Women are finally reclaiming the ‘house dress’
It's no longer on the laundry heap of history.
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Good morning, Broadsheet readers! We review the last day of the DNC, Malala starts a book club, and women are reclaiming the ‘house dress.’ Have a wonderful weekend.
– Dress for success. It was just in January that Kristen took us along for the ride as she dove into the world of women’s custom suits. That was the Before Times, of course, when a sharp-shouldered jacket and fitted trousers were daily workwear.
Fast forward seven months, and our wardrobes have been turned upside down (or inside-out?) along with the rest of our lives by a devastating pandemic and accompanying stay-at-home orders. Seemingly overnight, we traded tucked-in and tailored for stretchy and over-sized.
The evolution of the pandemic-era wardrobe has been fascinating to watch—from DIY tie-dye t-shirts (Trendy? Check. Time-killer? Check!) to bike shorts (a personal favorite) to, yes, sweatpants forever.
But wearing what equates to sleepwear nonstop can make you, well, sleepy. As New York Times fashion writer Vanessa Friedman warns in her latest story on ‘workleisure:’ “just because you can wear your stretchy old workout gear in front of the computer, doesn’t always make it a good idea.”
So I was especially interested to learn about the ‘house dress’ is having a renaissance. NPR reports that the house dress—”Billowing linen, cozy cotton, floating silk”—is the perfect 2020 staple: “a small expression of control during the uncontrollable, a taste of free-flowing freedom in a time rife with restrictions, a sense of structure and style on the days that feel hazy and dull.”
An added benefit? Women who are opting for house dresses now are reclaiming the garment from the ‘bad reputation’ bin. It used to symbolize a time when women were confined to housework. NPR reports its origins trace back to Victorian gowns that were considered a relief from corsets but still relegated women in a different way, cloaking them in “baggy matronly smock named after ‘Mother Hubbard’ from old nursery rhymes.”
But this year, the house dress is proving to be the perfect transitional piece for home-bound professionals, taking women from a business call to the backyard. As NPR puts it: “The 2020 house dress is not here to judge or cast expectations.”
Claire Zillman
claire.zillman@fortune.com
@clairezillman
Today’s Broadsheet was curated by Emma Hinchliffe.