After 2020, I know your tracksuits took a bit of a beating. Look, it’s Covid – I get it. These are stressful times. For those who didn’t have anxiety already, welcome to our world. There was no need to add extra stress to your life by wearing a pair of high-waisted skinny jeans (the horror) when you weren’t even going to leave your house! We all know you had a pair of day pajamas and a pair of night pajamas, and that you changed between them every 12 hours. I’m not judging. These are crazy times.
But now things are opening up, and I think it’s time to replace those beloved trackpants that carried you on their back all last year. Now we can start to wear our fancy human clothes again, and I thought why not celebrate our inch closer to freedom by replacing your old Juicy Couture with new, shiny, classy, cult sweatpants that can last you another year in this nightmare that is a pandemic.
To make you feel like a bit more of a human being, I’ve curated the five cosiest – but more importantly, chic – tracksuits that you can replace your tried and trues. It’s 2021, you’re allowed to feel chic in a tracksuit. LBD’s are out, CCT’s (Comfy Cosy Tracksuits) are in.
Pangaia
I admit, I did cave and spend most of my monthly budget on tracksuits from Pangaia. Look, all the celebs were wearing them, everybody looked great, and for every piece you buy they plant a tree. I had to spend that money. It was for the greater good. Also, it made my goods look greater. In purple, blue, and sand colours. The it-brand of 2020, Pangaia really hit it off, especially in a time where we’re all stuck at home wearing trackies. No longer will your old, tired Abercrombie & Fitch tracksuit bottoms from 2009 make the cut. There’s a new, hot, sustainable girl on the block – and what do you know? She’s wearing Pangaia.
Cotton Citizen
I’m going to start by being honest. Is Cotton Citizen way overpriced? Yes. Yes, it is. There are better quality trackies out there, but are they ombré? That is the question you need to ask yourself. I swore I would never buy from this brand, when I followed my sister into the LA flagship and watched her spend a small fortune on cotton tracksuit bottoms, but then I saw Marie von Behrens wear the tie-dye Brooklyn Sweats in Desert Mirage, and I betrayed myself. Do I thank myself in a pandemic for my self-betrayal? Yeah, I kinda do.
Sporty & Rich
Sporty & Rich, a brand that is made all the more exclusive by their limited drops. A great selling tactic, and one that even sucks in the most experienced buyer (ahem, me). Not only can you grab yourself a chic, Princess Diana-esque tracksuit, but you can also cop the matching yoga mat, and steel water bottle. Not joking, it makes you look sporty and rich. A real step up for me, who used to wear my dad’s out sailing shirts when I went for a run. Sporty, and a bogan (a poor one at that). Now I can look like Princess Di popping out to the shops – and sitting on the couch.
Olivia Von Halle
I’m a long-time fan of their silk pajamas. Not to sound boujee, but since 2015 I actually only wear silk pajamas, and 80% of them are from Olivia von Halle. But apart from boujee silk night shirts, Olivia von Halle has also made the Rolls Royce of tracksuits. Think getting on your PJ (private jet, obviously) with your Hermès blanket, baggage handlers struggling to load your numerous LV (Louis Vuitton, obviously) trunks into the hold, your travelling Birkin overflowing with Chanel beauty creams to keep your smooth skin nice and rich… Sorry, I’m getting carried away, but the point is, you’re probably definitely wearing an Olivia von Halle tracksuit. Made from cashmere and silk, you can also get it monogrammed with your initials just to remind yourself of who you are – cosy, comfy, and classy AF (as fuck, obviously).
Maggie Marilyn
Another sustainable brand to make you feel extra warm and fuzzy on the inside as well as the outside – Maggie Marilyn not only supports the local economy by making her pieces in the same country she designs them in (NZ, the country of legends), but she also makes her clothes out of organic cotton and regenerated nylon, as well as having a traceable supply chain. Drool. It also doesn’t hurt that her tracksuits are chic and cosy as hell. See above.