Chronicle Editor
Yoliswa Moyo
I WAS walking down George Silundika Street the other day and approaching me from the opposite direction was a young man selling face masks.
He stopped to show the masks to three other guys who were standing by the pavement. As I passed these guys, I overheard one of the loud ones asking, “Don’t you have African print ones?”
Initially, I thought oh, but why does it matter? I mean, it’s more important that you’re covered up right?
Anyway, the seller said he didn’t have fancy ones, much to the disappointment of the potential buyer — let’s call him Chris.
Chris then continued, “You need to look for the African print ones and also have masks in different colours. We can’t be walking around with these white ones.
It kills the swag!” I was quite astonished.
Chris went on. “When you’re dressed up nicely, the last thing you need is a mask killing the vibe.”
At this point, I couldn’t resist the urge to turn back and see these fashion-conscious people.
For what it’s worth, they looked quite good. Jeans, sneakers and T-shirts — the works. In fact, Chris was in Jordan kicks and no ordinary man wears Jordan sneakers!
These guys each had their mouths and noses covered with trendy scarves as opposed to the not-so-fashionable surgical and plain white cloth masks they were complaining about.
I understood where they were coming from. You want to wear a mask, but stay happening at the same time. I’ve seen so many different kinds of nice-looking masks trending all over social media. African print, floral, monochrome — you name it!
Enterprising tailors are making a killing from them because there’s just too many kinds of fabrics to go by! I actually wouldn’t mind a mask for each outfit.
Have them in seven different colours and prints. Just to say we’re fighting Covid-19 and slaying while at it.
If we’re to be frank, there’s really nothing wrong with wanting to stay on top of your game, even in the wake of Covid-19.
It appeared clumsy before because walking around with a face mask was new for most of us, but we’ve normalised it because most of us understand how important it is to wear a mask.
At this point, wearing a face mask is mandatory when in public. It’s the right thing to do if we’re going to slow the spread of the deadly virus.
I’d imagine the ladies are experiencing a unique challenge in addition to owning trendy masks. Wearing full on make-up may be difficult. It actually may as well be unnecessary. You’re just going to smudge your lipstick and stain the mask with foundation. Filling your eyebrows and some petroleum jelly to moisturise your lips may be all you need right now.
If you’re one of those people who’re still moving around without a face mask because you think you’re MacGyver or Walker Texas Ranger and can defeat anything, you risk paying a cool $500 fine.
In my terms, that would be equivalent to two tins of 400g baby formula or five boxes of baby cereals or 10 jars of baby meals! I’m sure you get the point. It’s a whole lot of money to waste on something that could’ve been avoided, so wear your masks folks!
Besides, it’s for your own good. Covid-19 is still among us and it’s everyone’s responsibility to protect ourselves and others from catching the deadly virus.
Until next week, flaunt your pattern and style and don’t forget to catch up with me on Twitter handle @PatternStyleZw or WhatsApp +263774492700.
Online Reporter