Is loungewear here to stay?

By Angeliz Venter

Editor: Marcelle Jordaan

We can all agree that the year 2020 and the changes Covid-19 brought, changed many aspects of our lives. But one change most of us observed or adopted was and is wearing loungewear 24/7. Some of us are in full on comfy mode and others dress up their sweatpants, but let’s face it, we all have way more loungewear than we did a year ago.

With most of the world opting for remote working and work from home business models, loungewear came back into fashion and consumers are actively looking for comfy, yet stylish options to wear at home, while looking good on their Zoom meetings. In this short period of 2021, we’ve already seen major fashion brands change their designs to accommodate the loungewear trend, with suits, skirts, button up blouses and many more being manufactured in soft stretchable fabrics, to essentially let their customers “lounge” in a stylish manner. But if we are being honest with ourselves, you can’t call it loungewear if you are uncomfortable during the transition from video call at 16:00 to watching Netflix at 17:00. Am I right?

The trend of wearing sleepwear when going out, also made a return late last year and early 2021, with a few fashion forward (or lazy, we will never know) consumers spotted with silk and satin sleepwear tops, paired with jeans and sneakers when doing their essential shopping. I personally love this trend and the way our ‘conventional’ clothing categories are starting to flow into one another.

According to Instyle the sale of high heels dropped by 71% in 2020 and it is anticipated to drop even further in 2021. High heels were in the decline before the pandemic started, with younger generations actively going against the stiff work wear culture and bringing casual wear into the everyday office life. If I just think back to the type of shoes I’ve been wearing for the past few months, it consisted of slippers (most of the time) and on the rare occasion of going out, it is sneakers.

Since there is no immediate need for wearing high heels or dressing up, with offices being closed, restaurants not staying open late, nightclubs being closed, will we get used to our comfortable footwear or will we eventually be so starved for social gatherings and dressing up that we wear heels for the most basic outings? Or will the loungewear trend stay and just be dressed up with minimal accessories and footwear? Only time will tell! One thing I know for sure is, I am excited to see how fashion develops and adapts to our needs during this time!

About Angeliz Venter

I am the owner of KiCoco. I started my small business in 2016, as part of my studies for a Clothing Retail Management degree at the University of Pretoria. We had to do 200 production hours and I started making baby clothes as a part of that. People soon started showing interest outside of the university and I decided to take part in small markets and baby expos for extra money to travel and save to invest in the business further. I realised that this venture could be more than just a hobby and I used my savings to expand and stock small boutiques all over South Africa. We expanded to baby, toddler, kids and in 2020, adult ranges. We aim to empower all local communities by using a small CMT (cut, make and trim) factory in Thembisa (a township in Gauteng, South Africa) and also make use of ‘at home’ seamstresses who gets paid a fair wage per unit. Especially now with the economic environment and Covid-19, it’s been so beneficial for us and our employees that they can sew from the comfort of their homes, even if this makes quality control so much harder. KiCoco aims to keep production in South Africa and source most of our fabric here too.

Instagram: @angeliz_venter

To shop our KiCoco loungewear click here.