Inside the Lockdown Weekly Shirt Rotation

That Sunday night feeling has in no way abated for having worked at home for nearly a year.  In fact, it might actually have amplified.  Rather than Sunday evenings filled with the demoralising routine of prep for the week ahead, they are now preoccupied with the increasingly more complex task of planning a weekly dress code that is seen only on Zoom calls, and only from the abs up.

 

 You need to be kind to yourself on a Monday;  it’s going to feel like a slog no matter how good or bad a day it actually is.  It demands the comforting embrace of a fine cotton shirt.  Wrap yourself up in a really high quality two ply cotton of as high a thread count as you can justify to yourself.  You won’t regret it.  Yes it’s still Monday, and you’d literally rather it was any other day of the week, but you’ll be wearing a life jacket of comfort and practicality that will help you float right through ’til the end of that final Zoom meeting.

 Tuesday’s shirt is full of grace, and so you must reach for the linen.   It’s light, luxurious, and will lift your video chat thumbnail appearance no end.  It is also much more suited to the warm climes of your ‘work from home’ office than the air conditioned breeze of your ‘office' office. Linen’s well-accepted Achilles heel is its susceptibility to creasing, and it does, undeniably, crease more than other fabrics.  Not too much of a problem when you are only appearing as a grainy image on video calls.  If it is a wrinkle you just can’t get past, look into a cotton and linen blend to counteract the creases.  You’ll save some cash too.

 

Hump Day.  The bridge between those fretful first days of the week and the relaxed swagger of the downhill jog to the weekend.  You’re half way through your video conference quota for the week, and Friday night is in touching distance again.  Your shirt should reflect this relaxation of mood with the pattern of a twill weave.  The epitome of debonair, this smooth-feel fabric will ensure that you navigate even the trickiest of agendas with the inherent confidence of someone who knows that what they are presenting to their colleagues is secondary to how exceptionally sharp they look. 

 

 Thursday- or ‘Thor’s Day’, more specifically, with its connotations of strength and robustness.  Reflect this Norse power in a long-sleeved poplin number.  Championed for its own hard-wearing nature, poplin has long held its own as a business casual staple.  It lends itself beautifully to bright colours, solid colours, and monochrome black and white too.  Its durability is partnered with a softness that will make your collared shirts feel as comfortable as your cashmere pj’s which, let’s be honest, is what you have on beneath the desk anyway.

 

TFI Friday.  You’ve made it.  Video conferencing can soon be shelved for 2 days, online happy hour hosted by Shoreditch’s finest cocktail bar is only a matter of hours away, and you can stop thinking about how to dress for Zoom for a glorious 48 hours. You’re feeling frivolous, a little rakish, and have adopted a devil may care approach to dress down Friday.  Not so far out as to be reaching for a tank top, ( is there ever a time to justify one? ) but definitely reckless enough to whack on a flannel lumberjack item.   Lockdown has permitted all kinds of style flirtations that would almost certainly never have seen the light of day in life as it was.  Flannel is one of these.  It would not previously have ingratiated itself into your wardrobe as suitable work attire, even on mufti day. Fast forward to 2021, and why wouldn’t you wear a warm, relaxed fit, ever-so-slightly-hipster shirt on the most carefree working day of the week?  It’s hard to think of a more 2021 shirt to wear whilst rolling into the well-deserved weekend.