Active Wear, Active Wear, How to Look Chic in Your Active Wear!
Active wear is a fast-growing trend in the fashion industry. We have seen it evolve from the typical baggy t-shirt and leggings into chic, stylish bottoms, and tops that you can wear to the gym or to happy hour. Active wear style is trendy, functional items that help you feel dressed and ready to tackle whatever life throws at you. Weather it be crushing a hard work out or marking everything off your to do list there are a myriad of reasons why athleisure and active wear items should be a staple part of any fashion-forward, trendsetters’ wardrobe. Today we will dive into what active wear really is and easy ways for you to begin incorporating athleisure wear items into your style.
Active wear, according to the Oxford dictionary, is defined as “clothing designed to be worn for sports, exercise, and outdoor activities.” This definition seems to place active wear solely in the category of working out or physical activity apparel. But athleisure apparel has evolved so much so that we can, and have, seen active wear being worn in a multitude of different settings not involving an ounce of sports, exercise, or outdoor activities. Active wear has gained a lot of traction in the fashion world and big-name brands are starting to catch on to this. Brands like Lululemon, Fabletics, and many others have grown exponentially due to the rise in active wear fashion. Active wear fashion has created a mix of both fitness and fashion and carved a place where the two can coexist together effortlessly and stylishly. Athleisure and active wear style has allowed fashion and fitness to no longer be two separate arenas of clothing and life, but to instead work alongside one another to help those who wear active wear and athleisure items feel more fashionable and functional.
For me, personally, I live in active wear style. Simply because I feel if I put my workout clothes on first thing in the morning then I am much more inclined to make sure I get my workout in that day, whereas if I went all day and then had to take the time to change into something different to go to the gym or go on a run. Active wear fashion has made it easier to create healthy habits and prioritize health and fitness more within our daily lives. By blurring the lines between fitness and fashion more and more people are able to accomplish their goals and be successful in their efforts to create a happier, healthier version of themselves.
Active wear fashion items can be virtually any clothing item but the main ones that are often associated with athleisure and active wear fashion are;
· Tees
· Short & Long Sleeve Tops
· Tank tops
· Crop tops
· Shorts
· High-waisted leggings & shorts
· Unique sports bras & tanks
· Zip-up Jackets
· Sweatshirts
· Pullovers
· Rompers
· Skirts
· Skorts
· Joggers
· Tennis Dresses
· Biker shorts
· Under garments
· Swimwear
· Socks
· Hats
As mentioned, nearly any clothing item nowadays can be passed off as active wear, even graphic tees, and dresses. Active wear fashion really boils down functional pieces of clothing that are made from materials that aid in movement and comfort. This alone leaves the door of active wear styling open wide. Active wear pieces are easily interchangeable with high fashion items. Allowing once item of active wear to be generously used to create a multitude of different outfits. This not only saves room in your closet but can also save you money. Being able to create multi-level looks from a single piece of clothing elevates both your style and wallet.
So, now to the big question, how do you style active wear to create a look that’s not only gym ready but street ready? Below are a few tips to help you better style your active wear - so that you can go from crunches to cocktails in no time.
A few active wear styling tips are;
1. Layers
2. More Neutral Tones
3. Incorporate Accessories
4. Choose Trendy & Functional Shoes
5. Blend Fashion & Fitness by Mixing Materials,
but don’t go overboard.
Layering & Active Wear
Layering is an easy way to not only blend fashion and fitness but to elevate the overall impact and style of an outfit. Layer active wear pieces like a fitting top and leggings by throwing on a denim jacket or cardigan to help pull the look together. Creating layers within your outfit allows for the different athleisure and fashion items to coexist together harmoniously instead of contrasting one another. The different layers create interest so that a normal pair of leggings and crop tank become a chic and stylish streetwear look with almost little to no effort.
Great items for layering over athleisure and active wear items are;
· Denim Jackets
· Leather Jackets
· Cardigans
· Neutral toned long hem coats
· Pullovers
These pieces of clothing can be easily used to transition your athleisure wear look from gym worthy to Pinterest worthy. Denim jackets are a long-standing trend that has held its stylish notions for decades. Throwing on a denim jacket over your active wear leggings and top - helps your look feel more put together and adds a chic aspect to an otherwise athletic appearance. Cardigans add a cozy feel and help tone down the energized look associated with active wear fashion. They are also great for adding security and confidence when wearing form fitting active wear pieces like leggings or a sports bra/tank. This added layer covering your bottom or leggings can help you feel more confident wearing athleisure pieces in public. Another option for adding layers is a leather jacket. Leather jackets help add a streetwear edgy feel to athleisure looks and create a chicer appearance than your traditional pullover or workout wear. Long coats have also been seen in chic athleisure looks lately. This creates a more city ready vibe and helps diminish some of the sporty, gym feel of an active wear look.
A good rule of thumb to remember is to opt for traditional, neutral colored outerwear pieces when layering active wear. More traditional, neutral tones add just enough interest without over doing it and making it seem like you’re throwing together fashion items that don’t belong together at all. The last thing you want is for your active wear look to seem forced and random. And if not layered appropriately can end up being just that.
Choose to layer with items that feel most like you and don’t create contrasting vibes.
Go With More Neutral Toned Athleisure Items
Neutral tones are a great fashion decision for many reasons. They are a good base to any styled look. Starting with neutral tones creates more styling opportunities and an easier canvas to start creating athleisure and active wear looks from. Even muted tones of other colors are a good option to start with when trying to curate a trendy outfit. Muted and neutral tones allow for other accessories and colors to be added without the look feeling chaotic or random. Muted tones and neutral colors also in general look more chic than bright, neon colored clothing items.
Now this is not to say you need to be dressed in head-to-toe cream, white, black, etc. It simply means opting for more neutral colors may help you create more elevated; chic looks from your active wear. If you start off your athleisure wear outfit with a pair of bright pink leggings, the color choices or even active wear items you can choose to pair with those leggings decreases significantly. Whereas if you go with a more basic color, you have a wider base of options to choose from that would create an active wear look that is both trendy and functional.
With all that being said - just because the trends are pushing neutral tones does not mean that you have to be confined to basic colors. If you love bright fun colors and those are what make you feel YOUR best, then throw in some pops of color with a pair of cool sneakers or accessories. Adding color and making an outfit feel most like you, are the most important things when styling any kind of outfit. Your clothes should inspire you to be your most authentic self and not make you feel uncomfortable or like you’re trying to be someone you’re not.
Some of our favorite Active Wear items to go neutral with are;
· Leggings
· Joggers
· Pullovers
· Tops
· Outerwear
Now let me again say that this doesn’t mean your active wear outfits have to be a walking monochromatic look, but tone down the color for some items and you will be able to create athleisure outfits that look and feel less like you belong on the basketball court and more like you can transition from crunches to brunches - without having to worry about changing.
Do Accessories and Active Wear Even Go Together?
When it comes to active wear what are some accessories that come to mind? I am sure some of you thought of a hat, a smart watch, etc. These are still great items that you can style with your athleisure outfit - but do not let that stop you from adding a trendy bag and jewelry to it as well. Accessories that go well with active wear are both fashionable and functional. So, items like watches, a bag, or hat are great options to start with. But don’t feel like active wear accessories must be “athletic inspired”, to be able to go well with your athleisure outfit.
Accessories can help transition your active wear fit from the gym to street chic in no time. Adding in items like a trendy bag or simply gold jewelry can go a long way in helping your outfit feel more stylish and less gymish.
Some of our favorite accessories to pair with active wear are;
· Gold watches & Jewelry
· Basic baseball caps (try shying away from large busy designs to create chicer look)
· Simple necklaces & bracelets
· Stylish cross body bags
· Trendy tote bags (larger bags that can double as a purse and gym bag help make your fit even more functional)
· Stylish Sneakers
Let’s Talk About What Shoes to Pair with Your Active Wear Outfit
Shoes are an important aspect of any trendy, stylish outfit. And this is especially true when it comes to active wear looks. Choosing the right or wrong shoes can sometimes make or break your whole athleisure look. Naturally when thinking of what shoes go well with active wear the mind goes towards tennis shoes and other athletic footwear options. These can and often do look good with active wear outfits, but they can also make your outfit feel more gym ready than street ready. Again, just because a pair of running shoes naturally look and feel more gymish than stylish, does not mean that they will not look good with your active wear outfits. Nowadays you can find trendy cool sneakers almost anywhere. Even typical running and weightlifting shoes are beginning to have a more fashionable appearance.
Our recommendations for choosing what shoes to pair with your athleisure outfits are – try to stick to functional options like;
· sneakers
· slides
· simple boots like Uggs or Chelsea Boots.
Ultimately, choose shoes that are both fashionable and functional to create an easy on trend athleisure look that’s both trendy and productive.
Effortlessly Blend Fashion & Fitness To Create Stylish Active Wear Looks
The key to creating a trendy street ready active wear look, is blending gym fashion items with non-gym appropriate items. A big aspect to pay attention to when mixing athleisure wear and non-active wear items is material. Mixing materials is a huge factor when creating fashionable street ready active wear looks. Try to avoid the all-matching track suits or spandex sets. Instead pair your leggings with a denim jacket or mesh top to add contrast and style to an otherwise sporty, athletic look.
Be mindful of the non-active wear items that you are choosing to curate a look with. Go for things that have a functional, comfortable feel and material and try to stay away from items that are feel more formal or business ready. Often a chic blazer won’t look as good paired with your favorite spandex leggings and dri-fit top. But hey! That is not to say you can’t be the first to pull together a blazer ready athleisure look!
Life feels busier and faster than ever before. With everyone constantly running 50 million different places trying to get 50 million different things done. Active wear style has helped blend fashion and fitness so that you no longer have to compromise on feeling stylish or being productive.
Athleisure fashion can help you feel both trendy and functional in your clothes and can help increase your ability to get things done or crush those health and fitness goals. By already being in workout ready clothes you are more inclined to get that run or workout in without the dreaded task of changing in and out of an entirely different outfit. One thing about the growing trend of active wear is that you also no longer have to feel frumpy tom-boyish in your athletic wear. With more fashion forward athleisure pieces being made daily you will be able find pieces that help you feel both strong and stylish!
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