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AIBU?

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Original poster

To hate the idea of masks as a fashion accessory

186 replies

Ghostlyglow · 31/08/2020 19:05

I'm not anti-mask - just thought I should say that. Just no, though to masks that match outfits and "designer" masks - I saw some on a jewellery website for £35!

OP posts:
Mittens030869 · 01/09/2020 00:44

I actually think it’s great - they’re going to be around for the foreseeable future, why not make the most of them.

^This. Masks are a fact of life for the moment, so anything that makes wearing them bearable (or even fun) has to be worth it.

ImNotWhoYouThinkIam · 01/09/2020 00:48

I've been making my own, and my dcs mask in a variety of patterns and sometimes I match the colour of my mask to the colour of my outfit. I've made some from vintage dress fabric of my Grandmas. Sadly the dresses don't exist anymore and if they didn't they wouldn't fit me. Grandma was beautifully tall and slender. Im the opposite Grin. I'm also making matching Alice bands for some.

I like pretty masks for the same reason I have pretty glasses. Or for the same reason my cousin has different coloured hearing aids. Or for the same reasons friends at school had coloured bits on their braces. All 'medical aids' but all as attractive/fun as possible.

I also have a large collection of shopping bags. Some cotton, some homemade crochet ones with pretty patterns. Might make some to match my masks Grin

PolkadotsAndMoonbeams · 01/09/2020 00:53

Mine are patterned because I don't want to use disposable ones, and I cut up an old blouse to make them. They don't coordinate with anybody of my outfits, but I always liked the blouse, so I'm pleased it's got a new lease of life!

On a practical note, I think they're easier to spot than black ones would be, and I can put them in pale wash, which I tend to do more often than darks.

EveryDayIsADuvetDay · 01/09/2020 00:58

I prefer to be colour coordinated.
I prefer reusable over single use (but have a pack of single use for emergencies)
I don't much care whether others are colour coordinated look great or look shit, BUT AS LONG AS THEY WEAR THE FUCKING THINGS IN ENCLOSED PUBLIC SPACES OVER THEIR MOUTH AND NOSE NOT DANGLING FROM ONE EAR, OR BOTH EARS BUT ONLY COVERING THEIR NECK so what?

user1468867871 · 01/09/2020 01:46

No deaths in Wales today and only 39 ‘cases’ (not hospitalizations). We don’t wear masks in shop in Wales, they understand that saving the economy ultimately saves lives. (Similar to a lot of countries). Matt Hancock’s family have shares in masks; some people are so gullible.

To hate the idea of masks as a fashion accessory
Nquartz · 01/09/2020 02:36

‘I couldn't put my finger on why it bothered me and thinking on it I think it's the rampant consumerism.‘

Mine were £3 made by a couple of local mums selling on Facebook, I don't think that counts as 'rampant consumerism' Grin

JanMeyer · 01/09/2020 02:58

I don't see what's wrong with it, if you have to wear a mask at least the option is there of having one that looks cool. I bought one with a picture from my favourite film on, yes it was expensive but it was worth it. Plus i hope having such an eyecatching picture on it (and remembering how much it cost) will mean i lose it a lot less than the plain black one i had before it.

The way I see it people with walking sticks /wheelchairs etc often jazz them up, why is this any different? Far better to add some cheer to gloomy times.

Was just about to make a similar point, having a snazzy mask is no difference to personalizing medical equipment. Like the fellow fan of my football team who customized his wheelchair in club colours, and has the badge on the wheels. It's a work of art. Seriously though, there's no difference between a colorful mask and colourful tubie clips for feeding tubes and central lines. It doesn't take anything away from the seriousness of the situation. Wearing a mask sucks, what's wrong with making it a bit more tolerable?

WhereDoesThisToiletGo · 01/09/2020 05:03

It's no different than the hundreds of frames available from Specsavers.
I'd rather people wore nice reusable washable (and washed!) masks than those bright blue paper ones that get chucked in the bin or dropped as litter

Limpshade · 01/09/2020 05:27

How is this an issue Hmm

Where I live (Singapore) my 2yo and 3yo have to wear masks. So they have Frozen masks, dinosaur masks, Paw Patrol masks, rainbow masks... Apologies if that seems too joyful for you Grin

itsgettingweird · 01/09/2020 07:05

@TheNewLook

Totally get you OP. It makes me cringe. It normalises the whole mad thing. I put one on to go into shops and whip it off the second I’m out. I can’t help it, I just cringe to see myself and others in them.
It's really interesting isn't it?

Some people wear the fashionable ones and matching to normalise it because it's so mad.

Others can't bear to normalise it because it's so mad.

Highlights why we will all come out of this with various long term effects.

Tomatoesneedtoripen · 01/09/2020 07:11

a girl was wearing a silk one and my dh said disdainfully about it being a fashion accessory.
but, why not?
as long as they do the job?

FourTeaFallOut · 01/09/2020 08:44

I can't imagine how anyone could summon the energy to care what other people's masks look like or cost.

Original poster
Ghostlyglow · 01/09/2020 11:22

I think that's s it @itsgettingweird I hate the idea of it being normalised. I don't want it to feel normal because it just isn't and I hate it but, whatever, if fashion masks make it better for some people then fineSmile

OP posts:
tabulahrasa · 01/09/2020 11:33

“I don't want it to feel normal because it just isn't and I hate it”

The thing is, I don’t like it, it’s totally odd and unnatural to not be able to see people’s faces properly, I am a rip them off as soon as I get outside person as well because they’re not particularly comfortable to wear...and I’m having to wear one at work just now too and that’s all kinds of weird.

So having them in fabric I like is not because it’s in any way normal, it’s just I have to have them, they cost the same either way... might as well pick ones I like the fabric of.

SchrodingersImmigrant · 01/09/2020 12:20

People are different 🤷🏻 it's simple as that.

Some will go through this being miserable af.

Some will try to make some aspects little better to bear it and inject hint of positiveness wherever they can.

Neither is wrong. Neither is right🤷🏻 It's just how different people deal with stuff.

And you know what? Maybe we should normalise wearing face coverings in some way. Maybe people could wear them instead of sneezing their viruses around on public transport and in shops when they are ill (and not just with corona).

lazylinguist · 01/09/2020 12:28

I think that's s it @itsgettingweird I hate the idea of it being normalised. I don't want it to feel normal because it just isn't and I hate it

I really don't get this. When people wear pretty headscarves when they've had chemo, do you think that's normalising cancer or chemo or wanting it to continue? When people get friends to decorate their leg casts, is that normalising broken limbs? Do you actually think when mask wearing is finally no longer needed, that anyone will say "Aww but I love my Disney mask, I'm going to keep wearing it!"? Confused If you have to wear something regularly, surely you pick one you like?

DeliciouslyFemale · 01/09/2020 12:48

I think it’s great that people are making them a fashion accessory, as they’re more likely to wear them. I’ve even noticed young people wearing fancy ones, outside, when they don’t have to. Anything that makes it safer for me to go out and helps me protect my daughter is good with me.

I’m currently making some and will be making hair bands and coverings for the peaks of her caps, that match.

TheNighthawk · 01/09/2020 13:11

My DC made a comment the other day that masks might go the same way as wigs in Georgian times - ie. originally used to cover shaved heads - hair being shaved to get rid of lice - but then becoming a fashion item, and increasingly outrageous.

Original poster
Ghostlyglow · 01/09/2020 13:25

I'm not miserable.

OP posts:
vanillandhoney · 01/09/2020 13:48

@Ghostlyglow

I think that's s it *@itsgettingweird* I hate the idea of it being normalised. I don't want it to feel normal because it just isn't and I hate it but, whatever, if fashion masks make it better for some people then fineSmile
Nothing to do with normalising it, it's just making light of a shit situation.

It's the same as multi-coloured plaster casts for kids, or cartoon plasters, or vitamins shaped like Flinstones. The idea is just to make it a bit more fun. My mask has butterflies on it. DH's is plain black. He's not taking things more seriously just because his are plain and mine aren't!

DappledThings · 01/09/2020 13:59

For me the difference between a mask and a plaster cast is that the latter is for a fixed term for an individual who has had a specific accident. Whereas the masks are for everyone and indefinite. So it still feels weird to me to want to prettify something that is so generic. I'm not claiming it's logical but it does make me feel weird.

But then when I in a plaster cast at age 9 it was decorated with people's drawings and signatures but because they kept asking. I did find that a bit odd as well but didnt object. Just didnt really get it.

SoupDragon · 01/09/2020 14:01

Whereas the masks are for everyone and indefinite. So it still feels weird to me to want to prettify something that is so generic

Do you only wear plain shapeless clothing? There is no difference between choosing clothing you think is attractive and choosing a mask that you think is attractive.

DappledThings · 01/09/2020 14:10

@SoupDragon

Whereas the masks are for everyone and indefinite. So it still feels weird to me to want to prettify something that is so generic

Do you only wear plain shapeless clothing? There is no difference between choosing clothing you think is attractive and choosing a mask that you think is attractive.

That's just it. We all have to wear clothes so we choose ones we like. Currently we have to wear masks but by making them fashion accessories it's the acceptance that they are like clothes, that they are here for ever. I want to continue to see them as a short term aberration!
JoeCalFuckingZaghe · 01/09/2020 14:14

We are all different. If you don’t want to wear a bright coloured or “fashionable” mask, you don’t have to.
But to think everyone should walk around in boring masks because YOU don’t want them to be “normal”... fuck off.

DappledThings · 01/09/2020 14:16

@JoeCalFuckingZaghe

We are all different. If you don’t want to wear a bright coloured or “fashionable” mask, you don’t have to. But to think everyone should walk around in boring masks because YOU don’t want them to be “normal”... fuck off.
Gosh, not sure why so angry. I expressed a preference, I didn't issue an order!