“I’ve spent $40,000 on shoes, and I have no place to live?!”
— Carrie Bradshaw, Sex and the City
Arguably the most fashionable fictional women of the 90s, the Sex and the City quartet represented their confidence and success in each of their respective careers through their clothing. Miranda — both in and out of the courtroom — donned a collar on almost every garment, whether it be a shoulder-padded suit, low-cut dress shirt, or a trench coat in the brisk Manhattan winter. Charlotte, the gallery curator, kept the patterns to the art; she often wore solid colors and slip dresses on nights out. The queen of office sirens, Samantha, appeared at the PR firm in every color blazer under the sun. Lastly, Carrie let the creativity of her job (but not her writer’s income) influence her casual dress, pining for Mr. Big in the latest designer clothes and a pair of Manolo Blahniks.
Women traded skirts for shoulder pads to reclaim typical men’s office fashion — like boxy suit jackets and pants — after years of harsh, often sexualized dress codes in the 60s and 70s. Pantsuited senators could step onto the floor in their new attire after fighting to lift the ban on trousers. With over 50% of women in the U.S. in the workforce by the 90s, women felt empowered to dress how they wanted, and didn’t take expressing themselves through their professional fashion lightly.
In 2026, gone are the days of tailored suits that contain more cotton than polyester, or any woman under the age of 40 who wears a pantsuit to the workplace. The office siren has lost her illustrious charm, and in her place is someone making an ad for the “must-have” TikTok Shop leggings that look like dress pants, yet feel like pjs.
There is nothing particularly wrong with comfortability, but Americans have become a bit obsessed with the idea. On every street corner, department store windows are filled with athleisure, or “a bridge from work to the gym,” as outdoor brand REI describes it. The latter half of that description makes sense; one would want to wear movable, comfortable clothing to the gym, grocery store, or any other third space where professionalism isn’t at the forefront. I just can’t shake the thought that Americans overindulge, as they do in most instances, in wearing athleisure to work.
This phenomenon is strictly American, too. In European countries, it is often frowned upon to be seen in athleisure anywhere but mid-run on the treadmill. I’ve always heard the sentiment, “dress for the job you want.” From the looks of most American workers, we all want to be personal trainers.
My biggest issue with athleisure: it’s homogeneous. Every workout brand on the planet sells the same pairs of black spandex pants and jackets. Office clothing of the past was not only sold in a wider variety, but it allowed workers to be creative in styling their outfits. Despite trends always existing, no two outfits looked the same with the availability of accessories like belts, headpieces, and handbags. In today’s sea of spandex, you can rarely find someone with pant pockets.
The movement from stockings to suit jackets meant something to the women who were told what they couldn’t wear to the office. These fashion innovations brought new fabrics and a wide variety of styles to women’s fashion that we still value today. I appreciate the freedoms that exist to wear athleisure in the office, but I think that freedom has much more value when used towards being creatively expressive with professional wear. The bright colors, patterns, and shapes of 90s fashion don’t have to be lost to Lululemon’s latest line of black spandex slacks.