The new dress code: Dress easy!
With lockdown came the comfort of working in our pyjamas, but now that offices are reopening, are we going to take care about dressing again? The key is to wear what makes you comfortable and add some uniqueness to your attire
As everyone is gingerly returning to brick-andmortar offices after the lockdown, a new range of vocabulary has sprouted. Hybrid working, three-day office, choose your WFO, plug and play workstations, no workstation, co-workstation, co-workspaces… the list is ever-growing. Of course, there is still the five-day workweek from the actual workplace, and somehow, such offices seem to be constantly on the edge, trying to explain themselves! Who would have thought that this would ever be a problem? Old ways (or any usual routine) have too many nays. Fluidity and no constrictions are ways that really seem to resonate with folks nowadays. One hopes that it brings better output and newer vigour, with the added benefit of a more engaged employee.
No surprise then that with the rise of fluidity, we are currently witnessing a wave of change. It is the dress-down movement. With more than two years of being locked up at home, the entire fashion of ‘dressing up’ went completely out of the window. Worldwide, pyjamas became the acceptable outfit. According to Harper Bazar (one of my go -to style gurus), “The way we head to work has transformed over the past two years, to say the least, and so have office dress codes.”
DRESS CODE OF OLD
Dress code used to be a big area in the workplace. In adland, an unwritten rule differentiated the folks, giving rise to ‘suits’ and ‘creatives’. Folks in account management or client servicing had to be formally dressed. The sharper you looked, the more you seemed to mirror the client. Many, like me, grew up in an era where it was imperative to wear formal attire at work.
An anecdote I still fondly remember is from the time when I was a so-called fast-track account director, working on an account that was the biggest global brand for the agency, young and really rushed to make my mark. A famous soft-spoken media lady boss, petite and sporting pixie hair, always immaculately turned out in sarees, had given me a very important style tip – ‘If you want to look good yet formal, turn to the saree’. Corporate India always took women executives more seriously in that attire. Later in my career, when I became a leader at a media agency, my boss, a lady famous for her all-black clothes and the best designer shoes, who looked straight out of an international fashion magazine, made me appreciate the joys of investing in classic styles of global fashion.
With the advice of both these divas, I continue to mix my love for sarees and global designer wear with equal ease in the workspace. For me, work wear always must be tasteful and classy with a dash of formality and yes, I have had my Miranda Priestly moments! The gypsy look or casual hipness was for the creative girls who made that look come alive with colour pop and their happy-breezy style statements. Even looking at the gents in adland, it has always been a joy to see the sharp dresser - gents who know that navy suits need brown pointed oxfords and khaki chinos look best combine with blue. Of course, there are just a few leaders among the menfolk who have this style sense. But the major fun is looking at the creative gents. My favourites are the ones who wear the wildest coloured socks and display them on social media with panache or the dynamic eyewear frames some of them sport. They make the effort to keep style alive!
A DRESSING DOWN
Dress code divided us, but in the nicest way. The ‘suits’ and ‘creatives’ complimented each other’s looks and style, and this mix in adland made us an interesting bunch. And then, WFH happened. Sarees were wrapped in muslin, bags and stilettoes took the last row in the shelf, while suits were hung up. Out came the athleisure, loungewear, shorts and tees. People simply lived in those. Looking unkempt and sloppy was totally OK. In fact, it was lit! Some of us still tried to keep the joy of dressing up alive, even in our casual, dressed-down avatar. But overall, ‘dress code’ got a proper dressing down.
But time is a funny thing. It keeps moving. We are returning to office days again. The question is - are we OK to look sloppy or are we happy to be looking good again?
Keeping comfort in mind, the pressure for dressing professionally and being fully suited and booted seems to have declined massively in all office sectors of late. In the last two years, people became more comfortable with dressing down for office all the time, rather than just casual Friday dressing. However, after over two years of wearing pyjamas and flat shoes, one is hoping that people are now ready to make a splash in the office. Bold colour blocking, eye-catching prints, stipes, gingham checks, perhaps, for both men and women? Enjoy the shoes and bags again? Also, do dab on the perfume, flick the liner, add the gloss. Essentially, dress up a bit. It does make the routine of office a tad joyful!
WHAT MAKES SENSE
Dress sense today should reflect that people are keener on clothes reflective of high comfort, rather than following an age-old norm. So, to stay on trend for work this year is to wear what makes you comfortable and add some uniqueness. Take the opportunity of working from office again to bring back the stylish you. But it is not fair to make comfort a smokescreen to hide and let go of the joy of dressing well. Comfort is not sloppy. Comfort can and does look good. Go ahead, give it a try. After all, even shabby chic is a style!