MASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE
THEY flipped, they flopped, they contradicted each other, then finally, on Wednesday, the Government confirmed what most of us were expecting, we are going to have to wear face masks or coverings in shops.
From July 24, anyone not wearing one in England is at risk of a £100 fine. Barely had Matt Hancock got his words out than a great wailing and gnashing of teeth began over how workable such a demand is and who exactly should be enforcing the rule.
Others exclaimed that it should have been brought in much sooner – ‘requiring face masks four months into a pandemic is like bringing condoms to a baby shower’ was about the gist of it.
Parking all that, we are where we are. We have to wear a mask so we can moan and wail or we can make the best of it and choose a cool one. After all, this edict could, we are told, last into next year – perhaps even until we find a vaccine.
Full disclosure, I was an early adopter on the mask front. Back in mid-April, a month into lockdown, my best pal left a ‘Covid care package’ at my front door – a can of blonde root touch up, a bottle of rosé and a face mask – a padded pink one with a filter. I have worn it maybe 50% of the time I have gone shopping.
Not being able to smile at people and feeling like the odd one out were my main reasons for not always pulling it on. Now, of course, it will feel more normal or ‘new normal’ as they keep saying.
As with everything Covid-related, as a nation, we are very late to the mask party.
We are even behind America. As horrendous as the USA’s handling of the pandemic has been, many states have made masks mandatory and recent days have seen a surge in celebrities posting pictures of themselves covered up and imploring their fans to do the same.
So far Jennifer Aniston wins best ‘smize’ (smiling with your eyes, copyright Tyra Banks on America’s Next Top Model). I am still perfecting my own.
If you haven’t bought a mask yet. There is certainly plenty of choice out there, from the basic disposable paper styles, to designer ones.
As Vogue said recently: ‘Masks are not a fashion accessory, but they do take up a fair amount of real estate on your face, so it’s not surprising that people are looking for aesthetically pleasing ones.’
Boris Johnson has been opting for a Tory blue one while Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon’s mask is tartan, naturally.
While I still love my pink one from my pal (I’m a sucker for the sugary shade – she knows me so well), I have also invested in a few others too.
They include a set of the British Fashion Council ones which feature designs by British fashion houses including Mulberry, Julien Macdonald, Halpern and Rixo (£15 for three at asos. com and John Lewis), the profit plus VAT from the sale of which goes to three worthy charities.
Liberty London also does some super pretty ones while the likes of Adidas and Reebok have got sporty types covered.
In a sign of what is to come, I am already receiving press releases about the best foundation to wear under your mask, how to beat ‘maskne’ – acne (mask acne, geddit?) and there is even talk that having to wear masks could cause lipstick sales to dip.
Because a glossy pout under a face covering... well that’s just masking for trouble, isn’t it?