If COVID-19 didn’t kill high fashion, it at least put it on life support.
Driven as much by stress as by the large-scale shift to distributed work over the course of the pandemic’s first year, people all over the world opted to ditch traditional office attire for more comfortable garb. As noted by The BBC, this wasn’t a particularly unprecedented shift—the world has been moving away from formal attire for some years now.
Last year was simply the inflection point, with fashion companies experiencing a 90% drop in profits in the United States, according to The Business of Fashion.
Even once we start returning to the office, it is unlikely we’ll see a return to old dress codes. More notably, remote work will remain a regular thing. With that in mind, we’d recommend adding custom sweats to your work from home wardrobe—because there’s a multitude of very good reasons to do so.
Comfort
Traditional business attire isn’t exactly known for being comfortable. That in and of itself is going to make transitioning back to office formalwear an unenviable prospect. In a recent discussion thread on the Ask a Manager blog, community members wondered why making the transition was even necessary.
|”It’s clear now that we are just as productive in sweatpants as we are in suits,” writes one user. “If anything, I’m probably MORE productive when I’m comfortable.”
Warmth
We’ve all had to deal with a cold office before. A space that, no matter what we do, seems impossible to warm up. Given how it’s next to impossible to stay productive if you’re freezing, your best course of action is to bundle up.
This is precisely where sweats come in. Hoodies and sweatpants aren’t just comfortable. They’re also warm—making them the perfect option for working in a chilly office.
Convenience
Ask yourself which of these morning routines sounds more appealing to you.
- You wake up early and stumble your way to the bathroom in a haze. After brushing your teeth and washing up, you stagger back to your bedroom, where your freshly-pressed suit awaits—the same suit you spent an hour ironing last night. After struggling your way into it, you set out on your morning commute.
- You wake up a half hour before you have to work, feeling bright and refreshed. After brushing your teeth and washing your face, you grab a pair of sweatpants out of the drawer and a nice sweater out of the closet. You’ve still got time for a quick meal before your morning Zoom meeting.
We can’t speak for everyone, but we know which option we’d choose.
Fitness
Have you ever attempted to work out in a three-piece suit? To say that it’s not a pleasant experience would be putting it lightly. Of course, it’s not like you can swap easily from office attire to workout attire at the gym—not without leaving your suit a crumpled mess, anyway.
A good set of sweats renders this a moot point. You can go jogging immediately after work and toss your clothes in a locker without having to worry about ironing them later. As a result, they make staying healthy and in shape far easier—and these days, the value of that cannot be understated.
Personal Style
You’ll note at the beginning of the piece that we mentioned personalizing your sweats. See, one of the biggest drawbacks of sweatpants is that despite all the comfort, warmth, and convenience they offer, they look kind of…boring? The thing is, they don’t have to.
You can easily add a personal touch to your outfits through custom printing or embroidery, spicing up what might otherwise be boring apparel with a bit of flair and flash.
Here’s where we come in. First, select a garment you like from our gallery of custom sweats. We’ve got sweatshirts, sweatpants, and hoodies from multiple trusted brands like Gildan and Hanes, all available in a wide variety of sizes, colors, and materials. Then, once you’ve chosen your clothing, you can use our award-winning design studio to bring your design to life.
COVID-19 has forever changed how we dress. But that’s not a bad thing. In today’s workplace, we’re prioritizing our own comfort and well-being.
All we can do is hope this trend remains well after the pandemic is over.