How Remote and Hybrid Work Reshaped Fashion Spending (2026)
An analysis of how the shift to remote and hybrid work has permanently altered fashion spending patterns, wardrobe composition, and category growth. Loungewear, athleisure, and hybrid dressing are up; traditional formalwear continues to decline.
By TRY Editorial Team · Published 2026-04-13
Key takeaways
Loungewear and athleisure now account for 28% of total apparel spending, up from 18% in 2019.
Formalwear (suits, blazers, dress shoes) spending is down 34% compared to pre-pandemic levels and shows no signs of recovery.
The 'zoom top' effect is measurable: spending on tops and jewelry is up 22%, while bottom-half categories remain flat.
Hybrid dressing—versatile pieces that work for home, office, and social settings—is the fastest-growing wardrobe category.
Workers who go to an office 2–3 days per week spend 15% more on clothing overall than fully remote or fully in-office workers.
Remote and hybrid work have permanently restructured how people dress and spend on clothing. Formalwear spending is down 34% from 2019 levels while loungewear and athleisure have grown into a $78B global category. This report covers the market shifts, category winners and losers, the 'zoom top' phenomenon, and the emergence of hybrid dressing as a distinct wardrobe category.
Market Shifts: Category Winners and Losers
The fashion market has bifurcated along comfort lines. Loungewear and athleisure grew from an $48B global market in 2019 to $78B in 2026, while traditional formalwear contracted from $95B to $63B over the same period. The winners are brands that recognized the shift early: Vuori, Lululemon, and Aritzia built hybrid-ready product lines that now anchor their revenue growth.
Loungewear and athleisure: $78B global market, 62% growth since 2019.
Formalwear: $63B, a 34% decline that has stabilized but shows no recovery trajectory.
Hybrid-ready brands: companies with cross-context product lines grew revenue 2.4x faster than traditional apparel brands.
Footwear: sneakers and comfortable flats overtook heels and dress shoes in market share for the first time in 2024.
The Zoom Top Effect
Video calls created a measurable asymmetry in wardrobe spending. Tops, blouses, scarves, and upper-body accessories saw a 22% spending increase between 2020 and 2026, while pants, skirts, and shoes below the camera line remained flat. This isn't just a pandemic artifact—the pattern has persisted as video meetings became a permanent fixture of work culture, even for hybrid workers.
Tops and blouses: 22% spending increase, with elevated fabrics and bold colors outperforming basics.
Statement earrings and necklaces: 30% growth, driven by on-camera visibility.
Pants and skirts: flat spending, with comfort fabrics (stretch, knit) gaining share within the category.
Dress shoes: down 28%, replaced by sneakers and comfortable flats for commute days.
Hybrid Dressing as a New Category
Hybrid dressing has moved from a styling concept to a product category that brands design for explicitly. The defining characteristic is cross-context versatility: a piece should look appropriate in a home office, a coworking space, a client meeting, and a casual dinner without requiring a change. Structured knits, elevated joggers, and relaxed blazers are the category staples.
Cross-context versatility: the #1 purchase driver for workers who split time between home and office.
Wrinkle resistance and packability: essential for commuters who carry clothing between locations.
Brand positioning: mid-market brands that launched 'hybrid' or 'flex' lines saw 18% higher sell-through rates.
Consumer expectation: 74% of hybrid workers say they want clothes that 'work everywhere' rather than different outfits for different settings.
Spending Patterns by Work Arrangement
Counterintuitively, fully remote workers do not spend the least on clothing. Workers in hybrid arrangements (2–3 office days per week) spend the most, because they need wardrobes that span multiple contexts. Fully in-office workers spend the second most, concentrated on traditional workwear. Fully remote workers spend the least overall but allocate a higher percentage to loungewear and athleisure.
Hybrid workers (2–3 days in office): $1,850 average annual clothing spend, highest of all groups.
Fully in-office workers: $1,620 average, concentrated in traditional workwear categories.
Fully remote workers: $1,280 average, with 45% allocated to comfort-oriented categories.
Freelancers and gig workers: $1,150 average, lowest spend but highest investment in versatile pieces.
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Start with TRYFrequently Asked Questions
Has remote work permanently changed how people spend on fashion?
Yes. Six years after the initial shift, the data shows permanent structural changes rather than a temporary dip. Formalwear spending has not recovered to 2019 levels in any major market, while comfort-oriented categories have maintained and expanded their gains. The wardrobe composition of the average consumer has fundamentally shifted.
What is the 'zoom top' phenomenon?
The 'zoom top' phenomenon refers to the measurable increase in spending on tops, blouses, scarves, and upper-body jewelry—items visible on video calls—while spending on pants, skirts, and dress shoes has remained flat or declined. This asymmetry in wardrobe spending persists even as many workers return to offices part-time.
What is hybrid dressing?
Hybrid dressing refers to versatile clothing that transitions between home, office, and social contexts without feeling out of place in any setting. Think elevated knits, structured joggers, and blazers over casual bases. It has emerged as a distinct product category that brands are now designing for explicitly.
TRY Editorial Team — Editorial
The TRY editorial team covers wardrobe strategy, sustainable style, and outfit building. Pieces without a named byline are collaborative work by our staff writers and editors.
Covers: wardrobe strategy · capsule wardrobes · sustainable fashion
Published 2026-04-13