Working from home - what to wear?!

[turkeyboots]

I've gone back to work after mat leave and am mainly working from home. But have a clothing crisis as have no idea what to wear!

Can't be bothered with proper work clothes, feel silly on conference calls in pyjamas and am not a natural sweatpants and t-shirt person. So need something easy to wear, comfy but decent enough not to have to change before going to shop to buy milk. All any any ideas welcome!

[ginnny]

wear what you normally wear at home - jeans, t-shirt, whatever.
Can they see you when you are on a conference call then?

[Cakesandale]

Hi Turkeyboots - I know what you mean, you need to look a bit business-like to act and sound business-like.

No suggestions, though. I naturally do tend to the sweats and t-shirt end of the market. They can't see me and it cuts down on ironing. (I'd also be happy to go and buy milk like this, so I may just be a slattern).

Seriously, just wear what you'd wear on a normal day at home, it sounds as if you veer towards smartish anyway.

[turkeyboots]

No, thankfully videocalling hasn't caught on at work! Just having been out at work for the last too many years, I have no "off duty" style. Would noramlly spend pre-DC weekends in pyjamas and dressed up for going out!

[ALittleHelpPlease]

I work from home 3 days per week & I give this a lot of thought - I definitely don't wear just what I would at home anyway. On my days off I wear jeans & t shirts for school run and kids' activities & I find jeans very uncomfortable for sitting at a desk for long stretches.

Winter was easy - knitted dresses and tights/leggings, sheepskin slipper boots. Usually ended up with a poncho & fingerless gloves/wrist warmers too!

This weather I am finding trickier. I want to wear wide legged, flowing trousers - like yoga pants but a bit more tailored, with vest tops/plain tees and cardigans of various descriptions. Usually with a scarf or big necklace, and ballet flats. A slightly smarter version of sweats and tees I suppose... I can't really find the perfect trousers though, I don't want linen because of the ironing. I saw these which look like the kind of thing I mean.

I avoid skirts in summer because sitting around with bare legs is also not comfy. I did wear a plain black jersey maxi last week with a long sleeved top and fine footless tights under and I liked that, I'll do it again. I'm in Scotland so it's rare it will be too warm .
A bit safe I suppose . But comfortable and puts me in the frame of mind for work.

[flowerybeanbag]

I just wear the same as I wear on weekends or whenever. Currently wearing Maharishi trousers, a striped Boden top and also a White Stuff fleece-lined hoody because it's cold up in my office today.

[Bonsoir]

You need pretty leggings, tunics and ballerina flats - comfortable and glamorous home wear!

[Bramshott]

Lots of layers as it's cold at home in the day!

[turkeyboots]

Thank you everyone, that is really helpful!

[fiveweeksandcounting]

If I am working from home all day then smart jeans, tops and done hair. If I have to pop out to a meeting then usually a dress, cardi, tights and flat ballerinas or boots.

[JackieNo]

I reckon you need 'loungewear', as alittlehelpplease said, the smarter end of sweatpants and teeshirts - the sort of thing they sell at The White Company (but I'm sure you can find cheaper elsewhere!).

[potplant]

Def never PJs - I just can't get into the right working vibe if I'm not dressed.
When I first started working from home I used to get dressed into smart work clothes to keep 'my head in the game' but I just wear normal 'weekend' clothes now. I find that I need to have lots of jumpers though as I don't put the heating on during the day so its usually really cold.

[turkeyboots]

Loungewear seems the answer, like a ALittleHelpPlease i find jeans aren't comfy for sitting at a desk all day. And really liked the trousers you linked! Have always been happy to spend a fair amount of money on work clothes, so guess I need switch that to home clothes.

Why are we all suffering with the cold?! If we were in an office we'd be outraged at being expected to work in the cold! But in my case its my fault as have the window open for the cat.

[aquavit]

agree with everyone that comfort is key. It is so true that you need to do something to make yourself feel as though you are at work rather than just hanging around at home, though: I found it helped to make sure that my hair was OK and put on a bit of make-up.

Mind you these days I mostly work in an office, and I STILL look like I just rolled out of bed into whatever was on the floor.

[potplant]

LOL at turkeyboots - when I worked in a proper office my boss and I used to have a battle with the thermostat, I favour the sub tropical climate he liked the arctic. Now my office is always freezing, but when you are payng for the heating yourself, its puts a different perspective on it!

[EightiesChick]

Yoga pants or similar - jeans as turkeyboots says are not comfortable for sitting in all day. And just reasonable tops and cardigans. Think of something where if you needed to meet someone quickly, you could put flats on and a jacket and look reasonably for business.