Apparently, come June 21st we’ll all be allowed to play out again. Like many of you, we’ll be cautious in running back to the pubs but it’s going to feel amazing to reunite for a big Sunday roast with the family, isn’t it? Even if it is in the garden!
With many of us getting hyped for this ‘at the earliest’ date, the pressure is starting to mount.
Everywhere you look, we’re being reminded that we have to be ‘ready’ for June 21st. We need our hair done. We need freshly manicured hands. We need a new wardrobe. We need to transform our bodies. We need to rattle off new hobbies to sound like we used our time indoors at max productivity levels.
What started as cheeky jabs about how we’ve all changed in lockdown has become a boring stuck record.
But let us be the ones to say: You are already perfectly fine as you are.
One more time for the people at the back: You do not need to change. You are perfectly fine as the person you are.
How to beat the post-lockdown social pressure
We’re just as excited as you are to get back out there and experience a slice of normality. Hold on to that excitement, because that’s what it all comes down to.
It’s not about emerging from the pandemic as a beautifully transformed butterfly, it’s about reuniting with the ones you love, being able to smile at passersby without a mask, getting closer than 2 meters.
Be selective about who you’re seeing
Without sounding rude, there will be some people who you haven’t missed during this time in lockdown. It’s ok to admit that. Just because you can see anyone and everyone, doesn’t mean to should or have to see anyone and everyone.
Your time is valuable. Why waste it on those who don’t fully appreciate it?
Try to avoid falling back into social expectations
Just because you used to religiously go to the pub every Friday, doesn’t mean you have to get back to those commitments (unless, you want to of course)!
If there’s anything we can take from lockdown it’s that we really do have to start living for ourselves with the time we have. Ask yourself if something serves a purpose for you, before committing to any plans and slipping back into social habits.
Remember the joy of your own company
The thought of another lockdown might simmer in the back of our minds. Honestly, that would suck. However, don’t let the fear of this push you away from enjoying a night in with a takeaway. After all, so many of us have actually grown to like our own company during lockdown. Shocking, I know!
Come as you are
When you’ve lived through something as dramatic as this, you start to realise that some things just don’t matter in the way they once did. Following fashion fads falls under this category for us – which is slightly odd to say as an ecommerce brand, but hear us out!
Having a brand new outfit for every occasion simply isn’t high on our agenda anymore. Out with the dress codes and in with celebrating our own sense of style – that’s what we think anyway.
When you do feel like galivanting out into the big wide world again, just remember to come as you are. However you choose to show up, in whatever outfit you desire, that will always be good enough for those who matter.
Stay safe, stay stylish.
Team barneys
