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In 1999, luxury clothing designer Tom Ford made a prediction about how technology could affect the way people dress in the not-too-distant future.
“Life is changing. And we’re working more and more at home, more and more from our computer screen, which in the future – I mean, there’s a number of ways this could happen,” he said in an interview with Charlie Rose. “A lot of people think that fashion can just die because we’re just at home. You can work in your underwear and a T-shirt. Who cares? Who’s going to see you?”
Did his prediction come true during the COVID-19 pandemic? If so, you are not alone.
As many people worked from home during the pandemic lockdown, formal corporate dress codes were dismantled and office workers no longer needed to dress up. Pants were replaced by sweats. People broke the heels. And t-shirts started to dominate.
Now that many of these workers are returning to the office, it looks like we’re entering a new era of workwear. This has given rise to the question: What should I wear to work?
As part of NPR’s Work Life series, NPR’s Morning Edition spoke with people dealing with this question. They include 27-year-old Jeremy Gonzalez, who started working at the Capitol last November.
“When I first started coming in, even on days off, I would wear a suit and tie or even my three-piece suit,” he said. But after waves of pandemic variations and a fluctuating hybrid schedule, he’s now more inclined to wear jeans and button-downs or a polo shirt.
Some others in politics also dress sensibly.
When the leaders of the Group of Seven nations took their group photo in Germany last month, something strange happened: They all lost their ties. It is believed to be the first time in 40 years that a G-7 portrait has been taken without a tie and could be seen as another sign that official dress codes are becoming more relaxed.
Leaders of the Group of Seven pose at the G-7 summit at Elmau Castle in Kruen, near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, on June 26. Noticeably missing from the team photo: the neckties.
Markus Schreiber/AP
Looser dress codes have found their way into another notoriously formal work culture – Wall Street – where for men, suits have traditionally been the only option.
Now, “the key word is confusion,” says Ken Giddon, whose family runs Rothman’s, a men’s store in Manhattan. “People really don’t know what to do.”
With offices reopening, she has noticed that people are less sure about what to wear.
“Do you wear pants to work? Do you wear khakis? Can you wear jeans?” he said. “No one has really drawn the line, and no one really knows what the right answer is.”
The pandemic has given some people the freedom to trade in their heels for something more comfortable.
Malte Mueller/Getty Images
His advice is to start with a pair of trousers and a jacket, assess the office vibe and go from there.
Washington Post senior critic Robin Givhan agrees — he erred on the more elegant side.
“What I’ve noticed is that there’s really a comeback in the capital F kind of fashion,” he said. “I think the people who loved it before continue to love it. And there’s something about re-creating boundaries. You have the clothes that you wear out in the world and then you have the clothes that are your play clothes, your holiday clothes .”
However, Givhan sees one area where comfort will continue to be a priority.
“I don’t see a return to serious dress heels or narrow shoes,” Givhan said. “I’m seeing a lot more apartments in both offices and catwalks.”
Of course, not everyone likes to dress up in formal clothes. And, as Givhan puts it, not everyone wants the same kind of disconnect between their personal and professional selves.
“I think for some people it’s really refreshing to be able to bring the entirety of their personality with them wherever they go,” he said. “And I think there are other people who were frustrated by the fact that their workday never seemed to end, that it just blurred into a huge amount of being online all the time.”
Just as Tom Ford predicted.
Jeevika Verma produced the radio version of this story and Rachel Treisman edited and produced the web version.
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