Does It Matter What You Wear When You’re Laid Off and Looking?
This post may contain affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
I was looking back on some of Corporette's early hits the other day and reflecting on how different the world is today. One of the first ones that came to mind was a reader question on what she should wear while laid off and looking. I started wondering: in 2026, does it matter what you wear when you're laid off and looking? Beyond what you're wearing — does it matter how you comport yourself, at all?
The original query: a laid off Silicon Valley executive had run into a colleague at the grocery store looking a bit schlubby (outfit above, much of it sourced from her son's closet), and she was wondering what else she should have been wearing.
My advice at the time: I suggested she burn the scrunchie, then told her she should be wearing jeans, a simple tee, and a blazer.
What I'd say in 2026: I still think jeans and a blazer are a fine look, to be honest, but let's face it, a lot of people aren't wearing that these days. What if she had met her colleague at the supermarket and she was wearing a Spanx set? Workout clothes? Literal gardening clothes with dirt on them?
I don't think any of us would really balk if we saw a colleague wearing that outfit. I still wouldn't want to see, say, an older man I'd worked with in too-tight, too-short shorts, or someone in a clubbing outfit at 7 AM, but otherwise… it's hard to imagine.
Then I started thinking about all the other ways we “see” former colleagues now — in online forums and on text messages, as well as shared stomping grounds like a local grocery store. Does any of it matter now? My old advice would have been to not express personal opinions! Certainly not strong ones on religion or politics! For God's sake don't be racist or homophobic!
That said… a lot of the former lines in the sand for general comportment have gone out the window thanks to the blowback to cancellation culture.
What are your thoughts, readers — is there anything a former colleague could wear, say or do that would make them unhireable or even undesirable assuming you know the right people and have the right pedigree?
Psst: Fun fact: I had dinner with the original writer, Lisa, a year or two later while in town for a conference and still think of our dinner fondly — and it's hard to believe any outfit would have turned former coworkers off because she's just one of those people who genuinely seems smart and funny and eminently capable. She's still blogging today!
While I don’t work in a formal industry, I cannot imagine giving two effs about what I wear to the grocery store or out on a run in case I run into a colleague. I have always lived and worked in Center City/adjacent neighborhoods so have often lived near colleagues and have run into people I know here and there. I’ve gone out for a run on a Saturday AM and run into a coworker walking his dog – we were both in pretty schlubby clothing but we also did not worry about it because we were dressed appropriately for the activity and setting!
yeah same, I run into colleagues at least 1x a month. As long as no one’s looking like they’re hungover and got caught in a drain a la Carrie Bradshaw’s magazine cover, no one cares.
I have also run into colleagues while horribly hungover and vice versa. As long as its a weekend and they’re not on their way to work like that, I think it’s fine!
I think how you look reflects how you feel. I think Ok to be dressed for the occasion (casually) but I never leave the house in anything i wouldn’t feel good about running into someone in…. I would wear to the store (or my kids little league game, etc): cute and clean gym clothes, matching sweats, jeans and sneaks, a maxi dress and birks. i would not wear: pajama pants, a bar mitzah hoodie i swiped from one of my kids closets.. i also always put a little lipstick on and some earrings.
I don’t leave my house in pajama pants or stuff like that. Not because I can’t risk seeing a colleague that way, but because I don’t like to look like a total slob. But, I quite often leave the house in functional (not trendy/cute) workout attire without makeup.
not to get off the topic but I try to only have things that are in reasonably good condition. if something looks wildly dated or is stretched or grubby i get rid of it. So by cute and clean gym clothes i mean that… i don’t mean white lululemon shorts or whatever.
I often leave the house in denim shorts (it’s often upper eighties, lower nineties), but would never wear that when I was planning on seeing someone I know.
I got laid off almost a year ago, my field has been decimated abd now I’m supposed to worry about whether going for a run in old, generic gym shorts renders me unemployable? No thanks.
there are some people who post (hard to tell if it’s the same person or multiple) who seem to take the position that they never worry what other people think of them and never debate what to wear. I am sure there are other online communities where they might be less disdainful of the other posters but, maybe that’s the point?
There’s “never debate what to wear or worry” which is different than “I’m okay running to the grocery store in leggings and a tee, even if I run into someone”!
i don’t think any of the comments above suggest a problem with leggings and a tee.
I don’t know if this was directed at me? Didn’t mean to sound dismissive, just that wearing average weekend gear, on weekends, isn’t something that anyone should consider job-search-threatening.
Like maybe don’t run errands in visibly dirty /worn “house project so who cares if bleach gets on them”clothes? But who’s doing that anyway?
People actively working on those projects who break for lunch or resupply and then go back to those projects. What do you do?
What’s wrong with a scrunchie?