A young worker claimed it was “hard out here” after leaving her entire corporate office shaken over her unusual footwear.
What is considered corporate workwear in 2024 has very much changed.
People are letting their toes free by wearing slides; stomachs are out because crop tops are in, and no one can agree on what is office-appropriate anymore.
Gen Zers want to wear shorts, Millennials are wondering if they can pull off track pants with blazers and Boomers are left wondering why everyone dresses so casually now.
Chloe Andrews, 28, took to social media to share she was “absolutely roasted” for wearing her Tabi shoes to the office.
If you’re unfamiliar with Tabi shoes, they’re trending again at the moment and are traditional Japanese footwear that features a split between the big toe and the rest of the piglets to provide flexibility and comfort.
Therefore, despite the fact that the shoes are enclosed, your toes become very front and centre. As someone in Andrews’ comment section pointed out, the shoes can sometimes make you look like you have “goat feet” – but they’re trendy.
Andrews decided to take a fashion risk and wear them to her corporate job and then did a service to the internet and filmed her co-workers’ reactions.
“I work in an office with a lot of different generations so I’m excited to see what some of them will say,” she said.
The response was very much divided. Okay, it wasn’t that divided, most people in her office just straight-up hated her shoes.
The most brutal response was definitely from a co-worker who said the shoes made the 28-year-old look like a “farm animal”.
One male co-worker, while rubbing his neck, asked, “What are those?” and, when Andrews gave him some context about her shoes, he simply replied, “I don’t get it”.
At one point, her co-workers were Googling cow hoofs to compare them to her shoes. It was absolute office anarchy.
The most supportive response was from two Gen Z staff members who weren’t negative about her shoe choice and instead hyped her up – one even clapped and said, “Yass!”.
Andrews told news.com.au that she wasn’t surprised by the response. adding that she often wears “interesting” outfits into work and said the response to her shoes was a “laugh” more than anything else.
The 28-year-old said that she thinks office fashion doesn’t need to be serious and believes in having fun where you can.
“Our office is pretty lucky and we get to express ourselves in our outfits and aren’t too strict on the traditional corporate wear,” she said.
“I love to mix business with sports-athleisure and wear what makes me feel good.”
Her TikTok video has amassed over 800,000 views and also kicked off a big conversation about office attire.
“People will laugh but only you and those who know will know how chic it is,” one wrote.
“First they laugh, then they copy,” another reassured.
“We spend too much time in the office to save our fun clothes for the weekend,” one argued.
“I couldn’t,” someone else said.
“You’re fighting for your life in that office,” one person joked.
