Originally Published in Print, December 2021.
Art by Ellecia Vaughan.
The coronavirus pandemic has changed our lives in more ways than we can count. From strict lockdowns and mask-wearing, to a newfound fear of germs that the world will probably never manage to shake, there is no denying that the pandemic has left its own individual stamp on everyone. Unsurprisingly, this can even be seen in how people dress.
With the return of late bars and the reopening of nightclubs across Dublin City, this has never been more obvious. Before the pandemic, bodycon dresses and strappy heels were the order of the day in every club in town. But now, that has all changed. People are swapping their stiletto heels for a pair of Doc Marten boots and their slinky mini dresses for wide-leg jeans and oversized blazers. Does this mean that people are sacrificing style for comfort? Certainly not. Does it make for a much nicer and more comfortable experience standing at the side of Camden Street at three in the morning waiting for a taxi? Absolutely.
It seems that our old ways of dressing really are a thing of the past. People are dressing for themselves now, to feel good in their own skin. Gone are the days of dressing to fit in or dressing to fit the occasion. Now, people are dressing for how it makes them feel, not for how it makes them look.
This idea of “dressing for oneself” came to prominence about halfway through the first lockdown.. At that point, people were over the matching oversized tracksuit sets and the surplus of loungewear hauls plastered everywhere across social media. They were craving style. They were longing for that euphoric feeling of getting dressed up in their best clothes. Cue the emergence of that bizarre phenomenon at the end of the first wave that saw people donning their best outfits to sit in front of the television and watch Netflix nursing a glass of wine (does anyone remember #Quarantinechic?). Suddenly, getting dressed up was not just about looking good anymore. It was about feeling good about how you look. There is a marked difference.
Since nightclubs reopened, this difference has really been brought to the fore. Dancefloors have been a sea of bright colours – neon orange, cobalt blue, bright green – all because people are starting to recognise the importance of dressing for themselves. Gone are the days of monotonous black bandage dresses and nondescript slinky co-ords. Now it is all about self-expression, comfort and pure, individualistic style.
This phenomenon is not just exclusive to nightlife. One only needs to walk down the street to see how the pandemic has changed how people dress. Athleisure was on the rise before COVID-19 hit, but now it has reached an all-time high. Skinny jeans are a thing of the past. Hoodies and sweatshirts are reigning supreme. Leggings paired with an oversized blazer and a grungy snapback has become one of the most common and stylish outfit combinations on the high-street. Many workplaces are also seeing a significant change in how their employees’ dress. It seems that people are not ready to return to the stiff suit-and-tie look typically endorsed by corporate firms, and offices are very aware of this. An increasing number of workplaces are going business casual, with some even allowing jeans and trainers on certain days of the week. This is a major turnaround from the pre-Covid days of formal attire and uber strict dress-codes.
This huge change in how people dress is indicative of the huge change that has occurred in society as a whole. Fashion is often considered to be reflective of the society that it is a part of. In the 1960s for example, new, daring trends such as the mini skirt came into fashion in response to the beginning of the sexual revolution and increased equality between men and women. It comes as no surprise then that the pandemic has had such an impact on fashion.
In the future, fashion historians will come back to conduct analyses of this period in history. What exactly will they conclude? As of right now, the answer is uncertain. They will likely note our initial susceptibility to loungewear during the pandemic and our subsequent attraction to getting dressed up to sit in the sitting room. They will then study the immediate aftermath of the COVID-19 years, and will analyse how a return to increased individuality was seen during the initial stages of reopening society. But right now, the only thing that can be said with certainty is that the pandemic has changed the way people live, the way people work, and, of course, the way that people dress.
