The thinking shopper

Yes to the dress

Emily Cronin on dressing for the occasion

As many of us are still whiling away our days in leggings, there’s nothing like shifting up gears for evening, says Emily Cronin

Desk-to-dinner dressing: remember that? The idea that one outfit could effortlessly convey you from a working breakfast all the way through to a nightcap ( just swap shoes and earrings and swipe on some red lipstick) has gone the way of the air-kiss.

It seems very ‘before’ to expect one outfit to suit multiple settings. No wonder, then, that nearly six months into the WFH routine, versatility has lost its shine as a fashion selling point. We’re seeing a polarisation of the clothes women are interested in – both comfy-luxe leggings and something jazzier to change into for dinner at a restaurant; fuzzy slippers and out-out heels.

The items selling strongly these days apply to specific rather than general contexts. Home-leisure, like leggings and other such loungewear, is still going strong, but retailers are also clocking upticks in goingout gear. At matchesfashion. com, heels by Amina Muaddi were 70 per cent sold out less than two weeks after going online – her crystal-encrusted sandals on high, martiniglass-shaped stiletto heels aren’t exactly the kind of thing you’d wear for a night in with Netflix, unless you’re Rihanna (Muaddi is Rihanna’s favourite shoe designer).

These purchases don’t represent polarised consumer groups. They’re linked. Much as the same woman might have bought a pair of heels and a pair of flats at the same time rather than just one or the other prelockdown, the same people are buying in both directions now – Jekyll and Hyde-ing it from another day on the laptop to dinner at the local brasserie.

Why? Maybe some shoppers find heels refreshing and optimistic after so many slippers, slides, sandals and trainers. For everyone else, it’s emotional. Whereas we used to be able to end the day, leave our desks and transition to different mindsets on our journeys home or out, now we’re working from home – which really means living at work, which means having to come up with subtle rituals to distinguish working hours from everything else. Plus, spending so much time at home means we’re more aware of our wardrobes, including the underworn but still loved dressy bits.

Changing clothes is one of the easiest ways to shift from work to play. Take it from an inveterate overdresser when I say that a fresh outfit can turn any old garden drinks or dinner at the pub into an occasion, in a most delightful way. Not, mind you, that I’d ever go so far as to propose that you wear heels. Some mountains are just too high.