The Changing Face of Athletic Wear

The face of athletic wear is changing. Sweats are slowly becoming considered less sloppy and more high fashion than ever before. In fact, much athletic wear crosses into the realm of not-to-be-sweated-in because of the high quality compilations of color, cut, fit, and fabric. Kiss your stained, graying hoodie goodbye in exchange for cute outfits with lots of color and fantastic fits that actually show off your body in a good way (instead of wearing garments that make you look like a gray walrus- awkward and fat) or outfits that just make you look uber trendy. Even sneakers are becoming bourgeois and cool. The gym just got much more attractive…

Lululemon is the gift from the fashion gods to the college student who wants to look nice, but can’t pay those haute couture prices. The Canada- based stores specialize in yoga-wear for both men and women, with prices ranging from about $20-$200 for everything from accessories to jackets. Lululemon is most famous for their Lulu hoodies, which fit like a glove and come in tons of happy and fun colors that will leave you smiling all day long. These garments are anything but sloppy and the stores often offer free yoga classes, showing how Lululemon is sneaking its way into becoming a cultural phenomenon. The likes of Carrie Underwood, Eva Longoria, and LeAnn Rimes have been seen wearing this hot brand. Other brands that offer athletic wear that you should fee l good about breaking a sweat in are Nike, Adidas, Underarmor, and even the Northface because these brands are priced in between the realm of ‘I don’t mind if this gets ruined’ and ‘God, do I look cute’. In other words, you will not have the constant fear of splurging on workout clothes that you might sweat-stain (ew! And arghh!). Legitimately sweat-able clothing should not be splurged upon (golden commandment of workout wear).

Athletic wear is also becoming acceptable to wear as high fashion pieces minus the exercise. Take Alexander Wang for a spin: the 27-year-old fashion genius resides in lower Manhattan and attended Parsons School of Design specializes in garmentry that seeks to break fashion norms. The official alexanderwang.com website self-proclaims: “The ways in which his clothes are unabashedly styled and worn are as important to him as the clothes themselves. Alex’s love for contrasts is reflected through the collection with juxtaposing notes of street and luxe, sexy versus androgyny- vagabond meets street-smart modernist”. His current collection reflects great fit, quality fabric, and reasonable prices for casual wear that kisses athletic wear with his spin on the classic tee-shirt and classy pure cotton pseudo-sweat pant-pants (the line crossed between pant and sweat pant is highly permeable). Though his current collection is classic in fit and cut, the colors are trendy in the sense that you will look like you got the life sucked out of you without any accessories. Alexander Wang is bourgeois (without the huge price tag- most items are between $100 and $200 each) and cool, but should be reserved for trying to look effortlessly cool- not actually breaking a sweat! Some other (more expensive) brands of athletic wear meant to never be sweat in are Y3 (look like you stepped right off the runway wearing this edgy, Japanese-based design; prices range from about $135- $630) and Stella McCartney for Adidas (for casual, everyday lifestyle; prices range from $40- $450). Both brands use creative and innovative design that will leave you swooning for more tank tops, warm up jackets, and even dresses. Basically, you are going to be spending lots of time in the gym.

The only question that remains is what is on your feet while you are doing all those super fun exercises. There answer is your customized sneakers- probably one of the coolest ideas ever. Yes, you get to play fashion designer online using step-by-step templates from brands like Nike, Adidas, and even Converse. It may just be my personal and unwavering brand loyalty, but when exercising on your feet, Nike is the route to run. Your customized sneakers can be specified for sport, gender, style, color, and even voted on as best design. Many of the Nike sneaker options have a built-in monitoring system for recording your athletic progress, called Nike+, with the ability to transfer data to your iPod or iPhone. Many shoes in the Nike collection are made of super light-weight and flexible materials- ideal for whatever activity you may exert your feet onto. As a bonus, the colors they have available literally come in almost every shade of the rainbow, and can be mixed and matched with different colors, prints, and textures. Sweat just got a whole lot cuter. Regardless of whether you are going for a run or just running to class, you may opt for a hoodie and not be shamed because you really don’t look like a hot mess-you are clear and ready for life wearing anything from Alexander Wang to Y3. Go sweats!