I wear workout clothes a lot. This means that there are many days I’m in the office with gym clothes on. I remember the days when every day in the office meant being dressed professionally – slacks, skirts, blouses, suits, heels, etc. I owned about 100 pairs of heels. Now, I could walk in them, but I choose not to and owning a 100 pairs seems utterly ridiculous. Many of my meetings are virtual, and this is convenient, although I still prefer to meet in real life.
During the pandemic, I kept going to the office every day while my team stayed home. At one point, I realized I needed to get out of my joggers because it was affecting me mentally. It was just a bit too sloppy for the kind of attitude I wanted to have.
Today, my boyfriend’s gym is across the street from my office and we try to do a “workout snack” several times a week. It’s great for my health, attitude, and creativity. My workout clothes aren’t sloppy, I wear jewelry and my hair (most of the time) is a great testimonial for my hairstylist. I count this routine as one of the many perks of owning a business.
With all this said, I have a real objection to how sloppy some people have become professionally. I’m not just talking about clothes, but habits as well. Zoom in the car, Zoom on the phone, Zoom without the camera on, late to the Zoom, sloppy appearance on the Zoom, sloppy backgrounds…
If we want to be taken seriously, we still need to be put together, present and prepared. Our cultural norms may shift, but these basics will never go out of style.