Fashion at work: Post-pandemic is the time for ‘hybrid clothing’ – 05/19/2023 – Market

Boundaries are important for children, friendships, and work. Before the pandemic, they were also vital to my wardrobe.

Back then, my clothes were meant for the office (smart dress, tight skirt), comfortable at home (jeans) or for Saturday night drinks (a silk top, maybe). Wearing the same floral blouse to a business meeting and the weekend felt wrong, as if I was tainting my professional persona or tainting my downtime with work. Then the Covid restrictions hit and I just gave in to the Great Sculpture.

When the world opened up again, I thought wardrobe divisions would make a comeback, maybe even reinforced. For some, they have returned. Polly McMaster, chief executive and co-founder of women’s workwear brand The Fold, says many of her business clients are shopping for smart suits and dresses.

“We’ve seen a strong increase in tailoring and bold colors, [assim como] tight dresses.” The outfit reinforces her professional identity – “It’s part of her presentation,” she says. .

However, for me, the blurring continued. I reserve a smart blazer or slacks for formal events, interviews or meetings, but my weekend outfits are increasingly interchangeable with my work outfits. I wear white Nike high-tops to the office and a chic BA&SH floral top to coffee with friends. This was aided by the relative informality of the Financial Times newsroom. Nobody expects high standards of dress from a journalist (I apologize to the chic colleagues I may have offended).

The greater casualization of office wear also plays a role. “Since the 1970s, there has been a steady movement to allow more personal expression in dress,” says Richard Ford, professor at Stanford Law School and author of “Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History” clothing: how the laws of fashion made history). “In the beginning, it was a counterculture thing, but today it’s an established part of the corporate attitude. The growing influence of the tech industry has caused others to follow its dress code.”

However, this confusion of dress codes irritates me, as the latest sign that the distinction between the two worlds – work and private – has crumbled. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg predicted this more than a decade ago when he championed “one identity”: “The days when you have a different image to your friends or co-workers and to the other people you know are probably they’re going to be over very quickly,” he told David Kirkpatrick in an interview for Kirkpatrick’s 2010 book “The Facebook Effect.” Meta’s founder had become my style guru. Did I need to recover some boundaries in clothing?

Some industry insiders are unconvinced by my nostalgic desire for a bifurcated wardrobe. Amy Smilovic, founder and creative director of Tibi, is horrified. “It encourages overspending, overcrowding and excess baggage,” she says over Zoom. “This concept of having different closets for different needs is a marketing-invented need. [para] make people spend.”

Most clothing items are adaptable, she says: a blazer can be worn with tights to the gym; no need for a special sweatshirt. Shirts should be worn both on the weekend and at work, but in different combinations.

Lee Woodruff, author and introductions consultant, agrees: “I can join a private equity firm [vestindo] black pants and blazer; I’ll wear Nikes but rock the jewelry.”

Versatility is more important than ever, according to John Lewis, who noted the growing demand for clothing, including trenchcoats and Mary Jane flats, that can be worn on the weekend and in the office. “Things are merging more,” says Queralt Ferrer, the department store’s fashion director. “People are wearing jeans with a blazer to the office.”

My latent yearning for a garment division is a throwback, says Lynda Gratton, professor of management practices at the London Business School and author of “Redesigning Work: How to Transform Your Organization and Make Hybrid Work for Everyone” transform your enterprise and make hybrid working for everyone). “We have multiple selves. Each one could have their own outfit,” she says. “The key differentiator is not home versus office, but customer-facing versus non-customer-facing,” she says. As she points out, the office is just one element of the job.

This perspective is supported by personal stylist Henry Wilfrid. When seeing his clients, who work predominantly in professional positions, he asks them to fill in a pie chart to determine the proportion of their days spent at a desk, presentations and meetings. Typically, only a small amount requires a “killer look,” which can come down to a bejeweled style, a smart jacket, or impeccable hair. “The shine isn’t so much from the clothing as it is from the look and care,” he says.

One aspect your customers are reluctant to compromise on is comfort. “We get used to not wearing pointed-toe shoes or tailoring that cuts the waist when sitting down,” she says.

Reflecting on my former wardrobe division between work and home, I realize that it was such a waste to segment and not wear so many clothes. If I could learn to disconnect from work on the weekend – difficult, with a smartphone always at hand – maybe I could overcome my rigidity about the apparel division. Just don’t let Zuckerberg know he was right all along.

Translated by Luiz Roberto M. Gonçalves