Have you ever been at a party or watching a show or reading a book and right in the middle of it, panic washes over you as the looming, inevitable fact that the end is drawing near? That’s my current mood dreading the forthcoming fall and then, I am loathe to say, winter.

I’m in a bit of a tailspin, festering over the same question that I can’t stop thinking about. Here goes: I listened to an ask for advice podcast – Lainey Gossip’s What’s Your Drama – and a question that is simultaneously trivial and loaded perked up. In 2020, do we have to wear a bra?

For many of us we are enjoying that the sun is shining and the heat is rising. Eager to get outside? You bet. It’s no understatement that this summer is different from any one before it. We are likely all trying to navigate how to stay safe during the Covid-19 pandemic. And sane.

Stampede 2020 is like every other party this year: cancelled. Not so much “yehaw” as “you better stay safe” sadly. But don’t fret fashion friends, your cowboy boots and hats and buckles and Canadian Tuxedo will wait dutifully until next year.

June has been a revolutionary month. As we continue to progress through this pandemic, issues that affect us all are illuminated too. I’m talking about inequality, systemic racism, Black Lives Matter, Canadas injustices and lack of reconciliation with our indigenous peoples, and oh, yeah, it is Pride Month.

The past few weeks have been revolutionary. People of colour have been pleading societies about systemic racism for years, decades, and centuries. Now, finally, the world is not only hearing the cries but we are actually doing something. we being white people.

It’s official, and by medical officials: when out in public where six feet or more of distancing isn’t certain – I’m thinking grocery stores, shopping centres, fuel stations, indoor places that aren’t your home – be a neighbour and put on a non-medical mask. Easy right? Turns out for a small minority, nope.

As part of this pandemic I have been reading countless articles on how the fashion industry is coping. Sixty plus days in, the posts that seem to resonate the most within me are the ones with owner operated businesses sharing how they are shifting their business in this unprecedented time.

With the continued news of the far spreading, early implications of Covid-19, it’s just a really tough time. Retail is getting hit, hard. Though I often hear, “It’s just clothes,” I am heartbroken that the hurt economy is crushing down on beloved department stores exponentially.

Many of us have been at the pandemic over a month now. Some longer, and I hope there isn’t many shorter. For any newbies, seriously, #stayhome. Also, mind the two metre gap by leashing your dogs and containing your small kids on community walks, okay?

Like so many of us bound to the safety of our own homes – mostly for others, not ourselves, remember – we now have had sufficient time to let this new normal set in a bit. Your dog/ baby/ plant looks straight into your soul, past your eyes telekinetically asking, “How is that really going for you?” Ooof.

After you’ve checked in with loved ones, returned extra toilet paper to the authorities, have a few groceries in your home, and washed your hands as thoroughly as Gordon Ramsay, it’s time. It’s time to have some silly fun at home.