Be Frivolous

Wilfred dress (c/o) (similar)
The Curated coat (similar)
Aldo boots (similar)
Louis Vuitton handbag
ASOS hat
Vintage necklace (similar)
Mejuri ring (c/o) (similar)
Mejuri earrings (c/o) (similar)
Location: Small Mercies Co. – Winnipeg, Manitoba

No one wants to write about fashion right now. In fact, no one wants to write about anything much beyond the pandemic. It’s been a challenge for me, too – not because fashion is frivolous and these are serious times. Not because I worry what people might think if I go on feeling like life is joyful and worth experiencing to its fullest despite the gloabl health crisis. But because, between work and never leaving home, I’ve found I don’t have much else to talk about.

That’s the fear I’ve seen expressed over and over. That fashion, that the things we loved, that filled our lives and made them meaningful just four weeks ago, are no longer worthy of discussion because they are inherently frivolous. That anything positive is a little bit frivolous when the world feels so negative.

I’m calling bullshit. We need to have fun and lean into whatever brings up happiness now more than ever. Our lives are smaller now than they were last month, the space in which they take place narrower and the cast of characters smaller. We are all missing people, missing moments we planned, missing memories we might have made. But time is still passing, and it is time that we will never get back, so we need to find things to go on loving because otherwise, this time is as good as wasted. We all still wake up every morning. We all still have to get dressed. It’s not frivolous to be glad to get to do so. It’s not wrong to be glad that we still have that privilege – in fact, it’s exactly the opposite.

In that spirit, let me tell you about my dress. It probably looks familiar to you, because I wore a very similar when we visited the island of Hydra last fall. This version, with long sleeves and buttoned cuffs, is new for spring 2020. I was beyond delighted when Aritzia offered to send it to me to style. I only wish I’d had more chances to take it out before quarantine began, but I know we’re going to have wonderful fun together when this is all over.

There is nothing frivolous about knowing how to see the good in a bad situation, no matter what anyone tries to tell you. The things you loved in February are as valid and worthy now as they were then. That will not change, no matter what anyone tries to tell you. And if anyone does call you frivolous, well – that’s more about them than it is about you. But there’s nothing wrong with it either way: be frivolous. Life is too short to be taken seriously.

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