Day 102 - Wardrobe

 WARDROBE

Prompt - Wardrobe : Write about a fashion model or what's currently in your closet or drawers.

I haven't bought much in the way of new clothing in the past twelve months.  Partly because there have been so few opportunities to try anything on - often essential if you're even a slightly non-standard shape - and partly because there doesn't seem a lot of point.  Where would I be going to wear it anyway?  And I already had more than enough 'stuff', so adding to it for the sake of buying would achieve nothing.

With one exception.  There's a drawer I keep handkerchiefs in (yes, I am that old fashioned at times), which has had to make some space for an new everyday item of clothing.  One I wouldn't have imagined I'd have so many of, or indeed any of, but which now come with me every time I leave home.  And if you've got to wear something all the time you might as well make sure they reflect your personality, say something about you, or add a bit of colour to your day.  

Face masks.  When I counted them up I was surprised how many I have accumulated.  There are fifteen in the photo, one is in the wash, and I lost one a couple of weeks ago.  (Sadly the lost one was also one of the comfiest, and in a fetching tartan.)  Five reflecting my rugby supporting allegiances, a couple that are musically inclined, one political statement and the rest in varying shades and patterns.  Now choosing a mask for the day is the same as choosing my socks.  Plus a backup mask in case the elastic breaks - I've already been caught out that way once.

A lot of people seem to prefer the disposable masks.  Which seems a shame when they could be using them to add a little bit of interest to the world (don't tell me you don't check out other people's masks?).  And, far worse, too many seem to be in the habit of disposing them anywhere.  Walk down any street and there are more blue masks in the gutter than I have in my new drawer space - lucky old rats.  At least the washable variety come with a sense of ownership.

How long before that space in the drawer is no longer needed, before we cease to be a society of mask wearers?  Part of me hopes that isn't going to happen, and that masks become as generally acceptable here as they are in many countries in the East.  This must be the first year in decades where I haven't had a common cold.  Of course that could just be because I'm not going anywhere, but if masks were even partly responsible isn't that a reason to keep using them?  Or am I just saying that to protect my investment...?