Since the start of the pandemic, the question of returning to the office has been in the back of everyone’s mind. I have talked to people who love staying home and hope it continues as well as others who are itching to get back into the office. In the middle of all of this is the question: What am I supposed to wear? During the pandemic, fashion bloggers and brands have advertised clothes that are perfect for working from home, but what will people wear if they decide to return to the office? My favorite well-known fashion blog, Who What Wear, has yet to tackle this question. This blog post will cover my trend predictions for what people will wear when they return to the office and my general thoughts on the subject.
To begin with, addressing the question of what to wear to work during the summer is hard enough as is, and now there is an added element of possibly returning to an office after a year away. The question of what to wear to work in the summer needs to be better addressed by the fashion community and is something I have struggled with in the past. Dressing for a corporate job in the summer is difficult because it is often hot outside and freezing in the office. Additionally, many fashion brands advertise tanktops and skimpier work clothing during the summer months, but oftentimes people feel their office culture is too conservative for these types of outfits. This summer, dressing for the office has an added challenge as people have been away for a year and are wondering what to wear in general.
The Vogue article, “What to Wear to Work After Quarantine” attempts to tackle this question, but the outfit inspiration seems unrelatable and farfetched. The picture on the right is the most relatable outfit from the article. De Sole states that she rediscovered denim during quarantine and wants to wear it the workplace. Two questions immediately popped into my head when I read this. 1)During the pandemic I stopped wearing denim and think many people swapped tight jeans for loose sweats, so why did she discover it during this leisure time? 2)Is denim allowed in the dress code of corporate jobs and will people even want to wear jeans at work?
To research what people will wear when they return to the office I started off by looking into popular workwear brands. I looked into what Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, M.M.LaFleur, COS, and Zara are currently advertising. These stores are still advertising work-from-home styles and there is still an emphasis placed on being comfortable rather than wearing business clothing. No stores are running “back-to-work” campaigns; however, this may change as we get closer to autumn. During work-from-home, people have grown accustomed to elastic waistbands and only needing to wear a presentable top. There are some articles circulating that state that people want to return to fancy workwear in full force after being tired of wearing casual clothes for a year. I do think that there are some people who are excited to wear business casual/professional on a daily basis and maybe are even wearing at home. However, I believe that the average person enjoys the relaxed dress code and is not itching to wear formal clothing on a daily basis. With all this in mind here are some trends I predict will be spotted as people return to the office in the late summer/early fall.
Menswear for Women
Menswear for women has been an idea floating around the fashion industry for a while and I think it will really take off this fall/return-to-work season. Menswear for women focuses on relaxed suiting (Banana Republic) and wide-leg trousers (COS). The idea of menswear for women eases the transition from casualwear to workwear by providing loose fitting clothes in elevated patters and styles.
Power Casual
Continuing the idea of menswear for women as being a way to transition back into workwear, power casual is another term being used by the fashion industry. The picture on the left is a new arrival from Banana Republic and pairs joggers with a blazer. The picture in the middle from M.M.LaFleur pairs wide-leg pants with a blazer. The photos on the right show how you can style t-shirts for the office. Styling causal pieces with a blazer immediately elevates the look and will be trendy this summer/fall.
Whenever people return to the office there will be a transition period where everyone figures out what is appropriate to wear to work in 2021. This time period will be similar to when you first started your job and tried out different outfits to see what the norm was in your company before settling into an outfit routine. Return-to-work fashion will be very exciting because this is a time where we could see many workplace dress codes changing or we could see everyone falling back into old habits. Only time will tell.
XO, Alicia
As always, I was inspired by your comments on fashion. You see things I cannot even imagine!