Withdrawal symptoms post pandemic: Denizens say, ‘Don’t wanna dress up!’

Delhi-NCR professionals, who embraced a comfortable lifestyle when the pandemic shifted their lives to mostly #WorkFromHome, are now fretting that they have to dress up as they return to their offices.

Neha Bindal, a Delhiite who attends her office only on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and works majorly from home on the rest of the weekdays can usually be found in her jammies. “WFH life is majorly lit! I can’t think of wearing a saree for official video meetings in this heat, and think about donning them for office! In fact, even when I have to attend weddings amid the pandemic, my fashion choices have shifted from sarees to suits! The WFH life has taught me the value of comfortable fashion, and there’s no going back now,” she says. And Bindal’s plight is quite relatable for women and men across Delhi-NCR who have become accustomed to certain wardrobe and lifestyle changes and are now having withdrawal symptoms while getting back to life post pandemic.

Bra-kaar ki baatien mat karo yaar!

“There was a time when I used to come back home from a typical work day and the first thing I use to do was to take off my bra and fling it across my room, and the feeling of freedom was bra-vo! Because of staying indoors and working from home, I have completely stopped wearing bra, and I don’t want to go back from my bra-less days to wearing a bra that prisons my bust! Every girl has two types of bras in her wardrobe – one we call as the comfy grandma bra, which has no push up, no support and is extremely comfortable and useless in function. The second is the pretty bra – it’s expensive, tight, lacy and very uncomfortable with wires and push up functions. After working braless for over a year, I can’t even go back to embracing the grandma bra – that’s how accustomed I have become to freedom,” shares Shweta Kataria, a resident of Noida.

Threading: Yeh kya hota hai bro?

“I am hairy and I like it,” says Preeti Sarin a banking professional from Gurugram. “At first I was thinking that I’m not getting threading and waxing done because of Delhi winters, but now as we are nearing the summers, I realise that embracing however my body is naturally has actually become a gift for me. When I used to attend office physically, The sort of peer pressure to look a particular way during meetings from having perfectly manicured nails to sharp eyebrows was immense. This pressure was partly because of comments on personal appearance as jokes by colleagues. But now that we all have been working from home, the fact is that many of my colleagues have become comfortable in their skin and have started appreciating their natural features. We don’t call each other out for being a bhaalu anymore. The past year has given us time to look in the mirror sans make up and love who you see for how she naturally is. Unkempt eyebrows are going to be my new fashion statement even if we return to office soon!”

Heels se chutkara paa kar pair heal ho gaye

“I will be lying if I don’t confess that flip flops have become my new BFF. The last thing that anyone sees on video meetings and calls is your feet. Being a corporate boss, heels used to be a part of a powerful fashion statement of mine. I used to love making the click clack noise as I walked across conference rooms to make my point. However, in the last year, working from home I have realized the comfortable options that chappals are. Multi-purpose and easy to walk in, I use chappals all day, from working at my work station at home to brining a packet of milk from the kirana shop. I have sworn off heels forever. My back pain, calves pain, and corn on my feet – has all disappeared. Now whenever I get a pedicure, it’s benefits are actually able to stay for a longer duration than just a week!

Author tweets @FizzyBuddha

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