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Fashion’s Evolution Post Lockdown

By Gloria Cid-Stitt

This past weekend I needed to go to the drugstore to pick up some items. I was excited to have an excuse to go out but this meant something more; I had to think about what to wear! Yes, a simple outing to Duane Reade (a long-time New York chain now owned by Walgreen’s) became an excuse to put on something different.  I put on earrings, my rings and I turned my visit to the drugstore into an event!  Now since it was just the drugstore I only wore my Sterling Silver Pearl Studs and my blue Starry Skies Watch (because I didn’t want to overdo it). This got me thinking; what is life post COVID Lockdown going to be like? Will we start appreciating the little things again? Especially when it comes to getting dressed?


In the last few months we have learned to rotate a select group of comfortable tee shirts, leggings and sweats. “Dressing Up” these days means wearing your “good sweats” vs the “hanging around sweats”. Our closets have become displays of beautiful items we once deemed mundane, to items we long to touch and wear with purpose.  Fashion, whether for home, work or going out, plays an important role in our physical being and psychology.  We dress and accessorize to express a mood, a feeling, or to highlight or signal an event.  Why else do we have, “power suits” or “evening shoes”? Why do we have our “work clothes” vs “weekend attire”? Fashion plays an important role in our day to day lives and it has become blatantly obvious how much we miss it.  Because like it or not, it is part of our whole being. I know I carry myself a lot differently when I wear my white AF1’s vs a pair of Chanel boots.


So what’s next? We will proceed with caution. Retailers (big and small) are selling fashion masks, a reminder that things are not quite the way they were and are now part of our new normal. Given the economic uncertainties many are facing, those items once thought to be “so last year” will get a second life. Dressing for work, even in the most casual of environments, I predict, will be picked up a notch or two. We will dress things up more with accessories; a pair of earrings can have the same effect on an outfit as does a tie to a suit. Our once fashion norms, those blurred lines between work and play clothes will be no more.  


My Predictions:

  • “Casual Work” will revert back to more “Business Casual”
  • We will find more excuses to crack out formal attire (for a dinner out)
  • We will dress nicer for ourselves and our partners on weekends or vacations because we know they appreciate the effort and because it feels good
  • The accessory market will continue on its resurgence because accessories are the easiest most budget friendly way to update a wardrobe. (I know a great place to shop for those, lol)
  • Resellers will rebound faster and gain new fans.
  • Our sweats and those tees we have been rotating for 2 ½ months? They are going to be put a way for a long while and likely not reappear again until the next long weekend in the fall.

I further predict the e-commerce space will continue its growth trajectory, however not all will be driven by the Amazons and Walmarts of the world.  As many small businesses pivot to online sales models, we will continue to search and discover niche brands to try and support. We will be less demanding of delivery windows (do we really need everything Prime 2-day?) and we will scrutinize prices more. We will enjoy and appreciate getting dressed to go out, not just to impress others but to feel good and enjoy ourselves and to help create a new atmosphere and psychology.  


These are many of the reasons I started Glam & Glo smack in the middle of a pandemic. From a business perspective, I knew it was the right time to get into the e-commerce game. Thinking ahead, I knew part of our psychological needs would be to have some things that reminded us of a pre-pandemic world, items that felt aspirational but needed to be affordable. I also knew it would be a market where people would think twice about spending on things they “didn’t need”. My goal, actually my mission, was and continues to be, to provide what I refer to as, Attainable Fashion. An on-line retail experience where buying something will be at a great value, be fashionable and in many cases functional.


So as we head into summer, resume some kind of new normal life, here are my highlights to enter back into the post COVID – lockdown world:



And the most important accessory you can sport this summer?  A smile! Even when wearing your mask.  It’s the perfect time to perfect your smeyesing!