Will we give up our sweatpants after the pandemic?

I had to leave the house, and you know what that meant. Clothes. Real clothes.

Not what I’ve been wearing most days since the pandemic struck and left me working at home and rarely venturing out: Yoga pants and a Rolling Stones

T-shirt. Shorts and tank top. Cozy sweatpants and camisole with built-in shelf bra. (I keep a real bra and a blouse next to my desk for video conferences.)

I tug on athletic wear even though I have no plans to leave the couch. Sometimes, I wear the same clothes two days in a row. (It’s not like anyone sees me.) I don’t bother with makeup.

Now I stand in my closet, flipping through hangers looking for something to wear.

I pull out a button-up shirt and study it. Do I even remember how to use buttons? I put the shirt back.

I’ve always dressed professionally for work. Pencil skirts and blouses. Black pants and blazers. Dresses and heels. Always heels.

But these are unusual times. Our routines are out of whack.

Most people are reaching for what’s comfortable right now, pushing our dressier clothes to the back of our closets for when this is all over.

The ads popping up on Facebook and emails in my inbox offer sales on leggings, linen pants with elastic waistbands, slouchy tops and slip-on shoes. (It’s like they know I’m not even trying.)

I wonder if this will change the way I dress for work. Will the clothes I used to wear feel constricting after all this time in yoga pants? Or will they make me feel the way they did before? Professional. Confident.

I pull out a pencil skirt and sleeveless blouse, put them on and do my hair and makeup.

I suspect I’ll still pull on the comfy clothes on the days I work from home. But now that I’m in these work clothes, that feeling comes back. Professional. Confident.

And something else: normal.