If you’re a shopaholic like I am then the best thing about heading to the gym is sporting your new workout gear. When your fluorescent top matches your fluorescent shoes and your compression tights are making your ass look like you’ve actually made progress, your workout is bound to be mighty fine!
In fact, there have been studies on ‘enclothed cognition’, all of which conclude that wearing a certain type of attire causes the wearer to “embody” the clothing and its symbolic meaning.
If only we could wear fitness gear every day without actually exercising… There are so many additional benefits to the overpriced clothes we save for the confines of the gym:
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Value for money. Pretty fitness wear doesn’t come cheap. What’s the use of spending a fortune when we’re only jumping into them on average three times a week?
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Wearing workout gear gives off an aura of “Yes, I’m a sophisticated woman dedicated to my health and fitness.” People respect that.
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Do you know how many errands you can get done in runners and tights? Seriously. I yearn for my runners every time I get stuck clomping around in stupid platforms.
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You’re more likely to take the stairs. It’s true – not only do you feel a certain obligation (see point 2); it genuinely seems like a reasonable idea when in runners. To repeat: enclothed cognition.
The Fitness 'lifestyle' without the fitness
Trending: Gym wear for everyday.
I say ‘if only’, but in reality, according to the streets of Melbourne at least, wearing fitness gear on a daily basis (even when not exercising) is utterly acceptable! I’ve seen people in compression tights and Nike free runs with a chunky knit sweater pulled over the top. ‘Junners’ have entered the radar again, but this time as a fashion-forward statement. It’s like socks and sandals all over again!
Did this develop as a result of the rationality I mentioned above? Or is it simply a fashion statement? Are these people heading out in the morning with every intention of exercising or are they just trying to make exercise gear chic?
Be that as it may, even with all the benefits, I simply cannot embrace this trend. If I were to wear my gym gear without any intention of partaking in physical activity, I would feel like an absolute fraud. You’re just emanating falsity and lies if you have no intention of going to the gym, so why mislead people with your cute runners?
Not to mention, there is no way I could justify buying 2XU leggings or a North Face vest if I wasn’t using them for their intended purpose!
I’m all for going casual from time to time, because let’s face it, sometimes jeans are just too much effort. But if we’re going to go that way Melbourne, let’s at least refrain from mixing trends! In my opinion, it’s all or nothing. You will not catch me in Lorna Jane and Witchery simultaneously. Nor will you catch me on my break from Uni wearing fitness apparel and gorging myself on a blueberry muffin.
And as a final note to all you trendsetters out there: Stop trying to make junners happen! It’s NOT going to happen.
What do you think about wearing gym clothing as everyday clothes? Let us know in the comments!
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