Athleisure: Still Not Trending in Paris

Image credit: Shutterstock.
While American women go for coffee in Lululemon pants, don't expect to see Parisian women looking like they're dressed for the gym — unless they're at the gym.

"Athleisure" fashion is booming. According to Forbes, the size of the comfort-and-style fashion market in the U.S.market alone is $44 billion.

Since 2010, Lululemon has doubled sales, Under Armour has tripled, and Nike, Adidas, and Puma have all increased their sales by double digits. At New York Fashion week last year, many brands unveiled high-end athleisure collections.                                                                               

That's not surprising in the United States where athletic clothing is worn for more than just to work-outs. It is more than acceptable for American women to wear workout wear any time of the day — to grab coffee, go to lunch with a friend, run errands, or even go to work. Activewear brands let you transition between the locker room and everyday life, and sometimes never even make it to the gym at all. Aa New York-based gym  owner Simone De La Rue notes, “It seems that it is now totally acceptable to wear your outfit all day, every day. Even if you haven’t worked out.” The most stylish stars — Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid — also rock this trend.

Don't expect to see yummy mummies wearing athleisure in the streets of Paris however. Yes, French fashion journalists — even newspapers like Le Monde — have been writing about athleisure, but mainly as an American phenomenon associated with Beyonce and the Kardashians. Parisian women, famous for their discreet style sense, generally don't wear sporty clothing — except at the gym. They have yet to embrace the athleisure trend. “You do not see people in Paris walking around in their gym clothes — it’s not seen as appropriate,” says designer Robyn Berkley

Bloggers even warn Americans traveling to Paris not to pack their Lululemon pants for the trip, unless they want to look like a tourist. “The comfortable clothes that suburban American women live-in, are not seen on Parisians outside of their homes,” one blog notes. When sneakers are worn on the streets of Paris, they are appropriately dressed up and accessorized with non-workout apparel. The blogger advises: "Leave your hoodies and matching sweatpants, white tennis shoes, shorts and bright colored nylon windbreakers at home. The comfortable clothes that suburban American women live-in, are not seen on Parisians outside of their homes."

That could change, though, as major fashion brands launch athleisure collections. Paris fashions are known to set trends, but maybe this is one trend that American women will bring to the streets of Paris. 

Written by Cristina Musco

I grew up near San Francisco with two brothers and two sisters.  Traveling has always been my favorite thing to do.  It had been my dream since I was a high school student to travel abroad to study.  So, naturally, during my senior year, I applied to the American University of Paris and when I was accepted, I did not hesitate committing to attending university in France.  When I arrived, I immediately was exposed to a culture that was foreign to me.  The food, the language, the history, the people were exactly what I was hoping for and more.