Exercise clothes... where I live in California they are the outfit du jour for millions of men and women. Everyday. Everywhere. In today's video I share 5 reasons to not wear workout clothing everywhere... some of the reasons might surprise you.
Please watch today's video with an open mind. Whenever I discuss this topic, people become quite upset. This is not meant as an attack on people who like to wear yoga pants everyday. These posts are meant as an encouragement for women (and even men) who find themselves in the rut of wearing workout clothing everywhere because they don't know where to begin with regard to dressing presentably. Hopefully my observations will shine a new light on the topic.
I do believe that what we wear matters. Some might think this a superficial care, but I don't. When we show up and dress for respect, everything changes. So without further ado...
5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Wear Your Workout Clothes Everywhere
⚜️ It’s not appropriate. The definition of appropriate is: suitable or proper in the circumstances. What are the right circumstances? When you are exercising: whether at the gym, out in nature, or at home. Of course we should wear work out clothes when we are working out. Conversely, we should not wear workout clothing when it is not appropriate. A few examples would be: to your child's performances, graduation, the theatre, nice restaurants, to court, to interviews (this list could go on, and on, and on...)
⚜️ Wearing exercise clothing everywhere does not convey respect. We dress to convey respect, whether you believe we do or not. When we dress in gym clothes for certain occasions, we are expressing a lack of respect. This is one of the reasons why dress codes are implemented, to maintain an air of decorum and respect.
⚜️ Wearing workout clothing everywhere is not sanitary. If you actually did work out (oftentimes people wear workout clothing when they don't actually exercise), that means you are probably sweaty... in all sorts of places. If you are unable to change after working out, consider wearing a long sweater or tunic over your workout clothing to prevent sweat and dirt from touching shared public places such as seating.
⚜️ Workout clothes when worn out-of-context contributes to the ever-increasing casualness of our society. No one has occasion to dress up anymore, and when you go to go a nice restaurant or theatre production, the atmosphere is brought down by the state of the audience.
⚜️ Workout clothing is oftentimes unflattering. I think of the funny meme that a reader sent me that read, Things that tell the truth: children, drunk people, and yoga pants. Workout clothing can tend to be tight and clingy, sometimes made of thin fabric, which is not generally a flattering look.
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Comment of the Week
Cherie writes, "Funny true story: My husband and I were headed out to run errands. I was presentable except for my shirt which wasn’t bad, but I looked, well, frumpy. Sighing, I headed back to our bedroom, muttering fiercely, “She’s in my head! She’s in my head!l” while pointing to my head. My husband, bemused, asked, “Who?” I growled, “Jennifer!” He smiled and mimicked, “Be presentable always!” I kid you not, this very masculine man said that. He was very proud of me for choosing to change my top, transforming my outfit into a much more elegant, though casual, look. He knew I would feel better as I presented myself with care to my community. I did, too. And, yes, Jennifer, you are in my head. I am actually glad of that! My husband has become quite conscientious about his appearance, too. So, thank you! 💕"
Cherie, your comment made my day! I hope I'm not in people's head in an annoying way... I aim to inspire! ☺️
I would love to know your thoughts on today's topic. Do you notice workout clothes worn in the wrong circumstances? Let us know where you stand on the subject and your comment could be chosen as comment of the week on the blog.
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7 comments:
I agree with you completely, on all of your reasons. The casualness of dress that I see daily makes me shake my head sometimes, and it makes me sad. When I see old photos or television shows where people are dressed nicely, I admire them so much. A nicely dressed person really stands out in a crowd and seems to have his or her life together. Along with the casualness of dress, I've noticed much casualness of speech also. Lots of casual swearing and slang. It's sad that most movies I watch these days have so much swearing in them. Old movies were able to tell stories without all that; with beautiful speech. All we can do is try to be good examples and inspire people to raise their bar. Many years ago, I had a neighbor from Belgium who always dressed presentable, and my boyfriend and I admired her. She caused us to raise the bar on our manner of dress.
When you were talking about wearing your workout attire to meeting, I thought about the opposite scenario. What if you wore an expensive dress or suit to work out in?
Definitely NOT appropriate!
I live in LA and wear a jacket and wool slacks, Oxford shoes, or suit every day because I enjoy dressing up. But I also look like I'm on a movie set from a period film or in a costume. The professional men in my office building--doctors, dentists, wear jeans, sneakers, untucked shirts. All over LA, the wealthiest and most educated people wear sweats, jeans. This is true even in nice restaurants. My point is, dressing up makes a person an oddball. I get compliments, a lot, on my appearance, but it's admiration similar to that of the appreciation when people see an historic vehicle or monument. It's conspicuous attention that doesn't always feel good.
Hello ladies and gentlemen,
Thanks for your comments on this topic. Mary, I'm sorry your comment was published twice. I can delete one of them.
This is the topic that I receive the most criticism for, but also one of the ones I feel so passionately about. I don't believe it is a superficial issue... I believe it is very telling of what is happening in society.
Niles, I appreciate your point of view as a man. Thanks for stopping by!
Best,
Jennifer
My opinion is that our values are really warped when it comes to dressing, in the US, especially. On the one hand, there is the extreme casualness of which you speak. On the other hand is a culture of plastic surgery; twenty-plus step makeup routines (contour! strobing! tightlining!); and overpriced brand name clothes that are so often too tight and too revealing.
Between last year and this year we traveled quite a bit. What I noticed about the BBC and CBC (Canadian) broadcasters is that they are much less dolled up than the women on our network news. They look much more natural, much more business like. The American broadcasters look like they're selling something, which, in this day of cable news networks, I guess they are.
I just wish we had more balance in the way we dress. Neat, clean, tidy, and ladylike is all we Connoisseurs ask for in this life!
Merry Christmas, Jennifer. God Bless you and your family!
I can think of another reason: people tend, consciously or not, to judge you by your appearence. It's regular social behaviour. We can like it or not, but a smart move would be to accept it and use it to convey the right message, instead of acting as if we ignored it and being misunderstood.
I'm an Italian girl and, I must say, you don't see as many people in yoga pants here as you probably can see in the US. Even in Milan, though, my friends always tell me that I look polished and elegant in every situation (every time I get one of these comments I hear your voice in my head too, Jennifer). The reason I look so elegant, even when I'm in jeans, is that my style reflects who I am; and I'm not a pair of old, shapeless sweatpants.
I also get a lot more respect and grace from strangers. Probably because people's minds work this way: you wear nice clothes = you have self-respect = you deserve to be respected = you're a person worth knowing.
Thank you so much for your videos!
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