Fashion: Easy street ... where you wear what you are

Athleisure is going everywhere. Fashion Editor Stephanie Smith on how to keep it cool and current.
Rita Ora at the Chanel SS18 Haute couture show in Paris, in textured hooded dress. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)Rita Ora at the Chanel SS18 Haute couture show in Paris, in textured hooded dress. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Rita Ora at the Chanel SS18 Haute couture show in Paris, in textured hooded dress. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

It’s the way we live and dress now, and it speaks volumes about our modern style psyche.

We like to feel easy, comfortable, able to move and sit and slouch and lie down, if that is what we feel like doing. But we also want to look chic, on-trend, super-stylish and cool while doing so. We’re not lazy, you understand, just busy, with lives that transition from day to night and work to leisure without skipping a beat or taking a breath.

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Athleisure is still going strong, and a recent flurry of reports concerning its demise have so far had little impact. But athlesiure is smartening up, presenting a more pulled-together and polished aesthetic in co-ordinating colour schemes and carefully balanced proportions. Sure, you can pull on a pair of luxe joggers or fluid side-stripe trousers to team with your silk blouse and tailored jacket, but it’s best if you stick to a tonal palette, or a simple one, if you want to bring the look into 2018 with a considered and sophisticated edge.

Black jumpsuit with white stripe, £48, in store at Wallis in Feburary.Black jumpsuit with white stripe, £48, in store at Wallis in Feburary.
Black jumpsuit with white stripe, £48, in store at Wallis in Feburary.

Hooded tunics, sweat-style dresses and silky parka-style jackets all capture the appeal of haute down-time inspired apparel – add blingy trainers and a cool bum-bag, and you’re good to go.

It’s all about incorporating what you wear into your whole life, bringing together your wardrobe, your home and your working and leisure activity to create a mix-and-match, translatable, harmonious yet inspirational total lifestyle blend.

A perfect example comes from John Lewis, which has partnered with design team Patternity on a new fashion and home range that offers a distinctive take on athleisure clothing with striking patterns and a sleek monochrome palette.

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Founded in 2009 by print pioneers Anna Murray and Grace Winteringham, Patternity uses pattern “as a tool to explore, innovate and inspire mindful living”, encouraging us all to slow down and appreciate the world. As Ferris Bueller says: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

PATTERNITY + John Lewis Airtex Crop T-Shirt, Black
Exclusive to John Lewis
, £39; and leggings, £45.PATTERNITY + John Lewis Airtex Crop T-Shirt, Black
Exclusive to John Lewis
, £39; and leggings, £45.
PATTERNITY + John Lewis Airtex Crop T-Shirt, Black Exclusive to John Lewis , £39; and leggings, £45.

The 100-piece collection is available online and at the Leeds John Lewis store, with prices starting from £25 for a bra top to £99 for some impressive parka-style coats. There are cushions, rugs, soap dispensers and all sorts of home items, so you can co-ordinate with your surroundings.

Wallis has some sleek sports-hybrid looks coming up. Check out the black jumpsuit with white stripe featured here. It’s an elegant desk-to-dinner piece that works with trainers for the weekend, flat monks for work and heels (strappy sandals or bright ankle boots) for night-time – a true go-anywhere hero for our times.

There’s more fashion and beauty advice and best buys on https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/lifestyle/fashion and https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/lifestyle/fashion

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Twitter: @yorkshirefashQ