Will we ever wear real clothes again?

[brooklynite]

Boston Globe

You know those people who are delighted to be back in their work clothes? Who chirp things like, “When I shower and put on a suit I feel ready to show up for the day,” and, “I missed my heels.”

Well, this story is not for them.

It’s for the rest of us — the feral majority, for whom Casual Friday is now the dressiest day of the week. Who have stopped wearing bras, shoes, and ties. Who experience zipper rage.

It’s for people who look in their closets, at dress pants and blouses, at skirts for God’s sake, and wonder, “Who was this person who wore all these strange garments?”

,,,snip...

In the before times, fashion magazines gave readers tips on looks that could take them from “day to night" (once distinct time frames). The goal was to jazz your prim office outfit into a sexy date get-up. Today, the ideal outfit takes you from bed to refrigerator to couch to Zoom and back to bed again.

[soothsayer]

1. Very happy not to!

[blueinredohio]

2. The question is can we fit in our real clothes again.

[Journeyman]

13. Ever since I got the "Covid-19" I haven't fit into a lot of my clothes . . .

No, not the Covid. The 19 extra pounds I've put on since we went into quarantine.

[blueinredohio]

14. I feel you. That's what I'm blaming mine on too.

[NRaleighLiberal]

3. shorts and T shirts - soon, flannels - forever!

[MANative]

4. I guess I'm a little strange, then.

I've been working from home for six months, and I still dress professionally every day. I do work for a fashion company, so that may drive some of that decision, but I honestly feel more focused and productive when I'm wearing my usual "work" clothes.

[drmeow]

25. same here

It helps separate work from home.

Of course, work clothes for me is usually skinny jeans and a tunic but I do occasionally pull out the dress slacks.

[MissB]

5. *snort*

That last sentence totally describes me right now.

[lagomorph777]

8. Yeah, except I have merged bed and Zoom.

Why get up except to visit the fridge or the crapper?

[musette_sf]

6. I think I miss wearing jackets the most

as I have a collection of jackets, kimonos, and dusters that were the centerpieces of my work wardrobe. When the weather is cooler, I may bring some of them out for daily virtual meeting wear.

I enjoyed the first several months of letting the girls go free 24/7. But after awhile I felt like they needed a little something. (I heartily endorse the Rhonda Shear Ahh Bra!)

As for shoes, I have worn Vibram Furoshikis just about every single day since full-time WFH. I discovered them when I needed a travel slipper that would stay on my feet and provide max comfort. They are great for wearing around the house and in the yard.

For me, it helps to dress in at least some of my work wardrobe during these times. My biggest frustration is my hair, which I am just letting grow in until I feel ready to go to a salon. I have not seen my real hair color in some 40-odd years and I now find I am completely white on top. I'm just trying to dig it as a reverse ombre till I finally get it done.

[lagomorph777]

7. Clothes?

I work naked now.

I have to check the camera mute button pretty carefully.

[ret5hd]

9. This morning I put on blue jeans...

I’ve grown very accustomed to looser and cooler hiking clothes (I’ve also lost weight!). The jeans were firm, but not overly tight. Went to work on todays project... my god I can’t stand them! I can’t bend, I can’t twist, they don’t “breathe”, just all around uncomfortable. How did I spend the better part of my life wearing these???

So I’m back in my hiking clothes, despite my wife saying how good the jeans looked on me.

[womanofthehills]

10. And sometimes I wear the same shirt for a few days

And don’t take a bath every day. Who is this new person? Now, according to an add, you can supposedly wear their marino wool sweater forever without it ever smelling. One company had a Marino wool challenge for women to wear their dress for 100 days. In my younger days I befriended a women with 4 little kids who only had one dress that she wore everyday to simplify her life.

[Aristus]

11. I'm one of those weird ones who can't wait to wear real clothes again.

I'm a clothes-horse and I have a wardrobe that set me back a sum of money I don't even want to think about right now. Regardless of the occasion, I had something smashing to wear.

Right now, for a day in clinic, I just wear simple khakis and a dress shirt, no tie. A tie can be a viral spreader, so I gave them up for the duration. It will be nice to start wearing them again. I've got over a hundred of them, and they can really juice up an outfit.

And for a hard day dashing from exam room to exam room, only five or six of my probably fifty pairs of shoes will do. The rest are gathering dust in the closet.

Suffice it to day, when there is an occasion for celebrating in the near future, I will be ready...

[Act_of_Reparation]

12. Suits and heels are "real clothes"?

What superficial claptrap is this?

[Baclava]

15. I like using sexy smelling colognes, lying on the couch naked, with no one around, I feel empowered

[panader0]

28. Best answer............

Can I forgo the cologne?

[Baclava]

29. Absolutely. What's mine is yours, * all my posts are for entertainment purposes only

[LanternWaste]

19. The same superficial claptrap which deigns to allege....

that sandals, shorts and t-shirts are "real clothes" as well. That being, they all are... regardless of whether we may prefer them or not.

I suppose we simply feel more comfortable with our own preferred style of "superficiality..."

[USALiberal]

20. Your quote is missing "against God", is there a reason why? See below.

“My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?”

[Act_of_Reparation]

27. Did I insinuate somewhere that sandals, shorts and t-shirts are "real clothes"?

So far as I can tell only one person here has claimed specific articles of clothing as belonging to the "real".

[jojog]

16. I don't have to wear pants or a mask. Merica

[lindysalsagal]

17. Macys keeps sending me ads. As if I need more clothes...

????

[stopwastingmymoney]

18. In the morning I dress for the dog park

Which does involve a bra in warm weather

Does that count?

I’ve been working mostly from home for ten years so not too different. It is strange that I haven’t met with any but one client face to face since March.

I do miss dressing up for evenings out.

[Demovictory9]

21. yes, but it will be hard. I'm barefoot most of the day

[Stallion]

22. Yet Another Reason the Birth Rate will Implode

its not that difficult to look your best and maybe "shampoo AND condition" once in awhile

[muriel_volestrangler]

23. Any explanation in this firewalled piece what "real" clothes are?

The excerpts imply the writer has heard someone else call suits etc. the "real" ones, but can they actually point to someone doing that?

[smirkymonkey]

24. This is the best part!

I love bumming around in a big button down cotton men's shirt all day and not having to pay for dry cleaning. Of course I put on shorts or pants to go down to the lobby or the basement, but the freedom of not having to wear anything constricting is wonderful.

I do dress normally on the rare occasions that I go out to brunch/lunch/dinner, but it's nice not to have to do it every day.

[Yavin4]

26. I say work in the nude.

As God intended.