Without a doubt the past year has been the toughest we will ever experience in our lifetime. Almost every freedom we know and loved has been taken away during lockdown and with that an obvious change is the way we dress to accommodate the new ‘stay at home’ lifestyle.
Men and women are opting to wear leisurewear and tracksuits instead of suits and formal wear. Sales of leggings, trainers and tracksuits at top online fashion site Net-a-Porter have more than quadrupled. Tracksuit bottoms saw the biggest surge, up 1303% on the previous year.
Even Vogue Editor Anna Wintour, who swore never to wear loungewear, has posted on social media working from home in joggers.
Staying at home means has saved a lot of time in people’s daily routines and most are relishing this new ease of dressing.
Kate Faulkner, a recruitment consultant from London, said: “I am loving the ease of lockdown dressing. I no longer have to spend hours deciding what to wear and pulling off ‘that look’ for my working day.
“Pre-lockdown I spent an hour in the morning on hair, make-up and that perfect outfit for my working day depending on whether I was meeting clients or not. Now I do most of my work via email and telephone, with the occasional Zoom meeting that I look forward to dressing up for. Sometimes just my top half only while I am in my tracksuit bottoms under my desk!”
Most women have agreed they are saving 6-8 hours a week that they can dedicate to my new passions such as health and fitness or just spending extra quality time with the family.
This is something that fashion forward men have also noticed as an upside to lockdown.
Data analyst, Tom Higgins, has saved 3 hours of commute time a day by not having to travel into London from his home in Reading which has changed the way he looks and dresses:
“I now have incorporated an hour of fitness training into my day. This has also changed my wardrobe considerably. Prior to lockdown sweats were for Sunday, now they make up my daily wardrobe. I’m loving my new laidback look.
“My girlfriend thinks I look sexy too – very Kanye!”
Francesca Muston, VP of fashion content at trend-forecasting company WGSN, believes this trend for practical loungewear is here to stay: “The spike in interest in more casual or sporty clothes has been true of lounge and activewear, but longer term, we’d expect this to be more about multi-functional clothing.
“These are clothes that you can be comfortable in and that are functional regardless of whether you are working out, relaxing at home or popping to the shops.”
Have your say. Has lockdown fashion changed the way we dress? Email info@rocksmag.com with your thoughts.
