April 2020 Shopping Reflections

I feel like my brain's starting to go a little kooky from all this social distancing. My sleep schedule has been all over the place, and I continue to be unable to focus enough to actually read most of the books and ebooks I currently have access to. I'm currently a little busy at work, billing a very ordinary six to seven hours most weekdays, but that manages to leave me completely exhausted. (Whereas, in the weeks immediately before NYC started to shut down, I barely used to blink an eye at regularly billing nine or ten hours a day, those were "slow" days for me.) In the late evenings - I sleep very late these days, typically well past 1:00 A.M. - I often find myself utterly incapable of doing anything more mentally taxing than mindlessly browsing online, which can lead to copious online window-shopping. 

I've even found myself badly missing the office! Back before the COVID-19 shutdowns, I thought my ideal arrangement as to work-from-home flexibility would be one where I had basically infinite discretion to work-from-home - on days where there weren't important client meetings or court appearances, obviously - and exercised it at least once a week, possibly a little more often. These days, I've come to appreciate the value of time spent at the office a lot more, and the attendant feeling of having some separation between "work" and "home," even if, as a biglaw-ish litigator, it's impossible to completely avoid needing to get some work done from home sometimes. I've found that having our apartment be my only available workspace makes it more difficult to relax during my downtime. 

But that's just me fussing about small, unimportant things. I continue to be deeply grateful that K and I are able to fully work from home while the New York state shutdown orders persist and that our family and friends have been in good health. 

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Among the ways in which my brain is starting to get a little kooky from all this staying indoors is that, shopping-wise, I'm starting to crave new categories of items I would never otherwise think about. And I end up giving in to these newly manufactured "wants" a fair bit, with so little to distract me, particularly in the late evenings when I do most of my online window-shopping. This phenomenon accounts for all of this month's purchases. (In other words, my prediction from last month proved incorrect, I'm not particularly "back to normal" when it comes to my online shopping habits.) 

Fashion - (TOTAL: $377.96)

• Babaa Merino Wool Set - $322.96 
• Babaa Jumper No. 25, seaside - Until we started social distancing and staying home, I had never, in my life, had a particular interest in matching loungewear sets. But this month, I couldn't help but continually seek them out online, eventually choosing this very fancy merino wool set from Instagram-famous slow fashion knitwear brand Babaa. The decision was helped along by a 15% off discount code they were running while order processing and shipping speeds were delayed by COVID-19. (I believe the discount is still running as of today, enter the code SPREADLOVE at checkout.) And yes, I was also inspired by Erica, a.k.a. ahistoryofarchitecture. 
• Babaa Trousers No. 25, seaside - Each piece of the Babaa merino set comes in only one size. Both the jumper and trousers are quite stretchy, especially the trousers. On my 5'3'', roughly 37''-27''-38'' frame - with shorter-than-average legs for my height and a more "regular" than "petite"-sizing torso - I find the jumper a comfortable, "just right" fit, a little loose in the body the way I prefer, and the trousers quite roomy and relaxed through the hips and legs. There's also a fair bit of extra length in the trousers on me, which isn't a problem because of the cuffed hems; in order to get a fit on those that looks like it does on the 5'8.5'' (174 cm) model in the Babaa store photos, I need to hike up the super-stretchy, super-soft waistband almost an inch above my bellybutton. I thought there was a very slight itch factor when I first started wearing this set, though it's now subsided after a moderate amount of wear this month and two rounds of handwashing. 
• Cosabella Never Say Never Curvy Sweetie Bralette, black - $55.00 - As a busty person who typically considers an underwire and padding to be non-negotiable features, I would have said that I would never, ever be interested in even trying on a bralette, much less actually spending money on one. Yet somehow, after more than a month of strict social distancing, here we are. Frankly, I'm not quite sure what I was thinking when I first browsed for and eventually ordered this. I don't find any bralette in my general size range - and there really aren't many out there, I think Cosabella's "curvy" line may basically be it - particularly cute, and that includes this design. (If I had a completely different body shape, my ideal bralette would have super-skinny straps and wispy lace details meant to peek out under clothes, something like the Free People Adella, but that was never meant to be.) I was pleasantly surprised by this item, it fits well enough and provides almost enough support that it might - almost - make me reconsider my previous stance on underwires and padding. (In full disclosure, however, I don't think I'll ultimately change my mind; I may only end up wearing this while relaxing at home.) Their size chart appears accurate: Going by the chart, I could pick either the size S or M. Reviews from past customers who provided at least some of their body measurements suggested it made sense to pick the smaller of two potentially workable sizes, and indeed, I found the S to fit well. When I first tried it on, I found the spot in the back where the tag is sewn in to be almost unbearably itchy, but after one wash, I didn't have any further issues. 

The curve may be starting to flatten here in New York, so there's a possibility that some restrictions may be lifted slowly, in phases, after May 15. But it's likely that high-density areas like NYC will not be among the first to see any changes to the current shutdown orders, which totally makes sense. So I expect that K and I will continue staying indoors - except for a single grocery trip once every two weeks  - through the end of May, and most likely for some time after that. 

How are you and your family doing? I hope that you and your loved ones are well, as much as we can be, in these strange times. Are government officials starting to send signals about lifting some of the shutdown orders and restrictions where you are?