Spring is in the air (even if the weather doesn’t always match)! And the usual impatience to break free and run outside is certainly exacerbated this year, as so many of us are approaching saturation point with the pandemic and are ready to re-embrace our former worlds. But are we ready to embrace our former wardrobes? As we’ve alluded to in previous agebuzz posts, many have jettisoned their prior wardrobes of fitted clothing and business attire to embrace the more practical aspects of comfortable fashion, whether in elastic-waist pants, stretchy fabric, or cushioned footwear. Can we- or should we- consider jettisoning these stay-at-home items once we re-enter the world and re-embrace an in-person social life?

Throughout history, fashion has followed and reflected cultural and social changes in society. As we can see from a recent history of fashion published on Stacker, hemlines have ebbed and flowed, collars constricted and relaxed, and shapes have narrowed or widened often in response to cultural, political, or social shifts. So what will happen with fashion now that we are approaching the “great unlocking” as fashion journalist Alyson Walsh, from That’s Not My Age, calls the upcoming era? Well, her focus will be on freedom of movement: that is, clothes you can move around in, an especially welcome approach given how constricted we’ve all been. With longer dresses or shirts flowing over pants, Walsh expects we will embrace the practicality of clothing that allows for ease of movement as opposed to rigid conformity. Who can blame her after a year of lounging in sweatpants?

And speaking of sweatpants: 75-year-old Norma Kamali, the fashion designer who originated the use of sweatshirt material in high fashion and whose stretchy bathing suit became an iconic fashion statement when it adorned Farah Fawcett in her famous poster in 1976, has just published a book about her remarkable career and philosophy of life titled, I Am Invincible. As the sole owner and designer of her eponymous company for the past 45 years, Kamali is a living testament to her motto, “You can feel better and be better with age.” An avid swimmer her entire life, she’s tried to design clothes that she wanted for her own active life and her garments continue to be in high demand because of their versatility, practicality, and fashion awareness all wrapped into one comfortable approach to clothing. In fact, Kamali was the originator of the “sleeping bag coat,” still one of her best sellers and still influencing fashionistas to this day who embraced the “duvet coat” this past winter.

But her approach is influential beyond her clothing designs. While she aims to be fashionable without being trendy (so that her clothes can last in your closet for decades- and despite being machine washable they’re built to stand the test of time), she is also drawn to helping women feel good about themselves beyond their clothing choices. In fact, she’s made clear, “A dress can only do so much…when you feel good in your body and your mind, you’ll probably spend less on clothes.” In her new book, she credits the “3 pillars” of healthy aging: sleep, diet, and exercise, with her own vitality and youthful appearance, and she’s even started a line of wellness products entitled “Normalife.” 

And also jumping on the wellness bandwagon is fashion influencer Lynn Slater, who blogs under the name “Accidental Icon” and who’s begun a “longevity practice” designed to create and sustain healthy aging into her later years along with her keen fashion sensibility. Seems there’s clearly something about focusing on health and well-being that’s becoming quite fashionable! Perhaps that’s another lesson learned from our year of being locked down.