BY Lisa Kemmerling
If 2020 taught us a lesson, it’s that anything pretty much went! With people going from the office to working from home, the clothes became less important and more importantly comfort was “king.” Lots of people began wearing sweatpants, hoodies, Hawaiian style shirts, slippers and t-shirts. Shorts made a huge impression and sometimes even the occasional bathrobe.
Well, I’m here to say that things have changed!! What is becoming more of the “in look” (especially for men) is casual chino pants, jeans, and in some cases even a nice pair of dressier slacks, especially when meeting with a potential client. It’s quite simple to take the overly casual look that some of the Ladies have been wearing (you know ~ yoga pants, or workout clothes and change it up! We’ll get more into that later…….. Having just attended the MAGIC Show in August, it was incredible to see just how much has changed and what new and exciting styles for Fall 2021 are headed to a store near you.
Companies are starting to ask their employees to come back into the office. With that comes the opportunity to shelve the old looks and bring in the new, improved and reinvented styles for your debut. I’m not saying you have to toss out the items listed above, rather my suggestion is you improve on the looks by adding some small tweaks along the way so as not to “break the bank” if a clothing change is in your future.
Let's start with sweatpants ~ yes, we all have them and they do provide a necessary function for those wintery nights, or heading to and from the gym. So this writer is not saying to toss them out, just set them aside, for the absolute times as your ONB aka “on needed basis.”
Hoodies for both men and women are making a huge bump upwards - meaning that many designers are adding the hoodie look to a casual jacket. Why not style your own look, by taking the hoodie, from 2020 and pairing it with a nicer casual jacket to get an upgraded 2021 style?
Pair this with some chinos or jeans and you have an updated look for the office. For the ladies, if you absolutely want to maintain the yoga pants, why not add a stylish jean skirt or casual dress to the look? This is a very “in” look” and can take you from the home, to the office and then onto the gym. Another accent to the yoga pants, for our Seniors @ home, is to pair them with an oversized sweatshirt. You can dress this look up by adding a scarf around the neck or throw on a nice pair of earrings to take the look, from casual to lunch with a friend.
Men, skinny legwear is yesterday’s look. Replacing this are relaxed-fit pants of the 80’s and 90’s. Pinstripes and checks and flannel shirts oh my ~ these are all the new updated looks for 2021. Who ever thought the wall street 1980s double breasted jackets would be back in season? Well they are and look quite dapper on men of all ages. For all those folks that had been wearing flannel shirts this past year, hopefully you haven’t thrown them out, as those are in and will fill the bill for making the most out of last year's flannel attire.
Let’s not forget our foot attire. Boots are huge this season and making a major change to the everyday look. What I love about boots is that they provide a casual, unique look and at the same time offer a utilitarian function for all. Pairing boots with jeans, leggings aka yoga pants, or a skirt/dress will give the look a fresh perspective for Fall 2021. Circling back around to those sweatpants from 2020 ~ they can be updated by adding the new look “Shacket.” You may be asking yourself what a shacket is - it’s a hybrid of a shirt and jacket combined. For those individuals that are concerned about costs by replacing a bunch of clothes - The shacket looks great with almost anything, and can be paired with a turtleneck and sweatpants or joggers and off to work you go!!
Clearly, I could go on and on about today’s fashions ~ rather than spend a lot of time writing about that, why not make the necessary changes to your closet and keep what’s workable and donate the other items to your favorite clothing charity. If you’d like to learn more about this and many other ideas, I’d love to hear from you.
Happy re-organizing and Happy Fall!
Article Written by:
Lisa M. Kemmerling
Clean Lines Fashion Consulting
Email: lisa@cleanlinesfashion.com
Website: www.cleanlinesfashion.com