The Media Worker Fit Watch

We’re all stuck indoors, but at least we can entertain ourselves by putting together a great, comfy outfit.

By Kate Mooney

Over the past couple of weeks, the majority of full-time media workers have migrated from the office to working from home every day, and many are figuring out how to adjust to their new daily routine. Freelancers have seen some changes, too: we’ve lost work due to budgets getting slashed or changes in editorial priorities during the COVID-19 pandemic. We’re certainly more housebound now that we can no longer alternate our schedules with jaunts to the coffeeshop or co-working space or a freelancer friend’s living room. For the most part, we’re going about our workday, business as usual, trying to file stories in between talking to the dog and yelling at Twitter— except now, our roommates or significant others can hear us, even with social distancing.

While former commuters are puzzling over how to actually be productive, how to not lose your mind when you’re confined inside your apartment (the secret? You can’t!), or how to get dressed every morning when no one of consequence can see what you look like, we’re career professionals. This has been our daily existence for months. Some of us, years. We’re struggling to cope with the new existential panic of life during a pandemic — while at the same time, extremely grateful we can still make income while isolating — but when it comes to the question of whether to put on real clothes or give into the lure of soft pants and no bra, we know the answers. There are no strict sartorial rules to working from home fashion, but if there were any guiding principles, they might be: embrace the chaos, always remember that comfort is king, and wear something that reminds you of people you love. Below, freelancers and remote workers share their favorite WFH fits.

“I’m wearing a vintage jumpsuit (circa early 90s) that I picked up in Baltimore. I love a good jumpsuit that works as a bold fashion statement, but is also very comfortable and casual. We’ve had rainy weather in LA this week, so while I normally wear dresses and skirts, I’ve been cycling through all my cozier wardrobe pieces: acid wash mom jeans, a ‘Discover Albany’ sweatshirt I found in Japan, and another go-to jumpsuit that’s a utility form with leopard-print details. I’ve been working remotely 3-4 days a week since June. Bonus: My dog, Flora, keeps me company at home! She’s a two-year-old, 50-pound Chow Chow mix.”

—Renée Reizman, 31, LA-based arts & culture writer

“I live in the tropics and walk my dog a lot, so my favored work gear is a one-piece garment—sometimes a jumpsuit, sometimes overalls with just a sports bra, oftentimes a big floaty dress. This gauzy, thin OAK button-up dress is basically a giant shirt that keeps me cool yet blocked from too much sun; it can be made warm if I’m back in New York. It makes me feel efficient in a domestic goddess way. (Full disclosure: this particular selfie was taken in someone else’s home while cat sitting!)”

—Alicia Kennedy, 34, San Juan, Puerto Rico-based freelance writer and copy editor

“I’ve really been embracing nightgowns. If we’re going to be stuck in our apartments all day, it feels very glamorous to do a kind of Sylvia Plath thing, with a lot of silk, lace, and sheer house robes. It makes the quarantine feel a little more cinematic for me!”

—Grace Culhane, 26, LA-based arts journalist and copywriter

“I’m likely to throw on a big hoodie or old band t-shirt, paired with these thick LL Bean socks, which are the most comfortable and grownup thing I own. Putting on pants makes me feel productive, so I do that right when I wake up.”

—Eric Lee, 37, Brooklyn-based freelance graphic designer

“I work in fashion so putting a strong fit together feels like it is my job. I’m obsessed with pattern clashing. I never feel like I’m wearing an outfit unless it has, like, at least three different patterns involved (a good outfit has at least five patterns). I wore this outfit a few days into being quarantined. The dress is unfortunately from Zara, my sweater is from my former college radio station (WOBC forever!), my leopard print jacket is vintage, and the shoes are fake Tom-Ford-era Gucci loafers that I got at Beacon’s. Crucially, I am holding a Negroni in a mason jar and am listening to the Silver Jews.”

—Sophie Kemp, 23, Brooklyn-based Editorial Assistant at GARAGE magazine and freelance writer

“I always like to have pockets. I take a lot of phone calls during the day and I still use corded headphones, so I need a place to stash my phone. Do I wear jeans and normal clothes? Yes, sometimes. But comfort is a priority, for sure.”

—Erin Scottberg, 36, Brooklyn-based freelance editor, writer, and content strategist

“The jumpsuit is a suit you just jump into when you wanna get shit done! This boosts my productivity by easily 13% (from almost nothing).”

—Christopher “Stewy” Stewart, 34, Brooklyn-based freelance photographer

“This is a full-length fake fur coat from La Redoute, which I got when I was 13 years old and have worn as the coziest and most fabulous housecoat ever since. I haven’t yet styled it up with some leather body armor (and/or fake snow), Game of Thrones Night’s Watch style, but isolation looks set to be really, really boring, so give me a couple of weeks.”

—Jay Owens, London-based media and technology researcher and writer

“I call my personal style ‘toddler who was allowed to dress herself.’ I always wear some kind of legging/yoga pants, cozy/comfortable top, and always always socks, otherwise my feet get super cold while I’m sitting at my desk. Basically I just want to be comfortable and warm. (The real highlight is my dog’s butt in the background.)”

—Katie MacBride, 35, Bay Area-based writer

“I don’t follow the advice of Type A neoliberals who recommend I get dressed. For what? To type while lying down? If I’m home, I’m more often than not pretty much nude. Inside clothes, people! For Study Hall, though, I felt compelled to be SFWFH or whatever. (Still, don’t forget Yeats wrote ‘For there’s more enterprise / In walking naked’ !!) The unicorn wig is everything to me. Fantasy is everything to me. The heels are technically lingerie and plus I barely stand on my feet. I have, however, been doing handstands and these orange snakeskin-print pants are made of polyester and elastic, and so I can do anything in them. They’re hand-me-downs from an old friend, and mad comfy. The XL button-up belongs to my dad. Sixty-year-old Jamaican men have perfect style, and this top is extra special to me now because if I could leave the country to hang out with him, I would.”

—Tiana Reid, 30, Manhattan-based writer

“Black shirts are affordable, go with anything (Skirts! Jeans! PJs! Work pants! Yoga pants!) and so, so cozy. When you’re so busy thinking about documents, deadlines, edits, writers, taxes and Slack, it’s nice to spend minimal time thinking about what to wear. I’m wearing one right now.”

—Farah Mohammed, 30, Kingston, Jamaica-based editor and freelancer

“I try to stay in a full sweatsuit while I’m working, so I can exercise or go to the store on a moment’s whim. The camp socks are for slidin’. My shoulder-slung fanny pack lets me keep small items (gum, lip balm, pocket knife, cash) close to my heart.”

—Michael Fredrich, 37, Brooklyn-based freelance culture writer

“I love kimonos and robes because they instantly turn, say, a threadbare slip into something you can receive guests in — or a pair of leggings into something glamorous. They’re languorous rather than sloppy. This is a vintage men’s kimono from Japan from my best friend. It makes me feel comfortable, elegant, and also loved — a gift from someone I cherish. It’s not only functional and aesthetically pleasing, but recalls happy memories.”

—Raquel Laneri, 36, NYC-based freelance journalist and editor

“I’m a big menswear guy and as a hobby I buy and sell men’s clothing on eBay and at consignment stores. I dress like this all the time, and while it’s a bit silly to keep suiting up like I’m headed to Pitti Uomo while quarantined in my apartment, it makes me feel a sense of normalcy and focus as I try to ride it out and get some work done. Plus, I just enjoy doing it, even if the broader world doesn’t get to admire my fits for now. (Pic courtesy of my wife, who thinks I’m a little ridiculous.)”

—Felipe de la Hoz, 24, New York-based freelancer focusing on explanatory and investigative immigration coverage

“I rarely wear a bra when I’m working, but I love the stretchy crop-top-almost-sports bra things from American Apparel. The shoes, which say ‘kabab,’ are for taking trash out and getting mail. The hat, which says ‘dad life,’ is for getting coffee, though I’m not doing much of that.”

—Claire Lower, 33, senior food editor at Lifehacker, works remotely in Portland, Oregon

“This is a cheap robe (not real leopard, LOL) my sister-in-law got me when I was having a big surgery a few months ago, and I ended up wearing it essentially every day I was in recovery. Quarantining doesn’t feel much different than surgery recovery — not really going outside, always kind of anxious and out-of-it, looking forward to when it will all end and life will go back to normal — so the robe feels like a good constant between the two. It’s obviously really comfortable physically (v, v soft), but in these insane times, it’s also comforting to wear something gifted to you by someone who loves you.”

—P.E. Moskowitz, 31, New Orleans-based writer/journalist and co-founder of Study Hall

“I can’t stop wearing this super soft blue Day of the Dead shirt my brother and sister-in-law got me from Denton, Texas. I absolutely never put on a bra or real pants (these are black leggings from H&M) but I do like to put on lipstick. Comfy socks, mismatched, because my socks are always mismatched. Bonus: I quarantine-cut my hair and didn’t fuck up too bad!”

—Kate Mooney, 34, Brooklyn-based freelance writer and author of this article

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