The effect of the pandemic has seen radical changes in the basket of items used to measure the cost of living in post-Covid Britain.
The traditional man's suit has been ditched in favour of a formal jacket or blazer only in the Office for National Statistics annual basket - maybe all you need when no-one can see your bottom half on a Zoom call.
And the addition of a sports bra reflects the fact that more people are working at the kitchen table and have switched to a wardrobe of casual and sportswear instead of power dressing. Perhaps not surprisingly, the ONS said demand for cleaning products is still high, and the convenience of antibacterial wipes wins them a place in the basket.
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The ONS changes the basket used to measure the cost of living every year. This year 19 items have been added with 15 removed and some 715 unchanged.
The changes have become a measure of trends and spending fashions, as items that were once considered essential become less important as fashions and technology progresses.
Dictionaries, road atlases, single doughnuts and laminate flooring are all out of the basket this year, to make way for new arrivals such as craft kits, pet collars and a climbing session.
Strangely, coal survived until this year, but it is now coming out.
The ONS said: "This item already had a very low weight, but with sales of domestic coal being banned in 2023 as part of the Government’s actions to combat climate change, this item drops out of the basket in anticipation of this."
Diets changed during lockdown with more home cooking from scratch, while concerns about the environment linked to livestock farming have pushed demand for plant-based foods.
The ONS said: "The growth in vegetarianism and veganism, driven by both greater health and environmental consciousness, see these items - meat free sausages - make their debut into the basket." Canned beans, chickpeas and lentils are also entering the basket for the first time.
Head of economic statistics at the ONS, Sam Beckett, said: "The 2022 basket of goods sees some really interesting changes, with the impact of the pandemic still evident in our shopping habits. With many people still working from home, demand for more formal clothing has continued to decrease. So, men’s suits disappear from the basket and are replaced with a formal jacket or blazer.
"Last year’s lockdown living saw an increase in the number of us working out and exercising. That has continued into 2022 with the addition of the sports bra into the basket reflecting greater spending on sports clothing."
Linda Ellett, UK head of consumer markets, retail and leisure, KPMG, said: "The refresh of the basket of goods reflects the point that we’ve now reached in the pandemic.
"Business wear for both the return to the office and the continuation of video calls from home. Sportswear for a return to gyms and new post-lockdown sporting passions. A booming UK pet population. And anti-bacterial products, to remind that the pandemic is ongoing."
Other changes also include replacing double beds with king-sized ones, and a tweak in the way children's clothes are monitored.
Earlier this year, the ONS pledged to revise the way it calculates inflation by 'dramatically' widening the number of products it tracks the pricing of to reflect what the real cost to households is. The move was in response to as Jack Monroe, a campaigner against poverty and inequality, who has questioned whether the CPI measure reflects the true costs faced by the poorest families.
