Over the last few years, the athleisure trend has taken the world by storm. Athleisure is comfortable clothing typically worn at the gym or for doing sports sports, but also fashionable enough to wear to outings and other activities. Yoga leggings and trainers have become a wardrobe staple for most people. It became trendy to own the latest trainer design or wear your gym I-shirt to brunch. Expensive travel means wearing branded tracksuits and trainers.
In recent months, the coronavirus lockdown has exacerbated the trend with most of us working from home and opting for more comfortable clothing. While this would make you look trendy, it’s not necessarily the best way to look “put together”.
Here we compile the 5 best ways to wear athleisure yet still look smart.
1. Cut is everything
We can’t stress this enough, but regardless what you wear, a well fitting item always looks smarter and more expensive. Make sure that your tracksuit bottoms are not oversized and they fit your body shape. Oversized sportswear is very last century, don’t make this rookie mistake. For women, you can’t go wrong with a good opaque black pair of leggings. Make sure they don’t bunch at the ankle, take them to your tailor to remove extra fabric to look sleeker on the ankle. For men, tracksuit trousers with a gathered bottom is the latest trend in athleisure.
2. Pay attention to the fabric
Picking the right fabric is an important part of dressing well. Cheap fabric doesn’t always hug you in the right places and can look stiff with athleisure. Go for breathable material that sits nicely on your skin. Many brands are now making athleisure cuts in more luxurious fabrics, this can create a nice contrast between “comfort” clothing and “going out” clothing.
3. Mix and match other items from your wardrobe
We love mixing and matching athleisure clothing with other wardrobe items. The classic combination is wearing a suit with relaxed trainers. You can try adding a leather jacket to your gym clothes to give it an edge. For men the combination of tracksuit bottoms with a linen shirt and some smart trainers can elevate your comfortable outfit on casual days. Similarly, throwing on a well-fitting jacket adds an interesting contrast. Look out for clothing with a twist such as a blazer with a hood or relaxed trousers with a drawstring waist.
4. Play with proportions
While wearing tight shorts and a cropped top at the gym may be acceptable, walking around town in this garb doesn’t ooze looking smart. We love pairing tight leggings with floaty tops to create more interest in the proportions of your clothing. Tight t-shirts and tops can be worn with bulkier bottoms such as tracksuit trousers. Combining a bomber jacket also adds interest to your shape.
5. Remember your grooming
The secret to looking polished is in the grooming. Wearing athleisure to your outings doesn’t necessarily give you a free pass to look like you’ve just rolled out of bed. Grooming is a big part of how people perceive you. Styling your hair, making sure your nails are clean and groomed and light makeup if necessary can make a big difference in your overall outfit, it goes a long way to smarten up your appearance.
Now that you’ve mastered the five steps to looking smart in athleisure, you can step up your trend game and go out looking fabulous in comfortable clothing.
Shop our athleisure collection on www.tagprive.com.