How do you dress when you go to the office? Or rather, are you even going to the office? Exactly four years ago, on a March morning, we suddenly found ourselves locked inside our homes and our daily lives changed completely. Most of us used to wake up early every morning, rush to the office, and after work either grab a bite somewhere or head straight home. While everything was running its normal course, within just a few days we found ourselves spending our lives within four walls. Almost overnight, we set aside the shirts and blazers that were once office essentials and started showing up to our Zoom meetings in our tracksuits. Sure, we video-called friends, we dressed up and posed for Instagram, but most of the time we simply couldn't find a reason to put on the clothes we used to wear outside. Comfortable clothing became the most important part of our lives.
According to Fashion United data, in the first two months of the pandemic, demand for loungewear, clothing designed to be worn at home, increased by 49 percent compared to the previous year. During the pandemic, Nrby founder Jo Hooper explained the situation to Drapers magazine: "People don't feel the need to feel ready for the day when they're working from home." A study conducted by the same magazine during the pandemic found that while sales in other clothing categories declined, loungewear and eveningwear were among the categories that held their ground.
We don't need to hide the fact that while we picked out office-appropriate shirts and blouses for the upper half of our bodies visible on Zoom calls, we were more than happy to stay in our comfortable tracksuits below the frame. How many meetings did we attend in what could perfectly be described as "business on top, party on the bottom"?
Don't let the word loungewear conjure up images of something unkempt or sloppy. Especially as its popularity surged during the pandemic, many loungewear brands emerged with collections that were both stylish and seriously comfortable. Sunday Luxe is one of them. Two young women with successful and demanding careers in advertising realised during the pandemic that with some unexpected free time on their hands, the moment had finally arrived, and their entrepreneurial journey began. Describing Sunday Luxe as a luxury loungewear brand for women who want more comfort, style and durability, they believe that quiet evenings at home and lazy weekends will always exist, and so will loungewear. Their price points confirm that this is no ordinary pyjama set or casual tracksuit: the Kira oversized knit sells for £185, while the Audrey trousers go for £195.
Loungewear, which became almost synonymous with working from home, offering us the luxury of working in comfort, getting chores done throughout the day, and spending the time we would have lost commuting on sleep and self-care, has become a symbol of luxury in its own right.
But here's the thing: the pandemic that once turned our everyday lives upside down is now firmly in the past. The days of keeping our distance from one another, coating our hands in sanitiser, stockpiling masks, and navigating those "2 metre distance" markings on the floor are fading into the dusty corners of our memories, much like the markings themselves. Life, in many ways, is rewinding as though the pandemic never happened. And with that, many companies are calling their employees back to the office. Which, of course, means returning to office clothes.
On the days we first learned we'd be heading back, TikTok content about office style was being viewed 58.5 million times. Influencers were turning their wardrobe archives into office looks, and we were watching them for inspiration. While millennials reach to the back of their wardrobes for the office clothes they'd tucked away, things are a little more confusing for Gen Z, many of whom had never entered the workforce before the pandemic, and some of whom had never set foot in an office at all.
For starters, the post-pandemic economy, still recovering from significant damage, isn't exactly creating the ideal conditions for recent graduates to build themselves a whole new wardrobe. Many students on the verge of starting their careers find themselves not buzzing with excitement about what's ahead, but stressing about what to wear to the office and how on earth they're going to afford it. Swapping out the comfortable clothes we've been living in for months for blazers and pencil skirts might not sound thrilling at first, but fortunately, dress codes in many offices are starting to loosen up. Carolyn Walker, HR Director at Tenth Revolution Group, told HR magazine that she expects many of the changes we've seen since the pandemic, including professional dress codes, to stick around. Most workplaces are adapting to a hybrid model rather than a full-time return to the office, alternating between working from home and working on-site. This is helping to ease the grip of traditional dress codes somewhat. And with Gen Z, a generation known for breaking rules, entering the workforce, some style codes are being broken entirely. But which ones?
Pre-pandemic traditional office dressing consisted of tailored trousers, shirts, knee-length pencil skirts, blazers, and shoes with heels no higher than three centimetres. Things look rather different now. While professionalism remains the most important criterion in office dressing, comfort is climbing to a close second for many people. Walker notes that younger people in particular are gravitating towards more relaxed, casual dressing in the office. The new wave of fashion, where gender codes are slowly dissolving, is making its mark on office style too. Oversized blazers and wide-leg trousers are replacing tailored, fitted silhouettes. In workplaces with more relaxed rules, trainers and open-toe sandals are becoming increasingly common. Fabric choices are expanding alongside the silhouettes: leather skirts, linen trousers, and denim jackets are no longer out of place.
The office siren
Speaking of office dressing, we can't talk about it without mentioning the office siren trend that has recently entered our lives. Despite having the word "office" in its name, this TikTok-born trend isn't exactly office-appropriate in the traditional sense. It emerges from a bolder, more daring interpretation of classic office dress codes. Think tailored skirts, but make them mini. Think classic office shirts, but leave a few buttons undone. And don't forget the reading glasses. Not thick-lensed ones, though. This trend calls for Bayonetta-style glasses: slim, rectangular, and undeniably sexy. Remember Gisele Bündchen in The Devil Wears Prada? That's office siren, exactly.
Think tailored skirts, but make them mini.
One of the trend's leading figures is undoubtedly Bella Hadid. If you've recently scrolled through the model's Instagram or come across any paparazzi shots, you've almost certainly stopped at her head-to-toe Gucci look on the streets of New York. Pairing a perfectly tailored grey blazer, a caramel blouse, a Gucci logo belt, and a mini tailored skirt with rectangular reading glasses and platform loafer heels, Hadid looks as daring as she does polished, exactly as the office siren trend demands. She further proves her commitment to the trend with an Instagram post featuring an open-buttoned striped fitted shirt, black tailored trousers, and those signature sexy reading glasses.
Office siren didn't exactly emerge independently of the runways, either. Cast your eye over Miu Miu, Prada and Gucci's recent season collections and you'll spot mini tailored skirts, knitwear, shirts and over-the-knee socks time and again. Miu Miu's ultra-mini skirts that caused a stir a few seasons back, their slim grey cardigans, Gucci's body-skimming blazers: it all feels like it was quietly whispering the arrival of office siren well before it took hold.
If you're tempted to try the office siren trend this winter, our advice would be to save it for your social life rather than the actual office, because as women, we already face more than enough discrimination and objectification in the workplace. So, what do you need to pull the look off? A fitted, body-hugging shirt, Bayonetta glasses, slim tailored trousers, a mini tailored skirt, and over-the-knee socks. One more thing to bear in mind: keep your pieces as far from bold colours as possible, sticking to neutrals like grey, beige, black, and white. Steering clear of prints, stripes aside, will also help you nail the look in its truest form. Add a serious expression and a confident posture, and you're done.
