Comfortable Changes to Office Wear
2022-05-08
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1As Americans slowly return to the office, they are rethinking their clothing choices at work.
2After two years of working from home in exercise clothes,
3many people now want to be comfortable while looking professional in the office.
4Some people are experimenting with new looks.
5And companies are trying to keep up with the demand for "business comfort" clothing.
6Kay Martin-Pence works for a drug company in Indianapolis.
7The 58-year-old used to wear structured business clothes, like dress pants and blazers, and high-heel shoes to work before the pandemic.
8Now she wears comfortable clothes, including stylish jeans and flowing shirts, along with lower-heel shoes.
9"Being comfortable is more important than being super structured," said Martin-Pence.
10She added that she will never wear dress pants to the office again.
11Adam Galinsky is a social psychologist at Columbia Business School.
12He studies the connection between what people wear and how they think.
13Galinsky said that people will knowingly think about what they will wear to the office.
14They may compare themselves to others and think about the situation they are in.
15He said that back-to-work clothes are still a social experiment and the decision of what to wear could go either way.
16"My guess is that it will go more casual, but maybe it doesn't," Galinsky said.
17Clothing companies are also seeing the changing demand.
18The market research NPD Group reported that wire-free bras, a type of women's support wear, are more than 50 percent of the total non-sports bra market in the U.S. This is a big change from prior years.
19The most common kind of shoe for the workplace is sneakers.
20And even though sales of dress shoes have increased slightly, sales are still 34 percent lower than in 2019.
21The increase is likely to come from more social gatherings and not workplaces.
22Rent the Runway, a rental clothing company, said that rentals of blazers are two times higher than last year because people are returning to work.
23But people are choosing more colorful and lightweight clothes.
24Traditional business wear rentals are still down by about 50 percent compared to pre-pandemic rentals.
25For men, there is an increase in sports pants for office wear, the personal shopping company Stitch Fix said.
26From January to March of 2022, money from sales of those styles increased three times.
27There is a high demand for comfortable shirts and pull-on pants.
28Now there are more pants with stretchy waistbands on the Stitch Fix website than buttons or zippers.
29Brooks Brothers produced few casual clothes before the pandemic.
30Now the 200-year-old company has 45 percent of its offerings in casual sportswear.
31Ken Ohashi is the new owner of Brook Brothers.
32He says that colorful and comfortable clothes are here to stay for men.
33As more workers want to feel comfortable in their work clothes, some are excited to dress up again.
34One such worker is 42-year-old Emily Kirchner of Stevensville, Michigan.
35She said she is spending money on new clothes that include blue jeans, shirts, and even blazers.
36As a mother of a young child, she wants to feel her best when she leaves the house.
37"It's kind of fun to dress up," Kirchner said.
38"It's kind of like that back-to-school feeling."
39I'm Faith Pirlo.
1As Americans slowly return to the office, they are rethinking their clothing choices at work. 2After two years of working from home in exercise clothes, many people now want to be comfortable while looking professional in the office. Some people are experimenting with new looks. And companies are trying to keep up with the demand for "business comfort" clothing. 3Kay Martin-Pence works for a drug company in Indianapolis. The 58-year-old used to wear structured business clothes, like dress pants and blazers, and high-heel shoes to work before the pandemic. Now she wears comfortable clothes, including stylish jeans and flowing shirts, along with lower-heel shoes. 4"Being comfortable is more important than being super structured," said Martin-Pence. She added that she will never wear dress pants to the office again. 5Adam Galinsky is a social psychologist at Columbia Business School. He studies the connection between what people wear and how they think. Galinsky said that people will knowingly think about what they will wear to the office. They may compare themselves to others and think about the situation they are in. 6He said that back-to-work clothes are still a social experiment and the decision of what to wear could go either way. "My guess is that it will go more casual, but maybe it doesn't," Galinsky said. 7Clothing companies are also seeing the changing demand. 8The market research NPD Group reported that wire-free bras, a type of women's support wear, are more than 50 percent of the total non-sports bra market in the U.S. This is a big change from prior years. 9The most common kind of shoe for the workplace is sneakers. And even though sales of dress shoes have increased slightly, sales are still 34 percent lower than in 2019. The increase is likely to come from more social gatherings and not workplaces. 10Rent the Runway, a rental clothing company, said that rentals of blazers are two times higher than last year because people are returning to work. But people are choosing more colorful and lightweight clothes. Traditional business wear rentals are still down by about 50 percent compared to pre-pandemic rentals. 11For men, there is an increase in sports pants for office wear, the personal shopping company Stitch Fix said. From January to March of 2022, money from sales of those styles increased three times. There is a high demand for comfortable shirts and pull-on pants. Now there are more pants with stretchy waistbands on the Stitch Fix website than buttons or zippers. 12Brooks Brothers produced few casual clothes before the pandemic. Now the 200-year-old company has 45 percent of its offerings in casual sportswear. 13Ken Ohashi is the new owner of Brook Brothers. He says that colorful and comfortable clothes are here to stay for men. 14As more workers want to feel comfortable in their work clothes, some are excited to dress up again. 15One such worker is 42-year-old Emily Kirchner of Stevensville, Michigan. She said she is spending money on new clothes that include blue jeans, shirts, and even blazers. As a mother of a young child, she wants to feel her best when she leaves the house. 16"It's kind of fun to dress up," Kirchner said. "It's kind of like that back-to-school feeling." 17I'm Faith Pirlo. 18The Associated Press writers Anne D'Innocenzio and David Sharp reported this story. Faith Pirlo adapted it for VOA Learning English. 19___________________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21comfortable - adj. not causing any physically unpleasant feelings; producing physical comfort 22pants - n. a piece of clothing that covers your body from the waist to the ankle and has a separate part for each leg 23blazer - n. a less formal jacket worn on the body 24stylish - adj. fashionable and attractive 25psychologist - n. someone who has studied the human mind and feelings 26casual - adj. not formal 27sneakers - n. cloth shoes that are worn for informal times and for sports 28rental - adj. related to renting; paying money to be able to use someone else's property 29zipper - n. a device on clothing and bags that is made of two rows of metal or plastic teeth and another piece that slides over the teeth to make them fit together 30buttons - n. small disks attached to an article of clothing and used as a clasp by passing it through a hole or loop 31What do you think of the American worker's casual clothes after the pandemic?