The TRACKSUIT Is Back: Between Kitsch & Cool

When Lacoste and other designers sent models down the runway for Fall 2016 in velour tracksuits, you knew fashion was up for a cheeky throwback. Add this sadistic but sorta fun venture to our obsession with activewear and sporty life (or just style), then to a marriage that ‘s the definition of kitsch: the 2000s + the ’80s, and you got yourself a very challenging 2016-2017 season, reigned by no other than the TRACKSUIT. (among others).

These are crazy times my friends and I’m loving every minute of them. Why? Because I think every fashion lover has a hidden side that’s tickled by the thought of guilty pleasures and slight kitsch. Doing kitsch but looking cool is tres chic. And goddamn complicated. Whoever can master that is one for the books.

Or maybe I’m just bored with the classics. Or maybe I’ve been brainwashed by my workout obsession. Who knows. Truth is it took the bloody tracksuit and gym-wear to out-reign jeans for me. And if you think I’m alone in my parallel world here think again. In fact it was not too long ago that I’ve read in none other than Vogue how a team of editors showed up at work in Juicy Couture velour tracksuits. Yeah. You can roll those eyes and get 10,000 heart attacks per minute, but I’m real on this one.

So what is it about the tracksuit that has us rethinking the whole thing? Sales were going down for Juicy Couture and the likes of velour tracksuit brands, but truth is, nobody really stopped wearing tracksuits, we just had them on around the house… Maybe it took one push from designers, and another from Kylie Jenner to make us reconsider.

I’m just throwing my hands in the air on this one and saying my amens. I LOVE this comeback, and I think we can wear tracksuits in 2016 just as well as we did years ago, if not better.

What tracksuit style to wear?

There is of course the Juicy Couture velour tracksuit in those kitsch tones, or the inspired versions, which will forever be the definition of Kim, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears back in the day. Tiny little purse, big hoops, lipgloss, long hair, long nails. So the velour style stands… but try to avoid rhinestones and too much going on when wearing it. And no low waist. Do it 2017 style, and let people see fashion and time washed over you in a good way.

Then there are the 80s classics, oversized inspired by those music videos that had cool kids dancing in Nike, Adidas or Puma tracksuits. Perfection!

And the reinvented tracksuit of 2016 which is more flattering for the body, very Kylie Jenner style, with pants that follow the body and an oversized top, or vice-versa. They are usually classic Nike or Adidas, or they’re simple thick cotton tracksuits in nude tones with pants that are slightly slouchy with side pockets, paired with a cropped hoodie.

How to wear the tracksuit in 2016-2017?

Stir as far away as possible from Britney a la 2000s. If you wanna do kitsch do 80s, or late 90s maybe, or Gwen Stefani back in the day. Tracksuits look best with sneakers, but there are certain styles you can wear with stilettos, or slides.

Wear backpacks instead of bags, and do details: great hair, nails, accessories, jewellery. It really depends on where you’re going, cause if you’re really working out, then you’ll just wear the tracksuit + baseball hat + a backpack.

If you’re going out then you can do bold lips and a few jewellery.

Have fun with it and wear it to b ew comfy and kinda cool, don’t wear it show off god knows what, cause at the end of the day it’s a bloody tracksuit. So when it comes down to it all it’s more about the where to wear it rather than than how or what styles.

Street style inspo.

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Have a great one!

xoxo