by Sue DeGregorio-Rosen, RN, CLNC, Contributing Editor

 

A New Norm? I guess you could say it’s a shift in fashion paradigms, a new model or pattern emerges that feels like it has become a rule on either a particular or general behavior. Dress for Success is a very superficial understanding and celebrity reality television shows tend to be gimmicky, in my opinion. . It’s temporary in the scheme of things. Growing into our “new norm” equates to the way we dress and will express our political, social, and cultural differences and define this era like something we have never thought about before.

Fashion comes and goes in cycles with new labels attached. 

The new norm has become a symbol of individuality, of our own persona, and a sign of the times, it’s our emerging personalities. But not for everyone. Fashion comes with a price tag in the world of capitalism and we are now experiencing the highest inflation rate in 40 yrs. Fashion is an investment in manufacturing dreams and what ifs….it may open doors to creative expression affecting other social behaviors or like art it can be an expression and reflection of those behaviors.

In the 1960’s the way we dressed expressed the way we felt about our world, a world of peace, a world of love, of sexual freedom but also a world of unrest, war, and change. Our clothing was new, we wore flowers in our hair, love beads, we burned our bras, we wore torn jeans belled at the bottoms. This reflected our perception of society and a rebellion against the status quo. We were becoming a different society with different expectations. We were transforming alongside of the rest of our concerns. Black became beautiful, peace became sensible, and we believed that rock n’ roll would never die.

I read somewhere that how we present ourselves aesthetically does eventually become part of a political ideology, that will put the individual before the establishment, before the politics. We express our needs for a cleaner world, climate change, Black Lives Matter, and for some our political affiliations as if we are wearing a badge of honor rather than a fashion statement because fashion is just that, it makes a statement.

Fashion helps us to think of ourselves as a part of a cosmic change, and it hasn’t really mattered if we were urban or country. We will dress appropriately for our new norm in our own surroundings. When we think we look good, we feel good.

We will paint our faces as magical as we please, we will dress to shine the uniqueness of our bodies, as unique individuals. In a sense, fashion lets people not only express their individuality but also experience it on their bodies.

But what about the new norm? What statement are we making during these long days of the pandemic? Are we cozy in our own surroundings? Are we going to stay in extra-long tees, hoodies and baggy jeans? The new norm is changing us as some of us remain at home for work, and yet some of us are coming up for air. We don’t want to look like we are trying too hard, who knows what tomorrow will bring. Following a year of a renewed zest for handcrafts, knitting and other homey distractions, we can look for a reason for statement dressing in all of its strength, something that has been missed during this pandemic……. we will discover our new norm in that statement.  And historically over the past few centuries war has become perpetual somewhere on the planet. And war and possibility of nuclear conflict, genocide, technologies, sand global warming leading to vast climate changes affect fashion. The world is changing quickly, and fashion is caught in a world wind of change.