Smart office wear makes a comeback as women tire of WFH casuals

Smart office wear is making a comeback as women are tired of working from home in casual clothing, data suggest.

Sales of tailored trousers have increased by 63 per cent in the past six months, with woven tops, including waistcoats, up 163 per cent, according to the retailer John Lewis.

While the office trainer remains popular, sales of “proper” shoes, including loafers, Mary Janes and ballet pumps, have doubled over the last year.

Mary Janes, flat shoes with a strap across the top of the foot that is fastened with a buckle or a button, are particularly popular. John Lewis said it had sold enough of its £59 version of the cult classic to line the 1.2-mile-long Oxford Street three times over.

Laura Schofield, of the independent shoe brand Otto and Ivy, said the demand for Mary Janes and loafers was so high that she couldn’t make them fast enough.

As many as 44 per cent of British workers worked remotely at some point in 2023, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The flexible week, where people head into the office on a few days, led to workers wanting to make more of an effort on the days they get to dress up smartly.

Gigi Vakilzadeh, a personal stylist, said that her clients were investing in tailored clothing made to last, and wanted the confidence boost of dressing up when they were going into work.

‘Smarter, more elevated look’

“People are tired of working from home in their comfy clothes, so when they go into the office, they choose smarter outfits for a confidence boost and to break away from the constant casualness of home working,” she said.

Lindsay Edwards, a personal stylist, said that while office workers were making more effort, they weren’t prepared to entirely give up work-from-home comforts.

She said: “Three years post UK lockdown and there’s a definite shift in our style. Whilst many of us are keen to transition back to a smarter, more elevated look, we definitely aren’t ready to give up on comfort.”

Abbey Booth, a stylist at Stories With Clothes, said: “Lots of businesses have had a real drive to encourage workers back into the office and a lot of people are also sick of wearing cosy clothes – they want to feel the distinction between work and home. Yet these looks also lend themselves to dress-down and smart casual weekend attire, or suiting with trainers, Mary Janes with easy skirts and dresses.”

‘Sick of wearing trainers’

The stylist said she had also seen senior clients deciding to dress more smartly to lead from the front. “I styled a tech chief executive last week for an elevated workwear wardrobe centred around smarter shoes as she is sick of wearing trainers,” she said.

But high heels have not returned, with 80 per cent of pairs of high-heeled shoes sold featuring lower heels, such as kitten heels.

A John Lewis spokesman said: “While trainers are still our most popular shoes, there’s no doubt our customers are looking to up their office fashion game, with sales of smart flats having nearly doubled over the last year.

“People aren’t necessarily suited and booted in the same way they were pre-pandemic and instead are looking for new ways to hold on to casual comfort without compromising on style.”