Athleisure Styling : The Elements
Athleisure styling and Athleisurewear is a new movement sweeping across the globe, how more and more modern women with healthy active lifestyles are choosing to dress. Stylish millennials have already taken the athleisure trend and ran with it.
Originating 10 years ago in the beach communities of LA and the coastal towns of Western Australia this move to dressing more comfortably and in keeping with your actual life has spread across the world making the yogapant business explode with relatively young sportluxe brands like Lululemon, turning over a staggering $20 billion dollars.
With no signs of this active lifestyle clothing market slowing down, love them or hate them, the legging is here to stay so if you haven't had a go yet transferring your legging look for the gym, to the office or streetstyle we have put together some simple styling instructions how to create the perfect athleisure look every time.
Here's our athleisure style guide, everything you need to successfully style the athleisure trend.
The key to effective athleisure styling are four basic elements then once you have got this down it is easy to mix things up and get creative.
The first thing you need is a non performance black legging, like the PBL, perfect black legging i.e. one that is not shiny. Top athleisure style tips, don't try styling a performance or sport legging with regular clothes as this is extremely difficult to do effectively. (why we created the PBL in the first place) You need a really good quality pair that you cannot see through, a VPL is not a good look so avoid the cheap ones, they will never do the job even on young perfect legs and bums.
The idea behind athleisure styling and why is has taken off and has such wide global appeal is busy women these days fit in walking, meditation, the gym, school run all before work, then it's the office, meetings, parent teacher conferences, working lunches, travelling, yoga/tai chi practise, then play dates, people popping over, drinks with friends and we don't have the time or inclination to be changing our clothes for all these different activities.
By keeping your base layer, leggings and a T shirt or leggings and a vest, (effectively a luxurious, yet appropriate pair of pyjamas) you keep yourself completely comfortable and stylish for any activity that requires you to move freely and easily. And then by layering up and adding accessories you see your look coming together. Something to consider unless you are very young, (i.e. under 20) when wearing leggings, your T shirt or vest MUST be long enough to cover and skim the tops of the legs.
The second element is a great pair of sneakers, trainers, Converse, Vans or any version of a flat pump you like.
For many who love to dress up, the sneaker may well be a step too far, we know for some the idea of flat shoes is a no, so for the more glamourous you can opt for the wedge sneaker popularised by Isabel Marant. This is an athleisure option now widely available as other brands like Michael Kors have caught the wave.
So you have your bottom half done, you are comfortable and ready to tackle whatever your day throws at you but you feel too casual, sporty or under dressed. This is where the 3rd element comes into play, the blazer.
The blazer, basically a fitted finely tailored jacket with dramatic gold or silver buttons will lift your atheisure look from walking the dog, to hosting a power lunch. It is likely you'll have one in your wardrobe to practise your styling and if not replace ordinary buttons with military buttons on a jacket you love to create the look on a budget. Be careful not to wear your blazer too big, it's a common mistake, as this will make you appear fatter than you are. The stylist top tip is try to go a size down as a smaller jacket will show off your figure better. The blazer has been the must have of the summer in brights and for AW they are back with a vengeance so once you have some styling confidence treat yourself to an amazing statement piece.
The 4th element, the crossbody bag.
The cross body has taken the fashion industry by storm as more and more women are opting for small and practical over the massive shopper, or tote, even in luxury brands like, LV, Dior. Of course we don't imagine the popularity of bags like the Neverful to wain anytime soon but would advise when investing in a luxury bag for the first time you always buy preloved unless you can genuinely afford to pay the premium and enjoy the shopping experience. And if you want your bag to endure a lifetime of use without going out of style, stick with neutral colours and original designs and don't be tempted to buy something very unique or limited edition.
For many women making the switch to leggings as part of your regular dressing routine is tough, they feel too exposed, don't like their legs, feel fat, can only wear leggings under dresses, feel it's a young thing, cannot dress like their daughters, all valid reasons when the legging options on the high st are made from thin fabric with no substance that looks suspect even on 20 year old perfect legs. Don't despair once you add the PBL to your styling arsenal you'll be on your way to a hipper, more energised, modern, vital, confident you. Shop the pieces in Rescue by clicking on the images.