The business suit was relegated to the end of the closet in the spring when much of work life shifted online behind the screen and from home. My husband used to be known for his bowties. Those too have been lingering in the closet. Even though much of my work has been home office based for many years, networking, public talks, and various other events provided opportunities to dress up in professional attire. All that is gone. While I will never wear sweatpants to go to work upstairs (actually I don’t own any), my attempt at dressing professionally has been slipping for sure. We used to dress up on Friday nights to go dancing. Not happening now. Fashion remains in the closet and I miss it.

But dressing up, making an effort to look pulled together, makes us feel good about ourselves, and for others too it’s a pleasure to see us looking good. I miss it. What about you?

So, here’s the opportunity to sparkle - the upcoming holidays. Even though most of us will be celebrating with just our closest family nucleus, there is no reason we can’t have a bit of fun and dress up, with sparkle, accessories, and the bowtie. Holidays are important because they break up the routine of everyday life. So it is with dressing up. We sure can use a break from the endless pajama, sweatpants, Zoom shirt, and casual clothes routine we have descended into since this pandemic began.

Let’s have some fun! Let’s pull out all the stops. Let’s sparkle! Let’s dress up! Let’s look terrific and feel good!