{"id":347637,"date":"2025-12-15T22:38:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T22:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/347637\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T22:38:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T22:38:12","slug":"2025-brought-the-vintage-ification-of-activewear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/347637\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 Brought the Vintage-ification of Activewear"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Vintage <\/p>\n

\n Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Getty Images, Rummage Stretch\n <\/p>\n

In the summer of 2024, Isabella O\u2019Day went on a yoga retreat in the south of France. She was going through a breakup and looking to pack \u201ccool workout wear.\u201d \u201cI went to Lululemon and was like, \u2018I hate all of this,\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cI would literally never wear it except for this retreat.\u201d As a self-described \u201ceBay person,\u201d O\u2019Day realized what she was looking for was vintage pieces. She started buying flared capris and colorful crop tops. Searching for designs with elements that aren\u2019t exactly functional \u2014 think: netting, stray zippers, and lace-up ties \u2014 from brands like Nike, Polo Sport, Oakley, and Puma across online resale platforms, she built a small collection of vintage pieces for her trip. \u201cWhile I was on the retreat, people were like, \u2018Oh my God, that\u2019s so nice,\u2019 and my friends started asking me where to find pieces like that,\u201d says O\u2019Day. From there, her archival-workout-gear brand, Rummage Stretch<\/a>, was born.<\/p>\n

When I speak to O\u2019Day, who\u2019s based in L.A., she\u2019s wearing a pink-striped Nike top. It\u2019s vintage (of course). \u201cI just look for things that have fun little details that most workout brands don\u2019t really have in their designs anymore,\u201d she says. \u201cNow, it\u2019s always so scaled back.\u201d And O\u2019Day isn\u2019t alone in questioning why major activewear brands\u2019 current offerings are often dull and lifeless. In 2025, a quiet revolt against the synthetic two-piece workout set seems to have come to a head, with people sharing their thrifted activewear finds on TikTok<\/a> and wearing more colorful vintage styles to the gym<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"In <\/p>\n

\"Rihanna <\/p>\n

\n From left: Photo: Anwar Hussein\/WireImagePhoto: Jun Sato\/WireImage\n <\/p>\n

\n From top: Photo: Anwar Hussein\/WireImagePhoto: Jun Sato\/WireImage\n <\/p>\n

While Jane Fonda\u2019s iconic \u201980s workout videos are filled with stripes, leotards, and pops of color, modern activewear culture has become increasingly stiff and sterile. The colors are muted, everything is tight and synthetic, and the styles are repetitive. For many, wearing vintage better reflects their personal style. \u201cThere\u2019s an aesthetic of a classic Alo girl who\u2019s going to Pilates, and there\u2019s nothing wrong with that, but I don\u2019t see myself fitting into the box of being put together with a slicked-back bun,\u201d says O\u2019Day. \u201cMy workout persona was once a totally different personality than myself, and I looked like a hardo wearing spandex when I was working out maybe once a month.\u201d The Rummage Stretch customer wants to be playful with their exercise gear and dress differently than the girl next to them in yoga, O\u2019Day says.<\/p>\n

According to Depop, searches for vintage activewear increased by 169 percent in October over the previous month. Searches for cotton activewear specifically have increased 244 percent this year. This could stem partly from people becoming increasingly concerned about potentially harmful chemicals<\/a> found in polyester, nylon, and spandex and partly from the fact that cotton tends to be more comfortable. (Pulling tight, stretchy full-length yoga pants over your legs can feel like a mental barrier.) Liana Satenstein, writer and host of Neverworns<\/a>, says she started wearing gray cotton pieces for workouts when she was pregnant. \u201cIt is super-satisfying to see yourself sweat,\u201d says Satenstein, who started noticing people switching to vintage sportswear earlier this year<\/a>. \u201cI wear an old sweatshirt from my former colleague and any other old, nasty cotton stuff I have around the house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"HSBC <\/p>\n

\"LPGA <\/p>\n

\n From left: Christina Kim in 2006. Photo: Andrew Redington\/Getty ImagesPhoto: S. Levin\/Getty Images\n <\/p>\n

\n From top: Christina Kim in 2006. Photo: Andrew Redington\/Getty ImagesPhoto: S. Levin\/Getty Images\n <\/p>\n

For Arbela Capas, a fashion writer based in Ohio, deciding to switch her workoutwear approach came down to the sensory issues she was experiencing with leggings after starting to exercise more last year. \u201cI was like, \u2018What if I just went to the thrift store?\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019ve always overlooked the athleticwear section.\u201d It\u2019s true that long before the vintage resale boom, the vintage-sportswear section was far from the most popular. But as secondhand shopping has become not only mainstream but coveted, many are getting more comfortable thrifting pieces they would otherwise have steered clear of. \u201cIt\u2019s just easier to grab a pair of vintage capris that are looser and comfier and can maybe serve as a cute outfit, too,\u201d says Capas.<\/p>\n

In recent months, when Natalia Spotts, owner of Funny Pretty Nice<\/a>, has posted vintage sportswear on Instagram Stories, the pieces have been snapped up within a couple of minutes. \u201cIt is just so in demand for us,\u201d she says. This usually includes a mix of bigger and smaller brands like Adidas, prAna, and Protokolo. And it\u2019s only a matter of time before major sports brands start releasing more vintage-inspired designs to fill what\u2019s become a gap in the current market. \u201cWhen people come out of fitting rooms after trying on a piece of vintage activewear, one of the first things they say is how flattering it is compared to modern activewear,\u201d says Spotts. \u201cVintage and nostalgia are so intertwined, and I always wanted to look like someone\u2019s cool older sister going to Pilates in the 2000s.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beneath the capris and cotton tanks, there\u2019s a deeper desire to return to a time when working out felt fun and accessible rather than expensive and unachievable. \u201cIt\u2019s so expensive to buy workout sets, and I feel like people are going back to things that can be accessed on YouTube instead of taking a class,\u201d says Satenstein. (We\u2019ve seen that this year with young people resurfacing old Billy Blanks Tae Bo at-home workouts<\/a>.) Wearing vintage activewear then becomes a symbol that you work out, but you\u2019re not taking it too seriously \u2014 that your gym persona and your regular persona are aligned. As Satenstein puts it: \u201cI do think the Alo Yoga concept is very West Village girlie, and I think a lot of people don\u2019t want that anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

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