Everyone In The Vogue Office Is Wearing The Same Specific Outfit

Whenever I mention that I work at Vogue, I’m usually met with some variation of “Does it take you ages to decide what to wear every day?” and honestly… no. While Plum Sykes may have implied it’s all chiffon Dolce & Gabbana skirts and town cars, my wardrobe is usually just variations on the same outfit and one pair of shoes for the week, until I decide I should probably switch it up.

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This week, distracted by the sun and lulled into thinking I had loads of time, I fell into a pre-8am doom-scroll spiral, meaning I was behind on my militant, down-to-the-minute schedule. With a dog crying outside the shower, I had exactly 15 minutes to get dressed and settled on a tried-and-tested look that said “enough effort has been made”: jeans, a blue shirt and my trusty ballet flats (which are falling apart at the seams and probably belong in a bin). As I made my way into the office, chihuahua in hand and sunglasses on my head, I pushed away the nagging feeling that I looked more like someone who frequents Daylesford on Westbourne Grove and escapes to Sussex on weekends than I’d ideally like.

Fast forward a few hours and I started to get a strange feeling: everyone at Vogue HQ, it turns out, had the same thought process this morning. En masse, the army of blue shirts, jeans and ballet flats was inescapable. The hive mind had taken hold and I realised that, despite my best efforts, I am, perhaps, just like other girls. It makes sense, after all: a shirt is the ultimate shortcut to looking put together with a quick swoosh of an iron (if you’re being pedantic). “It’s an essential when dressing for the office, particularly on a Monday morning,” says Ellie Davies, Vogue’s audience growth manager, who’s been sporting a rainbow of archival Cos shirts this week. “It takes the stress out of having to pick what to wear, and the only decision I need to make is whether to opt for jeans or trackies. It’s basically a combo I go to five days a week.”

Vogue shopping contributor Julia Storm agrees, adding that “a blue shirt with jeans is a nonchalant look that’s also quite chalant. It says this is probably my dad’s old shirt, but at least it’s been ironed.” For commerce editor Joy Montgomery, this formula aligns perfectly with her love of tailoring. “You can keep your boho summer dresses and whimsical skirts, because I am, and have always been, a tailoring girl through and through,” she says. “Admittedly, this can get tricky during the spring and summer months, but I have always found that, whatever the season, a blue shirt is the polished staple that ticks all the boxes. I’ll style with slouchy cords and wide-leg jeans and loafers now, then, when high summer hits, swap in long-line shorts and flip-flops.”

Echoing the same sentiment, another member of the blue shirt brigade, Vogue’s commerce producer Mia Portet adds that “there’s something about a classic blue shirt that gives you that all important ‘I’ve got my life together today feeling’, even if it’s an oversized, un-ironed shirt draped over your favourite trackies or well-worn jeans. It’s the ultimate throw-on-and-go office attire.” For those in the market for their very own Vogue uniform, Mia recommends “the Arket men’s department – it never fails to provide you with the classic oversized fit of your dreams.”

By lunchtime, I’d fully embraced my fate. Maybe we are all just variations of the same Pinterest board, rotating our way through slightly different washes of denim and the occasional pinstripe. But honestly, there are worse things than a foolproof outfit formula – and if it’s good enough for Sofia Coppola, it’s good enough for me. So, if you find yourself inextricably drawn to the blue shirt tomorrow, don’t fight the siren call. Resistance is futile. Welcome to the club.