The other day, I was texting my mom, trying to explain why I was shopping for a pair of “fancy” sweatpants. The woman simply could not wrap her head around the idea of “fancy sweats.” I don’t blame her. Until this day, she admirably manages to have a finite line between home-wear and going-out wear. (By going out, I don’t mean as we used to. I mean simply going out into the real world, outside of home.) For the rest of us who no longer have such boundaries, sweats have become a fashion staple.

I was once that woman. The one who would never wear leggings outside of the gym. Today, I am a woman shopping for a pair of “fancy“ sweatpants. Contradiction, in the truest form of the sense. It took me a few days to find a pair of sweats. One that, unlike my favourite pair of Lole running leggings, was “elevated” enough to make me feel less sloppy in a grocery store.

That is, until I came across a pair from a Parisian brand, the Kooples. No surprise there. Leave it to the French to make joggers look chic and effortless. Picture a simple pair of black joggers, but with a silk sash instead of a drawstring. Brilliant, in my opinion.The pair fulfilled all of the criteria. I, too, want to attain that effortless, Parisian, I-just-rolled-out-of-bed-but-look-magnificent look!

These days, when dressing for basic errands—going out socially is out of question for me—I always ponder on what is appropriate to wear. Appropriate being the key word. Dressing up is looked down on, not just as a  fashion but also a social faux-pas. Heels are a thing of 2019. Who even remembers wearing those? And when a brave soul does wear them in public, the looks from strangers make it seem as if she’s wearing a straightjacket. She might as well be, because who wears heels nowadays? 

Athleisure. A category in fashion formally defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary as: casual clothing designed to be worn both for exercising and for general use. 

Inside the two parcels of clothing that arrived were a sweatshirt dress in blush, a tracksuit onesie in cream, and a pair of joggers with a silk sash—all a part of the newly established section of my wardrobe that I have fondly named: “Fancy Sweats.”

SHOP MY LOOK

As our everyday life dynamics have drastically shifted, so have our wardrobe needs. Now I have two categories of style in my life: fancy sweats and everyday sweats. I also finally understand athleisure. It only took a world pandemic and quarantine to get here. For the strong ones such as my mother, I applaud you. For the rest of us, fleece lined or cashmere sweats are the ultimate luxury!

With Love…

Marta