Gen Z workers trade sneakers for loafers in the office

Structured shoes are back in the office conversation, with loafers, derbies and oxfords moving in as Gen Z workers rethink what polish looks like after years of pandemic casualwear. Who What Wear’s fall 2025 shoe-trend coverage and GQ’s 2025 business-casual shoe guides both elevated dressier footwear for office wear, while The Hustle argued that office fashion was not returning to a sneaker-dominated norm.

The backlash to all-sneaker dressing was already visible in March 2024, when a New York stylist said Gen Z workers were being too casual at work and that sneakers should not be worn everywhere in the office. That warning landed as younger employees were navigating workplaces where the line between relaxed and professional had blurred, especially in hybrid settings that ask shoes to work for the commute, the desk and after-hours plans.

Business Insider’s August 2023 office-fashion coverage captured that shift in real time through 11 workers whose outfits ranged from Doc Martens to pocket squares. Those workers described their looks as “comfy-chic” and “androgynous,” language that showed how Gen Z was already using office clothes to signal personality instead of strict conformity. Business Insider’s September 2023 fall-fashion coverage went further, describing Gen Z as reinventing old trends and kick-starting new styles.

The pressure grew as return-to-office mandates spread. A Fortune story published April 22, 2024 said growing return-to-office mandates were pushing Gen Z women to merge work and evening wear, a practical response to longer days and more visible office presence. Business Insider followed in August 2024 by noting that Gen Z women were leaning into office-inspired clothing, even if they were not wearing it to the office. By April 2025, Business Insider was again focused on Gen Z women entering the workforce and what they were wearing to the office.

That makes the shoe switch more than a style reset. In offices where sneakers once telegraphed ease, loafers and derbies now read as deliberate, and in some settings, as a sign of ambition. The trend also reflects a broader workplace order taking shape after the pandemic: younger workers are not simply dressing up, they are deciding which parts of old office discipline still count, and which ones are being rewritten.