What #facemask to wear after quarantine - #fashionmaskstyle - Style Guide

What #facemask to wear after quarantine - #fashionmaskstyle

Since ‘the Rona’ (A period of time in 2020 where the Corona Virus (CV19) ravaged the world) has come to town, we have all had to adapt and adopt new ways. Life during quarantining was a big change for most of us, and now life-after-quarantining poses new challenges.

#FashionMaskstyle all the rage!

With America’s top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci encouraging the use face coverings to reduce the risks of COVID-19 and to reduce the spread of the disease (bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53167780) face masks have become the talk-of the-town. The good news is University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation have found that if America used face coverings it could reduce transmission of the virus by 50% (nytimes.com/reuters/2020/06/24/us/24reuters-health-coronavirus-usa-forecast.html). It’s a simple public service we can all do to help save lives: put on your mask! No excuses of inconvenience, there are many hacks and innovations to make masks more accessible and easier to use. Even Apple are making it feasible to use face coverings (Iphone unlocking easier Spiderman did not complain, and yours will be a much more comfortable face covering than his!


Safety, with a sense of style - The Fashion Face Masks

Naturally surgical masks should be saved for frontline workers, so the considerate solution is to use cloth face-covers which offer the next-best protective solution. Designers everywhere have stepped up to the task of keeping us fashionably covered.  The shape, shades, prices, look may vary but they all serve the one goal, keeping those Covid-19 droplets from spreading!

Face covers are now available in various styles and materials - and we will sample some below - the fashion industry has really responded to our current needs in creative and resourceful ways! In this age of pandemic, fashion masks can give protection as well as a sense of individuality. Safety is offered in a variety of trendy options, from luxurious velvet, to hot pink snazzy terry cloth, to the artsy custom-made pièce de résistance, such as those hand-made from vintage fabrics - the diversity of style is endless.

Cloth face masks should be embraced as a fashion phenomenon!

Face Mask - Washable and reusable

Consideration for the environment is no less important than being fashionable and aesthetically pleasing. Cloth masks are eco-friendly, reducing the waste of disposable masks.  Cloth face masks can be washed and reused, helping with sustainability.  Since they are small items, even the Bohemian fabric and glitter-studded materials talked about below are easy to keep clean.  Hygiene is the word on the streets! PS. Don’t forget to wash your hands!

Comfortable and practical: adjustable face mask neck straps

Nonessential but useful, face mask neck straps are now available so that you can hang your face masks on your neck and keep that face covering close-by at all times. The straps are sometimes sewn on to the mask in a way they can be adjusted. Also, on the market are removable straps that can be transferred from mask to mask: the beaded ones invoke a tribal trend while cloth ones offer comfort and practicality.  With the face mask hanging around your neck, you can put it on and take it off as you need and adjust the tightness of the earloops.  When you are jogging alone along a path you might not need to have the mask on but when you pass others it’s super accessible to just slip on your protective gear. By using the face mask neck strap, almost like a necklace or the strap to hold your reading glasses, you can always have the mask on your person.  Make the strap long or short, secured-tightly, or loosely fitting, as you prefer.

How fashion masks are looking in 2020

Below we will see some varieties on offer in 2020, and no doubt onto 2021 there will be more choices and an assortment of innovations to make the face covering more convenient and inherent in our daily lives.

So, what is the best way to choose our face mask? Should we follow the trends of IG fashionistas and celebrities? Or keep it simple with comfortable face masks that have soft lining? Do we want to have unique, one of a kind face mask? How about supporting charities through our purchase? Face mask with filter, or no? Do the best masks have a nose-bridge?  Adjustable strap or ear loops? Well, you CAN have all the above.  After all, how many face masks will you need? How about one for every occasion?


FASHION FACE MASKS - HAVE A FEW OF THEM LIKE YOU WOULD PANTIES

Silk face masks can be light and soft on the skin, velvet will give you the chic look and when it’s time to party how about a sassy sequin-splattered alternative?  An unbleached organic material might be suitable for some, a transparent plastic face cover may be suitable for others.  Mix and match for the occasion or the day.  For a scorching hot summer weather lean towards breathable, cotton masks and on those cool nights you can be armed with soft-lined, exotic, embroidered masks. Have a mask to go with your Boho dress yet? And what about a pastel color one for your flowery dress? Let’s have fun and dress ourselves with a different fashion face mask for every occasion!  The face mask strap holder can be transferred to your current mask, unless you want to have a variety of those too! The colorful, beaded mask strap holders can match many styles. 

Celebrities undercover

So many big names are rocking face masks from Bella Hadid to Priyanka Chopra, and Billie Eilish to Cindy Crawford. Of course, Kourtney Kardashian looks fabulous in hers (see foxbusiness.com) and Gwyneth Paltrow keeps incognito in her own way.  Check out celebs’ covert style at <https://www.esquireme.com/content/44263-celebrities-wear-masks-to-stop-the-coronavirus-gallery.

 

 

Designer brand names

Going for haute couture face masks? You can sport the Louis Vuitton leather monogram mask like IG favorites Gabrieljunkart and Tair Marassulov. Or opt for a silky Fendi one.  Over your budget? How about one of eco-friendly Sylven New York’s designer dust bag masks? The innovative brand has teamed up with Masks for Humanity to make facemasks that sport the Chanel logo, for example, and the Balenciaga one, by upcycling the fashion houses’ dust bags.


Streetwear brands

Bathing Ape and Supreme New York have their own funky selection, as do Off-White, whose Arrow face mask became controversial with its off the chart prices.  And check out Instagram’s Anastasia E.G. @anydeath or Marine-Serre ready-to-wear collection at Vogue.com for some serious street style.


By the way most sportwear brands such as Adidas and Nike have designed face coverings for their fans, says newsweek.com, and for British soccer fans the football clubs in the UK have also issued masks stamped with their logos (see: thesun.co.uk). 

Home sewn masks

The Centre for Disease Control have a YouTube video showing how you can make your own cloth face covering with items around the house (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPx1yqvJgf4).  It’s actually pretty cute to see the US surgeon general talk about DIY sewing – have a look!


For the more sophisticated sewing pros you can find plenty of tutorials and patterns on Pinterest.  Choose what will work best for you: with or without pleats, how to build filters into your mask, and how to get complete coverage with the Aplat Mask. There are even instructions for the no-sew mask, ones just like the CDC recommends!

On the other popular craft site, Etsy, there are lots of masks created for your selection. Search for the reversable face mask by BTouchCreation, a choice of children size masks at FabricExpert and LifebytheYard.  Fun Cat face masks by Bakernauts are so popular they are currently out of stock.  Maybe you will be inspired to create your own: elephant or hedgehog could make fun kids’ masks, if you can create them! IG’s @zhijunwang crafted his mask out of an IKEA bag, so give your imagination free reign, we look forward to seeing your ingenuity.


Glitter and Gold

Also available are glittery face masks will keep you safe at any disco dance. Be different, be unique, be the sparkle of any event – whether the black tie gala that raises funds for COVID-relief as suggested by networkforgood.com or a socially-distancing block party: we would be able to resume out-door gatherings if we stay safe and alert. We are doing it for our own safety after all! Until we are free to mingle, we can at least keep up the party spirit in our fashion choices.


Bohemian Wrapsody

Take a break from belting out the Queen favorite and wrap yourself up with some ethnic style. Unique and exotic, these bright, hand sewn face masks on Momonewyork.com can be washed and reused. So even though we need to have a break from crooning ‘Kodachrome’ in public but we can still have the ‘nice bright colors’ and ‘think all the world’s a sunny day’ (oh yeah) with these multicolored Bohemian face masks. Each one is different so you will be exceptional in your one-of-a-kind handmade individualized mask. People will be humming “isn’t they lovely” under their masks when they see you!


Non-medical masks to save lives!

No excuses now but to put on your face cover! You can call for freedom of choice, but we believe your choice will be the one considerate to others and society. You can claim face masks are politicized but we believe they can equalize. Isn’t it fairer to everyone if we can all be in a safe environment?  You can claim discomfort and inconvenience but look at the way humanity is innovating and adapting to make it work for you: the fashionable selections, the different straps available, the breathable lining…there are over 32,000 choices on Ebay, so let’s wear some type of face covering and head towards a beautiful future!