Healing is on everyone’s minds this summer. As we begin our recovery from a global pandemic, as the economy turns around and we venture out into the world after over a year of staying mostly inside, we can all use a little healing.

Healing can take many forms. Reconnecting with people we’ve missed and finding the time to do things we love are acts of healing. Creating a space for yourself that feeds your spirit clears a path toward healing. Even what we choose to wear can be a way to heal the hurts of the past year.

This is especially true for those who have been doing the healing. Doctors, nurses and emergency responders have had a hard year trying to balance caring for others with caring for themselves. Those called to these occupations need clothes that allow them to move easily, but things like scrubs sometimes fit poorly or uncomfortably. Even color plays a role (as it usually does), with the color of the garment having an effect on both patient and wearer.

With a comfortable fit across a wide range of sizes and a variety of bright colors available, the newest addition to the SanMar catalog — WonderWink^® scrubs — feels so timely right now. These tops and pants are meant to make working easier for men and women in professions of caring, tapping into a desire to feel good during times of challenge.

It’s not just healers, though — everyone is in need of some real healing. With bodies that feel different and a new outlook when it comes to being seen in public, it should be no surprise that many of us need some help getting re-introduced to our wardrobes. There’s healing to be found there as well, as we reject the things that don’t feel right anymore – or maybe never felt right in the first place. As celebrity stylist Allison Bornstein advised: “Get rid of the stuff that doesn’t feel like it fits your lifestyle anymore. Get rid of the stuff that you’ve never liked. Decluttering makes it so much clearer to see what it is that you actually want to wear.”

What we may decide to wear will be items that match our new perspective on what our idea of “this fits me” feels like. Or we may have a new perspective on what we want to look like in our new, changed workplaces. Before 2020, most remote workers were working in a synchronous work environment, meaning exchanges happen in real-time and on a shared time schedule. The explosion of remote work last year, however, has opened the door to the benefits of asynchronous work, such as reducing meeting fatigue and allowing time for deeper thinking.

A side effect of the gradual migration to “async” communication and work models is that what people wear to work is up to them and the needs of the moment. Simply put, the known dress codes of yesterday have been set aside and we are determining, in real time, what we want to wear for our new work/life balance. Just as we saw with scrubs, color plays a big part in that. As we explore what this new life looks like, we’re also exploring unexpected collisions of colors: healing, grounded neutrals are being paired with intense, feel-good brights.

For an example of this, look no farther than Simone Biles, recent winner of the U.S. Classic gymnastics meet. Her simple white leotard is brought to life with an array of bright coral color and a rhinestone GOAT on the back. Combinations like this amp up traditional sporty colors, allowing them to be used in new ways. These are the kinds of statements that many of us feel like making right now, even those of us just starting our own journey in active sports!

We’ve all been through a lot. It’s been more than a year of restrictions and rules that seem to change from one day to the next. Is it any wonder, now that the light is at the end of the tunnel, that we’re looking to break some of those old rules and try on something new? Let colors crash into each other and see what happens.

We’re doing what we want because it’s what feels good — and it’s what we need for the healing to begin.