Eighteen months into the pandemic and with many of us working from home at one time or another, we all know that we've changed the way we've dressed during this time. Comfort has ruled king. Has the pandemic changed what we sew as well?
Personally, I've managed to sew six pajama sets / nightgowns during the pandemic. And more facemasks and other PPE items that I care to count. It was never in-the-plans, life just threw us all a curve ball and a detour happened in my sewing journey.
When I did sew clothes during this time, it was to accommodate the pandemic pounds that creeped on. I know I wasn't the only one battling and sewing my way through the quarantine fifteen.
A recent CBC article, The Pandemic has Changed the Way People Dress. Should Office Wardrobes Change too? addresses the fact that those lucky enough to work from home adapted a "comfortable clothes like leisure wear, sweat pants, leggings, sweaters and other casual items" (CBC News). And sewing pattern designers were attune to this desire and need for comfortable clothes.
Vogue 1833 is a perfect comfort option with elastic waist pants and skirt. And throw in the loose-fitting pullover top, it's a winning combination for the working from home look. I don't know if the office world is ready for this look. It's kind of like paying workers a living wage, nice in theory, but few in the corporate world are quick to embrace it.
Vogue 1828 sample in white dressed up with heels and maybe covered up with a tailored blazer, Butterick 6862, could make it past security without raising an eyebrow in the corporate landscape.
Simplicity 9383 is another casual option offered by Simplicity patterns this fall. I agree with the CBC article that highlights when we dress comfortably we preform better. I'm not sure the corporate world is ready to let go of some of their dress code standards. But then if we've learned anything in the past eighteen months, stranger things have happened.
Stay Safe and Keep Sewing!
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For me, it wasn't pandemic that trashed my garment sewing, it was retirement right before pandemic hit. The past couple of years, my sewing has been quilt related, or hand embroidery, and the ever present mending. But I suspect that when I do sew garments again, it will be casual tops like before. Things that go with jeans. MAYBE try some of those "miracle" pattern drafting things I fell for over the years and see if I can get a good sloper for tops, pants, and jeans.
ReplyDeleteIf I had been working when pandemic hit, I don't think it would have changed what I was sewing (casual tops) as there was no way I could have worked from home due to the equipment.