5 ways 2020 has changed fashion

 

Jeans are out; dressing gowns in. These are not the trends anyone would have predicted for the summer of 2020, but then so little has gone according to plan this year. Bras, especially the underwired variety, were among the first items of clothing to be given the heave-ho under lockdown. But they have not been the only fashion casualty – shoes and coats quickly became redundant under the government’s “stay at home” advice. For some, fashion habits have shifted over time – apparently, there are only so many work Zoom calls you can attend in your pyjamas before the novelty wears off. And now, with measures easing, it is becoming clear how our pandemic-inflected sense of style may translate into life in the “new normal”. Here’s how Guardian readers say lockdown has changed the way they dress – perhaps for good.

Goodbye, tailoring

Those who have changed the way they dress most dramatically during lockdown are surely the work-from-home employees (and furloughed staff) who were previously required to adhere to corporate dress codes. Few employers seem to have insisted on this for remote working; a sharp suit or expensive tailoring sits uneasily alongside unwashed dishes and jammy-handed toddlers, after all. Better to just acknowledge that every day is casual Friday.

“I work in financial services, and I am usually based in Canary Wharf,” says Amber. “This means a lot of tailoring: shift dresses, blazers, shirts etc. All of that has gone into storage and I am doing the same job in a pair of trackie bottoms and a vest (or sleeved top for video calls). It is super-comfy and I’m saving a lot on dry cleaning. I’ve also not had to iron anything in months.”

But, with Boris Johnson pushing for a return to the office in August, is it time to dust off your trouser press? Not necessarily, says Amber. “Lockdown has given me time to think about what I really like wearing, and I’m actually quite excited about starting to shift my wardrobe in that direction.”

She is not the only one who sees the changes inspired by lockdown having a long-term effect. “I’m being sent images of collections for spring/summer 2021, and I’m not convinced that fashion designers have made the pivot that may be needed,” says 49-year-old Nicola Hibon Jackson, who owns two independent lifestyle boutiques in London. “So many clothes are designed for a semi-formal office environment – the tailored jacket, tapered trousers etc – and I’m not convinced that this is what women will be wanting next year.”

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