Some of us spent the entirety of 2020 swaddled in sweats; others lived in pajamas and slippers while social distancing.
Perennially glamorous celebrity stylist-turned-designer Rachel Zoe, on the other hand, worked from home in vintage furs and her finest jewels.
“I will be fully honest with you: My pandemic uniform was probably not the norm,” Zoe told Page Six Style while discussing her partnership with Tanqueray.
“What people don’t understand about me is that getting dressed up is a 30-second process. Dressing down, I’d have to really spend a minimum of 30 to 45 [minutes] thinking, ‘How do I play this down? How do I look more casual?'” she added. “And I’ve been this way since I was like 8 years old.”
So since she couldn’t very well roll up for video meetings in her bathrobe — “It’s just not a great look,” she deadpanned — Zoe spent most days in one of her signature floor-sweeping dresses.
“A maxi dress for me is like other people’s sweats,” she said. “It’s just comfortable and easy and how I’m happiest.”
Add to that a sprinkling of statement jewelry — “Always a necklace or big earrings, always rings,” she noted — and Zoe was ready for anything on her agenda, be it a business meeting or toasting at a virtual cocktail hour with her go-to Tanqueray Sevilla Orange and soda.
But the Curateur founder, who became a household name in the 2000s thanks to her work dressing stars like Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Richie and Cameron Diaz, will be the first to acknowledge that the brand of bohemian glamour with which she’s become synonymous isn’t for everyone.
“The truth is, there are people that are going to stay casual, and I think that’s totally fine,” Zoe predicted of how fashion might evolve post-pandemic.
“If you don’t feel like you look good, you’re not going to put your best self out there. And that doesn’t mean dress up; that just means wear your favorite jeans with a pair of flats and a really good T-shirt, or a cute little jacket,” she added.
Don’t forget about the power of accessories, arguably Zoe’s secret weapon when it comes to styling a look.
“You could have on a black crewneck sweater, and literally just put on a great pair of earrings and a red lip, and all of a sudden you’re totally somebody else,” she said.
And fear not: There’s no need to banish those sweatpants to the back of your closet just yet.
“With remote [work] and Zoom, just look cute from the waist up. Who cares?” Zoe quipped.
Tanqueray Sevilla Orange is now available to purchase, and you can even pick up Rachel Zoe’s preferred cocktail in canned form.