Fashion Statements

If it is one thing I am not it’s a slave to fashion. My daily outfit consists of coveralls, muck boots, leather gloves and a hat. Then there are market clothes—the ones without holes or manure stains. Under no circumstances do I wear them anywhere near the animals because when I do they automatically turn into barn clothes. Animals have a way of knowing when it is prime time to slime you with something that will stain. Last summer when I took a lamb to market for the Bethesda Magazine photo shoot the first thing Snowball did was kick a fresh plopper right on the front of my brand new hot pink shirt as I got her out of the travel crate. Getting out the stain in time for the photographer was utterly futile so I did what any resourceful farmer would have done, I put the shirt on backwards. Problem solved.This week’s Dishing the Dirt is dedicated to fashion statements and resourcefulness. The subject—masks.I love watching what people wear to the market. There are those who look as if they’ve just rolled out of bed and others who have rolled off their yoga mats. I’ve seen the rise and fall of brand names as the years have gone by. My favorite day was when a group of Japanese Street Fashion enthusiasts had a meetup at market. The church people in their Sunday best, the athletes in skintight athleisurewear, sports fans with their favorite teams’ jerseys, one-of-a-kind artwear that always catches my eye and starts a great conversation. I’ve noticed that what people wear is often aligned with their personalities.Enter COVID-19 and the wearing of masks. Not the kind you’d find on Halloween, but the kind worn by medical staff, tradespeople or most of Asia. Ok, so some of the current mask wearers look like bandits with their red bandanas but are most likely a fellow vendor or customer.Covering our faces, especially our mouths, is not something that happens without intent. We adorn our faces in a myriad of ways from lipstick to nose rings, moustaches and dental work so it’s no surprise that many have chosen to include our choice of mask as an extension of ourselves.Even though my work on the farm has a variety of masks for an assortment of tasks, including N95 respirators, I opted not to wear them to market for the same reason my barn clothes stay at home. I wanted something that stood out, that screamed F A R M E R S M A R K E T so I sacrificed one of my beloved Comet Cloths. Since I hem with duct tape, I had my mother, the master quilter, whip up a few styles—a pleated medical style and one more fitted that we dubbed The Beak.We’re only into the first few weeks of public mask-wearing, but already I’m seeing trends. There are the his & hers matching masks, also seen in a parent/child combo, as well as whole families much like coordinated holiday picture attire. Some vendors purchased professional masks for their entire crew. Instantly I picked out the anglers as they used their SPF buffs often worn while fishing. Medical professionals stood out with their precisely tied and perfectly fitting commercial masks. There were ones with chili peppers and colorful patterns. One with elastic over the ears and ones that tied.Faces are shaped differently so it’s not a one-size-fits-all. Even with custom coverings small adjustments were necessary to facilitate day long comfort. Rob at Young Harvests proved that duct tape fixes, even COVID19 masks that won’t stay in place!Resourcefulness abounded. There were masks cut out of t-shirts, winter balaclavas, and keffiyehs.Mom has the next set of masks ready to go, this time made from batik quilting fabric which is a tightly woven cotton. One of my customers arrived last week to pick up her pre-order sporting a batik mask her mother had sewn for her, repeating the same statistics mine had. I bet that tidbit of information has been passed throughout the online quilting groups as much as the patterns now being used to make thousands of unique masks to fit individual personalities.Being a style-watcher, though, I’m sure it won’t be long until I spy Burberry plaid or Hermès print in somebody’s custom face covering.So folk, show off your style when it comes to flattening the curve. We’re all in this together so we might as well have some fun with it. And remember, that mask isn’t doing you or those around you much good when worn below the nose or hanging under your chin.