Covid-19, home-working, harem pants, and the Boho revolution
Roll back time to the end of February 2020 and the world was about to change in a way none of us could have predicted. Rumours of a new coronavirus in China were quickly followed by actual cases of Covid emerging in Brighton, and shortly after that all hell let loose.
The change in the way we work has been one of the most profound developments of all. As the Business Leader website reveals, “Only 1.7 million people in the UK worked from home prior to the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused a seismic shift in working habits and methods - and seen an estimated 20 million people relocating to home offices.”
While a few of us have gone back to the workplace since then, we've only been able to go back to the old ways of working in between lockdowns. This means millions of us have got well and truly out of the habit of travelling to work. We've been working from home for almost twelve months, and it's becoming a habit.
We noticed the difference as soon as the first lockdown hit. There we were, working as normal, selling our gorgeous Boho clothing via our warehouse to happy hippies across the nation. Then, like turning on a tap, the orders for harem pants started to flood in. The original flood quickly turned into a tsunami, and we haven't looked back since.
The people of the nation have developed a deep love for harem trousers, and we are more than happy to oblige! So what's going on, and what will the future look like for our large and popular Aladdin pants department?
What to wear working at home? Harem trousers are all about comfort
The fact so many people feel harem pants are the best home-work wear says a lot about traditional work clothes. In recent years formal workwear has changed a lot. The suit is no longer the most popular working outfit for men or women, an outfit you'd have to resentfully buy with your own money and wear five days a week, only for work. Suits are dull, boring, expensive, personality-less, stuffy, and also pretty uncomfortable.
Change was already in the wind thanks to high tech companies and new media firms run by younger people who didn't want to wear a suit every day, and simply decided not to. Covid has brought even more change, and made it happen even faster. No wonder millions of us have thrown out our formal working clothes and replaced them with funky alternative clothing.
Low crotch harem trousers are not just fun. They're super-comfy, with no protruding seams and no tight bits to restrict you. High crotch harems are just as comfortable, still a lot looser than suit trouser. They are also - as you'll know if you've given it a go – a whole lot more enjoyable to wear when you're sitting down all day than stiff jeans with thick, tough seams and no 'give' to the fabric. Eight hours of that and your delicate bits 'n' bobs are well and truly squashed, your knees desperate to escape ;)
But why genie pants? What is it, exactly, about harems in particular that has inspired so many people to invest in something super-fun and funky to wear for working at home? You can lounge in them and work in them. You can wear something thermal or woolly underneath to keep your legs lovely and cosy. They look great worn outdoors, so there's no need to change. But maybe it's the colours and patterns that take the biscuit in a covid world that manages to be scary and boring at the same time? Our huge harem yoga pants collection is more colourful than most and contains some epic styles. If you've bought a pair or two, what inspired you to buy them?
Will the Boho revolution last?
How many of us will keep on working from home once the covid crisis finally eases? Some of us will be required by our employers to return to the ordinary way of working. Some people can only work from
ctual work. High street retail is a good example. But plenty more will carry on with home-working.
Many office-based businesses have discovered the benefits of not having to pay rent on an office, and their employees are just as keen not to have to commute any more. To be honest, the way things are going, whatever happens next it doesn't look like 'back to normal' is an option. Will the people who go back to office work also go back to wearing traditional formal working clothes? Or has the old-school working uniform of a suit and tie or suit and smart blouse gone for good?
Will employers accept the new normal, where employees come into the office wearing something comfy and colourful and practical? In some cases, probably. In other cases, maybe not. Can you imagine an entire insurance company office or City investment bank full of staff wearing baggy harem pants? It's an entertaining thought!
Work in the clothes you love – It's a grown-up thing
In a way, forcing people to wear a certain type of clothing for work is a strange thing to do. If you're old enough to work and earn a living, surely you're grown up enough to make your own choices around what to wear to earn your money. As long as it's safe to wear what you like at work, why not?
Will you be going back to work in the same clothes you wore for work before covid, or have your ideas around what to wear at work changed for good? If you wear harem pants to work, what will your boss say? Are you planning to kick off a work-wear revolution?
Explore our harem trousers collection
Our fantastic collection of harem pants https://www.hippyclothingco.co.uk/collections/harem-pants contains almost seventy different styles and designs. Take a look and lose yourself in our world, a fun place where the clothing you wear says much more about you than it says about the job you do. We have black skull trousers and seersucker harems, velvet harem pants and tie dye lounging trousers. We sell jungle print harems, patchwork harem trousers and fleece Aladdin pants, plus hemp wraparound trousers, stone wash and acid wash versions, and plenty of plain and simple alternatives.
Enjoy!
