How to Style Loungewear + NYFW Recap

When I attended New York Fashion Week in February of 2020, I had not known then that I was in for a surprise. In one month, the whole country would go on lockdown. Fashion Week (or Fashion Month, really) would not exist for a whole year. All of the creative energy we like to channel towards our outfits would be stifled because we were stuck at home in quarantine. That’s why, in many ways, the return of NYFW this season felt a little bit weird.

Nobody had dressed up for what felt like years, and we had all spent nearly 2 years wearing nothing but pajamas. Many of us were itching to get back out there and put on our boldest outfits. That is… everyone except me. What I learned through quarantine is that I actually lived my best life in quarantine, wearing loungewear 24/7. I love comfort head to toe. That means sneakers over heels and sweatpants over tailored trousers. So, when NYFW came back, I knew I had to style loungewear for NYFW street style.

Finding the Loungewear Style that Worked for Me

To me, loungewear looked most stylish when it was styled as the “off-the-court” look. I was inspired by the style of athletes (primarily NFL and NBA players) showing up to the stadium for gameday.

I styled loungewear in a way that heavily focused on sweats and sneakers and was inspired by Black fashion. For some, sweats may not be their go-to loungewear style. Or perhaps some may choose to pair sweatpants with heels for a classier look. Styling any look, be it loungewear, athleisure, or otherwise, is about finding what works for you. And I found what worked for me by taking my favorite sweatpants and pairing that with my favorite sneakers.

Incorporating Fall Trends into Loungewear

Even though arguably the most exciting part about NYFW is the street style, Fashion Week inevitably is also about the trends. That’s why I always am so excited to be able to marry street style with trends. In some ways, I never find it as hard as it may seem from the outside. From my many seasons attending Fashion Week, I have noticed that some trends always appear year after year. Fall is about animal print, tailored suits, and bold pops of color. Spring is about pastels and brilliant coats.

This year, I chose to focus on the one trend that actually made sense to me: color. I love the look of a cleanly tailored suit (complete with a matching blazer and pants), but that isn’t my style. Despite working a corporate job full-time, I have a less stringent dress code at work. I said adios to my closet full of blazers and work pants long ago. Color makes a lot of sense to me.

If you have followed me for a while, then you know that for a long period of time, Lilly Pulitzer was my favorite brand. Nowadays, I still love Lilly, but I have drastically reduced my Lilly collection. Nevertheless, Lilly Pulitzer introduced me to color and taught me how to pair colors such as pink and yellow together in a way that made sense. Lilly Pulitzer always experiments with colors that you wouldn’t think to go together, and I borrowed inspiration from my Lilly collection to put together some of my looks.

Why Styling Loungewear Helped Me Stay Sustainable

As you may know, I always include a “Sustainability Tracker” in my Instagram posts. All brands are tagged, and I detail when I purchased each clothing item, how many times I’ve worn it, and some thoughts on sizing and quality. This has really helped me stay transparent with you all about sustainability and reducing my consumption.

So, you may have noticed that some of what I wore this season were entirely new items. I have touched on this topic on Instagram before, but quarantine really opened my eyes to what my true style is. They say dress for the job you want, right? One of the many requirements of my dream job is that it’s acceptable to go to work wearing loungewear or athleisure. I went through a massive purge of my closet before I moved into my new apartment of everything that doesn’t fit or isn’t something I’d wear. A lot of these clothes got donated directly to family members, and some super old and ratty clothes were recycled through refashionNYC, a free clothing donation and recycling service provided by the NYC Department of Sanitation.

When I went through this purge, I was very conscious of everything I was going to be buying. All of what you saw me wear on Instagram this past summer has been sweat shorts and basics. In other words, it’s a summer version of loungewear. That’s why leaning into loungewear as the style that speaks to me for Fashion Week actually helped me stay sustainable. Everything I wore for Fashion Week is items that I will be reaching for all the time in Fall and Winter. Not to mention, you only see brands featured that I absolutely love, including Set Active, Clyque the Label, and Pangaia.

Fashion Week May Be About Trends… But Always Stay True to Your Personal Style

This season, I felt like my best self and not just because I was excited to be back at Fashion Week. I felt my best because I was wearing things that gave me confidence, even if they were sweats. It doesn’t matter what you love. Perhaps you love dresses; maybe you prefer to wear a tailored suit most of the days. Regardless, wear what you want because that’s what gives you confidence and that’s what sustainability means.