Fashion offers insights into changing societal trends. For the past two or three years, Zoom meetings made waist-up dressing the norm. But now that most of us are required to report back to the office or be in hybrid mode, we have started to rethink our work attire.
Post-pandemic workwear is upscale athleisure for power dressing, starting with workleisure pants, the new back-to-the-office wear. Bid adieu to the old, stiff, and constricting office attire.
What is worklesiure?
A new fashion category, workleisure or power casual, combines professionalism with comfort, making the office transition smoother and enabling self-expression.
Similar to the athleisure style wherein activewear is treated as everyday wear, workleisure is a hybrid of comfortable and casual pieces (think: stretchy and soft fabrics) with office staples or business casual. Comfort is the main ingredient in this trend. It's striking a balance between relaxed wear and looking professional. We all still need to exude a professional demeanor.
Innovative fabrics or high-performance fabrics, like nylon, polyester, and modal, to name a few, drive the workleisure trend, combining a professional look with a comfortable feel. Workers, having adapted to comfy attire, aim to bring it back to the office.
What are the key styles of the workleisure trend?
Because comfort is at the heart of the workleisure trend, it's not surprising to see oversized silhouettes and comfortable clothing alongside traditional tailored pieces as its key styles.
Wide-leg style pants, along with joggers, leggings, hoodies, and blazers, to name a few, are a must-have to embody this trend by offering a relaxed nod to tailoring while prioritizing comfort without sacrificing style.
The blazer and hoodie combo is also a staple of this power casual trend, blending timeless professionalism with a modern twist.
What are workleisure pants?
Worklesiure pants combine the best qualities of sweatpants, jeans, and chinos, making them versatile for any occasion. They offer customizable waist and inseam options, zippered pockets, a faux front fly, and high-performance fabric for comfort at work or the gym.
Flared Yoga Pants or Flared Leggings
Flared leggings, flared yoga pants, or flared pants (however you want to call them) are a Y2K trend that you need to have as you head back to the office. These bell bottoms offer style points whether you're wearing them to the gym, lounging at home, or getting through your office work.
Here at Baleaf, we made styling these lovely flares easy-peasy with the best flared pants for your body type and personality.
Leggings
Show off well-toned legs and some bootylicious vibe at the office in our five awesome leggings to obsess with. Our leggings offer comfort, versatility, and a flattering fit for any body type while coming in various styles, sizes, prints, and fits, enduring like our timeless t-shirts and jeans.
Joggers
Joggers are versatile must-haves for workleisure, with a sleek silhouette suitable for various occasions. Actually, joggers and button-down shirts are the dynamic duo of this trend.
Joggers, made from lighter fabric with a tapered cut, offer a polished look, and top brands have created quality women's joggers during the pandemic, making them easy to dress up or use for casual activities. Additionally, modern joggers use materials like modal fabric to create joggers.
RELATED: What Are Modal Joggers and How To Style Them
Sweatpants
When the cold weather arrives, our sweatpants come out.
Sweatpants have now become a great part of the worklesiure trend. They are designed for winter and cold weather, providing mobility and comfort, and pair well with sweatshirts and hoodies. They are typically made from materials like cotton, cotton blends, fleece, and wool, making them thicker and suitable for cold-weather activities. Feel snug and comfortable as you go about your daily grind at the office.
Straight-Leg Pants
Straight leg pants maintain a consistent leg width from top to bottom, providing a comfortable, classic fit that distinguishes them from skinny jeans.
These pants combine the best features of sweatpants, jeans, and chinos for a versatile, comfortable, and performance-oriented design that can be worn in various settings, offering a custom fit with zippered pockets and high-quality fabric.
What tops work best with workleisure pants?
Because comfort is everything for the workleisure trend, choosing the right tops to match your bottoms should do the trick to hit the sweet spot between athleisure and work attire.
Blazers
Blazers are office staples to look professional. They do well also in creating the workleisure getup. A blazer elevates athleisure to workleisure by adding a formal touch, making joggers or casual tops suitable for the office.
Jackets
Jackets take on a classic design. They are a great addition to your workleisure wardrobe, offering a versatile style that balances its origin with a contemporary feel. Jackets pair well with a button-down and oxfords for a sharp work-ready look when adding a solid tie.
Cardigans
Cardigans can bridge the gap between business and casual wear, adding a touch of tradition to your outfit and allowing for an easy transition from work to the gym.
Hoodies
Hoodies are popular among both young people and adults, providing warmth and a cool, streetwear fashion look. They function like sweaters with long sleeves and cold-weather fabric. Layering them with blazers send off a lowkey but professional vibe in the workleisure trend.
Why wear the workleisure trend?
The key to our new work reality is striking a balance between comfort and a professional look, avoiding the extremes of appearing lazy or uncomfortable in our clothing.
It keeps you comfortable at work.
Workleisure is about combining comfort with a polished look for the professional world while embracing flexibility, choice, and gender fluidity in clothing.
It makes work a little less stressful.
The workleisure trend prioritizes a polished appearance while maintaining comfort, offering structured and durable clothing that allows for comfortable movement.
It blends well functionality and style.
The workleisure look strikes a balance between function and fashion, integrating versatile pieces into your wardrobe from a range of comfortable yet stylish apparel with high-performance fabric and a trendy aesthetic.
Work It Out in Baleaf Style
Workleisure wear combines a great feel with exceptional functionality, making it perfect for high-powered meetings with its moisture-wicking, breathable, and comfortable features.
Start building your workleisure wardrobe by getting your dibs on any of our All Workleisure collection.