HA. NOT ME. Why Some Men Are Still Wearing Suits to Work from Home.

LAST YEAR was all about shlumpy sweatpants, plush house slippers and mundane Zoom shirts. As many Americans shifted to working from home—and later trickled back into offices—our wardrobes took a hard left turn into the world of casual wear. But even as elastic waists and jersey became de rigueur for a chunk of the corporate class, a smaller portion of WFH men—let’s call them tailoring holdouts—continue to cling to their blazers, suits and neckties like life rafts in a tumultuous year. These men found comfort in their sartorial formality, even if they never want to be labeled “the tie guy” on Zoom calls ever again.

What’s behind this tailoring commitment? For starters, many of these suit stalwarts are nagged by a feeling that they must maintain some level of decorum even from home. Last summer, months after the pandemic’s onset, Shawn Sukumar, 37, a trial lawyer in Washington, D.C., had his court hearings moved to video call. Though none of his superiors or others on-high specified a dress code, he felt it best to toe the line and wear his suit and tie on the calls. He believes you should look polished when speaking before a court—even digitally. And if you’re wondering: No, he never wore anything but full trousers with his sport coat even though he was only shown from the waist up. No shorts. Certainly no boxers. “I don’t trust the video on that. I wear pants every time.”

But for online teaching, I wear the same thing I do for in-person teaching — a nice sportcoat and a dress or polo shirt. I decided early on to do that out of respect for the students.