What to Wear When You Work From Home
Published: Tue Dec 09 2025
The camera turns on. You’re in a meeting. From the shoulders up, you look professional.
From the shoulders down? Let’s not talk about it.
Remote work changed everything about how we dress. For some, it’s been liberating. For others, it’s created a strange new kind of decision fatigue: what do you wear when nobody’s watching?
The pajama problem
Early pandemic, many people stopped getting dressed entirely. Why bother? No commute. No office. No one to impress.
But something weird happened. Productivity dropped. Mood suffered. The line between “work” and “not work” blurred into nothing.
Turns out, clothes aren’t just about other people seeing you. They’re about how you feel.
The psychology of getting dressed
Research calls it “enclothed cognition”—the idea that what you wear affects how you think and feel. Wearing formal clothes can increase abstract thinking. Wearing workout clothes can motivate exercise.
When you stay in pajamas all day, your brain never fully shifts into “work mode.” You might be sitting at your desk, but mentally, you’re still in bed.
This doesn’t mean you need to wear a suit to answer emails. It means there’s value in the ritual of getting dressed—even if no one sees you.
The remote work uniform
The solution isn’t “dress like you’re going to the office.” It’s finding a middle ground that:
- Feels comfortable enough for a full day at home
- Signals to your brain that you’re working
- Looks acceptable on camera (just in case)
Some people call this “elevated loungewear.” Others call it “business casual from the waist up.” Whatever you call it, here’s what works:
Tops that work
- Clean t-shirts (not sleep shirts)
- Casual button-downs
- Lightweight sweaters
- Anything you’d wear to a casual coffee meeting
Bottoms that work
- Joggers or comfortable chinos
- Stretchy jeans
- Lounge pants that aren’t obviously pajamas
What to skip
- Literal pajamas
- Yesterday’s clothes (sleep smell is real)
- Anything stained or torn
The zoom outfit hack
Here’s a secret: you only need a few “Zoom-ready” tops.
Keep 3-5 camera-friendly options easily accessible. When a meeting pops up, you can throw one on in 30 seconds. The rest of your outfit? Nobody knows, nobody cares.
These tops should be:
- Solid colors (patterns can strobe on camera)
- Not white (washes you out) or black (absorbs light)
- Slightly more polished than your everyday WFH wear
Building a routine
The most effective WFH dressers treat it like a routine, not a decision:
Morning ritual:
- Shower (or at least wash your face)
- Put on real clothes (not yesterday’s, not pajamas)
- Start your workday
The act of changing clothes becomes a psychological transition. You’re telling your brain: “Now we’re working.”
End of day ritual:
- Change into actual loungewear
- Physically step away from your workspace
- You’re off the clock
The clothes mark the boundary.
When to level up
Some days warrant more effort:
- Important video calls with clients or leadership
- Days when you’re feeling unmotivated (better clothes can help)
- Interviews (obvious, but people forget)
For these days, have a go-to outfit ready. Something you feel confident in. Something that requires zero decision-making.
The bottom line
You don’t need to dress up for remote work. You need to dress intentionally.
That might mean joggers and a nice sweater. It might mean your favorite jeans and a clean t-shirt. What matters is that it’s a conscious choice—not a default because you never changed out of yesterday’s clothes.
Clueless Clothing helps you plan outfits for any context—including work-from-home days. Join the waitlist and make getting dressed automatic.