the new effortless style of 2020, or enjoy a new makeover?

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Written by Agatha Parrott

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