No, You Do Not Need to Buy Any "Zoom Tops"

2020 was the year of joggers, pyjamas, your high school hoodie with names of people you now hate. I.e wearing things you already own.

I thought this would be the year we finally say a big 'stuff you!' to fast fashion marketing and buy more ethical clothing or, be even more sustainable, just wear what we already own and focus on making them last. Boy was I wrong.

Now, for fashion businesses who market their products saying we 'need' their clothes made by workers not even paid minimum wage for parties, work, weddings and holidays, the multiple lockdowns and cancellations of all events had a huge effect on the spending of their target audience. Why would anyone need a Boohoo purple blazer now?! However, the online fashion retail industry boomed in 2020, partly due to a completely nonsensical trend.

In come: "Zoom tops". When I first saw this on Instagram, I thought 'Oh that's cool, we all have that shirt or a cute blouse that we throw on for video calls to look professional'. Oh no. This was people specifically buying shirts and tops for their video calls. Yup...

Whilst we got used to barely anyone seeing the bottom halves of our torso for months on end (people wearing jeans, what are you trying to prove?), we've paid a lot more attention to our necklines. This means that fashion marketing as gone towards fancy collars, Victorian-era square necklines, puff sleeves, frills and turtlenecks.

Don't get me wrong, these styles are all chic as hell. I'm not saying hang around in your pyjamas for a huge work presentation, I personally love to get changed into something smarter casual just for a change. The problem lies in buying non-sustainable fashion items for absolutely no reason. If you enjoy buying clothes, then go ahead! But I hope in 2021 onwards we all work towards fashion sustainability, which first starts from buying clothes for longevity.

Because you know what could have got you that promotion? A £620, Alexander McQueen top! Gosh Sharon it's a meeting not the Oscars.

Considering the amount of coverage fashion companies have had in the media on their damage to the environment and the workers who were screwed over in the pandemic (who were only paid pennies before), this new trend was quite a shock to me. There are plenty of online sustainable fashion retailers that need much more credit for the ethical fashion products they sell. However, saying you need a 'zoom top', and making you feel like the ones you own just won't do, will not make you want to research for these. It's much easier just go to Asos, Zara etc. for a basic shirt when a blouse/shirt/t-shirt you already own and wore to work every day anyway, is perfectly fine!

Missguided were known to launch a 'joggers and nice top' edit last year, a play on 'jeans and a nice top' being the go-to casual party outfit. I can definitely see the appeal in this, but that's a tad over the top. Is your boss really going to care whether you wear a fancy collar or a plain t-shirt?

Let's leave behind the caving into irrelevant trends that fashion companies want us to buy into back in 2020. Although a high neck crop top on Boohoo for £4 is super tempting, is it really that worth it when that worker is definitely being paid far less to make it? It is worth it when you have other, perfectly wearable clothes? Clothing should never, ever, ever be that cheap.

I'm team Tan France (Queer Eye) when it comes to printed shirts. They're fun, versatile and brighten up any outfit. These are class 'zoom shirts', and you can see why!

However, I'd love to see the 'Zoom shirt' trend die out and be replaced with second-hand, sustainable or handmade clothing, even if it's snazzing up something you already own. I hope 2021 brings us together against fashion companies rinsing out workers without paying proper wages and focus on making clothes out of recycled materials (not just half a water bottle then call it 'sustainable'). You do not need a separate shirt for zoom, unlike buying new running trainers for the gym, this will not enhance your performance. It's just a shirt, and it's just for zoom.