elecommuter-core – the new, angst-ridden fashion trend nobody asked for – is sweeping the globe, and taking once-niche fashion questions to the mainstream. Mainly: is it really possible to dress “from the top up” only for a conference call, as many have speculated on social media? If Ron Burgundy taught us anything it is that the newsreader look – suit jacket paired with boxer shorts beneath the desk – is a fool’s errand. The poster for Anchorman demonstrates the shortcomings of the style, as have a raft of embarrassed real-life news anchors in their underpants. There are better ways to compromise between the morale-boosting properties of workwear and the need to be comfortable. The garment you need is a smart pair of tracksuit bottoms. Ignore what Karl Lagerfeld said (“Sweatpants are a sign of defeat”) and look to social media, where these soft elasticated waists appear to be holding us together. Sign up for the Fashion Statement email Read more In Instagram accounts chronicling the sudden spike in remote-working chic, tracksuits feature heavily. One account, wfhfits, which has racked up more than 1,000 followers since its launch on Friday, was set up by a group of London and New York fashion editors, so comes fashion-approved. Stylists and editors at British Vogue post photographs in Sprite logo tracksuits, Adidas joggers or tracksuit bottoms paired with knitted jumpers. These are fashion people, of course – they can get away with irony and performative slovenliness in the name of creativity and quirk. But even in much more formal jobs, a discreet, comfortable, hole-free pair of tracksuit bottoms will be a balm – the soft, familiar fabric a cocoon against the news. Pangaia’s soft, recycled tracksuits, made with environmentally friendly dyes, are fashion’s gold standard right now, but for most of us this is a shop-your-own-wardrobe situation. Luxe jogging bottoms were very on trend circa 2014 – if you bought a pair then, now is the time to find them. Pair with a smart jumper or a spritz of perfume and you will be pulled together, but comfy, sartorially at least. Fashion even has a reassuringly aspirational name for it , as though we are hanging out at home out of choice: loungewear.