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Office wear gets sexy twist in viral TikTok trend worn by Jennifer Lawrence, Bella Hadid

  • Shorter skirts, unbuttoned shirts, knee-high socks – ‘corporate sleaze’ puts a sexy spin on office wear, and it’s simple and cheap to create

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Jennifer Lawrence attends the Christian Dior womenswear autumn/winter 2024-25 show at Paris Fashion Week on February 27, 2024, showing off the “corporate sleaze” look that has become a viral TikTok trend. Photo: Getty Images

Tailored skirts, skinny glasses, white shirts and loafers may sound like boring staples you need for a conventional office job. Gen Z, however, has pivoted these basic pieces to tap into a new trend known as “corporate sleaze”.

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By doing things like shortening skirts, unbuttoning shirts and adding in pairs of sheer knee-high socks, traditional pieces have been given a sexy makeover in the latest aesthetic to become a viral TikTok trend.

A relative of “indie sleaze”, which was popular from around 2008 to 2014, corporate sleaze grew from 2023 catwalk shows that saw designers add dimension to the “quiet luxury” trend by giving minimalist pieces a more figure-hugging silhouette, resulting in a look dubbed the “office siren”. The fusion of these two aesthetics created corporate sleaze.

Fashion model Bella Hadid was an early adopter of the style, with her two most notable looks being a micro-mini grey skirt suit teamed with platform Gucci loafers; and a more relaxed interpretation incorporating a striped, unbuttoned shirt, grey tailored trousers and a slim-fit leather blazer.

She topped off both outfits by keeping her make-up natural and wearing skinny wire-framed glasses.

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