Lifestyle
Office-Wear Influencers Like McLaurine Pinover Clock In Twice
As soon as he arrives to his office, just before 8 a.m. each day, Xander Maddox makes his way to the kitchen and lounge area, where large windows drench the space with ample natural lighting.
Usually his colleagues aren’t yet in at that hour, so he makes himself a cup of coffee and positions his phone in front of the window with the camera on and facing him. Then he hits record and steps back to capture the day’s outfit:
A black leather jacket.
A bright blue sweater from COS, Margiela loafers and two cups of Raisin Bran for breakfast.
A white T-shirt, gray pants and cherry red Nike Air Rifts, which he described as “a calm office fit.”
The whole process takes about five minutes. Then he has to upload.
“I try to do the same routine every day just to make it cohesive,” he said in a phone interview.
Mr. Maddox, a 31-year-old executive assistant at a finance company in Jersey City, N.J., isn’t doing this as part of his day job, but for his side hustle as a fashion content creator on TikTok, where hundreds find inspiration in the looks he put together.
Fashion influencing is a billion-dollar business, by some estimates, and many creators aspire to make it their full-time job. But for office-style influencers, their side hustle depends on their main hustle. They’re working at — and showcasing — their style at their real-life offices: law firms, tech companies, call centers, advertising agencies. Several times a week, they discreetly find the perfect spot in their break rooms or restrooms to record their ensembles for the internet.
After all, where else are you supposed to shoot #professionalfashion, #officeootd and #workfashioninspo videos but at an actual office?
In conversations with around half a dozen office-wear influencers in recent days, one thing was clear: You do have to time it right.
And posting your style at the office can backfire. Last week, McLaurine Pinover, the spokeswoman for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, came under fire after CNN reported on her workplace-style influencer videos, filmed in her office and posted on Instagram as her agency oversaw the layoffs of thousands of federal workers as part of an order by the Trump administration. She deleted her Instagram account, @getdressedwithmc, soon after the news outlet reached out to her.
“There’s a lot of emotions around the government and the state of the world we’re in right now, so I think you got to read the room,” Mr. Maddox said of Ms. Pinover’s case. “If you are in a highly visible job and you’re doing something that seems to be insensitive to the masses, then you’ve got to be able to have that common sense.”
As someone who is 5-foot-10 and broadly built, Mr. Maddox said he had to be meticulous with his shopping, prioritizing pants and shirts that would fit his frame. He would describe his style as “cozy, but elevated” and aims to inspire men, especially those with his body type, who want to express personal style in the office. Many of his colleagues follow him online with enthusiasm and support, he said. They haven’t spoken about it directly, but Mr. Maddox said he was also pretty confident that is boss was OK with it.
“As long as it doesn’t affect work,” he said, adding that his boss has a large social media presence as the chief executive of the company.
Five years after the coronavirus pandemic sent many employees home to log into meetings in loungewear, including new college graduates who began their professional careers on their couches, many are still unsure how to show up for work.
“After Covid, people didn’t know how to dress, because I definitely had no clue,” said Whitney Grett, a 27-year-old I.T. account manager for a staffing company in Houston. “Everyone was wearing sweatshirts the first year.”
Ms. Grett joined her current workplace remotely in early 2021, several months after she graduated from college. She was excited when it was time to return to the office and she could experiment with different ways to dress for work. Last summer, after receiving compliments from her co-workers about her outfits, she decided to start sharing her work looks on TikTok.
“It got to the point where I was like, I guess I’ll just start posting these because it just gave me another hobby to do, honestly,” she said.
In her videos, which are seen by thousands, Ms. Grett poses in front of the glass doors of an unoccupied conference room to capture her look for the day. She and a work friend usually meet up with a tripod around lunchtime to avoid foot traffic. Sometimes they have to wait until the end of the day to shoot if the office is really busy.
“I get some comments from people being like, ‘Oh, I could never do that,’ and I’m like, ‘I understand,’” she said. “I have a very supportive team — I’m not the first one who posted videos from the office before. I think they’re happy that I keep it to a little room.”
According to Jaehee Jung, a professor of fashion and apparel studies at the University of Delaware, office-wear content is popular today because younger audiences, especially ones that started their careers in a hybrid work world, are desperate for guidance on a very basic question: How should I dress for work?
“You’re not at home, so you do have to think about what are some of the rules that could be considered in the working environment,” she said. “Because depending on the profession and industry, you do have some different etiquettes, different tolerance of formality.”
According to Professor Jung, shooting office-wear content in an actual office offers influencers one major advantage: being automatically perceived as an expert. That generic conference room décor proves that someone hired them to work in an office, so they must know something about getting dressed for one.
Vianiris Abreu, a 30-year-old human-resources manager at an advertising agency in Manhattan, said one of the reasons she began posting office wear on TikTok in 2021, when she returned to an office, was that she had missed dressing up for work. Working in a somewhat nontraditional environment allowed her to be more innovative in her dress than many would expect.
“Perhaps what I wear is not something that all H.R. people wear, but it’s definitely normal being that I work in the advertising industry,” she said, adding that she doesn’t divulge too much online about where she works and what she does.
Ms. Abreu said that shooting in the office — she usually spends about 15 minutes a day recording what will become a seven-second clip on TikTok — comes off as more authentic.
“I think for me, the aesthetic of the office is very pretty, and the engagement seems to be higher,” she said. “But I also think it just shows me in the office, which is the whole point of it.”
In many cases, these side gigs can pay off. Last year, Mr. Maddox, the executive assistant in Jersey City, said earned around $2,000 in sponsorships, payments and merchandise from brands. He describes this extra income as “play money.” But he is selective about the work.
“I don’t take every opportunity that comes in because it’s not my full-time job,” he said.
The scene recalled the frenzy that unfolds backstage during fashion week: On a recent Monday, in a room full of clothing racks, the stylist Micaela Erlanger was working alongside a team of tailors and assistants. But they were not preparing for your average fashion show.
Ms. Erlanger and the group had assembled at her studio in Manhattan to prepare looks for the actress Meryl Streep, Ms. Erlanger’s client of 11 years, to wear during the press tour for “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” the buzzy sequel to a beloved film set at a fictionalized version of a certain glossy fashion magazine.
In the sequel, Ms. Streep steps back into the stilettos of Miranda Priestly, the publication’s glamorous editor in chief. She stars alongside Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt, who also reprise their roles as Andrea Sachs and Emily Charlton, characters who served as Miranda’s assistants in the original film. Based on a novel and released in 2006, it has become a cult favorite among serious and casual followers of fashion alike.
To prime fans for the sequel, Ms. Streep has appeared on the cover of Vogue and, along with some of her co-stars, has traveled to Mexico, South Korea, China and Japan in recent weeks for premieres. On Monday, cast members appeared in New York, and they will travel to London for more events before “The Devil Wears Prada 2” is widely released on May 1.
Each affair has offered the cast members a chance to turn heads in finery on par with the clothing worn by the characters they play in the movie. Balenciaga, Chanel, Valentino and — yes — Prada are just some of the labels they have sported as they have traveled the globe.
To pull off this fashion feat — and to avoid any style faux pas — Ms. Erlanger, 40, has been in constant communication with Erin Walsh, 43, Ms. Hathaway’s stylist of seven years, and Jessica Paster, 60, who has been styling Ms. Blunt for going on two decades. The women have been operating as something of a hive mind for months, sharing details of the actresses’ looks — the brands, the accessories, the color palettes — in group chats, calls and conversations on the sidelines of runway shows.
“I got to see Erin and Micaela at fashion shows,” Ms. Paster said. “We would whisper: ‘I like that. I like that. I like this. I like that.’”
In a conversation that has been edited and condensed, Ms. Paster, Ms. Erlanger and Ms. Walsh discussed their collaborative relationship, the stakes of styling press tours and the ways they have used fashion to build hype for “The Devil Wears Prada 2.”
How have you each approached dressing your client for the press tour?
MICAELA ERLANGER With Meryl, we leaned into this idea of powerful silhouettes and shapes that you haven’t necessarily seen her in. This is a fashion movie — we’re leaning into it. I would say that there are a lot of references that the fashion community will appreciate and enjoy. We have not just been referencing the first film, but referencing references within the film. I call it “meta dressing.”
JESSICA PASTER You have to remember that Emily Charlton was an assistant 20 years ago. She has evolved. So I’m approaching her as a little stronger — a girl with power. She doesn’t need to borrow clothes anymore. Designers are now giving her the clothes, and she’s out buying clothes.
ERIN WALSH I guess I am hesitant to tell you a theme. I don’t want to encapsulate it. Ultimately, it’s always about how we make a person feel their very best.
You said you communicate via group text. What are you saying to one another?
ERLANGER We have been, from logistics to creative, kind of strategizing among ourselves. What look works best here or there? What’s the other person wearing? Will they look great together?
PASTER I remember one text among us was like: “I’m thinking red. I’m thinking a little burgundy red. And I’m thinking red, too. Is it weird that they’re all wearing red?” I said, “No, let’s lean into that, and let’s do it all in red.”
What we do is make a picture more beautiful. If we have two people who are wearing red, and one is wearing white or purple or black, that is the girl that should be in the middle of a photo. It’s not about, “My girl needs to be in the middle.” If something goes viral, it’s going to help Erin; it’s going to help me; it’s going to help Micaela; and it’s going to help the movie because it gets everyone buzzing and excited.
WALSH With our job, there are always curveballs thrown your way. By working together, we can better navigate any kind of situation in a joyful way without having breakdowns.
Styling has a competitive aspect, in that there are only so many looks, and everyone can’t always get what she wants. How are you navigating that together?
PASTER There are a lot of stories about stylists competing with each other. We’re not. We are so busy. We do not have time. Micaela is calling me because she needs something. I have so many questions to ask Erin and Micaela. If one of these two girls needs me, I will be there for them.
WALSH Removing anything competitive or not collaborative from the equation makes us stronger. It makes our work better.
ERLANGER Collaboration also benefits our clients. Everybody wins when we are aligned.
I’m curious, where were you in your careers when the original “The Devil Wears Prada” premiered?
ERLANGER We have stages of our careers that directly relate back to the first movie. I was an intern at Condé Nast, the company that owns Vogue.
WALSH I was an assistant at Vogue when it came out. I watched Anne onscreen. “The Devil Wears Prada” I knew, you know, in my skin.
PASTER I was a stylist, and, in fact, I was trying to get Emily Blunt as a client.
Modern press tours can involve several premieres in addition to other events. How has that changed how you work?
ERLANGER Social media has made every moment a photo op. Even if it is a junket day when your clients are sitting in a room for on-camera interviews, those pictures get picked up. So every single moment has become press-worthy. And, therefore, there’s more intentionality behind what clients are wearing.
PASTER People forget that we just can’t bring in a dress or two, bust out a look and call it a day. Micaela and Erin are going with nine suitcases all over the world to fit their girls, and I have two trips of fittings in Ireland.
What clothes have you been wearing during the press tour?
WALSH You’ve got to look the part. I tend to, in these situations, reach for more empowering pieces, like a shoulder pad and heels. I don’t work in flats.
ERLANGER I need a flat, and I kind of want to be more comfortable. I’m in jeans and a blazer and a button down and a flat.
PASTER I’m working in sweats and with my hair in a bun.
“Gambrel roofed Barnhaus,” the listing read, “next door to the best burritos in town.”
Its photos revealed something unusual for Inglewood, which is famous for its mix of architectural styles, including Midcentury Modern homes by R.M. Schindler and Googie-style coffee shops: a brick-red barn-style house on a large corner lot, listed at $449,000.
When Meeshie Fahmy and her husband, Aaron Snyder, toured the house, they learned that the burrito claim was true. The photos, however, had clearly been touched up to make the house, located just a few miles from the Kia Forum and SoFi Stadium, look better than it actually was.
Outside, the former dirt lot is now a lush garden with towers of colorful black-eyed susans on arches, planters full of nasturtiums and vegetables, a firepit and pergola.
Inside, the house had “wall-to-wall carpets on both floors that were heavily stained and worn, dated wood paneling on the walls, holes in the walls,” Fahmy says.
Despite these flaws, the couple saw the home’s potential and decided to buy it, even though a leaning retaining wall nearly derailed their escrow. “It was a blank canvas for us to play and experiment,” she recalls a decade later.
-
Share via
After they moved in, neighbors revealed the house was not original to the site. Years earlier, the original Craftsman had been torn down; the current house, a sweepstakes prize, arrived in two pieces by crane. “Our neighbors recalled it was quite a sight,” Fahmy says.
At the time, Fahmy, 44, worked as an event planner at the Getty Museum. As renovations started and she followed her passion for interior design, Snyder proudly introduced her to staff at the local Carniceria as “an interior designer.” She replied, “That’s not what I do.”
“I told her, ‘If you don’t start saying it, it’s not going to happen,’” says Snyder, 49, who pursued his own dream of becoming a professional skateboarder before moving into video editing. “Speak it to existence.”
Finishing the house took years, patience and a lot of DIY projects because of their budget. But Fahmy didn’t just dream — she made it happen. In 2018, she started working for interior designer Willa Ford, who mentored her at WFord Interiors. By 2020, Fahmy launched her own design firm, Haus of Meeshie. “It’s been a progressive layering of colors, furniture, reupholstering, adding art, wallpaper, lighting,” she says. “Low and slow; the flavor is richer.”
Meeshie Fahmy and Aaron Snyder’s family room is a colorful maximalist dream with thrifted furnishings, art and layered textures and patterns.
Ninety percent of the furnishings are thrifted. “Nothing is too precious,” Fahmy says.
Today, their home reflects Fahmy’s fearless approach — it’s a true “petri dish for experimentation.” The vibrant, layered four-bedroom house is a maximalist fever dream, packed with furniture, accessories and art sourced from Facebook Marketplace, vintage shops, flea markets (Long Beach flea is a favorite), estate sales and secondhand stores in L.A. and elsewhere.
She estimates about 90% of the furnishings and accessories in her home are thrifted, antiques or things she found on the side of the road, and nothing is too precious, reaffirming her playful approach to decor.
A Jonathan Adler dining table, found on sale, sits in front of a wall filled with art arranged salon-style. Among the pieces is Fahmy’s favorite: a wedding portrait her father, Walter Fahmy, painted of her.
The speakeasy features a vintage standing bar from Craigslist, barstools and a Geo pendant light by Los Angeles designer Jason Koharik and a mirror Fahmy found at a neighborhood estate sale.
She likes to refer to her decorating style as “creatively unhinged.”
“It all flows,” she says, curled up with her dogs on a CB2 couch she found on Craigslist. “There’s a rhythm. Every piece tells a story. Pick one — I’ll share it.” She recalls throwing herself on a vintage Baker sideboard at a Florida Goodwill without knowing how she’d get it back to Los Angeles and laughs when Snyder discovers a tiny Jack Black-as-Jesus portrait tucked into a gilded dining-room oil painting.
The sink and vanity in the guest bathroom? That used to be a dresser she found on Craigslist.
Although others have questioned their home purchase, Fahmy never doubted they could transform the space into something special.
Color ties the house together. The powder room is purple, the entry hall is red, the kitchen has blue cabinets and the hallway is painted pink.
“When I first saw the house, when they bought it, I thought she was crazy,” Meeshie’s friend and former colleague, Talene Kanian, says in an email. “Other than keeping the ‘barn’ shape, she completely transformed the interior. Now, when you step inside, you’re welcomed into a home full of color, pattern and playfulness.”
Snyder adds: “Meeshie is able to visualize things 10 steps ahead of everyone else, even things that seem like a complete mess.“
Working together, the couple removed the shag carpeting and wood paneling from the first floor and the stairway, installing drywall in their place.
Next, they painted the walls — no beige here. The deep green living room sets a bold scene: a clock worthy of Dalí, leopard prints, pink Persian rugs, a snake ottoman and a thrifted tufted chair with Art Deco vibes from CB2.
“I did not venture into interior design formally,” Fahmy says. “I feel very lucky to have found this passion.”
The color story flows through the house: The powder room is purple, the entry hall red and the dining room walls pink, with one wall in a bold 1970s-style mushroom-pattern wallpaper from Londubh Studio. The speakeasy features a vintage standing bar from Craigslist that Snyder squeezed into his car, barstools and a Geo pendant light by Los Angeles designer Jason Koharik and a mirror Fahmy found at a nearby estate sale.
In the kitchen, they removed the 1970s-era wooden cabinets and Formica countertops, replacing them with more pink walls, Moroccan-style tile flooring and blue cupboard fronts from Semihandmade, which creates cabinet doors for IKEA cabinets.
Fahmy painted a Keith Haring-style black-and-white mural at the top of the stairs and continued onto the second-floor walls using a paintbrush taped to a broomstick. She finished by painting the handrail bright blue and wrapping each stair with a Persian-style runner.
Outside, the couple leveled the once-dirt backyard, added pea gravel, built a pergola with a handyman and installed a firepit where they enjoy entertaining their friends.
The main bedroom features burgundy walls, while the bathroom next to it has Persian rug-patterned wallpaper from House of Hackney.
Now the once-empty backyard is a lush garden: towers of colorful black-eyed susans on arches, planters of nasturtiums and homegrown vegetables. A trickling fountain greets visitors as they walk through the French doors. Snyder, an avid cook, can easily step out to cut fresh herbs mid-simmer, making the outdoors a true extension of the home.
The couple’s home is full of memories, and as you walk through, you can sense how much their stories matter to them. In the downstairs hallway, Snyder smiles as he points out photos of his family in Wisconsin. Similarly, Fahmy proudly shows a photo of her great-great-grandmother Theresa “Tessie” Cooke Haskins, a noted harpist whose daughter Maud Haskins was the first harpist to perform with the orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl.
Art is everywhere, from the Polaroids pinned to the walls in the powder room to the ceramics and masks hanging throughout the house. Yet Fahmy’s favorite possession is deeply personal: a portrait of her on her wedding day, painted by her father, Walter Fahmy, who studied art in Egypt before coming to America.
Upstairs, Fahmy created a black-and-white mural inspired by Keith Haring at the top of the stairs, then kept going along the second-floor walls using a paintbrush taped to a broomstick. She finished by painting the handrail a bright blue and wrapping each stair with a Persian-style runner.
French doors connect the house to the garden, so the backyard feels like a natural part of the home.
For Fahmy, these details matter. “I feel like our home is a love letter to my upbringing,” she says, referring to her parents, who were both pharmacists. “It’s an ode to them and the sacrifices they made for me.”
Visitors feel the same way. “Their house is a true labor of love, apparent the second you enter,” Kanian adds. “It radiates warmth and love.”
Snyder feels it too. “I feel an immense amount of pride when I walk into our house,” he says.
Like a barn raising that brings people together, their house has become a welcome part of the neighborhood with its blue siding, bright yellow front door and a playful mural by Venice artist and skateboarder Sebo Walker. “We’ve had neighbors knock on our door and tell us, ‘We love what you’re doing,’” says Snyder.
“I love color,” Fahmy says. “I love to experiment.”
With the main house finished for now, Fahmy hopes to turn the garage into an accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, in the style of Mexican architect Luis Barragán: bold with color and texture. “I’m envisioning a mini boutique hotel,” she says. “Simple to execute, yet unique in L.A. I’d love a pink building.”
Like the possibility of a pink building — or not — Fahmy’s freewheeling style proves it’s OK to experiment and make mistakes. (She wants to demo the kitchen next for a fresh look.)
“You’re not tattooing your face. You’re painting your walls,” she says as a way to encourage others to experiment. “Your home should be a reflection of who you are. I hope our home inspires others to live how they want to live.”
The American Library Association’s list of the most frequently challenged books of 2025 includes Sold by Patricia McCormick, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer: A Memoir.
American Library Association
hide caption
toggle caption
American Library Association
The American Library Association has released its annual list of the most commonly challenged books at libraries across the United States.
According to the ALA, the 11 most frequently targeted books include several tied titles. They are:
1. Sold by Patricia McCormick
2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
3. Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
4. Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
5. (tie) Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
5. (tie) Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
7. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
8. (tie) A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
8. (tie) Identical by Ellen Hopkins
8. (tie) Looking for Alaska by John Green
8. (tie) Storm and Fury by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Many of these individual titles also appear on a 2024-25 report issued last October by PEN America, a separate group dedicated to free expression, which looked at book challenges and bans specifically within public schools.
The ALA says that it documented 4,235 unique titles being challenged in 2025 – the second-highest year on record for library challenges. (The highest ever was in 2023, with 4,240 challenges documented – only five more than in this most recent year.)
According to the ALA, 40% of the materials challenged in 2025 were representations of LGBTQ+ people and those of people of color.
In all, the ALA documented 713 attempts across the United States in 2025 to censor library materials and services; 487 of those challenges targeted books.
According to the ALA, 92% of all book challenges to libraries came from “pressure groups,” government officials and local decision makers. While 20.8% came from pressure groups such as Moms for Liberty (as the ALA cited in an email to NPR), 70.9% of challenges originated with government officials and other “decision makers,” such as local board officials or administrators.
In a more detailed breakdown, the ALA notes that 31% of challenges came from elected government officials and and 40% from board members or administrators. In its full report, the ALA states that only 2.7% of such challenges originated with parents, and 1.4% with individual library users.
Fifty-one percent of challenges were attempted at public libraries, and 37% involved school libraries. The remaining challenges of 2025 targeted school curriculums and higher education.
The ALA defines a book “ban” as the removal of materials, including books, from a library. A “challenge,” in this organization’s definition, is an attempt to have a library resource removed, or access to it restricted.
The ALA is a non-partisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to American libraries and librarians.
-
Culture2 minutes agoBook Review: ‘Permanence,’ by Sophie Mackintosh
-
Lifestyle8 minutes agoHow ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ Red Carpet Looks Came Together
-
Technology20 minutes agoThe Vergecast Vergecast, 2026 edition
-
World26 minutes agoMexico pyramid shooter who took hostages and killed 1 is identified
-
Politics32 minutes agoByron Donalds cracks down on persistent border blind spot leaving US vulnerable to overstays
-
Health38 minutes agoHealthy diets spark lung cancer risk in non-smokers as pesticides loom
-
Sports44 minutes agoPGA Tour signals new era with axing of Hawaii events from schedule
-
Technology50 minutes agoAlexa+ lets you order food like a real conversation