By Kayla Cheung

Amid lockdowns, people came across a whole new dilemma on deciding what to wear for work and school. A number of businesses had adapted to the quarantine-induced digital age following the coronavirus outbreak. 

Companies are asking their employees to work from home in adherence to safety measures. To many, there wasn’t a reason to keep on the same slightly-abrasive linen pants, rayon blouses, or even the infamous constricting button-up shirts whilst sitting in their homes all day — even if they were doing their jobs. 

“[S]o in zoom meetings, you know how the trend is business attire on top [and] pajama bottoms? [I]s this the real definition of ‘semi-formal’?” states Twitter user @maxespinatan. 

The same applies to students who wear uniforms. Being home implies comfort, which entails the wearing of softer, sleepwear-adjacent clothing — also known as loungewear. 

One student, American Senior High school junior Rebecca Cruz, believes that there is truly no reason to force oneself into wearing confining, streamlined clothing when there wasn’t a need to leave home. 

“During quarantine, I’d prefer to wear comfy clothing, for example — sweatpants, a long t-shirt, and my hair down; I don’t find a reason in dressing up and feeling somewhat uncomfortable when you have nowhere to go,” said Cruz.

She is not alone, however. Google Trends had shown a significant increase in the search for loungewear since the middle of March this year, with the peak in searches being located between March 28th-April 4th. The very opposite occurred for business wear, during the same period of time searches flatlined, and the same phenomenon unfolded during back-to-school season, when people  had typically purchased school uniforms and business attire.

There is a likeliness that these trends are subjective to change considering that the U.S. is more than likely to eventually resume “business as usual.”