For many, face masks permeated beyond a Covid-19 safety protocol into the realm of accessories, whether complimenting the look in the same color or as a statement piece embracing contrast. The resilience and adaptability of fashion are palpable in our consumer culture; now, almost every major fashion brand selling its own styles of face masks.

Before they became ubiquitous, masks were reserved only for the most ambitious of avant-garde outfits. However, the fusion of functionality with style is at the root of accessories such as sunglasses, bags, wallets, phone cases, keychains, etc. Quality drives return customers but keeping up with trends and sustaining timeless styles encourages long-term brand loyalty. 

Designers will often envision the wearer before the design. It’s rare to discover unisex universality in most accessories, despite its gradual omnipotence in the fashion industry. Sunglasses designer Remo Tulliani doesn’t consider this groundbreaking.

“Unisex is past, present, and future. We have been there my entire career. It’s a beautiful world!” 

His sunglasses embrace the rare power wielded by a style that looks good on everyone.

“Our sunglasses are all about math and the range of our faces. We do not exceed the minimum or outside of the proper math formula for our faces (two eyes, two ears, one nose, etc.). So we have worked our best to keep our collection inside those design details. Not to say all of our glasses are universal, but they kind of are. TRUST fits about 85% of the faces; more than 4 out of 5 people will look great in this frame; thus, the color assortment we have to offer. SMOOTH is also the next best bet; full coverage and proper arm size.”

Coincidently, stylish face masks exhibit an innate aurora of unisex, albeit functionally clashing with the use of glasses. Moreover, accessories are often considered finishing pieces to an outfit, so what has been their influence in a remote world? 

“Most things have been used less during Covid,” Tulliani admits, “However, sunglasses are still important when driving, walking, and now more people have been Covid active like hiking, biking, dog walking and all of the other things that have increased during this time. Eyewear is right there with them.”

Fashion accessories can be loosely categorized into two general areas: those that are carried and those worn. Like the most popular female accessory, shoes, people often don’t know if they like it or the fit until they try it on. Covid-19 not only affected the hospitality industry but consumerism entirely, expediting the evolution of society into a digital culture. It happened when customers were doing a large percentage of their shopping within a few clicks, so it’s no wonder online retailers reported online record sales.

The pandemic fueled unparalleled growth at Amazon, Walmart, and Target and solidified their reign over America’s retail landscape for years to come. All three retailers reported blowout sales in the second quarter. Walmart’s digital sales nearly doubled from a year earlier, and Target’s almost tripled. The companies’ same-store sales climbed 9% and 10.9%, respectively. Amazon’s overall sales grew by 40% in the quarter. They encapsulate practicality and everyday items. Their fashion is meant to be budget-friendly but not set the standards for ingenuity, style, or quality. 

Women no longer need to choose the right pair of heels to be taken seriously in the office, but the benefits of investing in what you wear have only amplified. Shoppers browsing endlessly online steer towards brands with generous return policies. But, despite advanced technology, it can’t replicate the smell of leather, the touch of silk, the comfort of a quality fit.  Tulliani compares, “This would be a very similar situation as footwear. Once a person finds the brand that fits, looks, and wears the way they want, they feel comfortable staying loyal to purchasing that brand. In a digital world, returns and guarantees are important details in the collaboration between the brand and the consumer.”

Working remotely did not eradicate the importance and intimacy of style; it only exposed the lazy. If you’re not dressing for yourself, then you’re dressing for others. Even the most fashionably aloof make a statement with what they choose. Creative Director of Thalé Blanc, Deborah Sawaf, alludes to the significance of even the most fashionably inept man’s wallet. 

“A man’s wallet says a lot about his personality. One’s wallet always has an audience.” 

This is especially true in New York, where a date will size up your income by just scanning your wallet, watch, and shoes. 

Sawaf admits, “most men look at it as just a means of transportation for their credit cards, cash, or driver’s license. But a wallet carries your life, so make it special. If it’s a smooth leather you like, pick a rich black or mahogany with a contrast color on the inside, or a beautiful patterned or embossed leather.  Handling it has to make you feel good.  It can be a conversation starter… what do you want your wallet to say about you to a stranger?”

She designs Thale Blanc handbags to empower their wearer’s personality. “I pick my handbag to compliment my mood first and then my outfit.  On a good day, when I’m feeling fabulous, it states my mood and manifests confidence.  On a day when I’m not feeling that great, I pick something that’s a statement that draws good energy to give me confidence.”

“It’s not just a handbag; it’s delicately handcrafted in beautiful colors specifically picked for the season for you.  It is versatility,  functionality, and elegance; all packed together in one little 11 x 9 Audrey.  Elegance is timeless – it never goes out of fashion.”

Face masks now contribute to fashion dialogue, and many treat wearing one like the final touch to their outfit, often matching the color, pattern, or texture. Or, like designer Tulliani, use it to inspire stark contrast all around. 

 “I prefer carpets and drapes clashing,” he says.  “It means they are comfortable with it… like sneakers and a suit. Love those people! Don’t think for a moment that person doesn’t realize what they are wearing. There was more thought in those choices than most people who claim to notice it.”

 Ultimately, face masks evolved into its own accessory category, revealing more about the wearer, especially those who choose not to. They embody the perfect union of function and style in fashion accessories.

Cover photo courtesy of Rock n Roll Bride.

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Despite Carissa proving the unimaginable, most singles, especially women, still live their life like time is running out. 

In fact, she once emphasized that there’s a reason restaurants don’t offer tables to accommodate one person. “Just for you” she lamented, discouraged by the semantic shortcomings never placed on couples or groups. “Just, like if I am not enough to occupy a table.” Her worst-case scenario used to be reaching forty without finding the fairytale happily-ever-after.

Take my friend Marie for example. Like Carissa, she escaped from a small town to a big city with the hopes of reinventing herself. When Marie’s husband had an affair in their home in Los Angeles, she bought a plane ticket to New York. The first thing that she did was get bangs but hit a wall of frustration when the new hairdo failed to attract a new hubby. Marie used “moving on” and “meeting someone” synonymously. Hence, the beautiful new life that she envisioned in the city that never sleeps was suddenly snoozed. 

Perhaps, the issue rooted in the pressure that she felt to start over as if ending her marriage, liquidated her former existence. Couples wouldn’t be thrown into such a severe identity crisis post-breakup if they had treated singlehood less like a phase. A partner should add excitement and fulfillment but never be the source of it. 

The clock starts ticking for many when reaching their mid-twenties and early thirties. It’s like the future is an atomic bomb that can only be diffused by finding a partner. In New York, however, this is less the case. Newbies might claim to date one person in a city of millions is complicated. Veteran New Yorkers know that’s only because it can be so damn easy to be single. The feeling of impending doom that happens when you’re still dating at an older age is absent in most folks. Plenty celebrating turning thirty, forty, fifty, and so on, still single, without combusting. 

After planning over 500 engagement proposals nationwide for the past four years, I’ve learned that love doesn’t depreciate with age. The women (or men) saying “Yes!” looked equally dumbfounded with happiness at twenty-five or sixty. The biggest difference? The older couples had more disposable income. This time crunch that singles create for themselves is actually detrimental to realizing their dream romance. That is unless parents will be helping with an engagement ring and the financial chaos that is a wedding – don’t forget the honeymoon. More than that, the younger clients were more likely to request for cliches – definitely roses – while the more mature ones focused on meaning. When you know yourself more, it’s easier to understand other people. 

New York truly empowers the beauty that comes with aging, and the strength that comes with being unabashedly self-sufficient. Disney’s saturated propaganda of happily-ever-after only works because the characters cease to exist after the movie. Real people still wake up the next morning, so why deal with being kissed by the morning breath of someone mediocre? (Or worse, the awkwardness of being a repeat client of an engagement planner.)

For singles living in cities that view marriage and raising children as the meat and potatoes of what is considered adulthood, New York offers a Neverland where “growing up” is optional. There’s a reason apartment shares continue to be universal, regardless of age. (It has been dubbed by Forbes as the real estate “Single’s Tax” due to the high cost of rent that single New Yorkers pay compared to couples splitting costs.) A lease with a roommate comes without the clause of forever. 

Settling used to make sense, because a relationship was the bridge for sex, or a family, or a particular lifestyle, etc. Then Sex and the City premiered, inspiring girls and gays everywhere. Women no longer choose husbands like careers. Likewise, men don’t need to be in a relationship to have sex every day, another benefit of feminism. The decades-long march towards gender equality has made any pressure (ok, not the green card) to tie the knot, besides love, obsolete 

Dr. Justin Lehmiller, author of the book Tell Me What You Want, found that what singles want no longer begins with getting married. A research fellow at the Kinsey Institute, he discovered that “the marriage rate in the U.S. recently reached a record low, and the average age of first marriage has increased significantly. Whereas the average age of first marriage used to be about 20, it’s now closer to 30. Today, marriage is less of a priority for adults than it used to be. While most people say they want to get married, their standards for it have increased, and they’re willing to wait longer to get what they want.” 

At last, our betrothed friends can stop walking around with survivor’s guilt, and stop offering to set us up with anyone available with a heartbeat. God forbid we arrive with a rando to their wedding. It’s not that one-night-stands didn’t exist, but sex wasn’t so readily available like takeout Chinese. Apps like Tinder changed the guidelines to what is considered safe. The most dangerous component to the childhood warning of a stranger-inviting-you-inside-a-van scenario turns out to be that he didn’t mention a drink first. For some, it’s the absence of a bed. 

Like Dr. Lehmiller says, “Whereas people used to perceive singles as deficient compared to married people. They now perceive being single as having some unique advantages, but marriage as having other advantages. Something interesting I’ve seen in the research is that attitudes toward singlehood have become more positive in recent years.” 

But while modern times empower individuals to feel complete while alone, the aftertaste that it’s not enough becomes palpable when returning to our hometowns. It’s what makes New York so unique. It’s one of the few cities where it’s common to hear forty-year-olds seriously contemplate the possibility of wanting to settle down in the future. “Maybe, I’ll even want kids,” they might say, more like a novelty than a craving. It’s possible to be kind and selfish here. 

New Yorkers are too practical to be hopeless romantics, especially when discovering a potential “the one” lives across town. Ranking 180 U.S. cities across 35 key indicators of dating-friendliness, WalletHub placed New York at No. 35, still high but much lower than researchers expected. Isn’t solitude a better alternative to transferring trains during rush hour? Love isn’t valued less, but it’s not considered the only means to achieve personal fulfillment. It’s less a milestone and more just something amazing that happens, or doesn’t. 

On WalletHub’s rankings, the city took the top spot for fun and opportunity. It’s not the promise of romance but the likelihood of adventure that makes it the best city in the world. Someone in a relationship can live an exciting life, but if anything can happen, wouldn’t those, without the responsibility of reporting to someone, be better adept for spontaneity? While many singles choose to use the time that they would allocate to a partner into actively searching for one. More often than not, New Yorkers opt to invest it back in themselves. The art of being single truly depends on how you take advantage of the fruitful autonomy that comes with it. Whether it’s kissing a stranger, or taking a book to lunch. 

Everyone should invite themselves to be single occasionally, even if just for the evening. Go to a museum, watch a show, take a class, or spend a night at home doing nothing at all, but learn to tolerate your own company before someone else’s. My friend Carissa realized she was wrong about restaurants not catering to singles. Why else have chairs surround the bar and, typically, some cute, charismatic bartender? It’s also helpful to have the option of a table for when the only conversation you want to entertain is ordering another glass of wine. New York invites singlehood with the same etiquette that she welcomes everyone, with indifference. 

Plans for the future shouldn’t be made with such a strict timeline, because you’re at risk of putting a lot of precious moments on hold when an engagement ring is still missing. I’d like to travel more, get a bigger apartment, learn a new language, but all after “Chad” proposes. Life doesn’t work this way, especially when you’re still using placeholder names for the love of your life. 

cover photo courtesy of Men’s Health

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