What are SLC Students Wearing During the Pandemic?: Spotlight on Sophomore Chiara Lindsay
Joelle Mentis ’22
For a school notorious for fashionably dressed students (hello “fit checks” on Twitter and Instagram pages devoted to street fashion), what students are wearing through the pandemic –– when confined at home or avoiding large gatherings –– is one of the biggest questions of the year.
It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the fashion industry. Store closures have sent designers scrambling to make sales, and the growing awareness of the sustainability crisis and the demise of fast fashion has shuttered or at least harmed many companies and stores popular among students.
As the industry changes, so do the trends.
Many students have relinquished their flashy or flamboyant garbs in favor of “sweatsedos,” and everyone knows of the notorious “Zoom shirt” which dominates every remote worker’s wardrobe.
Fashion insiders report that the history of pandemics can teach us a lot about what the industry might do in the coming months. Some predict that in the near future, people will no longer want to dry clean clothes, preferring easily washable fabrics like cotton and linen instead. Upcycling and thrifting will boom, and the house dress will become everyone’s go-to style.
But for some students at Sarah Lawrence, the pandemic has brought on more radical change.
For Chiara Lindsay ‘23, it has been a style overhaul.
She says it all started when she cut her hair during quarantine. First, bangs. Then she chopped her long hair beneath her shoulders. When she felt like the length was awkward, she cut it again, into a chin-length bob.
“On the third time I cut my hair, I fell in love with it,” she said. “I love the energy this new hair gives me. And I wanted to match the energy of this new hair with the things that I wear.”
Lindsay got into accessories first; clothing items soon followed. She uses Pinterest and Instagram as well as TikTok to curate her aesthetic, which she labels as vintage. She appears? Or some other active-voice verb? Also drop handle? her Instagram wearing slacks and cropped vests with button-down shirts and hair clips.
What once was a girl that stuck to athleisure became a girl who dresses like a K-pop star.
Lindsay has a lot of fun with her clothing now. She loves thrifting and sources a lot of her clothes from secondhand stores as opposed to outlets. No matter where she shops, she always has what she wants in mind before she goes.
“In my head I’m thinking I like vintage-y, or I like the slacks look, or I like a lot of layers,” Lindsay said. She credits the new styles she finds on social media as her inspiration and has a plan when she goes to shop.
As the pandemic drones on, fashion may become a respite or a departure from everyday life. For Lindsay, fashion was not only her escape, but a way to explore her own identity.
For students at SLC, fashion is often on their minds; but now more than ever, it may be the time for new and experimental style changes.
Photos: (images taken from Lindsay’s instagram)
Image One: Lindsay posed in purple suit.
Image Two: Lindsay with her clothes.
Image Three: Lindsay posed in vintage school girl outfit with peace sign, sitting on table.
Image Four: Lindsay posed in black outfit on train tracks.