Your Step-by-Step Guide to Working From Home in Style
Written by Brandi Hearn
Working from home changed the way a lot of men dress.
The suit may spend more time in the closet. The commute is gone. And when your first meeting of the day is happening from your home office, it's easy for the line between comfortable and overly casual to disappear.
But working from home doesn't mean what you wear no longer matters.
You still have video calls, client conversations, lunch meetings, errands, and maybe dinner after work. And even when no one sees you, getting dressed can create a useful distinction between starting your workday and simply being at home.
The answer isn't dressing formally in your living room. It's building a comfortable wardrobe that still makes you feel put together.
1. Start With Elevated Comfort
Comfort should absolutely be part of a work-from-home wardrobe. But comfortable doesn't have to mean oversized sweatpants and an old T-shirt.
Look for pieces that feel easy while still maintaining some shape:
Well-fitting T-shirts
Knit polos
Lightweight sweaters
Refined sweatshirts
Stretch chinos or five-pocket pants
Comfortable trousers
Clean, minimal sneakers or loafers
Fabric becomes especially important here. Soft cotton, merino wool, knit fabrics, and materials with a little stretch can give you comfort without sacrificing structure.
You should feel comfortable enough to sit at your desk all day without looking like you're dressed for bed.
2. Don't Ignore Fit Just Because You're at Home
One of the easiest habits to fall into when working remotely is wearing everything a little too large.
An oversized shirt. Loose sweatpants. A sweatshirt that's several sizes too big.
Individually, none of these things seems particularly important. Together, they can make you feel less put together than you realize.
Your clothing doesn't need to be tight. It simply needs to follow your proportions.
A T-shirt that sits properly through the shoulders and a pair of comfortable trousers with a clean silhouette will immediately look more intentional. If you're unsure where something should sit, my guide to how men's clothes should fit is a good place to start.
Relaxed and poorly fitted aren't the same thing.
3. Dress for the Workday You're Actually Having
Not every work-from-home day requires the same outfit.
If you're spending the entire day doing independent work, a good T-shirt, refined pants, and clean sneakers may be enough.
If you're presenting to clients or leading meetings on Zoom, a knit polo, Oxford shirt, or lightweight sweater may make more sense.
And if you have an in-person meeting later, you might start with pieces that can easily be elevated with a jacket.
The point isn't to create a remote-work uniform you wear every day. It's to dress for what your schedule actually requires.
That's the same principle behind building a wardrobe that moves between professional and personal settings.
4. Pay Attention to What Shows Up on Camera
Video calls changed professional dress in an interesting way. Your shirt, collar, grooming, and colors near your face suddenly carry much more visual weight.
Solid colors generally work particularly well on camera:
Navy
Charcoal
Medium grey
Soft blue
Olive
White or off-white
But the best colors aren't identical for every man. Your natural coloring and contrast should influence which shades you wear closest to your face.
That's why establishing the right neutral foundation for your wardrobe can make choosing shirts, polos, and knitwear considerably easier.
And don't forget what's behind the clothing. Good lighting, a clean background, and grooming can have as much impact on how polished you appear on camera as the shirt itself.
5. Build Pieces That Can Leave the House
This is where a good work-from-home wardrobe becomes particularly useful.
Ideally, you shouldn't have to completely change because you're leaving your desk.
A knit polo and chinos can work for a video meeting, then take you directly to lunch. A well-fitting T-shirt and refined trousers can work at your desk, then become dinner-ready when you add an overshirt or jacket. A lightweight sweater can move easily between a morning call, coffee meeting, and evening plans.
The best pieces aren't just comfortable at home. They give you somewhere to go.
That versatility also means you need fewer clothes because the same pieces can serve multiple parts of your life.
6. Create a Clear Line Between Work Clothes and Lounge Clothes
You don't necessarily need separate wardrobes. But there should be a distinction between comfortable clothing you can work in and clothing you genuinely lounge in.
The sweatpants you sleep in don't need to become your work pants. The old T-shirt you wear around the house doesn't need to become your Zoom shirt.
Keep a small rotation of elevated casual pieces specifically for days when you want comfort without looking—or feeling—sloppy. It makes getting dressed easier and prevents your entire wardrobe from slowly drifting toward loungewear.
Your Work-From-Home Wardrobe Should Still Work Beyond Home
Remote and hybrid work have made professional wardrobes less formal, but they've also made versatility more important.
You may work from home Monday, have an in-person meeting Tuesday, meet someone for lunch Wednesday, and travel Thursday. You shouldn't need four completely different wardrobes to handle that schedule.
That's why I prefer building a wardrobe as a complete system, where pieces can move between different parts of your life rather than being reserved for one specific situation.
Final Thought
Working from home doesn't mean you need to dress up for the sake of dressing up. And it certainly doesn't mean wearing a blazer at your kitchen table every morning.
It means finding the point where comfort and intention meet.
Wear clothes that feel good enough to spend the day in, look polished enough for the people you interact with, and give you enough versatility that you aren't changing every time you leave the house.
Because ultimately, a good wardrobe should work for the way you actually live.
Even when your commute is only a few steps away.
Build a Wardrobe Around the Way You Actually Work
If the way you work has changed but your wardrobe hasn't quite caught up, book a Private Consultation.
We'll look at your work, lifestyle, and the situations you're actually dressing for so your wardrobe gives you the right balance of comfort, versatility, and polish.
BRANDI HEARN
Strategic Wardrobe Advisor · Los Angeles
Brandi Hearn is a Strategic Wardrobe Advisor with more than a decade of experience helping accomplished men build intentional wardrobes around their careers, lifestyles, and how they want to show up.