Meet the Gen Zers who insist on wearing sexy outfits to the office

Gen Z and young Millennials are giving HR managers “anxiety” after returning to the office in clothing usually reserved for nightclubs.

Younger generations are ditching traditional corporate wear in favour of much sexier office attire, a new report states.

Gen Z is getting back to the office, but they’re not dressing for the part, ditching conventional workwear for “sexy” outfits usually reserved for nightclubs.

On TikTok, there are thousands of videos tagged #workoutfits that show Gen Zers and young Millennials flaunting office attire comprised of short skirts, sheer tops and sweats.

But while these ensembles would have once merited a serious conversation with HR for being “too casual” or “too provocative” for work are now being met with a mix of consternation and wonder, the NY Post reports.

Gen Zers are insisting on wearing sexy outfits to the office. Picture: TikTok

Dani Klarić, a young interior decorator/creative director, gleefully shared her workday outfit in a recent TikTok video and instantly went viral for being “out of touch”.

The controversial outfit in question was made up of a white miniskirt, a short-sleeve shirt worn totally unbuttoned to reveal a lacy yellow bra and a pair of sheer yellow thigh-high socks.

“If I had a corporate job this is how I would go dressed to work. Like who’s going to stop me?” she says confidently in the post, which has garnered more than 200,000 likes and over 2 million views.

But while backlash came hard and fast for Dani, there are many people who believe dress codes are “outdated”.

“I understand dress codes, but I think they have become outdated,” Keely Bouroncle, a 31-year-old with a corporate job, told the publication.

Keely, who likes to embrace her figure with form-fitting clothing in bright colours, said it shouldn’t matter what she wears so long as she’s getting her work done.

“How a person dresses is a statement of themselves. I want to look good so I feel good.”

Dani Klarić copped backlash for stating she would wear this to work. Picture: TikTok/Dani Klarić

Those working in human resources however are also observing the younger generation’s approach to office dressing with a pang of anxiety.

“I have noticed a few issues among younger people,” said David Bradshaw, 45, president of Northstar PMO, an outsourcing HR firm based in Boston.

He said he’s observed younger workers dressing “too casually”.

Cindy O’Peka, with O’Peka Human Resources and Consulting in California, has long been in favour of more relaxed dress codes in the office, but she thinks sometimes the new generation sometimes seems more clueless than conscious of what they’re doing.

Keely Bouroncle said dress codes are ‘outdated’. Picture: Supplied

@okaykeelyy Replying to @lucypytrodriguez this is how I dress 🙃 #fyp#corporatelife#ootd#workoutfit♬ BILLIE EILISH. - Armani White

She’s observed some outfits on younger employees that are much more “appropriate for clubbing” than a professional setting.

“[But] I think they might actually feel like they are dressing up because that was what they wear when they go out,” the 41-year-old said.

Clothing brands, meanwhile, have been quick to note and market to the changing norms. Trend-driven LA brand Reformation caused a stir online last month with an email advertising their “work edit” that had models donning “office-ready” strappy dresses, cropped blazers and short-shorts.

@prettycritical Replying to @BAE more workwear that will get you fired #fashion#officewear#officefashion#reformation#shopping#workwear#officestyle♬ original sound - prettycritical

The marketing email was quickly roasted online, with one TikTok user stating the outfits were “not a good idea”.

A black cropped cardigan held together with one button, and featuring a model sans a bra, also captured attention as one said: “One wrong move and you’re flashing your t*ts.”

Suzanne Smallshaw, the senior director of fashion and styling at Rent the Runway – a company that rents designer apparel and accessories – told the NY Post that as workers return to office they’ve noticed the number of rentals of traditional “business formal” attire is almost half what it was in 2019.

“They’re saying goodbye to the basic black suit or sheath, instead opting for more printed, bold options as they return to office,” Smallshaw explained, adding that denim utilisation is up 56 per cent since 2020, indicating a more casual workplace.

But the experts said some companies aren’t fighting the cropped blazers and midriffs, and they’re just letting employees wear “pretty much what they want” as a “perk” of sorts.

“[Expression] is very important in some industries – especially the creative industries,” Bradshaw said.

“People want to bring not just their work to the table, but their personality and their style and their creativity.”

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission