Are you Keeping up Appearances or Slobbing Out?

Hi everyone. Last time I wrote a What I Wore Last Week type post, I was – like every single one of you – leading a busier life. I still can’t get used to glancing at my diary and seeing no entries in it – apart from appointments that I have had to cross out because they are cancelled.

Hope you are all OK and settling into the endurance phase of this lockdown we find ourselves in. I’ve been wondering what clothes everyone has decided to wear now that we are all housebound. Are you still keeping up appearances or enjoying slobbing out? Well, one of the upsides of lockdown is that we have plenty of time, so I spent some of mine keeping a record of what I wore last week.

Still in your dressing gown at 2pm? No shame if you are! My son took this photo of me at midday yesterday. I was in one of my “What’s the rush, I’ve got all day moods”.

I haven’t been anywhere except to drop food off at my parents’ house every week. In truth, even that usually dull 45 mins each way journey has been a rare opportunity to get out of the house and enjoy some different views, albeit from behind the windscreen of my little Fiat 500.

Yesterday, my son and I re-painted some of our garden furniture. It took most of the day but was very satisfying. The previously battered metal table and chairs have been given a new lease of life and we’re enjoying sitting on them in the sunshine.

The rest of the days of the week have, in all honesty, blurred together. I’m not afraid to ask what day it is anymore – usually my son gives me a quizzical look as if he’s concerned I have memory loss – but in the current climate, he has no more idea than me!

We are trying to stick to a routine of sorts. It seems to give us a purpose and a sense of achievement by the end of each day. Although I freely admit we often lapse. Although if we, for example, oversleep, I really couldn’t care. There’s no sense in being hard on ourselves. Usually though we do an early morning walk after a get-up-and-go espresso. It never ceases to amaze me how much better I feel after being outside in the fresh air. It really does set you up for the day ahead.

Then it’s 10 minutes of gentle yoga to stretch my old bod. After deciding what to cook for supper and taking something out of the freezer to defrost, it’s onto my computer in an ever-hopeful (but invariably fruitless) attempt to get a supermarket delivery slot, write posts for A&G, and dabble with online Scrabble. The first activity drives me mad, the second two keep me calm and sane!

I have good days and, occasionally, bad days when all I feel like doing is bursting into tears. Sometimes I feel guilty for putting on a few pounds. (Have a new addiction to plain chocolate digestives). Sometimes I can’t help fretting about every little ache and pain – which I usually take in my stride as anyone in their mid-sixties tends to do. But I always try and remind myself that tomorrow is another day. And that tomorrow I will feel stronger and more positive. And not buy any more biscuits!

On the plus side, we’ve pruned the apple tree, mowed the lawn, weeded the garden and given the shed a spring clean so far this week. It’s made sitting out in the garden an absolute pleasure. And it’s been good exercise too.

So are you still making an effort to coordinate and maintain your usual style? Looking at this record of what I wore last week, I’m obviously happiest in my most comfortable clothes. Especially when I’m wearing a bright colour (and something on the generous side!)

By the way, I’ve given details of what I’m wearing in each of the photographs a) as so many readers ask where our clothes are from and b) quite a few of my choices are from small companies that particularly need support during this pandemic. Annabel and I are funding this website ourselves for as long as we can, so we are only too aware of what financial difficulties many of our favourite fashion brands are facing. Many of the clothes featured above are years old – testament to their quality – but if you’d like to check out the websites, I’m sure you’ll find similar items are still available.

Read Grace’s first What I Wore Last Week post from last August.