“You’re on mute”, “can you hear me?”, and “sorry, my dog is barking at something” are all sentences that have become part of our vocabulary over the past year. With the entire world being forced to switch absolutely everything over to virtual, we all now spend wayyy too much time on video calls whether it’s for catching up with friends, work calls, or family trivia nights.

The biggest adjustment for a lot of people has definitely been switching work life to be from in-person to online only. I’ve been working from home for almost a full year now and it has been a little bit of a rollercoaster trying to figure out my rhythm and routine with my bf on work calls at the same time, my dog legitimately sitting on me at all times, and many technical glitches. Now that I have found my groove, I’ve learned some tips and tricks that I’m willing to pass onto all of you.

One major plus to working from home is the fact that you simply can wear your PJs all day long. Amazing, right? But what happens if you have an important meeting where PJs may not be acceptable? I’m sure many of you have seen viral images of people who are in work meetings with a dress shirt on the top and just underwear on the bottom. Bold. I can appreciate bold. But I’m not suggesting something quite this extreme. However, I do follow the same concept of business on top, optimal comfort on the bottom. Check it out:

Not pictured: sweatpants on the bottom half to complete the outfit.

As you know, I’m a firm believer in comfort/lounge/bedtime clothes, especially when you aren’t leaving the house. I’m not the type of person who will throw on some rigid jeans or vegan leather trousers to sit on the couch and work all day. You will 10/10 find me in a sweatsuit or leggings and a crewneck sweater. I’m just more productive when I’m comfortable. However, there are some instances when you can’t wear a hoodie on your video calls for work. But what the other person can’t see won’t hurt them, right? 

RIGHT! The easiest piece to dress yourself up on a video call is a simple blazer. You can literally wear your comfiest sweatpants and a white tee, then add the blazer and you all of a sudden look put together. Blazers are magical, friends.✨ Another tip is if you have to dress up for a video call, make sure whatever you’re wearing is oversized. An oversized white poplin shirt looks dressy on its own. Add a sweater tied over your shoulder, tie your hair back into a sleek bun, and put on some gold hoop earrings and you look like a boss! 

The simplest yet equally as effective style choice for a video call is the classic black turtleneck. I rock this one often tbh. It’s so easy but looks so chic (to the viewer). The nice thing about it is you can switch up your hair, jewelry, or lipstick and the look can be completely different yet you’re wearing the same old sweatpants. Simple AND versatile – the best combo. Just to be clear, I definitely don’t recommend these hacks if you’re doing an interview or a very important presentation. The only reason I don’t is because with an interview, it’s better to get yourself into the proper mindset and getting fully dressed will help with that. It does for me anyway. 

I hope this has helped those of you who are either looking to step up their video call style without sacrificing comfort, or for those who have constantly been stepping it up and are looking to take a step back. Video calls are not going anywhere anytime soon so might as well manage expectations sooner rather than later! 

Until next hump day…

Peace & love!

TL