From pinstripes to over-sized blazers, the nine-to-five look is back
Pinstripes vanished from the face of the Earth in 2020, the kind of job that calls for a pinstripe being the kind of job that can now be done from a laptop at home. As a rule, people who work on construction sites or in pharmacies, on buses or in health surgeries don’t wear pinstripes. And people who wear pinstripes for work don’t wear them at the weekends.
So, in the work-from-home era, they completely disappeared. And it seemed for a while like pinstripes might never come back, that they’d go the way of morning suits or formal hats, relegated from real life and only seen on the edges, as fancy dress or on fancy days.
The same could be said for lots of old-school nine-to-five attire; ways of dressing which, not that long ago, were so normal we didn’t even notice them. Wearing a tie. Nude tights. Briefcases. A certain profile of nondescript leather shoe. All pretty much gone in a puff of smoke. Even politicians started wearing half-zip sweaters and smart trainers, conscious that looking dressed for the office made them look out of step with the people.
Not that this was all a straightforward or inevitable impact of the pandemic, by the way. If hybrid working transformed how we dress, it was because it was pushing at an open door. Casualisation had been eroding the oldschool ways since the arrival of Dress Down Friday. What lockdown did was give legitimacy and authority to comfort dressing. It formalised informal dressing as the modern work wardrobe.
But in fashion, as in life, the one constant is change. Just because a look has been benched for half a decade doesn’t mean it’s over – quite the opposite. It means it is ripe for a comeback. Which is what is happening now. “Nine-to-five dressing” is being namechecked by designers and stylists as a New Look for 2024. Pinstripe suiting, oversized blazers and gobstopper earrings are back in business.
Nine to Five. There is a whiff of nostalgia in the name. It speaks to the presmartphone era of teatime clocking-off, when working life happened only in the office and only within office hours. It is Donna Karan adverts and Melanie Griffith in Working Girl and switching shoes for the commute. The allure is in how it makes the working wardrobe feel exciting. The big-shouldered glamazon enthroned in her swivel chair, feet up on the desk.
The shoulder is the place to start. Nothing signals power like a strong shoulder, but that doesn’t have to mean shoulder pads. A well-cut jacket with a broad shoulder will hold its shape without padding, if it is properly constructed. If you don’t already own an oversized blazer, try one. They are a modern staple, so you will find one wherever you shop, from Saint Laurent to Zara to your local charity shop. They are brilliant for making the most basic of combinations – jeans and a T-shirt, say – look like an outfit, because the silhouette lends instant attitude. And if you aren’t ready to lean into a full tailored suit for work, a neutral blazer with a simple pair of dark trousers you already own and a white shirt is entrylevel nine-to-five dressing.
Nadège Vanhée who, as the designer of Hermès, makes power dressing look utterly exquisite on her Paris catwalks, says that it is a mindset. “It’s about clothes that embolden you.” Boldness is the whole point here. Clothes that are serious, but punchy rather than sober.
You know what’s serious, but punchy? A pinstripe. No reason to be daunted by a pinstripe. Stripes are famous for being easy to wear, after all. The Breton top is an old friend to many of us – so why would this be any different? Pinstripes on (maybe with a biker boot, or a chunky brogue and a sock, to ring the changes), shoulders back, and roll those sleeves up. It’s all in a day’s work.
Styling: Melanie Wilkinson. Styling assistant: Sam Deaman. Hair and makeup: Carol Morley at Carol Hayes Management. Model: Charlotte Robinson at Milk. Pinstripe dress: Next. Trench coat: Jigsaw. Sunglasses: Cutler and Gross. Shoes: Bobbies
Boldness is the whole point, here. Clothes that are serious, but punchy rather than sober