To hate the idea of masks as a fashion accessory

[Ghostlyglow]

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!

I'm getting by with my existing collection of buffs which have some kind of prints/ patterns. (They are still too thick and have so far triggered two panic attacks of sensory overwhelm within a minute of obscuring my air passages- if I'm not wearing one or it's around my neck, I'm just trying to avoid hyperventilating all that (non-Covid) aerosol rather than being an arsehole.

As an allegedly necessary evil, attractive individual ones are less offensive than surgical/ or black ones obscuring 2/3s of the face, obliterating non verbal communication and distorting speech. At least they do look individual rather than a faceless hoarde.

I appreciate the making the best of a bad job sentiment, but I'm not paying ££ for items that make me ill in less than minutes.

@OddBoots

Thinking about it there is good reason for our masks being bright and celebratory, the evidence is showing that they are a big reason why the death rates are dropping while infection rates are still fairly high and increasing. I am feeling very positive towards them having seen Dr John Campbell's update video today.

And there's plenty of other evidence to show non surgical masks are useless, and the reason deaths and hospitalizations are dropping is because the virus is mostly not a serious problem for the people now contracting it.

@wanderings

Some of us are not anti-mask in itself, but a good many of us are anti-masks-being-mandated-by-government: it's set a precedent towards other dress codes being mandated by the government, which we do NOT want in a free society.

The masked warriors on MN keep telling us that this mandate will be temporary, but I think there is a real danger of it becoming permanent by stealth, just like income tax did, if we are not careful. I can just see Boris the clown thinking, when it's time to review the mask mandate: "But the public are clearly enjoying hiding their faces, I see no reason to change anything, and mask-making boosts the economy."

So many of the replies on this thread seem to think the masks are indefinite - Boris's brainwashing has worked, just like it did with terrifying the public into staying at home and spying on each other, and people who rely on lip-reading will continue to have a hard time.

Woah!

That's a huge leap.

I seriously don't like the guy but having heard his disgusting comments on hijabs etc I doubt he'd be advocating mask wearing for longer than necessary.

He can barely tolerate people wearing their faces covered for religious reasons.

Agree he's a clown though!

What on earth can the government gain from us wearing masks if no longer needed for the virus? The police would be very annoyed as it interferes with facial recognition!

Income tax is nothing like an item of clothing. This is quite a strange parallel to draw.

All of mine have nice patterns - they're washable ones, and I'd prefer something nice looking than a plain blue one. None of them match anything I wear though haha :)

@OddBoots - I watch Dr Campbell's vids too - he is fab! He is so calm and measured in the way he presents the information, and I like the way he interprets the stats.

I'm definitely not into colour coordinating them but I've made some pretty ones as well as some sugar skull ones, depends how I feel that day

I couldn't give a shiny shit if yours matches your outfit, so long as you're wearing one

I don't think face masks have to any more conform to a special look than, say, wearing a coat to protect yourself from cold weather has to conform. I have plain disposable ones, but they were bought when we were still able to travel to the country we'd booked our holiday in last year, so they were for the airport/plane journey.
Some people say wearing face masks will be the new norm from now on, but I'm not convinced that that will carry on in the UK once we can stop. I have face masks I've paid quite a bit for, but the two most expensive ones (and they didn't cost over £30) are the only ones that I feel comfortable in and, as I've mentioned above, I bought them from someone running their own business from home.
Also, I'm not convinced that people from Asia were used to wearing masks because of viruses. In our (small) city) we have a lot of Chinese students and tourists. In the past you'd see them with their masks on and think, why on earth are you wearing this mask here? I'd always put it down to protecting themselves from pollution, which obviously we have but not to the extent they may be used to.

I really think anything that makes people happier to wear them is good.

Also anything that encourages washable masks rather than single use ones is good.

It's ridiculous.. Gucci do mask fir over 300 quid

Just don’t wear one

I asked my DH to buy me a mask. He did his usual which was didn't know what to get so bought nearly everything.
He came back with:
A leopard print
A zebra print
A polkadot one
A flower one
A rainbow one
A camouflage print
One in black one in yellow, another in pink another one in blue.
I think 10 masks is plenty but I've got plenty of scope for matching with my outfits now! 😷

I really honestly can't begin to understand the objection to nice masks.

Loads of blokes round here are wearing Adidas ones etc.

If it's something you're wearing a lot then it's part of your wardrobe. Lots of people want to have nice stuff/ fun stuff / matching stuff etc.

For those who don't like it that's fine, don't have one like that.

The assumptions about period people who do

• that they're not taking it seriously
• that it's a signal they think we will be wearing them indefinitely

Are spurious. Excuses to support what seems to be a personal preference/ personal psychological reaction.

In short. This thread feels weird. Trying to shame people who buy nice masks because you don't like them.

Why not direct your ire in a more reasonable direction.

Or maybe this is about getting powerless and so just finding a target to go for? I mean we all feel powerless in this and reacting to it in different ways.

I suppose this is easier to shrug off than the stuff earlier on with people counting his many times their neighbours went out etc.

I think I tried to express this on my first post on this thread, but to be more succinct - if it’s cold outside, I’ll wear a hat. If there is covid outside, I’ll wear a mask. The hat is to protect me, the mask is to potentially protect others. It’s not ideological. I’m not doing this because Boris or Matt told me to. And anyone making this an ideological issue about freedom is being silly.

I'm wearing buffs, and they are like a nice scarf around my neck when I don't need to pull it up as a mask. I have them in all different colors.

I think the OP would prefer we all get wore masks made of sackcloth and smeared with ashes.

@HesterShaw1

I'm with you OP.

It's normalising face coverings by making them into a fashion accessory.

Covering your face for normal social interaction is not normal and never will be, no matter how "safe" it makes some people feel.

there are many cultures where face coverage for women is normal and has been for a very long time.

I think drawing an equivalence between women covering faces and this situation is a bit odd tbh.

It's not normal in the UK. Covering your face here has been what people do when they are going to do something criminal. It's more than just not being a cultural norm, it's a knee jerk cultural no-no.

There's the point that it's only women who are covering as well and all the reasons behind that.

That said, I think in general lots of people say ok and are used to it/ trying to get used to it.

It's not comparable to masks for Corona though. It's a lazy comparison.

In Iran for example it's normal now for women to cover. And enforced.

In the 60s it was not normal.

The cultural revolution changed things for women.

Other countries have seen this too.

It's not the same topic at all.

Oh dear, I started a thread to see pics of people's homemade masks as I am genuinely interested to see other people's handiwork/sewing. I fear I may have sparked this thread also I may or may not have got carried away and offered to make Christmas masks

In my local area the pavements etc are decorated with manky blue disposable masks everywhere. (It's usually just abandoned shopping trolleys) It makes me angry to see it and initially my main reason for making reusable fabric masks was precisely to avoid this crappy disposable culture. I started with just plain fabric ones but clearly they were the gateway masks as I now have many many different fabrics and am reduced to begging people on the internet to let me make masks for them.

I also blame my DC though as they requested animal print and I would rather buy good cotton and make lots for the same price they would spend at ASOS to get one mask. It spiralled from there

I fail to see how washable reusable masks can be seen as a negative thing as opposed to disposable shit. And if you think yes fabric ones are fine but they should all be plain colours don't you feel a bit churlish? Quite frankly I'll take anything that cheers me (and the vast majority of people going by RL) up at the moment. Life is shit and different masks may be superficial to some but I genuinely believe they cheer up more people than they offend or exasperate.

Ironically the reason I am awake at 4am is worrying about masks and my deaf DC returning to school/work/college. Obviously they make life much harder for them. It's just a circle that can't be squared sadly, it would help if teachers etc could wear clear visors and we are trying to get this in place. (I've also made clear panelled masks for others but they're not great tbh) But they wear masks themselves and are old enough to assess risk and make these decisions but still it's very difficult and in fact I'm debating just getting up and doing some sewing as I've been awake since 1am fretting about everything...

I have some new fabric with little Miffys on it and it genuinely makes me smile to see it. That's it, I'm getting up!

Oh dear, I started a thread to see pics of people's homemade masks

Not 'oh dear' at all - most people are fine about this.

It's one of the strengths of MN - you get to hear the viewpoints you just don't come across in RL. I see people in patterned and colourful masks everywhere, and although it's obvious people might not like bright ones, it would not occur to me that anyone would actively disapprove, any more than someone would disapprove of anything other than the plainest specs frames or corrective eye patch

@Sewcialist I liked your thread and love seeing people make the best of a bad situation.
Miffy fabric and Christmas masks - sound fab!

Excuses to support what seems to be a personal preference/ personal psychological reaction
It is this and I happily said so upthread. I find the normalising of them by making them an accessory uncomfortable. That doesn't mean I think plain ones should be enforced, obviously. It is absolutely a preference I'm just discussing. I also find seeing big false eyelashes uncomfortable. Doesn't mean I think they should be banned!

@Sewcialist I hadn't even though if Christmas masks till I saw your thread. I've got a mistletoe dress I can pinch the belt off

And yes I have matching Alice bands I make from cloth belts/ ties as well. I've had lots of positive comments