Athleisure, Sporty Chic, Sporty Luxe?

I've not really focused on Athleisure before and I know it's not popular on the Forum.
One "capsule" I'm interested in is my " grandmother- travel" capsule and overlap with at- home wear.
I think I like a kind of sporty comfortable style but not sloppy. So sometimes it's hard to categorize. In addition I need to focus on washable fabrics. Jeans are an obvious " classic" casual item and Im doing much better at keeping a denim capsule going, but I'm less a jeans person than many here.

I noticed there are several types of " gear" clothing that I like for actual figure- flattery + comfort. These include:
-- some track- pant styles, due to waist, drape and the right amount of taper
-- some knit pants that might be a type of yoga pant but more the slim boot cut type, NOT leggings. This is because of sometimes the wide fitted waistband, trim but not tight legs.
-- some " performance " (?!) tops are made with side panels that allow me to get a fab " tailored- fluid " fit, almost like princess seaming would. Kind of like a ponte- sport top!
-- sporty vests for cooler weather
-- jackets that overlap with knit blazer styles
-- sneakers, majorly!
These types of items might be found in " regular " clothing lines ( ponte knit pants and jackets) or " gear" and I think I'd pick the best fit and fabric, not the provenance.

I don't " see myself" exactly when I look at pics of Athleisure street style- and I've not really fully developed these capsules yet. And awhile back, the Forum had more on Sporty Luxe- which I like but now the " Luxe" part needs to
be something other than high- maintenance fabrics.

I have never had the aversion to wearing " gear" on the street because to me there just so much overlap ( I mean, leggings? !).
But my target is a kind of blend of polish and ease but with my favorite silhouettes.

I feel excited to try to create my own combinations without concern for " labels" but wonder if others have found a happy medium?

7 years ago

karen13

Veteran

I lead a super casual lifestyle in the mountains, and I find a lot of "Athletic" companies make clothing that works well for me. I find a lot of items at Athleta http://athleta.gap.com/browse/.....ce_&a. Plus they offer many items in Petite, Tall and Plus.

Anonymous

Athleisure might not be popular on the Forum for some members. A lot of us other members like it just fine. It might come down to lifestyle.

I like being appropriately dressed for the occasion and for comfortable. There is definitely a place in my wardrobe for athleisure. I shop at Athleta (just like Karen13). I buy their tops and jackets. I bought a few of their leggings, but found the leggings to be too hot for me. I highly recommend their products.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Sterling, FWIW, I'm not sure whether Athleisure is affected by lifestyle - UNLESS your job is in the athletic field. Like you're a personal trainer, yoga teacher, professional athlete, and the like. That's when you wear workout clothes but you aren't working out. Personally, I think it's all about aesthetics and sartorial preferences. You either like the Athleisure look, or you don't. In the US and Canada, Athleisure is part of the culture, very familiar, a societal norm, and most people like it. It's not part of the culture or a societal norm in Europe - where quite ironically, people lead a much more active lifestyle than they do in the US.

Gap Body & Athleta make good workout and lounge clothes.

Karen13, I like the non-gear clothes you posted in that link, (the items that look like regular casual wear).

rachylou

I can't tell if I like Athleisure or not. I mean, when the occasion is dress up, and a guy wears sparkling white baseball cap, baggy shorts and football jersey - I don't care how much that white sparkles - I always ask, 'Who says to themself, This Is The Man For Me?' Lol. I mean, does the man have a job? What sort of job could he POSSIBLY have?

But I really like leggings as pants, yes I do. But they have to be a certain way. Not like those pics of people lying on a bench at Walmart. Not like those gals in Kate Hudson Fabletics ads. I was thinking about calling what I'm talking about 'jeggings' - whether or not they imitate jeans. Maybe they're really all ponte skinnies... except they're not...

jill58

Rachylou--Funny!! And you're so right.

unfrumped

I do think there's an overlap that defies some distinction because not all casual clothing in some of these styles is " workout" per se. I used the term Athleisure because it's a current term, but 50 years ago ( and more) people wore tennis shoes with jeans, or a fleece jacket with slacks and leather shoes. And thong sandals-- shower shoes to me!
There is a lot of clothing "modeled on" workout wear but may not be " real workout" clothes. Not even sure how you tell! My leggings example. Or a zip hoodie. Backpack purses? Silk track pants? So is it the brand ( a gear brand) or the style and shape? If there are not labels and logos it could be hard to tell and at that point,
So I assume whenever someone wears sneakers with a dress, that's a form of Athleisure. But a single item worked in that way can be a great style and not what I think of as " you're not power- walking for exercise, so why are you wearing those shoes?"
T - shirts-- I used to wear Hanes T to exercise and wouldn't think of it for street wear mainly because of the way they fit me.
It may also be the rise of " technical fabrics" , on which I'm no expert, but want to keep an open mind about how a new thing could improve care, looks, what you can " create" from the fabric, as well as comfort. Years ago there was no " stretch" in suiting, for example.

Sal

I think there is such a range of sportswear/gear now with at one end being pure gear (eg running shorts, tank and sneakers, or ski gear etc) through to a tailored suit at the other. I wear the full spectrum but my casual attired does have some gear pieces added in the mix.

What I have noticed on my more recent trips to the US, and also here, is that people wear very much "sports gear" even when not exercising. And on a recent trip to Sydney to Adidas and Nike and New Balance shops - the shops were decked out in athleisure/training gear...I was looking for tennis shorts for my son (with long pockets for the balls) and there was none - nor tennis shoes. There is a huge market for cool gear just to wear casually.

There is so much cross over and we all have different preferences, and locations so there is not one right or wrong. I happily wear running leggings around town if I am on the way out to a run or a walk. I wear sneakers of both athletic and leather persuasions. And there are times when my light gear jacket is the perfect layer with jeans.

If I was looking after small kids for the day and wanted to be comfortable, easy to clean and respectable I think a mix of jeans, sports gear, sneakers is very appropriate and practical and can look good too.

Unfrumped, I can envision this being a good avenue for you to explore for your "grandma" capsule. The track pants silhouette is certainly one that suits you well. And, as you said, a lot of companies that make workout gear also sell some items that borrow fabrics or appearance from "gear" but are designed for casual wear. In addition to Athleta, companies like Lucy, Lole and Prana sell these types of pieces. And some gear does cross-over to casual wear pretty well. For example, the merino tanks and tees from Outdoor Voices are so finely made that I more often wear them with slacks and a cardigan than I do as workout wear.

LaPed

Yeah, Sal, I agree with you that the prevalence of fashion-gear can be very annoying when one needs actual gear that performs a specific function. For example, running tights with "moto style" zip pockets can look very cool, but if the pockets are placed wrong, they can be very uncomfortable if one wears a waist pack, or backpack with a waist belt, to carry water, headlamp, etc, so not very useful for the kind of running I do.

Also, most fashion-gear is waaay too heavy for me to even consider taking backpacking. The stuff I wear for backpacking is so ugly -- like, most of it looks like garbage bags or like the stuff inside garbage bags and yet, I'm never happier than when I'm 20-30 miles from the nearest road, a couple days out, sweaty and dirty as you can possibly imagine. That's not what "athleisure" gear is made for -- it's obviously designed for people wearing make-up and deodorant who spend time making sure their ponytail is just right. Nothing wrong with any of that, it's just not how I get my exercise.

I think athleisure tends to be more of an urban look in the US. In the context of my small rural town, sweatpants (or joggers or track pants or whatever they are now) will always look terribly sloppy, never chic, since there are no streets on which to strut around. Whatever you wear out here, it has to look reasonably good with some mud and pine needles stuck to it. Also -- you can't yet wear Polarfleece in an ironic or retro way here; it's all just boring fleece, the same fleece people have been wearing since the '90s. I prefer wool sweaters and jeans. Classic. Most sneakers, when you wear them to muck about out here (and they are prevalent, but still) just look juvenile, like your mother told you to put on your boots and you rolled your eyes at her, and you're just waiting til you turn 18 so you can run away to the big city.

So yeah -- I do gear, I'm a gear fiend, but I don't do athleisure in a big way. Unless you count hoodies -- I'll wear a hoodie with just about anything.

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