By Karen

Clothes. They are so important in normal life. They send a message about who you are and how you want to be seen. Clothes are also just fun. Especially as we get a bit older, we can experiment in ways that would have made us die of embarrassment when we were younger.

But we aren’t being seen that much these days in any event—except on Zoom, where we look weird anyway, and when we emerge for our daily exercise or food shopping outings. So does it really matter what we wear?

Actually, it does, at least for me. If I don’t maintain some sort of standard, then I will lose my grip completely. My most important standard—color. When this pandemic first appeared, the news was so relentlessly bad I felt that only funereal black was appropriate. It was also winter until just about yesterday. The news finally contains a glimmer of hope, and the sun has begun to warm us a little. So I have tentatively returned to color. A neon pink Lululemon jacket. Lime green Lily Pulitzer jeans. Schutz sequined sneakers. Bright blue Karen Walkers.

And of course the pandemic twist is—the mask. Here in New York City I am masked whenever I am outside—which means whenever anyone sees me. So the mask needs to be part of the look. For me, that means making sure the mask goes not only with my clothes but also my ever-present sunglasses. White jeans, blue glasses, white or blue mask. Green jeans, pink glasses, green and pink mask. Luckily I have a source. And when I wish to be a bit more dressy, like for a really important Zoomer, I wear one of the delightful masks my talented college roommate made me for my birthday—with sequins!

Dressing up, even pandemic style, makes me feel better. And it seems to make other people feel better too. Young men actually comment approvingly when my mask and I are pulled together. At first I wondered if they thought I looked better masked? But no. They can tell I tried to dress up a little—for them as well as for me. A sign that maybe not all is lost.