Slippers, suits and shellac manicures: How to dress for the home office

The temptation is there, isn’t it? To go a bit Christmas on it all and pull out the fleecy pyjamas, the faux-fur dressing gowns and the fluffy slippers. Certainly, it feels like the sort of situation that warrants comfort dressing. The thing is, you’re still at work.

For some people, getting dressed is helpful for getting into a workplace frame of mind. Yet it’s fair to say that if you usually wear a three-piece suit to the office, you can give yourself a pass at the moment.

So what’s presentable to wear if you’re still showing up to interact with your colleagues on Zoom or Google Hangouts? Will your breakfast-crusted dressing gown pass muster? Will your waterfall cardigan (or other only-ever-inside-the-house leisurewear item) give your colleagues cause to reconsider their entire opinion of you?

With this handy guide, you can at least cross “suitable home-office wear” off your growing list of concerns.

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The basics

First things first: an easy way to develop good work-at-home habits is to shower and dress as you usually might for work. It helps you feel a bit put together, which is no bad thing in the current climate. There’s no need to go full pelt with the winged eyeliner and scarlet lip (unless, of course, you actually want to). Pared-down make-up is totally grand. If no one is going to see you, one of the great advantages of working from home is delivering projects with a hair mask or Korean sheet mask on your person. If you’re a guy, now might be just the time to try growing that hipster beard you always wanted to. As for other creative facial-hair topiary – well, it might provide a talking point during online meetings on Zoom. Which brings us nicely to…

What to wear during online hangouts

Not needed for video conferencing? Great, good for you. Knock yourself out. Go to work naked for all we care. Be grand. For the rest of us, Google Hangouts, Skype and Zoom present a whole new conundrum. Wearing the full suit and tie might look a bit Patrick Bateman under current circumstances. Yet because everyone is working from home when they would normally be in the office, colleagues and bosses are going to want to talk to you at seemingly random times. Be ready for that. Whatever you do, don’t think that doing without anything below the waist is okay, just because they’ll only see what’s on the screen. It hasn’t worked for many newsreaders, and it won’t work for you. Sod’s law decrees that the first time you sit down at Google Hangouts without any trousers on is the precise time you’ll need to cross the room to retrieve a file.

Staying stylish (while still being comfortable)

There's a way of divining a balance between professional and casual. Try a simple jumper and dark jeans, or a jersey dress. If you're looking for proper inspo, a new Instagram account, @wfhfits, has popped up with people posting their home-office garb. Think shorts, blazers, cable-knit leggings and even the odd fuzzy slipper. (Some are taking the opportunity to really, eh, experiment with their personal style, and more power to them.) And remember during civvies day at school, when you got to show everyone your "true self" – ie discount-brand Curehead – in transition year? If your team are more used to seeing you in sober work attire, you could always take the opportunity to show your colleagues your out-of-office personality with a feather boa, or perhaps a Megadeth T-shirt. Just a thought. You will have to face them in the office eventually, though, so be careful to weigh up the pros and cons.

What to wear if you’re a parent

Of course, many of us will be caught in the hinterland between being a fully functioning professional and being a full-time parent. Remember to ditch the baking apron or painting poncho before you hop on to Zoom. As far as your boss is concerned, you’re meant to be thinking about the company’s bottom line, not trying to save your own sanity and that of your family.

Footwear

Working from home provides a good opportunity to break in those killer heels (or Dr Martens) with minimal injury. Silver linings and all that.

Grooming

The salons are closed, your shellac manicure has gone to hell in a handcart, and your roots are showing. If you're known for being the office glamazon and don't want to give up that mantle anytime soon, fret not. Use a spray to touch up your roots. (Color Wow and L'Oréal do great ones, and you can order them online.) Better still, wear a nice wide headband. If you're used to getting your buttery highlights done professionally and are thinking of trying the home-dye route, on your head – literally – be it. On Twitter, Marian Keyes provided a handy home-made solution for those trying to remove a shellac manicure – hydrochloric acid and a dash of quicklime. We cannot speak of its efficacy or its safety, and we don't know too many people who have stocked up on quicklime in their prelockdown hoard, but it might just be worth a go, as long as you understand the chemistry involved. Also, never underestimate the power of a sort-of messy topknot. It's beloved of an entire rake of young trendy types for a good reason.