Style: on Track

Referring to the track suit as casual weekend wear. Remember them? Like many things, they’re coming back.

Paris Hilton & Kim Kardashian. Photo: Courtesy of SKIMS for Vogue Magazine (October 2020)

After all, they’ve had a successful track record (pun intended) in the past. They were a wardrobe staple for so long that we took them for granted. Then they seemingly disappeared, until the need for covid coziness combined with fashion brought this classic option back.

I loved the ubiquitous ~~lazy~~ comfy fit. Not talking sloppy; more like the “Juicy Couture” loosely fitted style that was so popular in the 90’s. There were of course many knock-offs, but the Juicy label looked the best. You could consider them the Lululemon of the track suit world.

When Juicy Couture took over the trend landscape in the late 1990s, original founders Gela-Nash Taylor and Pamela Skaist-Levy knew from the get-go they were poking fun at high fashion. But many women and tons of celebrities wore them as an essential, comparable to the skinny jean or leggings.

Britney Spears (in)famously had a custom set made for all her bridesmaids ahead of her marriage to Kevin Federline. Unfortunately for her, the tracksuit outlasted their marriage.

You could say that Velour Tracksuits are also making a comeback! I’m happy about that because I just bought a pair of flared track pants (with added front seams) from a company in Los Angeles called Garbe Luxe. They come in velour or soft bamboo cotton fleece which I first saw in Palm Springs and really wanted, but they were sold out. I was lucky to get a pair recently sent to me. I must admit I wasn’t sure about wearing velour at first but I guess what goes around comes around. And they make my butt look good.