Quarantine Chic
If a tree falls in the forest and there’s no one around to hear it, do I have to wake up before 8 am, shower, and put on deodorant? Asking for a friend. Me. I’m asking for me. I’ve looked like a bridge troll for the better part of four weeks. My poor children are probably tired of smelling me. Nah, they’re dirty too.
I already worked from home before all this COVID-19 bull shat but I still had reason to look presentable most days; meeting with my kids’ teachers, having lunch with my mom, basketball games for the kiddies. However, now that the devil came down to Georgia again in the form of COVID-19 causing everyone to go on lockdown, there’s really no point in gettin all gussied up cuz no one will know if I’m wearing eyeliner or blush. Or a bra. But point or not, I miss dressing up for date nights or Friday dinner out with friends. Since we can’t go anywhere, I’ve decided to create my own reasons for dressing up. I call it “Quarantine Chic”.
It seems like most of us are trying to grasp for anything to preserve some “normal”. We put on our favorite earrings everyday. We go for a drive to see if we still remember how to operate a car. We have video calls with friends over cocktails to have some sense of social closeness. For me, this morning I put on makeup, threw some curls in my hair, and walked down to my basement to participate in 1 conference call. Then I streamed a Les Mills yoga class which I completed in my bedroom. All the while dolled up with curls, makeup, and Kendra Scott earrings.
I miss things that I used to take for granted. Wandering aimlessly down the aisles of every store while window shopping on a Saturday and bumping into friends, giving everyone a BIG ol’ hug, picking up an item and putting it back on the shelf without being judged. What I really miss: wearing pretty clothes. Almost like clockwork, every non-quarantine Friday my family and I go to dinner somewhere nice. My husband and I work really hard during the week and we don’t always get to spend the time with the kids that we want. Rather than spend another evening cobbling together dinner at 5pm that the babies don’t want to eat so I can spend an hour cleaning up after everyone, we start our weekend by going somewhere fun and spending time laughing and eating and drinking. And I get to wear my “pretty” clothes. But now I don’t have a reason to wear the sundress I bought on lulus.com or the sequin jumpsuit I bought at Express. Or dooo I (cue maniacal laugh).
Maybe the reasons aren’t the same but reasons they still are. If doing something a little abnormal makes me feel less sad, guess what I’m doing. I’m going to start dressing up in pretty clothes at least once a week to do things around the house. Playing Jenga with my babies? SEQUINS! Eating takeout with my precious family? SUNDRESS! Unloading the dishwasher? STILETTOS! Look, this quarantine mess is uncharted territory and there’s no longer “weird” vs “normal”. This is all weird. Might as well go all in.
This environment we’ve all been thrust into is hard. Some of us are directly impacted with loved ones or even ourselves coming down with this horrible zombie virus. Some of us are just scared and stressed out. Laughter makes us forget, even if just for a moment, that we’re experiencing something that will forever change us. So do something silly and absurd. Laugh about it. Have ice cream for dinner. Wave to the UPS guy while wearing your fanciest clothes. Run around your hood wearing ‘80’s style workout clothes. Change things up. Please!!!!! Then find me on Facebook/Instagram/Twitter and let’s share our weird and bring some laughter into the world.
Stay pretty and stay healthy, y’all!
photo cred for the picture that really has not that much to do with the post aside from the fact that it’s hilarious and I’m wearing a formal dress and eating an ice cream sandwich which is a scene I may reenact later: my best work husband ever Jamie Polk
