7 ways to look Va Va Zoom!
With our social lives now on video, it’s all about top-half dressing. JESS WOOD shares her...
In between listening to my seven- year- old explain how to log in to Mathletics for the millionth time and scouring the Ocado app for any sign of life, I ‘got dressed for work’ this morning.
My outfit? A pair of navy sports leggings, sheepskin slippers … and a crisp white pleated & Other Stories shirt. Some rainbow crystal hoop earrings (to distract from my DIY fringe trim) completed the look for my online team meeting.
Yesterday, I had a Zoom drinks party — thank goodness for that statement leopard-print Zara blouse I found in the back of the wardrobe. As we all scrabbled about pushing pets off our keyboards while trying not to spill Sauvignon on the sofa, the top halves of my friends gradually popped up on the screen.
they all looked as glam as ever in cool tops and statement necklaces, but who knew what was going on further down? Once upon a time, we all used to chuckle at the stories of newsreaders dashing onto set, with a blow-dry and power blazer up top, and pyjama bottoms under the desk. but ‘waist-up’ socialising is the new reality. this week, my diary is busier than it ever was prelockdown. there’s an invite to a virtual pub quiz today, a friend is organising a hangout via the Houseparty app tomorrow, and there’s a timetable of whatsApp calls with family.
My friends who have been forcedly separated from their other halves are exploring the strange new world of relationships via Skype and Facetime.
So how to dress for these tophalf meetings? One word: jewellery.
brooches haven’t really been on the fashion radar for a while, but they’re enjoying a renaissance.
Lift the lapels of a simple shirt with a colourful oversized gem, or fasten a shirt all the way up and add a symmetrical shape, such as the crystal star from QvC (£47.96, qvcuk.com), over the top button. hair accessories, from gem grips to hairbands and bow clips, are useful, too.
when it comes to clothes for ‘dressing up to stay in,’ look to the trend that was (luckily) big before the lockdown: statement shoulders. a puff-sleeve dress, such as this green one from warehouse (far left), is ideal for Zoom socialising and work meetings alike.
Personally, I’ll be embracing posh PJs for day and night. Invest in Yolke’s printed linen sets — there’s a pretty foxglove design (£380, yolke.co.uk), and the shirt can do double duty when dressed up with some oTT jewellery.
Top of my wishlist, however, is The sleeper’s feathertrimmed set (£259, the-sleeper.
com). If I swan onto the screen in them for saturday’s virtual cocktail hour, I bet no one will be looking at my fringe.