WFH uniforms and missing dressing up
Remember trying?
This week, two related stories caught my eye: how bike shorts became the uniform of the summer from The Goods, and this story on how the fashion industry is collapsing in part because consumers only want sweatpants right now, in the NYT.
I thought back on my recent clothing purchases and realized that in the past five months, the only new clothes I’ve bought are sweatpants, yoga pants, and Patagonia Baggies shorts. Normally, during summer, I live in dresses; this summer I think I’ve worn a dress twice, while all my other dresses have hung in my closet untouched, collecting dust.
My WFH uniform nowadays is a t-shirt and sweats/shorts/yoga pants. I’ve also stopped wearing makeup — I think I can count the number of times I’ve put on makeup since March on one hand. (On the flip side, my skin has never been better.) There’s not even any real reason to wear jeans anymore!
I spend far less time getting ready in the mornings than I used to, which is nice. But on the other hand: I kind of miss dressing up???? It wasn’t really about the clothes; it was about having places to go and the anticipation and excitement before a night out, about feeling like you actually lived in the world instead of just in your apartment. Putting a dress on for another day of sitting on my couch doesn’t have quite the same feeling to it. Maybe next summer…
What I’m reading
How the pandemic defeated America, The Atlantic. If you read one thing about the coronavirus this week, make it this. Buckle up — it’s a ride.
Sweatpants forever, New York Times Magazine.
How a cheese goes extinct, The New Yorker. This was fascinating!
How the hell are working parents ‘doing this’?, The Cut. Seriously, I don’t know how any of you are doing it all right now.
Dear Diary: this is my life in quarantine, The Atlantic. Why everyone’s journaling during the pandemic.
An actually useful guide to not being on your phone all the time, Vice. I endorse all of these strategies, as someone who has recently reconsidered her relationship to her phone!
The North American maximalism of Gigi Hadid’s and Drake’s home design, The New Yorker.
Sobbing over the back-to-school display in the grocery store? It’s the coronavirus blues, LA Times.
We’ve hit a pandemic wall, NYT.
Scrapbooking as an act of radical self-care, NYT.
One legacy of the pandemic may be less judgment of the child-free, The Atlantic.
When black people appear on Seinfeld, Vulture.
What I’m cooking
This week I made: teriyaki chicken and zucchini noodles. Sesame noodles with crispy tofu (a favorite that’s in my regular rotation at this point). Coconut-miso salmon curry. Sheet pan chicken with cumin, turmeric, and chickpeas. Sheet pan sausage with peppers and tomatoes.
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