“Varsity! Varsity! U-RAH-RAH Wisconsin!” This is the anthem of my school, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, so clearly this trend was meant for me. As someone who is an exercise enthusiast, I was very excited about the improvement in the quality of workout clothes and the heavy influence of sportswear in street style as well as on the runways. The Alexander Wang spring 2016 ready-to-wear collection featured varsity-inspired striping reminiscent of a sports uniform. Like much of Alexander Wang’s other work, the show contained a large amount of black and white colored monochromatic pieces, which I used as a source of inspiration here. My overall goal for this look was to incorporate this varsity-inspired runway trend with a sleek street style flair.
When I am styling clothes I love to learn about the history and create my vision from an array of sources. Sportswear has always been an extremely influential on fashion. Tracing back to the idea of the Gibson Girl, which was extremely influential in the late twentieth century because this symbolic girl was able to ride bicycles and begin taking on more of a role in society. Since then, sports-inspired fashion has evolved rapidly with the athleisure trend and off-duty models such as Gigi Hadid, Jourdan Dunn and Cara Delevingne incorporating athletic pieces into their daily looks. These classic and new sources of inspiration led to my styling of this look. Of all the sportswear-inspired pieces that I have accumulated, this outfit is my favorite because it is the perfect balance of sporty and edgy.
I began with a cropped varsity sweatshirt since that would be the focal point of the ensemble. Pairing this with my high-waisted jeans helped balance the dimensions with the cropped top. The addition of the mixed floral and leopard print scarf inserted a pop of color, which Alexander Wang did throughout his show as well. Since I wanted to incorporate the sportswear trend more, I let a pair of marled socks with varsity striping at the top peek out from my faux leather boots. This outfit is versatile, as I wear it for events ranging for weekend casual to a night out with friends. This adaptability is applicable to the other sportswear trend pieces such as tennis shoes, bomber jackets and mesh-paneled leggings. Having the fear of looking like you’re going to the gym is no longer a concern. There is no doubt that, whether you workout or not, athletic-inspired clothing is a must-have in every Fashionista/o’s closet right now!
Get My Look: 1. A varsity-striped top. 2. Black high-waisted jeans. 3. Any colorful scarf.
