Is this what men will be wearing to work instead of suits?

Has the work suit changed as we know it forever? According to The Wall Street Journal, the blazer over a t-shirt may be ushering in a new era of business casual to the office. But will a look mostly worn by ’80s style icons and rock stars really work in an office setting? Here’s what the experts say.

Professional attire has changed dramatically

As workers try to navigate the return to the office — in-house full-time, hybrid model, or Zoom forever — work fashion is becoming more significant and also more complex.

It would be too bold to say that no one will ever wear suits or buttoned-up pencil skirts again, but the fact that Brooks Brothers, J.Crew, and the parent company of Ann Taylor all filed for bankruptcy in the last year suggests that people are really leaning into the whole casual look.

It is also telling that stores specializing in athleisure⁠ — clothes that you could exercise in but will actually just lounge around in ⁠— have seen major sales momentum since early 2020. According to Forbes, athleisure sales increased 84% from the onset of COVID-19 to May 2021.

This is why Wall Street Journal writer Jacob Gallagher’s prediction that a suit jacket over a t-shirt ⁠— many of you know this as the Miami Vice look ⁠— may be the future of suits in the office. He writes, “Many of us have gravitated toward cushy sweats and serviceable Zoom button-ups this past year. Putting a blazer on, even over a simple white T-shirt, marks a clear move toward really dressing up again.”

Gallagher notes that unlike just throwing on a sweatsuit or even a t-shirt and jeans, the T-shirt-blazer combo actually does require a little bit of effort if you want to pull off the look. After all, not all of us look like Don Johnson when we wake up in the morning. It helps if the jackets are unlined. And while the tee can have a graphic, a solid-colored one also looks nice.

This small amount of effort may be a good exercise for those of us who have had to stop dressing for work (or any event that wasn’t just going to the grocery store). Unlike a real suit with custom fitting from tailors, this one requires much less fuss, but it still involves a bit of creativity.

Can you actually get away with wearing the new suit in the office?

But can you wear this if you aren’t the CEO of your own tech startup or a fashion editor? Well, that depends. Magalie René, a leadership expert and the Founder & CEO of career coaching and consulting firm Workplace Catalyst told Ladders. She believes that — except for super traditional industries like banking and law — most men, in this new world of work, can probably get away with it.

“It’s not likely that the classic, complementary elements of T-shirts and blazers are going out of style anytime soon. The blazer over T-shirt hits the right note of balance between buttoned-up and relaxed. It leaves just enough room for personalization and personality. We’ve now entered an age of heightened emphasis on authenticity and bringing one’s whole self to the workplace, which includes fashion and individual style.”

‘Joy dressing’ is coming to work now

Though women’s professional wardrobes have changed dramatically, too, since the onslaught of COVID-19, it was perhaps a bit more subtle as women helped to make athleisure a billion-dollar industry years before the pandemic.

For men, these are dramatic times as the suit was a uniform for so many of them. Now, in addition to a T-shirt instead of a dress shirt (and mismatched blazer and trousers), there is also a huge shift to bright colors in suits. No more days of only gray and black. Embrace the pinks and bright blues!

Gallagher noted that even corporate drones are looking to get out of their comfort zone with color. “As something resembling normal life has resumed for some — and even as the Delta variant of the virus is reversing positive trends in portions of the country — vivid suits are re-entering the public eye, an expression of over a year’s worth of pent-up desire to dress more sophisticatedly and frivolously,” he wrote.

Joy dressing is an actual trend right now and is all about rediscovering your closet and the colors that make you happy. “Fashion/style is one way that we can express ourselves. The flexibility of this look is great for transitions. As we re-enter the workplace, the companies that successfully embrace culture and individual style will encourage employees to be comfortable. This is needed to provide ease for employees, which makes going back to work a bit smoother, as style is truly something that feels like your own,” René said.

The new more casual suit can be thought of as a metaphor for remote work. Yes, we can do our jobs all buttoned-up in an office, but we can also do them, and maybe even a little bit better, when we are more comfortable.