Keep calm and get out of your pajamas

If there’s anything we can all agree on, it’s that if we’re going to be stuck at home hoping we have enough toilet paper and canned corn to make it through these really awful days, at least….at least, we get to work in our pajamas for a while. 

Right?

Wrong.  

Look, we don’t want to take away what may feel like is one of the only bright spots you can see on the horizon, but before you show up at your next online meeting wearing yesterday’s rumpled clothes or your coziest grey cashmere complete with moth hole, we’d like to give you a few simple tips for how to actually get work done when you’re working from home.

IF YOU’RE THE BOSS

For starters, the whole world is going to be on Zoom or some other app that involves video conferencing.  If you’re the boss, you need to set the tone. That doesn’t mean you have to put on a suit and tie or shift dress and uncomfortable shoes but if the people who work for you see you onscreen in your Lululemon, we promise you they’re going to believe that you’re not working. And if you’re not working, then no one else will be either.  

That means for women to pull it together from at least the waist up – take down the top knot, apply a little makeup and wear something with color near your face. For guys, opt for a nice button down shirt and wash, or at least put some product in, your hair.  Avoid busy (and distracting) patterns like stripes and small checks and no graphic Tees. It also doesn’t hurt to think about your background – flowers and a clean wall or bookshelf always give off a nice impression. And a good rule of thumb is to keep it clean and simple. 

I JUST WORK HERE

What’s that you say?  You’re not the boss and that means you can wear your sweats and not worry about setting the tone?  Sorry, that won’t fly. Your boss, whoever she or he is, is going to be worried every day that their employees aren’t working while they’re at home.  It’s essential….yes, essential that you wear clothes that mean business. Dressing like you plan on working will send a powerful message. Come to think of it, wearing a cozy but wrinkled t-shirt will send a powerful message too.  The only question is, which message do you want to send?

VIDEO CONFERENCING? NOT MY PROBLEMO…

Okay, what about people who aren’t going to be video conferencing?  Are PJ’s okay for them? Uh…nope. Look, productive people know that the mind has to be tricked into believing that we’ve got important stuff to do and that we are willing to do it.  And for the brain, seeing is believing. If we reach for our sweatpants, the brain sends an immediate message to our stomach to check the freezer for ice cream and see what’s binge-worthy on Netflix. But, when we reach for our grown up pants, the brain grudgingly accepts that it’s time to get to work, and shifts its focus.  So, for us, the direction our day will take has a lot to do with what we decide to wear. In the old days, when you could run to the gym (and by old days, yes, we do mean a week ago) it’s our experience that if we stayed in our workout gear throughout the day, we tended to do a lot more house chores than we did work that brought in money.  Jogging gear is for jogging. Working clothes are for making money.  

PARENTS WE’RE SORRY

To those of you who are parents, here’s another tip…and this time, we’re practically begging you to listen.  Kids who see their parents in pj’s during the day will interrupt. A lot. Trust us, we have plenty of experience here.  They will ask for snacks. They will assume you are there for them. And yes, you are there for them, but, well, not all the time.  You have work to do. Wear clothes that let your own family, your husbands and wives and children and anyone else who wants to know if you have just five minutes to help them (again) understand that you’re working.  Show the people around you that you mean business, because you do. Grown-up clothes will send that message. Cute pajamas with penguins on them won’t.  

Now some good news.  Just because you’re working from your home doesn’t mean you can’t dress comfortably. But comfort doesn’t equal sloppy. As Karl Lagerfeld once said, sweats are just a sign of defeat.  But don’t overdress. It’s okay to ditch the tight shoes, the suit and tie or the WHATEVER. A clean well fitted t-shirt and jeans is fine provided it looks neat and professional.  

PRACTICE SELF LOVE. AND GIVE SOME LOVE

Most importantly, take care of yourself.  The clothes you wear are a part of what will make this tsunami of uncertainty bearable, but even two NYC personal stylists like us know that this is only a tiny part of a much bigger picture.  A lot of people are going to be suffering in the next few months. It would be easy to just pull the covers over your head and have someone wake us up when it’s over. But this isn’t going to be a couple of weeks problem.  We can’t give up, we can’t let the people in our lives down and we can’t let ourselves down. Putting on clean clothes that make you feel like you have a purpose is a small but useful part of staying focused, productive and positive.  

Remember, the goal here is to get through this difficult and unprecedented time with your health, your family and your job intact.  Right now we all have to do every single thing we can that will make this time a bit easier. Even if you have to fake it til you make it – it’s time for us all to get dressed like we mean business.