Ask Belle: For Low-Effort Weekends

Dear Belle,

What do you wear around the house? For realz, tho.

A Curious Reader

When I opened this e-mail, I laughed so hard.  Why?  Because so many bloggers post photos of their “lounging around the house” attire that are WHOLLY UNREALISTIC.  Their makeup and hair are perfectly styled.  They’re wearing $150 lounge sets from Eberjey.  And they’re sitting on their perfectly rumpled, duvet-covered bed, sipping a latte from a chic coffee mug, and reading a fresh New York Times and heavily dog-eared copy of Vogue.

Come to my apartment at 9:00 on a Saturday morning, and you’ll find me asleep. (Don’t judge; I have no children, no boyfriend, and nowhere to be.)  Come back at 11:00, however, and you’ll find me sitting on my couch with a Constitutional Law textbook on my lap and bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit in my hand (Because McD’s for breakfast is my only standing Saturday appointment.).  What will I be wearing?

Zella Leggings, an Everlane t-shirt, and a sweatshirt (Maybe it’s Athleta. Maybe it’s Old Navy. Depends on whether I did laundry that week.).  My hair will be in a ponytail.  My face will be bare, shiny, and acne-covered. This is called making no effort. #realtalk

Now let’s say, for some reason, I have to go outside but I don’t intend to see anyone.  For a quick errand or a grocery store run, I don’t gussy up too much, but I make a low-effort.

A little dry shampoo and a ball cap, and my hair is done.  If the ponytail’s looking lifeless, I might tease it a bit and curl the ends.  Two minutes on this, tops.

For the makeup, I’ll apply a little bit of concealer, a light swash of mineral powder, some blush, and mascara.  Basically, I want to be prepared in case I run into my ex-boyfriend, but I don’t want to apply a full-face that I have to scrub off later.  Maybe I’ll spritz a little perfume if I want to pretend I’m trying.

As for the clothes, I’m going to put on a bra because my very southern Mother lives in head.  Over the leggings and sweatshirt, I’ll wear a field jacket with big pockets, because I’m not bringing a purse.  On my feet, I’ll either wear metallic flats or sneakers.  And I am definitely putting on a pair of small earrings and some aviator sunglasses.

Some of you may think this is more effort than you want to put in, but this is as dressed down as I get for a public outing.  This is what I wore when I rushed myself to the ER with chest pains back in October, so my commitment to making some effort is pretty strong.  You never know who you’ll meet when you’re just picking up milk or if they’ll send a cute resident to examine your x-rays, and I like to know I look good-enough even when I’m not trying to look my best.