Athleisure: Why the trend will continue to rock in 2016

8 years ago

Image courtesy: istockphoto.com

Did you ever imagine, that there would come a day, when you would be able to wear your gymwear straight to office. A trend which was considered as a major fashion faux pas until about a year ago, has picked up like fire in the fashion circles.

Call it gym wear, workout wear or yoga wear, transforming the athletic dressing into an all-day casual wear is a style statement everyone wants to make now. This trend ruled the fashion avenues in 2015, and with celebrities still stepping out in their designer gym wear, athleisure fashion will continue to rock in 2016 too!

So what is athleisure and why are people going gaga over it? It is when one wears their sports bras teamed up with a jacket, or their slouchy sweatpants with a sexy cropped top, tank tops with a long coat thrown over it, a cozy sweatshirt with skinny fit denims or neutral-colored leggings with booties to some place other than the gym. It is when one takes a cue from athletic dressing and turns into a chic, easy streetwear.

The trend picked up after supermodels like Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Cara Delevingne started sporting different mixes of athleisure on their casual coffee outings and while traveling. Singers and celebrities like Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Kanye West, Kim Kardashian and Kristen Stewart also stepped out in style with this trend.

If you haven’t tried your hand with this style statement, now is the time to go ahead with this gym-to-the-office trend! But before you step out and flaunt your own athleisure style, here are some tips and tricks to keep in mind.

1. Mixing: How you team your athletic wear with something casual and normal plays a very important role in your final look. Layering always helps. Try teaming up your printed leggings with a slouchy sweatshirt. Put a long coat over your sports bra so that you don’t look out of place on the streets. You can even rock the biker look if you’ll put on a leather jacket over your sweatpants.

2. Colors: The most popular choice with athleisure apparels is neutrals. Stick to a single color tone. Athleisure works best with black, nude and monochromatic tones.

3. Occasion: Keep in mind what occasion you’re dressing up for. Athleisure works through the day but you should still draw a line somewhere. It is okay if you sport this trend in office, at a brunch outing, on a date with your girls, while running around getting your groceries and coffee or while stepping out to pick up your kids from school. But avoid wearing athleisure to romantic dates and dinner parties.

4. Accessorize: Athleisure is all about the comfort factor. Avoid wearing your gym wear with high heels, sandals or chic, designer jackets. Stick to simple booties, colorful scarfs, hair accessories and chunky bangles if you want to accessorize your look.

5. Timing: Don’t make a habit out of athleisure. Sporting it once in a while will make a bigger impact of your style statements. Wearing it everyday will make you look drab and plain lazy.