New dress code goes to work
‘Business casual’ evolving into ‘business comfort’ as professionals return to office
NEW YORK — Blazers in knit fabrics, pants with drawstrings or elastic waists, and polo shirts as the new button-down.
Welcome to the post-pandemic dress code for the office.
After working remotely in sweats and yoga pants for two years, many are rethinking their wardrobes to balance comfort and professionalism as offices reopen. They’re giving a heave-ho to the structured suits, zip-front pants and pencil skirts they wore before the COVID-19 pandemic and experimenting with new looks.
That has retailers and brands rushing to meet workers’ fashion needs.
“Being comfortable is more important than being super-structured,” said Kay Martin-Pence, 58, who went back to her Indianapolis office last month in dressy jeans and flowy tops after working remotely in leggings and slippers for two years. “Why feel buttoned up and stiff when I don’t have to?”
Martin-Pence used to wear dress pants with blazers to the pharmaceutical company where she works. She’s gone back to heels, but they’re lower, and she says she will never wear dress pants again to the office. Even before the pandemic, Americans were dressing more casually at work. The time spent in sweats accelerated the shift from “business casual” to “business comfort.”
Still, return-to-office dressing remains a social experiment, said Adam Galinsky, a social psychologist at Columbia Business School who coined the term “enclothed cognition,” or how what people wear affects how they think.
“My guess is that it will go more casual, but maybe it doesn’t,” Galinsky said. “People are going to be consciously thinking about: ‘Am I wearing the right outfit for being in the office?’ They’re going to be thinking about what they’re doing, the context they’re in, and the social comparisons of what others will be doing.”
Steve Smith, CEO of outdoor sportswear brand L.L. Bean, said people are stepping out of their “typical uniform” — whatever form that may take.
“They’re going to expect more flexible hours, to be able to work in hybrid model, and to be comfortable — as comfortable as they were at home,” he said. “Some of the office uniforms, office wardrobes, are shifting and changing. There’s no reason why it can’t be permanent.”
Data from market research firm NPD Group and retailers reflect the shifting trends. Wire-free bras now represent more than 50% of the total, non-sports bra market in the U.S., reversing a long-term trend, according to NPD. Sales of dressy footwear have been rebounding since 2021, but they’re still 34% below 2019 levels and more likely fueled by the return of social occasions, not the office, NPD said. Instead, casual sneakers are now the most common shoes for work.
Clothing rental company Rent the Runway said rentals for blazers were up nearly twofold in February from last year, reflecting a return to offices. But its customers are choosing colorful versions like pastel and fabrics like lightweight tweed, linens and twill.
It said “business formal” rentals — traditional workwear like basic sheaths, pencil skirts and blazers — are roughly half of what they were in 2019, said Anushka Salinas, president and chief operating officer.