Athleisure -- Cuffed Workout Pants

Usually Vogue magazine is at the forefront of fashion trends, so I was surprised to read that it only recently had discovered the "athleisure" theme of wearing gym clothes on the street and even for fancy evenings out.

Here is a quote from the Vogue article:

      "I think wearing your athleticwear all day is more than acceptable,” says SoulCycle
      cofounder Julie Rice. . . . “It’s a trend. People of all ages are wearing their workoutwear
      all day now, whether it’s leggings with a longer coat and a scarf, or someone younger
      wearing a cropped T-shirt with a denim jacket and some high-heeled boots. People shop
      for their athleticwear thinking, How can I wear this from the studio to the street?”

All I can say in response to this is, well, duh.


Cuffed Workout Pants

For the last couple years, cuffed workout pants have been a "thing."  Even designers have been promoting these casual pants.  One fashion house offers the version below for $986.

These pants are very similar to a pair I own.  Mine too are knit and well-made.  They can be worn a full day without pooching out at the knees or the behind.

The big differences are that my cuffed pants came from Costco and cost $20.  (This too is a "thing."  One of my brothers remarked last year that his favorite designer is Kirkland.)


Cuffed Pants on the Town

It is an indisputable truth that fashion designers follow street fashion, and so one high-end house is offering this version with a coordinating shirt for $1,200 at a fancy store in New York.  It's a little matchy-matchy, but certainly not offensive.

More often, though, women are free-lancing it, pairing the slouchy cuffs with fancy tops and high heels or leather sandals.

Socks are a bit of challenge with pants like these, by the way.  Now that the cold weather has arrived, the best way to avoid the issue seems to be to wear cuffed pants with the now-ubiquitous ankle boots.



Cuffed Pants for Men

Men dig this style, too.  Here is a Nike LeBron version for the guys.

And, like women, men with fashion confidence have been adopting the cuffed pant as street wear.

These are not bad looks, but I probably wouldn't try them if I were interviewing for job at a bank.
Maybe at Vogue, though.


The Next New Thing

January and February fashion magazines featured pictures of the spring-summer lines, and athleisure continued to be a theme.  One strange look (to my eyes) was comfy track suits with striped pants legs.

Here is one example from a Paris Fashion Week show.

See what I mean?  This reminds me of the outfits that senior citizens wore to the grocery store back in the 1990s.  Very unfortunate.

I think we should all hang onto our cuffed workout pants until a better idea is offered.