Protection with flair: Face masks making statements, showing personality in Myrtle Beach
Bumblebees. Flamingos. Disney princesses. The Goonies.
They are seemingly unaffiliated.
But they are all connected in the eyes of Missy Smith of Elkview, West Virginia. They are images that are featured on masks she has recently purchased.
Smith was out looking for more Thursday at stores in the Tanger Factory Outlet off U.S. 501 in Myrtle Beach during a family vacation.
“Just looking for something a little different than what you see everybody else wearing,” said Smith, who was wearing a flowery mask on Thursday. She has about a half dozen herself and has been buying them for other family members as well.
“We’re trying to make it fun,” said Smith, who works at a doctor’s office. “Trying to make the best of a bad situation.”
Smith is like many people who have become creative with their masks as governments have mandated the wearing of facial coverings to combat the continuing spread of COVID-19.
Many are using masks to make social statements, show support for their favorite sports teams, accessorize outfits, or just display some personality.
Smith’s husband, Neil, was sporting The Goonies mask on Thursday.
“If you’ve got to wear them you might as well make it look decent,” Neil Smith said. “If you’ve got to wear it then at least get something that matches you, that matches your personality.”
The Smiths’ son, Aaron, was wearing a West Virginia University mask Thursday and also has a Xavier University mask because he is a student at the Cincinnati school.
Creative masks are available throughout the Grand Strand at locations, including Tanger Outlets, Broadway at the Beach, Barefoot Landing, beachwear stores, malls and some Ocean Boulevard businesses, where airbrushed designs and depictions are offered.
Joey Amendola, owner of Blondies stores in Broadway at the Beach and a Tanger Outlet off U.S. 501, said masks are among his best sellers, and he’s constantly ordering different ones.
“It’s a trendy item, like anything else. It’s hot now with everything that’s going on,” Amendola said. “Women are buying them to accessorize. They buy many of them for different outfits of the week. You can’t have just one mask. Men are a little more practical. They’re looking for more manly stuff – American flags, designs, straight black ones.”
Blondies was selling masks prior to the coronavirus pandemic, largely because the Korean pop boy band BTS donned them in a video. “They were popular,” said Amendola, whose mask sales have increased to more than two dozen daily.
Jerome Wilson Sr., of Winston-Salem, N.C., said he doesn’t necessarily support the legalization of marijuana.
But you wouldn’t know it by his choice of mask on Thursday while shopping at Tanger Outlet. It featured numerous marijuana leaves of a variety of colors and sizes.
“I saw it and I picked it up. I didn’t have one at the time,” Wilson said. “I like the colors. I’m a big color fanatic. . . . I’ve got several [masks]. I’ve got certain ones I wear to work because they’re a little bit more breathable, and I’ve got certain ones that I wear out because they’re a little bit more fashionable.
“It’s really just having it on and keeping everybody safe,” Wilson continued. “If everybody does their part we can cut it back and we don’t have to worry about this. I used to laugh about the people in Tokyo, Japan, about how they wear masks. Now we’re stuck doing the same thing so I just want to do my part.”
With some flair.
This story was originally published July 17, 2020 at 10:32 AM with the headline "Protection with flair: Face masks making statements, showing personality in Myrtle Beach."
