The Ideal "Work From Home" Outfit: Top 3 Features

The Coronavirus pandemic has changed so many aspects of modern living. 

One of the biggest changes has been the transition to virtual, work-from-home, or hybrid work models for so many companies.

In "the before times," we never seemed to question that companies expected employees to work in the office. That's where work had always taken place, after all... At work! 

However, now that we collectively (had to) realize that employees can be effective without suffering long commutes and the other struggles of cubicle life, it seems the virtual and hybrid work models are here to stay. While this constitutes a positive shift in many ways (fewer commuting cars on the road, employee time and resources saved, etc.), there will still often be something missing when you can't meet with your colleagues in person. 

Enter: THE VIDEO MEETING. Thanks to modern technology, you can still have face-to-face conversations... and the entire meeting group can catch glimpses of your work-from-home setup (and outfit)! This led to the hilarious combinations of suit-jacket-and-tie-atop-sweatpants combos we've seen so often in the last few years. 

But can we do better with work-from-home attire? Especially for women, who admittedly have more creative license than men when it comes to work-appropriate outfits: can our wardrobe serve double-time to provide the comfort desired in our home environment, with the appropriate and polished appearance necessary for a work video meeting?

Check out the top 3 recommended features of an ideal work-from-home outfit and see what the best options would include:

1) Comfort first. Is your w-f-h outfit comfortable? The last thing any of us want is to have to wear stuffy, constricting, itchy workwear fabrics and cuts while at home. For some of us, this may also mean asking, does the outfit require one of the most constricting pieces of clothing--a bra?

However, since we likely don't want our colleagues to see us without a bra, we must have another feature in the ideal work-from-home outfit, so,

2) Does it look polished? Can your comfortable w-f-h outfit pass for professional clothing? Is it significantly revealing or too casual in appearance? (And, if you choose not to wear a bra at home, can that be visualized?) You don't want your colleagues to ask if you're wearing your pajamas on the video call.

And because we want the investments in our wardrobe to pay off,

3) Is it versatile? As the boundaries between work and home continue to blend, your work-from-home wardrobe should work overtime for your personal and professional needs. Is your w-f-h outfit versatile to wear in a variety of ways? Can you toss a blazer on top for a work meeting, and then run to the grocery store in that outfit with your shorts on?

We certainly have developed a new way of living in this peri- and post-pandemic world. 

Shouldn't we develop a new wardrobe to suit our new lifestyle? I think Jia can help that work-from-home life feel a little more home, even if it can still look like work. What do you think?