Sometimes I think fashion couldn’t become more casual. I contribute to the sloppy trend wearing jogging pants [I don’t jog] and tee shirts/sweats in public though I don’t walk in midtown Manhattan in PJs, slippers, camisoles or tights worn-as-pants as some do.

Am I in fashion? Vanessa Friedman and Jacob Bernstein wrote in The New York Times, “The Met Is Going Back to Basics for Its Spring Show and Gala.”

“Rather than staging a couture fantasia dedicated to the wild imaginings of the designer John Galliano, the original theme,” the reporters wrote, “the Costume Institute will devote its next spring exhibition to showcasing the … well, ordinary. Or as the title has it, the “extraOrdinary: Fashion and the Poetics of the Everyday.

“Think bluejeans, puffer jackets and white T-shirts — even paper, plastic and Bubble Wrap — reimagined through the lens of high fashion.” There will be as many as 230 pieces such as “Charles James’s 1930s couture puffer coat, pieces from Marc Jacobs’s 1990s Perry Ellis grunge collection and Brooke Shields’s Calvin Klein jeans — the ones from the famous ad.”

The Cosume Institute’s curator, Andrew Bolton, said: “It will be both fabulous and mundane. I wanted an exhibition that I felt had something new to say, and that I felt was relevant to different conversations. I committed myself to this really quickly because it brings up ideas of value and consumption and resourcefulness and makes us question what we overlook and what we discard.”

There’s still more to be learned about the gala such as the dress code and celebrity co-hosts. “Bolton said he hoped visitors to the show would wear their own versions of jeans, T-shirts and puffers.”

He went on: “I want visitors to leave looking differently at the clothes they arrived with a greater sense of what is worth noticing, valuing and caring for.”

And then the reporters concluded: “It might be a hint. A dress-down Met Gala? It could happen.”

Wouldn’t it be grand if the gala guests contributed to charities the money normally spent on their extravagant outfits? Would you miss seeing the often outrageous gala fashions if attendees wore basics, even if jazzed up ones? Do you dress more casually these days than ever before?

   

It’s impossible to support every good cause. Here’s another one to add to the fundraising collateral, texts and emails pleading for help to cure diseases, support research, save exotic creatures, enrich scholarship funds, or keep the lights on at your local PBS station—for starters.

With tuition as high as it is, even at U.S. state colleges and universities, it’s no surprise that these days there are from 700 to 800 food pantries and food banks at institutions of higher learning, compared to 88 a dozen years ago according to the College and University Food Bank Alliance.

A check with Google AI also reported “More recent network surveys from organizations like Swipe Out Hunger indicate that roughly 95% of surveyed colleges now offer some form of on-campus food pantry or basic needs distribution service. Additionally, the Feeding America network supports 316 campus pantries and 124 mobile pantry distributions across participating institutions.”

Does your college ask for funds for a food bank? How do you determine which charities to support when there are so many worthy causes? Do you keep track of annual donations to memberships, your alma mater[s], public radio or TV stations, religious institution or other causes?

   

No, it’s not a post months too soon for lent.

The New York Times published a great piece, “What America is Living Without,” in which Alissa Quart summarized some of the responses received by the newspaper’s opinion section.

She wrote: “While by some measures, members of the middle class now earn more than those of prior generations, the Brookings Institution recently found that one-third of the American middle class still can’t afford essentials. And for the rest, the high costs of child care, housing, medical care and other necessities make their incomes feel paltry. So they are trimming, reining in the lives they once expected for themselves.”

The paper published the incomes, locations and ages of respondents. For example, “Film and theater tickets, Paul Tick, 72, has a household income of $82,000 in Bethlehem, N.Y.” or “Medication, Chelsea Dowler, 32, has a household income of $78,000 in Lansing, Mich.”

A few more: “A new winter coatCatherine Fitzpatrick, 70, makes $24,000 in New York City, My kids’ college tuitionJeff Struck, 50, has a household income of $176,000 and two children in Portland, Ore. and Regular haircuts–It’s become so pricey. With the
prices of everything else it’s incredibly difficult to justify
the cost. Sara Herman, 45, makes $94,500
in Nutley, N.J.”

What, if anything, are you giving up in this economy or that you’ve waited to buy or replace in the past?

Regardless of economy and income swings, I’ve maintained a list of things I put off buying for years in some cases. Some would be headscratchers to many. Two years ago my nephew gave me a too generous gift card and one of the favorite things I bought was a wonderful pair of garden shears. WHAT? I live in a city apartment and how much could shears cost anyway? The rusty pair I had from the country house was a sin. The new pair is a joy to use on my too many plants and to snip off the tips of cut flowers. I would rather put my money towards a gift or restaurant meal with friends or a blouse or sweater or donation to a food bank. I am driven to stay within my budget, want to have money tucked somewhere to pay for anything I buy or to put aside money from projects and windfalls for rainy day surprises like gargantuan dental bills.

I feel a twinge when friends rave about a series on a streaming platform I don’t subscribe to but forget about it soon enough. I have access to enough right now.

I’m reluctant to share other nonessentials that are on my current list. Compared to winter coat, medication and education that I chose to pull out of Quart’s article, they are beyond frivolous which is why they have collected dust on my someday-I’ll-buy list. Plus I’d rather travel.

What, if anything, are you giving up in this economy or that you’ve waited to buy or replace in the past?

   

It’s always been a challenge to get places on time in NYC but in spite of congestion pricing to cut down traffic, a plethora of car service options should there be a scarcity of yellow cabs and apps such as MTA Bus Time to track when the next vehicle will arrive, it’s still tricky.

My father had a thing about time. It was simple. You weren’t late. I have always done my best to be on time.

These days unless your dance card is empty and you can add half an hour or more to what should be a normal departure time, arriving promptly is a crap shoot.

A friend, delayed by a tardy car service, was 15 minutes late for a doctor’s appointment. A snarky receptionist asked her if she’d called to warn the office. Given that the office always makes her wait for her appointment she had not and she said this to the woman. She argued that had the delay looked like half an hour to an hour, she would have called.

If you are going to be late for a business or doctor’s appointment or meet up with a friend, when would you call –or text–about a revised ETA? Would you communicate faster depending on who your appointment is with?

   

I posted “Service of Fear,” on Halloween 2016. At the time I asked fellow tenants in the office space I rented for their favorite horror movies since I don’t like to be scared so I avoid them.

They mentioned:

“The Haunting”

“When a Stranger Calls”

 “The Birds,” “Psycho” & “Rear Window” 

“The Conjuring” 

“The Gate”

“The Strangers”

 “Halloween II”

 “The Thing”

 “The Shining”         

  “Poltergeist”

   “The House of Wax”

   “Bones”

I asked AI if there was a correlation between horror movie popularity and scary political times. “Yes — research and cultural analysis show a strong historical correlation: horror film popularity often peaks during periods of political unrest, social anxiety, or ideological polarization, as the genre reflects and amplifies collective fears.”

Some examples AI provided:

“Great Depression (1930s): Films like Dracula, Frankenstein, and White Zombie reflected fears about outsiders, immigration restrictions, and racial prejudice.”

“1960s religious upheaval: The breakdown of traditional religion fueled occult horror (The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby)”

“Post‑9/11: Horror emphasized random violence and ‘us vs. them’ nationalism (The Strangers, Cloverfield)”

What am I scared about? Shenanigans that impede a legitimate election that has already begun with DOJ holding hostage 20,000 votes in Los Angeles and the president ordering DOJ to block the Alaska Senate race if Republican, Senator Dan S. Sullivan loses.

Are you a horror film fan? What are your favorites? Does your yen for the genre increase when you feel anxious about political unrest?