Covid Closet
As our extended Spring Break came to an end, and President Shapiro made the announcement of Spring Quarter being cancelled in its entirety, I was brought into the harsh reality that normalcy would not return any time soon. I also tragically realized I was stuck with my Winter/Spring transition wardrobe: a collection of cardigans and warm pants, a few tank tops and nothing really all that colorful. As the weeks dragged on, I realized I had brought home a slice of my wardrobe that simply wasn’t conducive to spending each day in my Mom’s apartment. When I packed up to head home for the extended Spring Break, I was holding on to the hope that I would be returning to campus for Spring Quarter. I decided to leave most of my clothes at school, only bringing home a suitcase slightly heavier than I would have if things were still normal.
I began feeling bored with the clothes I had, and I started to feel jealous of the way fashion bloggers were using clothing as a way to cope with quarantine sadness (particularly Man Repeller’s #Going Nowhere But Fuck It I’m Getting Dressed movement). I mourned as the Spring season began slipping away, as some of my favorite clothes to wear in Spring were sitting untouched in my closet at school. I felt stuck in a sad cycle of either rewearing outfits that didn’t match the weather outside or simply staying in my pajamas.
On a morning when I was doing heaping loads of laundry and had nothing left to wear, I finally turned, as I did so many times growing up, to my Mom’s closet. As I sifted through for something to wear while my own clothes were being washed, I rediscovered the hidden gem that is a mother’s closet. While my mom would never describe herself as a fashionista (she has always preferred to dress for comfort) she has impeccable taste; particularly in the jewelry department.
My mom’s jewelry expertise begins with my grandmother. Her vibrant collection of clip-on earrings began because my Grandma never got her ears pierced; so my Mom put off piercing her ears until my older sister got her ears pierced as a teenager– thus accumulating a massive amount of vintage clip-ons from my grandmother and from her own purchases. My mom, grandmother and aunts have always had a special love for jewelry, making annual visits to the Jewelry Show in Rosemont, IL every year since the early 90s and using it as their primary source of fashion expression. My mom asserts her fashion icons are Audrey Hepburn and my aunt Sheila for their jewelry choices and throughout the quarantine she has expressed admiration for some of the most over-the-top looks from Gossip Girl and High School Musical.
“I like something eye catching like jewelry or a pop of color– things that draw attention.”
I have many fond memories of rummaging through her caboodle —a retro jewelry storage kit— while playing dress up or before some type of school performance. The times I felt the most stylish in childhood were when she would let me borrow a pair of her earrings. Further, from her lifetime experience of thrifting, my mom’s closet contains so many original pieces that often get pushed to the back of her closet– things that even my mom has forgotten about, such as the pink sweater from my Gossip Girl look or the swimsuit cover-up from the Digital Dillo look.
“My favorite clothes are associated with fond memories, like from an event or a trip,” The jean jacket from the Quarantine Walk look was bought prior to a trip my Mom took to California in 1989, and the blue necklace from my Disney channel look was a departing gift from one of my Mom’s friends from Arkansas before our family moved back to Chicago.
I put together a brief lookbook of some of my personal favorite pieces from my mom’s closet, while combining them with some of my own clothes.
Digital Dillo Day: Channeling Emma Chamberlain (on both the at-home festival and the shoelace belt), I paired a random purple shoelace I found with the belts in my Mom’s closet, a yellow Talbots blazer and a swimsuit material skirt cover up as a repurposed tube top. From my own closet, I added a pair of high waisted jeans and a pair of earrings I got from a thrift store.
XOXO, Gossip Girl: Taking inspiration from my Mom and I’s new guilty pleasure, I channeled my inner Upper East Sider for this look, but added a modern spin. I used all pieces from my mom– a NY and Company sweater and plaid pants (both thrifted) and two pieces of vintage jewelry– DOOR KNOCKER EARRINGS (these have been my favorite since my days of dress-up) and a simple gold necklace.
Disney Channel Character in Quarantine: Imagining what I would wear for a Disney Channel audition tape, I created this look with a jean skirt I thrifted and cut, along with a pajama dress of my Mom’s (Marilyn Monroe lingerie) tucked in topped with a skinny pink belt (Target) and a gifted necklace. I think this actually ended up being my personal favorite even though it felt a little over the top in the moment. Plus, I love dual ability in clothes and switching this from a nightgown to a going-out top was a big personal success.
Daily Outdoor Walk ‘Fit: I based this look around this long satin Black skirt my Mom thrifted. I paired it with a simple exercise tank top and a jean jacket by Sonoma Outfitters and some vintage jewelry.
A mother’s closet is one of the most indispensable fashion resources. I found myself incredibly grateful throughout this stay-at-home Spring Quarter to have a safe living space where I could spend time experimenting with my fashion choices through my mom’s wardrobe. While this time brought a lot of personal frustration and uncertainty as to what lies ahead, I found peace in the regression that came with stealing my mom’s clothes. Using this time to wear things I normally wouldn’t because I was the only one to see it was certainly a silver lining in leaving half of my wardrobe at school (and not returning to school at all).