Since the start of the pandemic and stay-at-home measures, has your style become more casual, or has it stayed the same? If you were already a very casual dresser who has continued to dress casually, you bat for Team The Same. If you worked from home before the pandemic, you might bat for Team The Same. If you’re an essential worker who continues to work in your regular work environment, you might bat for Team the Same.

My own style over the last six months hasn’t changed much. I continue to wear my dressy and smart casual clothes with polished toppers, structured handbags and pearls, despite a socially restricted lifestyle, with no travel, and no in-person client meetings. I style my hair and wear make-up every day. I work from home, run errands and go on grocery runs, cook, clean, and walk our Yorkie Sam. I’ve found that my handbags and footwear are more important than ever because I’m out and about on foot with doggy in tow and not in a car. I need extra COVID-19 measures with me whenever I walk out the front door, AND exceptionally comfortable shoes all the time.

I bat for Team More Casual because I haven’t worn my wedding rings, bracelets, or any shoes but fashion sneakers since the beginning of March. I wore my sandals once, but not for long. My sneakers keep my feet very happy, effectively dress down my dressy looks, and feel right for the times. I also have two pairs of at-home-only sneakers to keep my feet supported.

Although these changes are subtle, they have made my style more casual. When life normalizes and is less socially restrictive, I’ll happily wear my rings and bracelets again, and re-welcome other footwear. That said, I also predict a shift in my post-pandemic footwear style. I think I’ll wear fashion sneakers to client meetings, thereby embracing the business casual and smart casual look with a polished pair of sneakers. Previously I had a rule: no sneakers when working with clients unless I’m shopping the NAS and on my feet for 14 hours. But since my sneaker style is non-athletic, crisp, simple, and I keep them very clean, I’m going for it. Why not! The world has changed forever, and part of me has changed with it.

Over to you. Has your style this year become more casual, or has it stayed the same? If the former, how exactly has your style become more casual, and do you see the change making a more permanent impact? No batting for both teams, but on the bench there are spicy salmon poke bowls with seaweed, rice, cucumber, and edamame in takeout boxes so that you can eat in the safety of your home.

My word, have I been moody with my poor white denim jacket. When I bought it a few seasons ago, I loved the fit, short length, gorgeous quality denim, and very crisp white shade of denim. It’s easy to launder, soft, a little stretchy, very comfortable, robust, and doesn’t need ironing. The only thing that was slightly off about it was the silver hardware. Since I bat for Team Gold, I would have preferred brass or gold buttons. I thought what the heck, it will be okay. The silver will blend into my outfits.

I wore the white denim jacket for a season, and the silver buttons only bothered me a little. But as time went on they bothered me more and more, to a point where I could barely wear it. More often than not, I would opt for a denim jacket with brass or gold buttons instead.

Fast forward to this Spring and Summer, and my white denim jacket is back to being a wardrobe workhorse, silver buttons and all. I choose it regularly because it works well over dresses, skirts, and high-waisted pants and jeans. The dresses I couldn’t wear with this jacket last year, are complete wins with it this year. They’re the same dresses with the same jacket. Nothing has changed, other than the thoughts in my head. I’m fine with the silver buttons and hardly notice them.

Sometimes it’s not about logic, and emotions rule the day. Good thing I held on to the jacket. Does this type of moody reaction to a wardrobe item happen to you too?

It feels a little odd to report that skirts and dresses with tiers are on-trend because the silhouettes, especially tiered skirts, have been around for centuries. And while trends are less important a component of style than they used to be, certain items, looks, colours and combinations do have their fashionable moment. Right now, tiered skirts and dresses are having theirs. 

Tiered skirts and dresses visually achieve their tiers by combining multiple horizontal layers one on top of the other. Each layer is wider than the layer above it, thereby creating volume. The longer the tiers and length of the skirt and dress, the more dramatic the volume and the swoosh factor. The collection below shows some examples of tiered dresses and skirts.

The tiers are usually gathered, but sometimes they’re ruffled, which adds even more volume to them. Tiered skirts and dresses can be knitted or woven, any length, and made of all sorts of fibres. The colour and pattern options are endless. They can look casual or dressy depending on the fabric. Tiered skirts and dresses in cotton-rich fibres and lightweight fabrics lend themselves well to warm weather, but cold-weather options do exist. A heavier weight tiered skirt can be styled with tall boots, sweater and topper, and be dead right for cool weather. The right long-sleeved tiered dress can be styled with hosiery, boots and coat and take you into Fall and Winter.

Tiered skirts and dresses capture a range of vibes. Bohemian and western to some, and modern and architectural to others. The silhouettes can also look beachy, youthful, romantic and pretty. Generally, they are very comfortable because of the volume. You can cover the contour of your figure in a tiered dress or skirt, or wear a version with waist definition. Take your pick.

The volume of tiered dresses and skirts varies greatly from style to style. Some styles are very voluminous and ruffly, whereas others are a lot more streamlined. The number of tiers varies too. Some styles have only two, and others have up to ten tiers.

I love tiered dresses and skirts in midi lengths and have a few in my wardrobe. I’m very attracted to how they comfortably move and swoosh as I stride, and how ventilating the dresses feel on a hot Summer’s day. I like the drama of the volume, and how the fabric flops around me when I sit down. The volume feels luxurious and cosy. I adore the pretty and romantic integrity of tiers, and simply wear them with fashion sneakers, and very occasionally sandals, mules and booties. Along with shirt dresses, tiered dresses are my favourite. And I don’t think they will look dated any time soon.

Over to you. What’s your take on tiered dresses and skirts? Do gathered tiers create too much volume for your liking, or do you like the way they move?

The rise of the “nap dress”, a new clothing rental platform, and more news from the fashion trenches in August.

• Uniqlo is now selling breathable face masks made from its signature AIRism fabric.
• Have a peek at the Fall 2020 Keds & Kate Spade collection.
• Eloquii has launched a clothing rental platform.
• Danish fashion brand Ganni and American jeans company Levi’s are launching a denim capsule collection that will be exclusively available through Ganni’s fashion rental platform.
• The “nap dress” is the latest pandemic clothing trend, according to The Huffington Post.
• Swiss luxury brand Bally is partnering with environmental activist and mountaineer Dawa Steven Sherpa on a series of conservation expeditions to clean up trash on the world’s highest mountains.
• The Black in Fashion Council, an organisation created to advocate for and secure the advancement of Black people in fashion, has officially launched
• Chanel is expanding its make-up for men collection with new products including nail polish, eyeliner, and concealer.

Fun fashion Quote

At Cup of Jo, 14 women show the fancy dresses they’ve been putting on at home or for a walk around the block. I love what Brianna said about hers:

“Right as we began lockdown in Seattle, I bought the largest dress I’ve ever owned. It has huge puffy sleeves, a skirt big enough to be a picnic blanket, and a print acceptable only on a beach. On a size 16/18 body, it’s difficult to find something with extra fabric, let alone work up the gumption to wear something that might make you look (gasp) even larger. But I’ve been wearing it everywhere — even as ‘everywhere’ shrunk to the grocery store, FaceTime and my neighborhood. It’s a luxury that keeps me afloat.”