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Over the course of the pandemic we’ve all learned something about ourselves, and about other people.

Well, we’ve probably learned a bunch of things actually, but one of them is that apparently we all have two sets of clothes. One set are the clothes we wear when we go out, so that we look presentable. The other set are clothes that we wear at home, where apparently it doesn’t matter if we look like something the cat dragged in.

Although that probably says a lot about our psychological self-image and the disparity between appearance and reality, it was never an issue in our lives. Until Zoom.

If you’re lucky enough to not know what Zoom is, it’s a video communication tool in which people you work with can see through the sartorial façade you maintain at work, and find out what you look like when you work from home.

So, what’s the protocol, in your opinion? Do you let people see what you really look like?

Do you get changed into your decent clothes before you get on a Zoom call for work? Or do you compromise and wear a nice top, but stick with the workout shorts with that coffee stain that never really came out, on the presumption that nobody will see them?

If you’re a woman and you wear a muumuu, does that fit into the leisure wear category? Or is it a fashion statement? The answer is, both. And it’s exactly this work-from-home, Zoom-culture, comfort-meets-fashion trend that is driving the renewed popularity of the muumuu.

At the forefront of this resurgence is a local fashion house, called Under The Muumuu. The owner of Under the Muumuu is Lu Nicotera.

Your Closet

Here’s another clothes experience that you might have thought was just your own particular problem, that isn’t. Apparently, we all do this.

You open up your closet. There are plenty of clothes in there. But, although you bought every item in your closet, nothing is what you’re looking for. And you truly believe you have nothing to wear.

The most common solution to this dilemma is to buy new clothes. That’s an expensive short-term solution that actually repeats the behavior that got to you to this point - and so, ultimately, only compounds the problem.

Another solution is to call Shelly Molaschi.  Shelly is a style coach and wardrobe consultant. For substantially less than it costs you to buy new clothes, Shelly will come to your house and give you a whole new perspective on your current wardrobe. She claims that in one session she can typically put together 30 different outfits using only items you already own.

Photos from this show by Jill Lafleur at our website. And here\'s some more lunchtime conversation about NOLA fashion. 

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