Staying stylish whilst working from home
With so many of us working from home it’s really easy to let your style slip, and that’s ok – sometimes. But it’s also important to maintain a sense of self-identity and dressing stylishly is one of the best ways. So, just because you can throw on your old joggers, that doesn’t mean you have to. And you’ll really feel the benefit from staying stylish.
From avoiding every day being a PJs day to keeping an eye on grooming and learning how to shave your chest, here are four top tips to help you stay stylish whilst working from home.
- Avoid falling into the ‘every day’s a PJs day’ trap
No one’s saying that you shouldn’t be comfortable whilst going about your day, but there’s a risk of your clothes matching your mood if you’re always in your PJs or sweats. And the last thing you want is for your motivation and productivity to drop.
Ultimately what you choose to wear, and how often your wear it, is an individual thing. Allow yourself days where you do dress in your jogging bottoms by all means but mix it up with sharper styles on others, whatever your personal style – whether that’s your favourite band t-shirt and smart jeans, or a shirt and chinos. Not only will you look sharper for those video calls and meetings, you’ll feel sharper too. And it’ll show everyone you mean business.
- Separate your work clothes from your home clothes
Another great tip to switch your mind from relaxed to ready-to-go is to select items of clothing that you continue to wear just for work. Think of it as putting on a costume. A little bit like Superman, Spiderman or [insert your other favourite superhero here].
The point is that when you get ready by dressing in your ‘work clothes’ you’re separating your home life from your work life. And you’ll definitely avoid looking and feeling sloppy. Instead you’ll look and feel stylish – ready to take on the world. You could even design your own T-shirt to get exactly the look you’re going for.
- Stay seasonally stylish
We won’t all be working from home, all the time, forever. Hopefully. But this is part of the ‘new normal’ and it’s likely that a number of us will continue to work away from the office more often. Keeping up with the latest trends is a huge part of being stylish and you don’t want to let that slip now.
Whatever the season there’ll always be different trends to follow. Keeping up with them will help you stay motivated to dress stylishly throughout the year, even when you are working from home.
- Always dress up for online client meetings
Whether you’re representing your employer or your own business, it’s so important to make a good impression. An impression that says ‘I’m all over my business’, rather than ‘I can’t really be bothered to make an effort.’
Of course, different clients have a different ethos so you can match your style to the type of business they are. For example, if they’re a suit-and-tie type outfit, it’s time for you to crack out your finest.
It’s not just the clothes you wear though; you need to keep on top of your grooming regime too. Or at least give that impression on the face/video of it, by being video call grooming-ready. That means styling your hair, clean shaving or keeping your beard tight and avoiding anything that shows that you’ve let things slip – like a few chest hair stragglers poking through the top of your shirt. Nobody wants that.
With that in mind, now might be time for a quick refresher on how to shave your chest:
- Take a warm shower to soften hair and make things easier to groom.
- Make a plan. Look in the mirror and figure out how drastic you want to go. Clean shave? Or maybe just a quick trim.
- Shave against the direction of growth and apply a lotion to avoid any irritation.
Staying on top of your style can play a big part in helping you feeling more confident and being more productive. Put these tips into play and take back control of your working-from-home life.
