No fashion statements at work! Formal attire is making a strong comeback

Forget the ultra-tight pencil skirts and low-cut blouses of the “office siren”. Now workwear is all about simplicity, understated looks and an almost uniform-like approach.

In 2025, office attire no longer seeks to seduce, but to reassure. A real stylistic shift is taking place, driven by a generation of young workers shaken by a gloomy job market and an unstable economy.

During the pandemic, many workers slipped into comfortable and casual “loungewear” looks. But, last year, traditional office attire made a strong comeback.

And not just any old styles, but the fashions that were typically in vogue in the 1990s and 2000s – as seen, for example, on Andrea Sachs (played by Anne Hathaway), Miranda Priestly’s personal assistant in The Devil Wears Prada, or Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal) in Secretary.

A long skirt with a slit, a fitted shirt, high heels, black rectangular glasses and hair slicked back in a tousled bun…

This style, commonly known as the “office siren”, is a combination of classic pieces from the corporate dress code and bold cuts that enhance the silhouette without being vulgar.

But this sensuality seems to have been set aside in favour of a more reassuring, standardised, even utilitarian professional wardrobe.

On TikTok, many young professionals talk about dressing almost identically for work each day.

Their wardrobe consists of basics such as jeans, straight-leg trousers, T-shirts, plain sweaters and neutral-coloured blazers. The corporate look is now meant to be sleek, functional and decidedly no-frills.

Read more: What do Gen Zs want in beauty? Cool brands, personal expression and inclusivity

The reign of ‘normcore’

This trend towards a professional uniform draws its references from Silicon Valley.

Millennials grew up in the 2000s under the influence of Steve Jobs. The man behind Apple’s success made an impression with his casual look: Levi’s 501 jeans, black turtleneck and sneakers.

In the same vein, Mark Zuckerberg unabashedly displays his taste for hoodies and plastic sandals, while Evan Spiegel favours basic T-shirts over the traditional suit and tie.

Through their casual attire, these figures of the tech world have redefined the codes of power and success, relegating formal dress to the background.

At first glance, it might be tempting to think that freedom of dress reigns in professional circles, where suits and dresses are no longer de rigueur.

However, another uniform has subtly taken their place: “normcore”. Jeans, a sweater, white trainers…

This deliberately neutral, almost understated look is the standard of modern times.

Behind this choice of clothing lies a well-honed strategy. With too many clothes and too many possibilities, every morning can become a headache.

This overabundance of choice leads to what is known as “decision fatigue”, eating away at our mental resources as soon as we wake up.

The result? Stress, hesitation, bad choices… Adopting a standardised, almost automatic go-to outfit then becomes a kind of safe haven.

It is a way for young working people, often disoriented by the vague codes of the professional world, to simplify their daily lives all while discreetly showing that they’ve understood the rules.

Young people, especially those who entered the labour market after the pandemic, sometimes find it difficult to decode the implicit customs and codes of the professional world.

According to a survey by Fortune-Harris Poll conducted in 2024, 65% of Gen-Z workers do not always know how to start a conversation with their colleagues.

This social unease is also evident in their appearance: many hesitate between an outfit that is too strict and one that is too casual, without managing to find the right balance.

“We’ve seen the younger generation express some level of confusion about what to wear for work, so a uniform can seem more simple, more streamlined, and less risky in an environment that might feel new and unfamiliar,” Eloise Skinner, author, psychotherapist, and founder of The Purpose Workshop, told Fortune magazine.

Read more: Fashion trends are changing faster than ever, and Gen Zs are getting fatigued

The end of the “office siren” era?

Fashion brands are keeping pace with the changes afoot in a corporate wardrobe that’s in full transformation.

Breaking with its initial image and market position, the fast-fashion brand Pretty Little Thing recently made a strategic shift by adopting the “clean girl aesthetic”.

The silhouettes enhanced by cosmetic surgery have given way to more natural bodies; the visual identity is pared down, focusing on simpler lines and refined typography.

This brand repositioning goes beyond a simple image: it reflects a response to social change, the uncertain economic situation, and the reappearance of a hushed conservatism in cultural habits.

This stylistic sobriety also benefits Quince, an online retailer that claims to strike a certain balance between simple yet luxurious fashion and low prices. Moving beyond promotional strategies, it charges stable, constant prices, which are promised to be fairer.

The name, a contraction of “quintessentials”, suggests an approach to luxury that’s stripped of its usual trappings.

Quince particularly appeals to a generation of Millennials who are often critical of the excesses of fast fashion and the opaque mechanisms of online commerce.

In search of consistency, this clientele prefers more measured consumption, where quality and durability take precedence over brand image.

The resulting aesthetic is intended to be discreet, and restrained in its designs as well as its intent.

But those who favour suits, ties and pantsuits can rest assured that the “office siren” style has not completely disappeared.

“Ironically, I think Gen-Z women are more likely to dial up this trend outside of their nine-to-five, when they can cosplay in the vein of what they see on the runway, or what they imagine they might wear if they were on Wall Street,” Freya Drohan, a New York-based fashion writer, told The Guardian.

“There’s an escapism and manifestation element to the look. I can see them wearing pieces associated with the very sexy secretary archetype not necessarily at work, but on their nights out,”

In short, a simple uniform-like work look is the order of the day, but as soon as night falls, more provocative styles could well make a comeback.

As such, corporate style now navigates between a strict appearance and a desire to transgress. Work clothes are no longer just functional: they become a form of self-expression, a silent way of asserting your identity in a rapidly changing world of work. – AFP Relaxnews