What Is Athleisure and How To Wear It

In the past few years, the ruling dress code that's been trending is definitely Athleisure: maybe as a response to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, maybe due to a globalization that's increasingly reducing social differences among cultures, or simply because people feel the need to have a look that's cool but light and elegant at the same time.

But what does it mean to wear athleisure? First of all the term athleisure is the combination of the words athletic, term referring to sports, and leisure, term referring to spare time. Athleisure encloses the idea of combining a sporty clothing with the need to wear a urban style. This type of look combines a sohisticated style with sportswear, making the outfit less formal and suitable for any occasion. 

For him, we can opt for jackets and vests that provide a urban but elegant touch to the outfit, like a military parka in technical tissue or a jersey dynamic blazer. In athleisure, denim clothing is a must-have, but it has to be tailored and feature precious details like the patterned salpa, as proposed by Mason's in the Fall Winter '22 collection for men. Athleisure for women is all about volumes and aims at a "sporty" femininity: an elegant women's blazer slim fit or a hoodie in jersey can be matched with chino velvet pants relaxed fit or she can dare a smart outfit with a pair of chino jogger pants camou printed and a field jacket with a padding lining and rhinestone in the same pattern.

THE MAIN ITEMS OF CLOTHING FOR AN ATHLEISURE LOOK

What items do you wear to respect the athleisure dress code?

Someone once said that a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, a blazer and a pair of sunglasses are enough to face any situation at any time of the day. This person was unconsciously a forerunner of the athleisure or smart casual look.

If you want to wear the trending look for this autumn winter season, you can't miss out the athleisure items for men and women listed below.

ATHLEISURE MEN'S WARDROBE

Athleisure is versatile because it combines the practicity of sportswear and a style that's flawless and formal: from the office to the happy hour, from a walk in the city centre to a formal dinner. A smart casual outfit will be perfect for all these situations. Men can choose between a stretch jeans slim fit in a dark washing or cargo jogger pants in bicolor satin extra slim fit. For the topwear, above the shirt, he can opt for an elegant solid colour blazer in wool, velvet or techincal tissue to match with Chile Athleisure cargo pants in jersey that will make the outfit sportier. Jackets like the military Detroit Parka or the Urban Shirt overshirt are good only if matched to an elegant pair of chino pants with ribbons slim fit.

ATHLEISURE WOMEN'S WARDROBE

What is the substantial difference between business wear and athleisure wear? In a woman's wardrobe, the difference can be huge: a business look reminds us a clothing that's slightly conservative and typically masculine. Over the years lots of women adopted this style in the workplace, as if it were a uniform. On the other hand, athleisure is more sportswear-oriented, yet maintaining features of a formal way of dressing, so as to allow lots of interpretations to the women who adopt this look. A woman can choose a classic long-sleeved poplin shirt to combine with cargo pants in gabardine relaxed fit and a solid colour blazer or she can opt for a monochromatic match composed by a viscose shirt and chino velvet pants curvy fit so as to create a smart outfit. Along this wave, a wide range of hybrid fabrics, often used in sportswear, fit well in an athleisure outfit, then you can opt for a blazer or a jersey hoodie to match with stretch jeans skinny fit and a pair of high heels.

Wearing athleisure means adding eccentricity and personality to a formal dress code. Over the past few years, the increasing trend of wearing sportswear originated a new lifestyle and "urban" look, suitable for living in the city, without giving up the elegance of evergreen piece of clothing that every man and woman must have in their wardrobes.