Fashion Phenomenon or Sheer Laziness?

“Every single time I see a girl wearing Track Shorts and a T-shirt I’m clapping!” 

[by Nadezhda Sharnelle]

That is the infamous quote yelled into the night’s sky by one of my best mates.  Granted our group was headed to a local diner for some post clubbing/drinking grub on a Saturday night.  With the more than standard amount of girls in track shorts and tees out that night, it was a more than necessary comment.  And, believe me, we’ve been clapping ever since.

Introduction

I first remember noticing this trend in college a few years back.  Chilling in the quad, I would see one, maybe two girls dressed in Nike track shorts combined with a tee, sneakers or flip flops. I simply saw them as girls who choose to workout in between class.  Once winter rolled around, they would add tights, UGGs, and a North Face pull over to the mix.  An easy, carefree outfit that was also functional enough for one’s daily school regime.

Growth

Now, this style (or lack thereof) is no longer reserved for hectic school days.  It crossed ethnicities, age and weight groups.  You can find grandmothers to grade school girls sporting this dress style.  They pair the track shorts with hoodies, button-downs, polo shirts, tank tops, sweatshirts, sandals, TOMS… and my absolute fave: Sperry boat shoes with socks!

Although this trend spread like HPV in a college dorm, the majority of the girls wearing this style of dress do not practice better cardio habits on a consistent basis and have no intentions on doing so.  If that were the case, then Louisiana wouldn’t be rated as #5 state in obesity.

Maturity

How unoriginal can one want to be?  I can understand that you may have many tasks throughout the day and need comfort.  But purchasing seven different colors of track shorts (they average between $18 - $40) to wear seven days out of the week is utter laziness.  You’re basically opting out of utilizing the right side of your brain to be just a bit creative with your daily wear.  You would prefer to put on a pair of shorts that you wore the day before, perhaps a different Greek event tee and your favorite Sperry’s.  Why?  Because, everyone else is doing it.  Therefore, it’s acceptable.

 

Decline?

Anyhow, I’m not going to get into the power of fads and how the majority of the population are typically followers…. blah blah.  I’ll just sit back and keep hope alive that this trend (along with reality TV) will someday come to an end. But in the meanwhile, let’s all join in and give these girls a hand!