After months of working from home, many men are getting ready to go back to their offices — at least a few days a week. But after spending so much of their time in front of their computer screens wearing comfortable sweatpants, shorts and golf shirts, what will their return-to-work wardrobe look like?
While tailored clothing proponents believe there will be pent-up demand for guys to present a professional demeanor by donning suits, others believe the months of dressing casually will have a lasting impact. And updated essentials are expected to lead the way.
...Greg Petro, ceo of retail predictive analytics company First Insight, agrees. He said the number of people working from home has more than doubled since the start of the pandemic. “There’s a whole host of reasons not to go back,” he said, but many people will return — at least part-time — in their quest for “social interaction — but in a less restrictive way.”
But because fabrics have improved so much in the past several years, with stretch, moisture-management, antiwicking and other properties borrowed from activewear becoming commonplace across all categories of men’s wear, “you can get the best of both worlds. As men return to work, they’ll want to dress up a bit, but still feel the same degree of comfort,” Petro added.
In addition, consumers have made clear that they’re reluctant to return to public transportation, which has led to record sales of bicycles along with cars. But whether people opt to ride bikes or walk to work, “they don’t want to get hot and sweaty,” he said. “They still want to look good.”
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